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Young Justice Season 1 Finale Ep 22-26
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We finally tackle the phenomenal finale episodes of Young Justice's debut season.
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Transcript
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Young Justice Season One Overview
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00:00:24
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Welcome back to the Animation Deliberation podcast, the podcast where we take action animation and cartoons seriously. On this episode, we cover the final arc of Young Justice season one, doing all of this in preparation for the soon to be announced Young Justice season four on HBO Max, covering all that and more after these ads.
00:00:48
Speaker
One, two, three, it's time for animation, deliberation, a conversation, and a celebration of our favorite action animated series. Yeah! Woo! All right.
00:01:03
Speaker
Welcome back, folks. We are here as stated at the top of
Excitement for Young Justice Coverage
00:01:06
Speaker
the episode. It is an exciting time here at the Animation Deliberation podcast because the whole reason we started this podcast, Young Justice season one, my friend here, I apologize for not announcing you sooner. I'm going to get in the head of myself. I'm so excited. I'm too excited to care.
00:01:23
Speaker
Yeah, the guy that suggested this show to me and the reason we're doing this podcast, Zuhair Ali. Good to have you, buddy. We are covering the final part of Young Justice season one and wow. Wow. What a season it has been. They really knocked it out of the park with these final few episodes. Just to kind of let the audience know, we actually just came off of a live watch of the final episode. So we are definitely riding high here. Zuhair, why don't you just kind of take the floor for a second and
00:01:53
Speaker
As you have done in the previous episodes, let us know why you saved this particular set of episodes as kind of the finale for us.
Final Arc Dissection: Plot and Characters
00:02:04
Speaker
So before I get into that, I just want to say that I was really excited to watch this episode with J. Scottie on Cena so that I could see his reactions to all the mind-blowing moments. But I loved this show so much that I was geeking out the same way. It's the first time I watched it. I was like, oh my god, this just happened. Ah! So much good stuff. This show does a phenomenal job.
00:02:33
Speaker
Not to be too presumptive here, but I would say kind of the quintessential moment in terms of like us watching it together and kind of like going back and forth throughout this season. There was that moment where Robin is with Superboy, and he's talking about the kryptonite. He's basically, it's like, it's overwhelming. And then I'm like, oh, there's a welcome joke coming. And then sure enough, he's like, all right, maybe well, I mean, it's like, perfect.
00:02:58
Speaker
Like, yep, they definitely said that enough to make it pay off in the last episode. But the reason that I selected these episodes to come into this arc, I kind of missed one with Miss Martian because I kind of forgot where that episode was heading when I put it in the last arc. But we know that there was an issue with Roy, Batman, Aqualad, and Robin suspecting that there was a mole within the team. Right.
00:03:25
Speaker
So the episodes 21 image 22 agendas and 23 insecurity all highlight Superboy Artemis and Miss Martian of having things that they're hiding from the team that could
00:03:40
Speaker
lead everyone to believe that they are the mole. And this is when Roy starts joining the team too because he suspects it and he really wants to make sure that the mole isn't causing issues just to find out that he is the mole.
00:04:00
Speaker
So I think these episodes together really hit a lot of their stories, a lot of where they came from, a lot of the background, including Robin. He was never suspected, but you get to see a lot of his background, too.
Storytelling and Continuity
00:04:16
Speaker
And they just did such a great job of... The thing I appreciate about the show that I've mentioned, but had to bite my tongue because I didn't want to mention, is that there was nothing in there that was put in by accident.
00:04:27
Speaker
It's what we appreciate about Marvel Cinematic Universe and it's what Young Justice did before MCU made it cool was that even the filler episodes throughout this whole season had something that really came into these last two episodes and it was just, it all came together, it was all huge, minds were blown. What did you think about this arc?
00:04:50
Speaker
Well, I mean, just to kind of dovetail off a couple of things you said there, like I couldn't have said it better myself in terms of like just the continuity building up and whatnot. Because like, yeah, even with like what with a 26 episode run, especially nowadays, like that's a tough thing to do and have every episode like hit.
00:05:07
Speaker
provide something you know important as far as the context goes so like I I mentioned a couple of times but even like a character like sports master I'm like okay I'm vaguely familiar with him in the comics like why are they focusing so heavily on this this kind of lame villain but to be fair they have made him they have made him pretty badass but then you like
00:05:32
Speaker
Uh, for instance, we'll, we'll take the character of Artemis. She was definitely one of the most suspected moles, especially in this episode insecurity, where, you know, Roy, Roy joined the team in, in full capacity and he just guns for her. And the whole episode really has you wondering going back and forth, like.
00:05:51
Speaker
We know Artemis, like we've seen her participate and be a part of this team, but they do such a good job of like planting those seeds of doubt
Artemis' Background and Complexity
00:05:59
Speaker
with you along the way. And then you get that reveal at the end of the episode, Sportsmaster is her dad. Like- Sportsmaster is her dad. And for those who like know, Huntrance is her mom who was a big time villain as well. Yeah. And there was a little hint to that when the first time she pulled out her crossbow as a backup, I think it was against harm.
00:06:21
Speaker
So when she pulled it out, I was like, oh yeah, Huntress is her mom, isn't it? And I've only seen her in Arrow and Birds of Prey. So three very different renditions of Huntress.
00:06:37
Speaker
Yeah, as far as I know with my limited comics knowledge, there are various versions of Huntress out there. And I'm fairly certain this is a different version than the one that was in, you know, the recent Birds of Prey or in the seasons of Arrow. Oh, for sure. Yeah, because I want to say her name was Helena. Helena something. And this one's obviously got, you know, I don't want to presume too much, but it seems like there's like Asian ancestry there.
00:07:02
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think I'm off but regardless villainly villain villainry villainry runs within that family Oh, yeah without a doubt. I I don't know if it was confirmed before but we did We did know actually it was confirmed in a previous episode that Cheshire was or Jade Was her sister as well. So yeah, you get the reveal that she's basically the only good apple I mean, I guess her mom's reformed
00:07:28
Speaker
But I thought they really handled her character well, especially in that second to last episode where you have the three suspected moles all come to a head on this island and she's like the first one to kind of step out and say.
