Greg Bishansky writes...

I've been up since early in the morning, I'm still recovering from the flu, I spent all day running around New York Comic Con, and I will be doing the same tomorrow. I need a lot of sleep. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to miss out on watching and reviewing "Young Justice."

This was, to use a term coined by J. Michael Straczynski, a wham episode. So much happened, and fast. A lot of action, a lot of suspense and, yes, a big revelation. Although one that, I think, was guessed by many people before the episode aired. I will elaborate on that momentarily.

Giant plant creatures are terrorizing the world, and are being organized, seemingly, by the Injustice League. Count Vertigo, Wotan, Poison Ivy, Black Adam, Ultra Humanite, and the Joker. The Justice League faces the plant creatures while The Team are sent in to take down the villains' means to control the plants, ergo facing the villains.

The biggest surprise of this episode was Aqualad using the helmet of Dr. Fate to defeat the Injustice League, particularly Wotan. The battle was very suspenseful, and I was actually glad that in addition to Dr. Fate, The Team was bailed out by the Justice League. I think it would have strained credibility if The Team was able to defeat the Injustice League on their own.

The episode ends with both the League and The Team thinking they've defeated the secret society of villains that have been conspiring against them before we finally cut to Vandal Savage, and the revelation of the identities of The Light. The only real surprise in this line-up was Klarion, as action figure photos from ToyFair and those playing cards that were given away at San Diego Comic Con pretty much gave away everybody else, except for Ra's al Ghul and Lex Luthor who were revealed as members back in "Targets."

I like this line-up. A lot. I am especially excited that Vandal Savage is clearly the head honcho in this organization instead of Lex Luthor. I remember being rather disappointed when "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited" were airing and after introducing Vandal Savage, who had all the makings of a great Big Bad that would have helped the series better achieve their own identity, they defaulted (constantly) to Lex Luthor which helped make these series look more like direct sequels to "Superman the Animated Series."

I'm also very interested to learn more about what drives him. The way he uses the word "light" makes me think that, to him, this is more than just a cool name for his little secret society. This is a word that sums up something he deeply believes in. I also like his design, he looks like a savage and a neanderthal. I am curious to learn where those three scars across his face came from. Hmm... did he have a run in with a certain demon in Scotland back in the Dark Ages?

The voice cast in this episode was quite interesting. First, I rather enjoyed Brent Spiner as the Joker. His performance has been getting some mixed reviews across the internet. I personally thought it was terrific, but there were times when it felt wrong to me too. And I know exactly why it did, because we've imbibed Mark Hamill as the Joker for nineteen years now. Hamill owns that role, at least as far as voice work goes. That's a lot to live up to, but I think Spiner will rise to the challenge and while he will never own the Joker the way Hamill does, he is already a worthy one.

Alyssa Milano sounded great as Poison Ivy, but I can tell she's new at voice acting. This is not a knock, with more time to play this character, and especially with a genius like Jamie Thomason directing her, I'm sure she will grow into it. I am reminded of Emma Samms in "City of Stone Part One," and how she grew as a voice actor by the time part four aired.

And I loved hearing Steve Blum again. He's been a favorite of mine for a long time.

The only things that felt a little bit odd to me was Wotan being a part of a group that was trying to ransom $10 billion. I'll admit, before tonight, I had never heard of Wotan. After the episode aired, I looked him up on wikipedia, and based on what I read, a ransom scheme doesn't seem like his style. He seems like someone who plays at higher stakes. Likewise, Klarion, seems too petty and impatient to be a part of an organization like The Light. But time, and more episodes will tell. This production team chose these characters for these positions for a reason, and Greg Weisman has not erred on his previous shows.

The other thing, I felt Aqualad was able to remove the helmet a little too easily. Yeah, he mentioned that Kent Nelson helped, but I hope the next time someone puts that helmet on, taking it off does not come so easily.

This episode was a real game changer, and it leaves me pumped to see what comes next. So far, this show has taken time to grow on me. I liked it, a lot. It's an A+ show, easily. But "Gargoyles" and "Spectacular Spider-Man" were A+ shows with a lot of extra credit. But now, for the first time, I am pumped on this show. I think the extra credit is about to be turned in.

