March 16, 2013 marks the last episode of Young Justice as part of the DC Nation Block on Cartoon Network. By its omission from CN’s 2013 schedule, which also saw Green Lantern the Animated Series seemingly not be returned for Season 2, we know that there will be no more new YJ episodes in 2013 on CN. No Young Justice Legacy or Invasion Season 3 on TV.
It was an amazing show and its passing with GLTAS and even with Star Wars the Clone Wars not returning for a Season 6, marks the death of Cartoon Network as an all-ages network. It is all kids shows all the time now. Teenagers and kids at heart need to not visit CN any longer. No longer can your CN experience be a family affair.
So it is with a mix of sadness and some surprise optimism that I present the Top 5 moments for Episode 46 of Young Justice which was the Invasion Season 2 Episode 20 finale called Endgame.
Beware, some SPOILERS may follow. You have been warned. ;)
5. Heroes And A Villain United To Save The Earth
In the Reach’s defeat last episode, they planned to destroy the Earth. The Reach have had a pact with the Green Lanterns’ Guardians of the Universe. If Earth survives the Guardians will know that the Reach breached the pact. They have placed twenty (20) Magnetic Field Disruptors (MFD) across the globe and it is up 40 heroes in pairs of two to disable them: one hero to distract and fight against each MFD’s defenses and the other to disarm it.
The heroes grudgingly must work with the villainous Lex Luthor who has created a virus of sorts that can be downloaded and used to disarm the MFDs by tapping them. The hero twosomes including Superboy and Miss Martian, Kid Flash and Artemis, Robin and Wonder Girl, Black Lightning and Static, Aqualad and Lagoon Boy, and others set off on their missions across the globe. They are all successful until a twenty-first (21) MFD is discovered leading to the Flash and Impulse racing to stop it from detonating. They are joined by Kid Flash and together they successful prevent it from destroying Earth.
The heroes win, Lex Luthor is hyped by G. Gordon Godfrey to replace the outgoing U.N. Chief, and the Green Lanterns cart off the Reach for their trial for breaching their pact.
4. Blue Beetle And Kid Flash Triumphant, But At A Deadly Cost
In this season we saw the debut of the Green Beetle from Mars and the Black Beetle of the Reach who tangled with Earth’s own Blue Beetle.
In Endgame, the villain Black Beetle destroys the green scarab effectively ending the Martian’s super-hero Green Beetle persona. However, as we know with the Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian, these aliens don’t need a scarab to be powerful.
In the episode we also Blue Beetle in turn destroy the black scarab effectively ending the Reach’s champion’s time as the powerful enforcer the Black Beetle.
Following DC’s offing of Robin, Batman’s son Damian Wayne, recently in the pages of Batman Incorporated #8, comes another heroic death; this time in the DC Nation Block. As I noted earlier, Wally West, Kid Flash, joins his much faster mentor Barry Allen the Flash and his time traveling grandson Bart Allen a.k.a. Impulse in overpowering the 21rst MFD. They run together counter to the energy field being generated and kicking up enough kinetic energy to negate it thus saving the Earth from destruction. However, in that effort, as the slowest of three speedsters, Wally gets struck by a barrage of MFD energy which causes him to lose cohesion and dissipate… disappear. In the comics this happened to Barry Allen during the Crisis of Infinite Earths in the 1980s and there was a way to bring him back years later. There is potential for Wally to return somewhen somewhere, but for now he is effectively considered deceased.
3. A New Status Quo For The Young Justice Team
A new Young Justice team emerges at the end. Aqualad remains in charge and Nightwing is replaced by Batgirl. Nightwing just can’t be on the team without Wally. One of the founders is gone.
Kid Flash’s girlfriend also takes his death hard. She discards her Artemis heroic nom de guerre as “Artemis” was Kid Flash’s partner. She dons her Tigress persona again, but stays blonde this time.
Impulse graduates to Kid Flash.
With Wally’s death, many Young Justice team members realize life is too short. Wonder Girl and Robin begin dating while Superboy and Miss Martian appear to be back on.
Looks like Aqualad is in charge of the team, Batgirl is his right hand with Superboy, Miss Martian and Beast Boy as Team Alpha; Tigress, Kid Flash, Bumblebee, and Guardian as Team Beta; Everyone else is Team Gamma (Lagoon Boy, Blue Beetle, Robin, Wonder Girl and Static).
2. Cosmic Justice At Work
The episode opens with the Justice League being found guilty for the heinous acts on the Planet Rimbor at the end of Young Justice Legacy Season 1. They were mind-controlled by Vandal Savage and the Light.
Superboy and Miss Martian, with the help of Adam Strange, get to the courtroom, but too late. They have the confession of the Reach and the Light in the plot that the Justice League was framed for.
The court is reluctant to reopen the case as the heroes don’t plan to bribe them. A quick thinking Superboy and Miss Martian try to convince the Court that by reaching a fair verdict they will actually appear fair. With that reputation more aliens across the galaxy will come to have the court hear their cases. More cases equals more opportunities for bribes.
Well, that appeal worked and the Justice League is acquitted and freed. They are planning to leave Rimbor when Vandal Savage’s image comes across the sky threatening the aliens of Rimbor to leave Earth alone. Vandal will back up his words with the powerful War World if needed.
1. It’s Not Over?
The ending of the episode reveals what veteran DC Comics readers assumed: that TV talking head G. Gordon Godfrey is the manipulative New God Glorious Godfrey from Apokolips. He stands with Desaad in the audience of the planet’s villainous overlord Darkseid.
Vandal Savage uses a Boom Tube to get to Apokolips. He pledges it is ”Business as Usual” for his partnership with Darkseid. A partnership viewers just learned about.
Hmmm. What’s next? Seems like there is more to come. While there will be no Young Justice Season 3 on Cartoon Network in 2013, could there be arc-based TV movies continuing the YJ story? If so that would be similar to the Star Wars Clone Wars approach. Or pPerhaps even online only Young Justice episodes continuing the tale? Any other options?
If you want more Young Justice, let DC Entertainment know HERE!
Also, information on an active Change.Org petition can be found here.
FANDOM UNITE!
Staying Connected
For my contact information, please see my profile below “related articles”.
Please follow me on twitter and kindly friend me at Facebook too.
BabosScribe is the handle. :)