00:07:44
Speaker
Uh, this is where I belong and that's, and that's exactly what a sports master said there at the end of that, that episode, the last time that we saw him. So I was, I was convinced for a second that Artemis betrayed us, that she was the mole and that Roy was right the entire time, which was kind of funny because I mentioned to you the way he was going. So gung ho after her in that episode made me suspicious of him, which ended up paying, paying off. It's just funny the way the season kind of like,
00:08:14
Speaker
takes you back and forth the entire time.
Superboy's Parentage and Identity Struggles
00:08:16
Speaker
It must have been funny for you to kind of have to sit back and hold that hand. Speculate, my friend. Speculate. But speaking of that, they kind of zagged when I expected them to zig and vice versa. I thought the final episode did a really great job of that as well. When we got that reveal of Roy actually being a sleeper agent clone in the
00:08:42
Speaker
final part of the previous episode and then the episode opens up with what I mentioned it as we were doing the live watch. I was like, how terrifying would it be to be hunted by a brainwashed Justice League? And then immediately the next team makes you think like, oh, no, he's the bad guy and the Justice League is chasing him. Come to find out. I was right the entire time. Yep.
00:09:05
Speaker
really really they really had you convinced for a second that they actually like figured it out and they turned it around because they went to the league so or the team so casually like oh yeah like it turns like he tried betraying us but we figured it out and he's just on the hunt attempting to recruit and then it's like oh no they're they're very bad right now
00:09:26
Speaker
Yeah, without a doubt. I feel like it's a good opportunity to maybe transition to some of the other suspected moles as well. So Superboy got some interesting character development here, especially concerning his parentage. We find out not only is he not full Kryptonian, there has been human DNA introduced into his creation.
00:09:50
Speaker
or at the time he was created, it was there. Lex Luthor, aka Agent 47 in this universe, just all he's missing is that barcode on the back of his head, is his father. This was a really good episode. Lex Luthor gives him those nicotine patch. Yeah. The shields. The shields, yeah, that basically inhibit his human side and let him go full Kryptonian.
00:10:20
Speaker
at a cost, he kind of has a bit of roid rage. But then that was also at the end of that episode, we got the first inclinations of what the lights control over their, you know, Cadmus projects was. Really great comic reference as well when he says Red Sun. And then the next thing, Superboy sitting there with a tie in his hand.
00:10:43
Speaker
Yeah, I actually watched or listened to Matthew Fox's review of that. I think it was on superhero ethics. Check that out if you haven't on Strandepanda. I had never read the book, but I think I was really bored at work and I just saw it one day and I was like, you know what? I'll just take some spoilers because it doesn't seem like I'm going to read any time. I'm not much of a reader. Yeah. So I heard that and I was like when I heard when I was rewatching this and they said Red Son is like, I understand what that means now. Yay.
00:11:14
Speaker
Yeah, that was gratifying for me. Certainly, certainly.
Team Dynamics and Mole Reveal
00:11:17
Speaker
That kind of goes back to something I've mentioned. The show has done such a good job of planning those references for the die-hard comics fans, or if you're someone that's not as versed in the DC lore,
00:11:31
Speaker
It does an excellent job of bringing up all these classic villains and you get to spend some real time with them and learn what they're all about. I can't remember exactly what episode it was, but we got the return of Ivo, who we hadn't seen since well on in season one. I think it was Superboy's episode with the monkeys and whatnot when he had to learn his lesson about not going off blindly on his own.
00:11:59
Speaker
the amazo amazo correct yes yes uh what was it i'm trying to think of what is uh what his thing he said before he activated their powers what was it access accessing yeah those monkeys are terrifying too i i
00:12:17
Speaker
I need to look it up. I suspect the guy that voices Clarion, the witch boy, who it's always fun to see him pop up. He had a good performance here as well. I suspect it's the same voice actor because they're able to do that childlike but very menacing cackle. Yeah.
00:12:36
Speaker
But to keep on Superboy sure I had one of the one of the big oh shit moments for me that I forgot about was When they got ambushed by Cheshire and Riddler Oh, and he put on his last patch and he was just beating the absolute daylights out of Mammy it's like the super speed punches and the screams and the
00:12:59
Speaker
flying around and laser version like oh my god this is like total beast they did such a good job at showing all that like it was literally a jaw-drawn moment and i think i'm watching this for like the seven time now and it just it gets me every time like oh my god that was savage
00:13:16
Speaker
That particular moment stuck out to me as well. I can't help but think that the animator took a lot of influence from Dragon Ball Z because the way he's like just super punching into his chest even like his face like contorts into that like angry way like I was like I'm getting like Vegeta vibes right now.
00:13:32
Speaker
I think Dragon Ball Z could have taken a few tips from this guy. Oh, very true, very true. No doubt, no doubt. You can fly? But then, yeah, so he's taking these patches and it's something he's kept secret from the rest of the group, not only his parentage and the fact that he went back to Cadmus and he's actually got his own version of Bizarro in match.
00:14:03
Speaker
Uh,
00:14:04
Speaker
The way they did it with all three suspected moles when they when they get there on the island and you think, oh, geez, they've they've really hit rock bottom. They've they've given into the blackmail. They've given into their demons and allowed themselves to be manipulated. He gives the great reveal where, you know, he's had a lot of growth. Not only is he able to come
Battling Brainwashed Justice League
00:14:25
Speaker
out in front of the team and say, hey, not only was I hiding this and this is who my father actually is, I've been taking these patches and whatnot. And I think they make me angry.
00:14:34
Speaker
or angrier and I thought that was just like very subtle but good for him to acknowledge that he has an anger issue.