Oh, and if you didn't love Artemis's line about feeling naked and not in the fun way, you have no soul.

A. writes...

Who Voices Billy Batson?

When are you going to put The End Credits on the website?

Is James Remar vocing Hawkman?

Hayden writes...

Hey. I love Young Justice so much! My friends consider me a tomboy since I love that much.
1. Do Green Lanterns have powers in YJ, or does the ring provide all their powers?
2. Kid Flash mentioned that Green Lantern helped hollow out the Cave. Was he talikng about Hal or John?
3. Who are planning to voice the two Lanterns?

Anthrokid writes...

IF Harley Quinn appears will we see her teamed up as a duo with Poison Ivy, on Young Justice?
And if so, who are doing their voices?

Anonymous writes...

Hi Greg! First of just wanted to say that I'm absolutely loving the Young Justice series, it's fantastic (particularly Home Front!) I just have a few questions about the process of voice recording for Young Justice.
1) Do the voice actors record in the same studio and interact with each other during the recording? Or do you often have to record separately due to conflicting schedules?
2) How long does it typically take to record each episode?
3) Who generally directs the voice actors during recordings?
4) Do the actors input their own suggestions for how the characters may react in a certain situation?
5) Does the script go through 'last minute' revisions during the recording?

Thank you so much for taking the time for looking at all the fan's questions and I look forward to seeing the rest of season 1 and 2!

hallofjustice writes...

Me again Greg just a quick question,

If Lucas "Snapper" Carr appears in another DC cartoon, would you want to voice him again?

hallofjustice writes...

YJ feedback and things I would like to say about Barbara Gordon:

Greg, I would like to say I am very very happy that you've casted Jesse McCartney and Alyson Stoner as Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon and that they are now some of my favourite YJ characters. If Dick and Barbara weren't voiced by any "good talented" Disney stars, they would have been boring characters.

I don't know about you Greg. But since she's voiced by a "good talented" Disney star I really felt Barbara's personality is leaning towards "Christy Carlson Romano" territory after watching her appearance and attitude on your show. It's a good thing BTW. Oh and I would love to see more appearances of Barbara.

Greg Bishansky writes...

Thank you for your informative reply on my Betty Brant post. Now, and this is a question I've been pondering for a while, how did you go about your approach to Aunt May?

I love Stan Lee's run on Spidey, but this is one of the few cases where I have to admit that I greatly preferred other writers' takes on the character. Stan's Aunt May was constantly in and out of the hospital... and constantly, dimwitted. I preferred Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, J.M. DeMatteis, and J. Michael Straczynski's takes on the character.

I can forgive and understand her being overprotective. It's been mentioned later that she had lost a child, and Ben's death was just as traumatic for her as it was for Peter. But what always seemed unreasonable for me was how she thought Dr. Octopus was a good and nice man. She didn't realize that she was being held hostage, that he was a dangerous supervillain, or even that he had these giant metal arms attached to him. And then there was the story where she took him on as a border. I'm not even going to get into that weird story where she almost married him... but that wasn't Stan, that was Gerry Conway.

Your Aunt May, while being protective of Peter, wasn't overprotective to the point of absurdity. And one of my favorite Aunt May scenes was in "Group Therapy" where she stood up to the entire Sinister Six to prevent them from attacking Spidey. And Ock's almost gentlemanly approach insisting that she step aside was, I think, a nice nod to Ock liking her in the comics. I also loved that she never referred to Spidey as "that awful Spider-Man!"

So, what did you think was the core truth of Aunt May? How did you go about interpreting her in your show?

Greg Bishansky writes...