00:14:43
Speaker
He's matured a lot for only being five months old. Yeah, we always got to keep that in mind. He is just a babe. And that was another great moment that we got in that episode. I guess the really only other B story we got there was that the Justice League were voting on inducting new members who we found out later on. They inducted ICON, Plastic Man, Adam. Who else? Roy.
00:15:12
Speaker
Roy, yeah, Red Arrow, of course. Yeah, because they were a big no on Guy Gardner. Yes, that was so great. I like how they handed Adam his ID card, but he was in tiny mode. So he's like, dumbass. Get bigger. Yeah, that was good. The only other thing that kind of stuck out to me is the way Plastic Man was holding his. At first, I thought he was taking a selfie. But I was like, oh, he's just holding it back. And he's so happy. What a goof.
00:15:43
Speaker
So from your perspective of watching it for the first time because clearly mine's a little bit tainted from seeing it so much when the scene happened that all three of the suspected moles were in front of the light and you see like oh shit Superman's in front of I mean you see Superman get the message from Luther so you know it's just kind of like hey I need more patches
00:16:06
Speaker
but then you see Artemis pop up and McGann come up just like terrified like oh my god queen bee you said that which one if any were you most convinced of like they might actually switch sides right now hmm
00:16:21
Speaker
Well, the way they played it and credit to, you know, the way the show played out, there were actually genuine moments where I thought it could have been any one of them. I guess my strongest suspicion was with Artemis just because everything that we learned about her family and like I said the last time we really spent significant amount of time with her was when she went home and
00:16:45
Speaker
we got to reveal that Taskmaster is her dad, and he basically said the same thing that she reiterates. This is where she belongs, not with the team. But you've been a bad girl. Yeah, yeah. But you know, she gets her comeuppance there. And with McGann as well, it's
00:17:10
Speaker
It kind of almost ties back into Superboy a little bit as well because like her big fear was the fact that she was a white Martian. Even in images we had, we discussed that when she showed her true self to her team, she was still lying. And then the fact that Superboy knew the entire time, I guess not the entire time, but back when they mind melded
00:17:32
Speaker
which I guess would have been the first time in the desert, in the Yala Desert. Okay.
Exploring Character Relationships
00:17:37
Speaker
Yeah. And then I guess, yeah, there were real moments there because McGann was the last one to kind of step out as well. And at that point it felt like she had the most to lose. Yeah. Like you said, I know you said your experience was a little bit tainted, but if you're able to like kind of think back on your first viewing, did you have, what were your thoughts about Artemis or was it, did it all hit you the same way it kind of hit me?
00:18:02
Speaker
Yeah, I kind of had like a back in my head feeling that like, I mean, but it was all blackmail, you know? I can't recall too much of what my initial thought was. I imagine it was something along the lines of like, wait, is Artemis a bad guy? But they turned it around quickly. Yeah, I'm glad they didn't. I'm glad they didn't let us hang with that.
00:18:25
Speaker
feeling of dread for too long because it was a genuine feeling of dread. I was like, oh no. Because Artemis has quickly become one of my favorite characters. I always tend to like those characters that can be a little prickly and unlikable on the surface, but you find out there's really more there. And especially her relationship with Kid Flash. Kid Flash was one in these particular set of episodes. He was a little bit more on the back burner, but you know.
00:18:51
Speaker
He's always great. I really liked that. While we're kind of talking about him, might as well mention he had that great moment with Robin, where Robin went back to the Hailey Circus and he's like, what are you doing there, bud? And he's like, I didn't want you to question my objectivism or my bias here. And he's like, that's what a best pal's for. Yeah. That was such a great moment. They didn't have to put that scene in that episode.
00:19:16
Speaker
but they did and that's what makes the whole season pay off so well. Our small character moments like that coupled with these amazingly well done action set pieces. People that are directing the live action movies, take notes from these. If you can translate like- Thank you! Yeah.
00:19:36
Speaker
That is what I wanted you to get out of watching the show. Thank you. Yeah, it's great to see a team function the way they're supposed to. Go ahead and talk a little bit more about it, please. Music to my ears. Right, so the first point you said regarding Artemis being that prickly character.
00:19:55
Speaker
for those who watch Naruto like I think of the like Sasuke Tachi relationship of older younger brother and She is not only under green arrow shadow, but under red arrows. So she's doing the things where she's like
00:20:11
Speaker
being obnoxious about but she has the talent, right, but her self doubt and her being obnoxious to like, prove that she can be just as good as the older sibling. And this case being red arrow is like, it's really prominent and strong and I do enjoy watching the journey of her like, developing that self confidence and knowing what she's capable of. And there's also a lot of established relationships in this, like you said with Wally and Robin, like, Wally's one of the few people who knows that Robin is Dick Grayson.
00:20:40
Speaker
Yes, yeah. Nobody else really knows that. And in the Hailey Circus episode, that's the first time in the season that you see Robin's eyes. Because he's always wearing his mask or his sunglasses. We saw him at Gotham Academy, but we don't, I guess we don't at that point in time, we don't know that he's Robin or you're not supposed to know for a fact, I guess. Oh, yeah, I guess so. No, I didn't mean to steal your thunder. So I guess as Robin, I guess it's the first time he showed his eyes.
00:21:05
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So you see a lot of established relationships between that and also when Aqualad approaches red arrow in his in his armory when he's on the run because he was like, he's like, I'm talking to the to my best friend who's pointing an arrow at me. So it's like, they don't have
00:21:27
Speaker
They probably don't see as much of each other as Wally and Robin supposedly do but like he has that level of respect for Roy that he actually like acknowledges him as one of his best friends if not his best friend like he has a relationship he has a weight and you see that level of communication between them and it seemed like colleagues that this is the most of like how much they care for each other on an emotional level that they have that level of level of trust
00:21:57
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, no doubt. I guess...
00:22:01
Speaker
Aquilad Calderon, he
Red Tornado's Sacrifices and Role
00:22:04
Speaker
was a character that as well was a little bit more on the back burner for this particular set of episodes. But he was instrumental in seeding the mole plot to begin with. And I agree. Roy, first of all, where that character kind of winds up totally questioning, I am not Roy. But we find out the real Roy is out there.
00:22:29
Speaker
But yeah, for Aqualad to acknowledge the fact that he's his best friend on the surface world and they really haven't even spent that much time together, that just kind of speaks to the fact that Aqualad is such a... We already know how stoic he is, but his relationships are based on respect. He's constantly reporting to Batman.
00:22:50
Speaker
getting feedback and he's always you know respectful and Yearning to to learn even in defeat. So the fact that yeah, he has respect for Roy and vice versa Yeah, I mean we didn't get too much from him for this particular set of episodes It was nice to to get that, you know
00:23:10
Speaker
that good character interaction, much like Kid Flash had with Robin, like you mentioned. And on that point, the fact that he knocks out Aquaman and instantly says, I'm sorry, my king. Yes, yes, that was a great one line or two. Great little non sequitur there for you.
00:23:27
Speaker
as I kind of pulled myself into this but like it needs to be talked about sure everyone fighting their possessed mentors was so so cool like I know with kid flash Artemis rocket
00:23:45
Speaker
Aqualad and I'm sure I'm missing one. It was like pretty quick. It was definitely like they had the element of surprise. Right. But Robin and Superboy versus Superman and Batman was amazing. And I like how when when the when the six members like came back from space to like help out, like everybody comes out of one and then there's like a close up of Batman and I was like, yeah, Batman probably is the most terrifying out of all right now.
00:24:16
Speaker
But man, that one-on-one on both of them and when they actually had to team up to take down their mentors, so, so good. So well done. So we've seen Robin and Batman go one-on-one twice this season. The first time was basketball, but this time was the real one-on-one.
00:24:33
Speaker
But yeah, it was it was definitely cool to see you know the not to take anything away from from Wonder Woman because she is definitely You know a part of the the Trinity that is DC but she at this point in the show I don't know what the future holds, but she does not have a Young counterpart on the team protege exactly. Yeah, so it was it was yeah really great moment to see
00:24:58
Speaker
just in terms of it being epic as well because as much as Robin trying to think of the right way to say this as much as Robin respects and is kind of like the perfect protege of Batman
00:25:15
Speaker
The whole season they've done these things like Wonder Woman had that great exchange about Shazam and Robin. It was like, I'm not surprised that you knew Shazam was 10 years old and you're letting him on the league when you inducted Robin at nine years old. And Batman was like, he had to face the people that killed his family. He was like, oh yeah, so it could be just like you. No, so he wouldn't be like me. And we'd already got with Robin before, you know, he doesn't want to be Batman. So.
00:25:40
Speaker
Well, one thing I want to point out, because I meant to say it before and I forgot, but the fact that Robin was the only one that knew Artemis as lineage and kept it to himself because he didn't want the team to think of her any differently. He just, there was that moment of being Batman and knowing everything about everyone. I think Superman was the, oh, Superboy was only surprised to everyone. Yeah. But there was also the, there was the humanity of Dick Grayson of like, I'm still going to trust you despite knowing this. And this is for me to know in case I need it against you.
00:26:10
Speaker
Very true but yeah the way that they had to go toe-to-toe with each other and Seeing the development first off neither of them hesitate. It's like this is my mission right now These are it's not like Batman. It's me. Listen or Superman. Don't you know? It's me like Superboy was probably like enjoying like letting out some pent-up rage against Superman. I'm not like I'm sure you didn't worry him But Robin was just kind of like he made the first move
00:26:41
Speaker
He dove in for us. He was like, all right, here we go. As he always does. But going back to just talking about, I just want to imagine this particular scene translated live action when they realize that they can't take them on alone. Superboy hurls Robin into Batman, and he just lays him out with this drop kick. Oh my goodness. It was already just to see it in animated form. And again, kudos to the animators for the smooth and slick animation, and everything has such impact.
00:27:09
Speaker
Oh my God. When that happened, like imagine that translated to live action. Like, Oh man. You think Indian has some jaw dropping moments. Yeah. Right. And then whipping out the kryptonite. Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. I wonder if it bothered super boy less because of his human part. Hmm. Because he got up. I mean, I'm sure he was down because of the, the, um, the cure.
00:27:39
Speaker
You have to imagine, yeah, as inhibiting as the human side to him can be, it has to be a benefit in that regard. My suspicion would be that he can't be outright killed by Kryptonite unless his human DNA was already being suppressed. Maybe.
00:28:01
Speaker
winging it here in terms of providing the headcanon. Let's move on to some of the other characters.
Team Strategy and Mentor Defeat
00:28:10
Speaker
Red Tornado is another one that has had a very interesting journey along the way.
00:28:19
Speaker
You look like you're going to say something, so go for it. Before we get into Red Tornado, because we talked about Ms. Martian so much, I just want to wrap up Ms. Martian's big point of when she was fighting. When she was fighting Jean, Martian Manhunter.
00:28:35
Speaker
first off it was cool that they acknowledged that like hey my mental powers are stronger than yours and made him feel like he was in a pit of fire to the point that it like affected him physically yeah but the whole like her trying to sneak up on him and like arms just coming out of his back and his face just shifting in the back of his head i was like what the hell this is so weird
00:28:56
Speaker
Yeah, no, that was definitely one of those moments for me, too. I could not help, but it reminded me a lot of that, again, that Amazo episode when she was on the rooftop with the monkeys and everything like that, and Kid Flash at that point still had the big crush on her, and she turns around with all the arms, and he's like, eh.
00:29:14
Speaker
They both just screamed at each other. But you know, you're right. I'm so glad that you brought that up. We should focus on the more focal characters before we spin off to Red Tornado and whatnot. But it really is fitting that, you know, all these other baddicals, baddicals, sabbatical for baddicals, all these other baddles,
00:29:32
Speaker
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Speaker
You're invited to explore cypress swamps and magical gardens and float along the rushing waters of an old-fashioned swimming hole. Plan your journey at visitmississippi.org slash outdoor adventure. Mississippi. Wanderers welcome. We're very physical and, you know, had a lot of weight to them. It's very fitting that theirs was a battle in the mind. Yeah. Again, they do a good job of like things that are established as far as power sets and limitations and whatnot.