Terrors
And "Young Justice" returns in a big way with what has become a staple of Greg Weisman shows, the prison episode. Okay, I know a lot of shows utilize this, but Weisman really, really loves this trope. "Leader of the Pack" and "Turf." "J Is For Jewel." "Group Therapy" and "Opening Night." All good stuff. Great stuff

Batman sends Superboy and Miss Martian undercover as the Terror Twins inside Belle Reve Penitentiary to find out why all the ice villains from the pilot are there. Well, Icicle Jr and Mr. Freeze both demanded their lawyers transfer them there from, well, easier places to be incarcerated. As the episode ends, Superboy and Megan finally kiss (AND IT DIDN'T TAKE THEM THIRTEEN OR SIXTY-FIVE EPISODES!) as we discover the whole escape attempt was a ruse to have Amanda Waller removed as warden, and for the Light's own agent, Dr. Hugo Strange to take her place.

I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. I still don't know jack about DC Comics, but I enjoyed both Icicles. I kept on wondering who Icicle Sr was voiced by, it kept nagging at me... and, OF COURSE! James Remar! I could have sworn Icicle Jr was voiced by James Arnold Taylor, maybe because I was getting a Harry Osborn vibe from him at times... son trying, in vain, to please his sociopathic father. Guess Junior there doesn't take the Code of Icicle seriously. *ducks as tomatoes are thrown* I could not resist.

I do admit, I am curious as to why Superboy was chosen for this mission. He was well programmed, don't get me wrong. But he was also practically born yesterday and found in a Cadmus lab. That doesn't seem to be ideal to me. But looking through the rest of The Team's male line up, I can't think of anyone else that would fit.

Miss Martian was far less grating in this episode. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of the Miss Martian haters, but she is my least favorite member of The Team. But it was nice to have less of her 50's sitcom attitude here, and I admit that I enjoyed Superboy calling her on it in their therapy session with Dr. Strange. I'm not saying it's bad. In fact, I am sure there will be significant pay-off for it. I'm just saying it's not my favorite aspect of the show.

Now, if I may, I need to address some comments I have seen where people say they don't believe that these two characters can possibly be truly in love, and are dismissing it all as poorly thought out. I think they are missing the point. These are teenage hormones. The connection there is that they both think the other one is hot. It's like Romeo and Juliet. They are young, they dig each other, and they might think they're in love. But it is all hormones mixed with a not fully matured psyche. Right now this might be the most important thing in the world, just as Romeo and Juliet did, but Romeo and Juliet also died young. Had they lived long enough to mature, they might have seen their tryst and secret marriage as a mistake. Assuming Superboy and Miss Martian survive, I don't see them as a couple, let's say, five years down the line. It's a huge teenage crush, and those tend to be pretty consuming. But that's my analysis and it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong.

Finally, I loved the Riddler's cameo. All the crap he got, all the disrespect, and he was the one who managed to escape. Hope to see him again down the line, but knowing how Weisman loves to lay pipe and plant seeds, I am confident we will.

Great episode.

Jokerfish writes...

So I just finished watching Terrors and may I say; well done sir, well done. I loved all of it; from the awkwardly long kiss to Icicle Jr. (who I'm guessing doesn't have a lot of friends- because surely that habit of hitting on his friend's sister would have been knocked out of him by now if he did.)

So I'd like to ask you important, insightful questions but that's not my style so sit back for pointless tedium.

1. In the episode, after the news report of Martian Manhunter’s (I'm sure stunning) defeat of Headmaster, Freeze said that they now knew what all the leagues were doing except Red Tornado. What were the other members up to? Or is this a case where you knew story-wise they were all busy but you have better things to do then spend your day slaving over the particulars?

2. Was Superboy's disguise for this mission a dye job and a hair cut?

3. If the answer to 2 was yes, is being poor at disguises hereditary? Because that's a trait I'd slap onto Superman too.

Okay now for something a little more obscure...

I don't know why but I've fallen in love with prison guard Wilcox; to the point that I've given him a fictitious first name (Fitzwilliam) and a vague background (he grew up tough until he hit puberty, then… he grew up tougher) so...

4. Is Wilcox a dc character that's making a cameo in this episode or is he just a random character you created to fill a role? I tried to google this on my own but the only two Wilcoxs I would find was Laureen Wilcox and William Wilcox- Laureen is defiantly a woman and William has less of a back story than the one I've given Fitzwilliam Wilcox…

5. Who voiced Wilcox?