00:30:26
Speaker
It was slowly seeded to us throughout the season that fire was a major problem in terms of like suppressing her powers and whatnot. So we really got a great moment too. And Roy shot off that flaming arrow and you know, Martian Manhunter allows it to phase through him, but he still gets a little bit of that fire. I was like, ooh, that's good, that's good.
00:30:45
Speaker
And then Black Canary Scream, and Witch Boy just puts the headphones on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Again, he's hilarious. It was really nice to see Diana's powers in full capacity, even though it was a little terrifying to see them used against the Salat.
00:31:05
Speaker
but yeah I mean you got to see her hand-to-hand combat with Robin too but because he was so familiar with it he actually like planted the smokescreen in a rocket got to knock her out but to go back to red tornado yeah he got to see the scream pretty
00:31:22
Speaker
Yeah, that was definitely one of those kind of like chilling moments because he's like transferred his consciousness into this Android human body going by John Smith, I believe. So the whole team is in the what is the new Genesis wheel? Yeah, they're basically all riding there and she screams and like what starts is it like
00:31:43
Speaker
It obviously hits him and physically affects him but then like you slowly start seeing parts of him chip away I'm like, oh god and the entire first half just gets torn off to a bike So yeah the rest of the episode he's just got this one eye that's like completely exposed
00:32:01
Speaker
that's fitting for poor guys finally human in his like his alter ego for the first time and it gets ripped in half and then like when he's on the watchtower like he gets grabbed from behind and the other league members just rip his limbs off like he got it rough he got it rough but he did he did get one of the like most laugh outline moments for me
00:32:24
Speaker
in the entire season. It was one of the final moments in the entire show. Ending on New Year's Eve, it's kind of funny how everything kind of shook out to take place within the span of six months. It started on July 4th, a holiday, and finishes on New Year's Eve. But anyway, we've got all our characters. Part of it being an adolescent young show, the hormones have definitely been an element of it. We talked about Kid Flash crushing on McGann initially, and then she forms her relationship with Superboy.
00:32:54
Speaker
All these people couple up and he's just lying on the ground without any limbs. He's like, what does he say? Human customs still escape me. Still allude me. Allude me. Yeah. That was great. You see, Megan and Superboy kiss. I squealed when Zetana and Robin, well, she grabbed him. She was just like, come here, big guy.
00:33:16
Speaker
And then Rocket just kind of gives a gentle kiss on the cheek to Calderon. But she kind of eluded at the beginning of the episode, too. She was like, ooh, there's benefits to this. Yeah, she kind of looked at him like a piece of meat, which- Everyone's got their eye candy right off the bat. Oh, yeah, without a doubt. It's nice for Calder to get a little love. And I like the fact that she's the newest member. She doesn't go into full-on make-out mood. She just gives him an appropriate and respectful peck. Yeah, it's very-
00:33:47
Speaker
in keeping with the character of Aqualad too. I can only imagine what his reaction would have been if she had pulled his Zatanna on him. She's like, I'll help you get over to it. No worries. But yeah, I don't think the team would have survived if it wasn't for Red
Zatanna's Emotional Journey
00:34:04
Speaker
Tornado. He was a key factor in their victory. Yeah. How so? What specifically?
00:34:12
Speaker
So when they tried to infect him with the virus, he said that he had nanoseconds right before it kicked in to have like this he programmed the sub objective that if he tries to infect anybody else and his whole body would shut down. And it was at that point when Batman had the team convinced
00:34:36
Speaker
that they were good and Roy was the mole and he's on the run that red tornado tried to infect Calderon and you see him just power down and that's when they were like this is the virus that we tracked down this can't be good yeah and Zatanna comes up with the idea of like hey let's put him in his Android and see if his consciousness come back because Robin discovers that it wasn't a software issue right so they transfer the conscience over and that's when
00:35:05
Speaker
canary has a great line walking and what are you doing it's not what it looks like it looks like you're transferring him to another body all right is and then he gives the warning like league is bad like run kids
00:35:18
Speaker
And yeah, if it wasn't for him, like they would have been screwed. Yeah, yeah. I'm glad I have you here. Denmark to the rescue. Yeah. I'm glad I have you here to kind of like help me recap those things because I'm like just coming off of like such a rush. Like my mind is still focused on the last few things I saw, but yeah, that's definitely critical.
00:35:40
Speaker
It's appropriate for the kind of role red tornado has played all along the way. He did have his little brief stint with his siblings where his loyalty was questioned, but we found out he really had the best intentions in mind there. Like we said, he has definitely faced a beating physically.
00:36:01
Speaker
His privacy has not been very well respected, but you're right. There would not have been a final battle without him, so this is my thank you to Red Tornado. Thanks for being you, buddy. We appreciate you, Red.
00:36:16
Speaker
And the team you get you really get to see a lot of the team's Capability over the season two because yeah, the league was Under the influence of which boys so they weren't at a hundred percent and
00:36:32
Speaker
But their ability to communicate and come up with plans right away and work as a team to sneak up on every member and know how to bring them down quick enough to give them the cure was really impressive to watch. It's like, wow, they've come a long way in six months, especially after like fighting with each other so much, too.
00:36:57
Speaker
Yeah, certainly from that first episode where we saw just Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin rushing in to save Superboy, at the very end of that episode we started to get the seeds that this team could really work together, but the fact that they were able to beat
00:37:15
Speaker
the people that trained and taught them really shows how far they've come as a team. So that's an excellent point. And then I'd be remiss if I didn't mention with these great comic book references we've gotten all along the way, the very thing that provides the avenue for them to fight the ultimate villains in an evil justice league.
00:37:36
Speaker
is that technology, which is a great allusion to Starro, who was the original Justice League villain. If you go back to the original comics, the first time that the Justice League had to unite to fight a villain was because of Starro. And Starro has little spawns that attach onto people's faces, and then he can control them. So really, really great job of adapting it for a modern audience. I was really impressed with the way that they worked.
00:38:05
Speaker
Starrow into the into the fabric. Did you pick up on that at all? I actually didn't know that so something that's fascinating. I provide little things here and there where I can What character should we we tackle next I think you've done a good job leading the conversation in that regard have we hit the main
00:38:25
Speaker
Crew is anybody we're leaving out Zatanna. I know is a favorite of yours. I don't think we've done her justice No, that's exactly what I was gonna say is that we should probably hit a vandal savage in the light But on Zatanna's point I do want to say like I text to do this But I love her sass when she's giving her spells, especially against the Riddler Like she doesn't she hasn't had much screen time in comparison But like there's never a wasted moment or like everything is just gold
00:38:54
Speaker
um you see it was during the that was the person we missed in the justice league induction when we forgot dr fate dr fate is officially part of the justice league and as soon as they announce his name you seize it and just like go into depression and obviously like robin comes into consular so the fact that she drags him in for the kiss is really no surprise
00:39:18
Speaker
But then when they that was another one of the moments of the student taking down their master is that they they managed to sneak up on Dr. Fate too. Yeah. And that's when rocket says like, we could use his powers. And she was like, are you guys go ahead, I'll come to the next one. She's you see her just like desperately trying to take the helmet off to try to get back her dad, which is always an ongoing theme, like,
00:39:42
Speaker
That I hate to talk about the other seasons too much But it's a it's a constant thing of her trying to like get back to her dad as much as she can and man it's just always so heartbreaking to see and I think it was it was Billy Billy Batson that was kind of watching at the same time to it just kind of like like dude I'm so sorry type of thing because he was there when all of that happened right right and he's the one that actually speaks up when you know I
00:40:06
Speaker
in a few episodes prior when the Justice League is having their deliberation, animation deliberation. They're having their deliberation about the potential new members of the Justice League, and that's when he's like, hey, why are we even listening to Dr. Fate? He basically took Zatanna captive.
00:40:25
Speaker
And that's that's when we kind of get the acknowledgement that Zatanna still isn't is in there because he says he wants, you know, fate to be on the Justice League and to have eyes on what's going on. But then when they even suggest Zatanna as a potential member. Well, actually, I should say before that they do mention Kid Flash and Aqualad and they say, you know, he's been inside both of their minds. They're worthy, they're ready. And then what about Zatanna?
00:40:51
Speaker
Absolutely not. It sounds like there's a little bit of Zatanna still in there. So Zatar-Ra is the dad. I keep doing that. You said Zatanna for both of them, but I kind of kept up. Zatar-Ra is the one under the helmet. Zatanna is the amazing witch, sorceress? I don't know. Badass. Magical badass. Magician, I believe.
00:41:19
Speaker
I'll go with that. That works. Badass is still applicable. Forget it. Definitely says magician. Yeah, that's all I have on Zatanna. So unless you want to ask something, we can move over to Vandal Savage and the light. No, I think, you know, in covering the character of Robin, that was. Yeah, even without bringing up Robin, she really didn't have a ton of screen time. But like you said, the screen time that she did have was maximized. She had that great moment with the kiss with Robin.
00:41:50
Speaker
And as far as still showing, you know, the pain and anguish he's experiencing with the loss of Zatara. So yeah, I think that pretty much covers it for good old Zatanna. So we can move on to our overarching villains for the season.
Vandal Savage and The Light's Motives
00:42:08
Speaker
Vandal Savage and the Light. Which Vandal Savage, we really didn't see much of. We saw him in the Kit Flash episode when he was running across the country.
00:42:18
Speaker
right he provided it was a 12 minutes that really threw him off right and then you kind of saw him in the end of the injustice league episode which they confirmed was a distraction when you see the all the light members come out but it's like there was no
00:42:35
Speaker
indication of him having any intent or like what his purpose was, because you see Lex Luthor doing his thing, you see Ra's al Ghul popping up from time to time. Right. But the lights mission was really quiet. And I feel like as viewers, we got really distracted too, because we were so focused on the mall stuff, that we weren't paying attention to all these little things that all came together. But when they gave the breakdown of how everything came together, it was like, everything was relevant.
00:43:04
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah. And like I said, when we were watching, like, I feel like there's a lot of things in season one alone of Young Justice that did end game things before it was cool. And lo and behold, he got tired of humans not being able to evolve in the weaker dying off. And that was his mission was that he needed to stop the Justice League from helping natural order because this man's 50,000 years old.
00:43:28
Speaker
Right. Yeah. His whole argument was survival of the fittest is the natural course of things. And with the Justice League being an anomaly to the natural order of things, they're able to save these weak and pretty helpless humans by eliminating them that will allow humans to
00:43:50
Speaker
Evolved to the next level so I don't I don't know what basis on that he really has other than you know his thousands of years of life Did what I mean do you have any more insight I mean without spoiling subsequent seasons or anything like that just kind of
00:44:10
Speaker
I'm just gonna say if it wasn't for these humans, then pandas would probably have gone extinct by now and this embarrassment wouldn't exist. So screw you Vandal Savage, we wouldn't be pandas if it wasn't for humans. Yeah. I love stranded pandas so much.
00:44:28
Speaker
Yeah, it was his his intent was interesting like you see that one of the things I really appreciate was that he even makes the point where it's like There's bio weaponry. There's technology weaponry and then magic was thrown in techno magic. He says specifically, right?
00:44:44
Speaker
So he he found like minded people within this day and age and was very open to the fact that there are many different aspects and you see those different aspects within the team within the villains within the other people around.
00:45:03
Speaker
and able to incorporate all these things together to hit his objective because the virus essentially hit all of the human members, it hit all the alien members, it hit all the tech members like Red Tornado. It was really well thought out and this little like Illuminati of the smartest villains in this universe coming together was pretty ingenious.
00:45:30
Speaker
Who knows, except for all the people who have watched this show over the last 2012, it's 2021 now, eight years, eight, nine years. Who knows what the future holds with this organization? Because Lord knows they're not done with it yet. And on the, I guess if they're the light and the darker end of it, the Josephs again would be the darker end.
00:45:59
Speaker
I'm overthinking this. But on the on the opposite end of the spectrum, like you get to see how much that same logic went into the team's ability to come up with the cure. Sure. They mentioned that Star Labs and Queen Mira and other people like work together to find the cure for this virus to get the Justice League back to safety.
00:46:24
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. It does kind of speak to what you said. The entire time I was questioning what exactly is the light's motivation. And, you know, with a name like The Light, the best villains are always the ones that believe they're right and, you know, see a worthy cause before them. So I guess
00:46:46
Speaker
Not to detract from it or anything like that. I'm just like now that I'm kind of like having the weight of everything that happened to kind of wash over me. I'm just kind of like trying to process like what exactly was the, the end goal there. But it seems like it was just, you know, subjugation through control at the end of the day. You're well now. No, no, I'm not saying that at all. I'm just, I'm just literally like processing it through my mind. That's why I'm going to have a difficult time. But yeah, I guess it was a subjugation through control, I guess. Yeah.
00:47:16
Speaker
That's his idea of survival of the fittest. He is the fittest, therefore, he and the light should be the ones that dictate the terms of survival.
Speculations on Future Developments
00:47:27
Speaker
Well, he survived for 50,000 years, so you're doing something right. All right, Vandal. I like to say he's pretty fit. All right, Vandal. You got a few scars, but other than that, you're looking pretty good. We'll give it to you. Man, this is only phase one of his plan.
00:47:40
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah, that was the big thing. You're right. Yeah when he said phase two, I was like what? This has all been phase one 26 episodes of phase one. Yeah, and then I just gotta say Guardian is terrible at his job. I mean
00:48:07
Speaker
How many things did he let? I'm gonna let you speculate. At this point, we know that he is, what is he, Roy Harper's uncle? Is that correct? Uncle, okay, in quotation marks. But they definitely have a physical resemblance there. I'm trying to remember what all went down in that final scene, but we basically got confirmation that he knew that the real Roy Harper was down there in a tube and missing his arm.
00:48:35
Speaker
Uh, yeah, not only does he, well, I guess he doesn't actually suck at his job. He's pretty good at his job because he's been doing a great job of making everybody else think that he sucks at his job, but is able to keep that job for some reason. So he's good at his sub job failing upwards.
00:48:51
Speaker
That's going in for you. Or failing and staying at the same place. I'm just kind of glancing over any final thoughts I had. Oh, okay. This is one for you. We did have a brief interaction with Riddler.
00:49:11
Speaker
Did Riddler have the lisp before or was that a result of him getting punched by somebody? I was wondering is that something that kind of paid off? Because I don't remember him having the gap in the teeth when we saw him in Bell Reeve the first time, but I could just be misremembering. I noticed that he had a gap in his teeth this episode. I didn't think much past it. Okay. Now I'm curious if you had one before or not.
00:49:35
Speaker
I kind of want to go back and rewatch because I think the one other time that he actually got his tooth knocked out. Maybe he might have because I was like, man, this list is very prominent and I never noticed it before. Another joke that landed really well for me was when we find out
00:49:57
Speaker
It's the circus episode when we find out that Parasite was the villain all along. And basically when he drains people's powers, they're susceptible to this weakening, which they think is a flu initially. And I can't remember who... Oh, no, it's McGann. She says, who knew that Martians were susceptible to human diseases? And Rockin's just like, H.G. Wells. I love the world's reference.
00:50:22
Speaker
I didn't get the reference, but the way he delivered it, I was like, J. Scott is going to appreciate this and bring it up. So I'm not even going to bother looking it up right now. I'm just going to let him explain it to me. So for those of us who did not catch on to it. Yeah, I'm sure that you're not the only one out there, but War of the Worlds was HG Wells epic. It was a book as well as a radio play, and it was adapted into the Tom Cruise vehicle that came out in 2005, I want to say.
00:50:51
Speaker
But basically, the world gets invaded by Martians, and the one thing that ends up being their undoing is a simple human bacteria. Once they expose themselves to air, it's basically a sneeze that takes them out. That's awesome. Yeah, definitely a nice illusion there. Just like all our other favorite franchises, it does a great job of
00:51:15
Speaker
paying homage to the lore that exists within the DC Pantheon, as well as making some great pop culture references, which I always appreciate. For sure. Yeah. Well, that's all I've got as far as my notes go. I mean, yeah, it's, again, having taken all this in, I'm still just on cloud nine and super looking forward to season two. Season one was so well done, the way everything paid off,
00:51:45
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for recommending the show. If there's anybody out there that's listening and for some reason you're listening and you haven't watched, I would highly recommend it. It's one of the best animated shows and one of the best comic book related shows just in this first season. I can certainly attest to that. If we haven't done justice, again, no pun intended to it on this podcast, check it out for yourself regardless. And then come back and listen again.
00:52:16
Speaker
Do you have anything else you want to say about the season or the show as a whole? Two things. Sure. What you got? So I looked up Vandal Savage because I was trying to figure out his age. So he said 50,000 years plus 44 years biologically. Wow. Do you want to know his former aliases?
00:52:36
Speaker
Yeah, lay it on me, what you got? Marduk, Sun Tzu, Attila the Hun, Jangus Khan, and Blackbeard the Pirate. Interesting. In this universe of the Young Justice. Was that, I guess that must be provided in subsequent material, maybe like comics or something like that?
00:53:05
Speaker
Well, I'm still on the Young Justice fandom page. Oh, okay. The Young Justice Wiki. Okay.
Final Thoughts and DC Recommendations
00:53:11
Speaker
So I guess there was some point where he mentioned that, but I thought that because he's been alive so long, he's actually been different people was kind of interesting. No, no, it totally makes sense when you're around that long, you got to adapt some different monikers. Otherwise, you know, that empire can only last so long.
00:53:28
Speaker
Um, so the last point for a wrap up is six members of the justice league were missing for 16 hours. Ooh. Yes. Yes. Yes. I think it was Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, John Stewart's green lantern, and then Hawkman and Hawk woman or Hawk girl. I can't remember Hawkman, but I know Hawk woman for sure was part of it, but yeah. Okay. What are your speculations?
00:53:56
Speaker
Well, we just kind of spoke to the fact that Vandal Savage has a phase two, um, in terms of what that could be 16 hours, what could be done by six different people in 16 hours and given who these different members were. Hmm. Okay. Just pie in the sky.
00:54:20
Speaker
theory here, I think we're going to see something not unlike that. There's a classic run from the comics. So forgive me, I can't name it off the top of my head, but basically all the members of the league end up getting defeated. And it's because Batman, Batman knew, knew all their, their hidden weaknesses and
00:54:40
Speaker
He used that to his advantage. So my guess would be he has dispatched these various sleeper agents that have influence in various areas. Green Lantern obviously is the police for an entire section of the galaxy. Batman has a lot more capability right there on Earth.
00:55:05
Speaker
And then with the Hawk people, I would say they're out there in Thanagard. So I guess here I would imagine that he's trying to cripple defenses on a universal scale. Just my guess. This time he was trying to take out the Justice League. Where do you go from the Justice League? The universe. That's all I got.
00:55:29
Speaker
That being said if you guys haven't watched the one-shot movie Justice League doom check it out cuz it's pretty awesome Justice League doom. Okay. Well, have you seen that one? No, I haven't I think I've seen it's the story of it's a movie of Batman using everyone's weaknesses against them Oh perfect. Oh, okay. That's a really good movie. Okay. Excellent. Excellent
00:55:51
Speaker
Now, yeah, I think you have done a better job in terms of catching all the stuff in the DC animated universe as opposed to me, so I will definitely defer. There was one point where everything was just on Netflix and I just kind of watched everything one after the other. Oh, okay, yeah. I know I caught Flashpoint Paradox when that was on there and I really enjoyed that one. Oh, that's my second favorite one.
00:56:11
Speaker
Okay, if you like Flashpoint Paradox that much and you're recommending Doom, I'll definitely have to go back and check that out now. I mean, I've got so much stuff to watch, but based on your recommendation of Young Justice, you are doing well so far, so... Oh yeah, J. Scottie, I'll gladly tell you what number one on that list is. Yeah, what is it? I assumed it was Doom.
00:56:36
Speaker
No, Doom's pretty high up there. No, Flashpoint Paradox is number two. Doom is really good. I just thought, given the flow of the conversation, that's why I didn't ask, but go ahead. No, Under the Red Hood. Oh, right on. Cool. Cool. That was so good. Have you played Arkham Knight?
00:56:54
Speaker
That's the only Arkham game I've played. Oh, interesting. Interesting. It's a great game, but not my favorite of the series. I actually... Not to be too negative here. It's my least favorite of the trilogy, but yeah. Great set of games, and it's still very much up there in terms of presenting the Batman lore.
00:57:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's the best of both worlds. It's like the Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, plus the animated stuff all mashed into one. So if you're a gamer at all, I do encourage you to go back and revisit those other games. So by saying trilogy, you're part of the party that doesn't acknowledge Origins? Well, I played Origins and I like Origins. And Origins is a great game, especially if you're a completionist. But the fact that it was developed by a different studio, you have to
00:57:39
Speaker
You have to know what's what. Sorry, I just had to throw that out there. I liked Origins well enough. All right, so you got Under the Red Hood and then Flashpoint Paradox, and then what's after that?
00:57:54
Speaker
It's no particular order. Doom is really good and worth watching. But the DC animated universe, which starts with Flashpoint Paradox, goes into Justice League War, which is the first time the League meets up. And it's like 19 movies, just like how MCU has theirs. Each movie is actually connected throughout 19 chapters. And it ends with Justice League Dark Apocalypse.
00:58:20
Speaker
man that whole story as soon as i finished out when i was like i need to start all these from the beginning again because they were so good well sounds like uh we've got no lack of content coming up here as far as the the stuff we're going to cover but uh nope it's uh with those being like you know
00:58:38
Speaker
One, you sit down and watch one thing from the beginning to the end, I don't see why at some point in time we couldn't go back and take that journey. It's one that I would love to take, so. Yeah, I'm down. Cool, cool. I can break that up into arcs too. All right, all right. Well, it's not all on you, but yeah.
00:58:57
Speaker
You've done a great job curating episodes and arcs so far, so if you want to do that thing, I trust you. You do the editing, I have to contribute somehow. Aside from the sound of my voice. It's not a bad sound, so.
00:59:12
Speaker
Alright, well that's going to do it for Animation Deliberations coverage of Young Justice Season 1. So depending on when you're listening to this, hopefully we've gotten the announcement for Young Justice Season 4, but if not, this will be a nice little
00:59:29
Speaker
build up to that eventual announcement. Again, thank you to Zuhair Ali for suggesting this series and kind of taking me along for this ride. It's been really enjoyable and I hope you folks out there listening have enjoyed.
00:59:44
Speaker
I'll just go ahead and plug a couple of stuffs and then I'll leave it to Zuhair. If you want to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, you can find me everywhere at jscottyforreal. And please follow everything Stranded Panda. Go to strandedpanda.com where you can join the Stranded Panda Army, find the Facebook Stranded Panda chat, and all the great podcasts we're doing there, Animation Deliberation, the MCU podcast, Bingers Assemble, Star Trek Universe podcast,
01:00:14
Speaker
Check out the great things we're doing there. Zuhair, I leave it in your whelmed hands. I will just say, red sun. Stay whelmed.
01:00:41
Speaker
Thanks guys. Later.
01:00:50
Speaker
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