We’re into Week 2 of DC Nation’s Young Justice Invasion on Cartoon Network. This week we have Season 2’s Episode 11 titled Cornered. Check out the Top 3 developments from the episode below.
There be spoilers below. You have been warned. ;)
Despero & L-Ron Make TV Debut
The episode focuses heavily on the alien Despero coming to Earth to test his gladiatorial skills against the Justice League. As you may recall, the bulk of the League is off in outer space answering for their actions at the end of last season when they were under the control of Vandal Savage conducting 16 hours of terror.
Despero and his robot assistant L-Ron, that long-time DC Comics will recognize from his Justice League International and “Super Buddies” days, tangle with Captain Marvel, Superboy and others. Despero easily handles his opposition. The super-powerless Mal Duncan dons the costume of The Guardian and tries to distract Despero while the League can figure out how to subdue their alien foes. Which, naturally, they do by the end of the episode.
African-American Static Lightning
Last year, we saw that young men appearing in the form of the 1970’s TV ethnic Super Friends debuted. Online discussions mused about whether the Super Friends would be like their 1970’s incarnations. The focus of the chatter was the African-American youth with lightning powers. Would this be Black Vulcan from the 1970’s Super Friends? Or since we’ve seen Milestone’s Icon and Rocket, would this be Static of Static Shock TV and comic book infamy? Or would this be Black Lightning?
Well, that young man is Virgil Hawkins a.k.a Static (see below left). However, we do get to see Black Lightning later in the episode (see below right) with Captain Atom trying to break Despero’s force field around the Justice League’s headquarters. So only Black Vulcan is out in the cold.
The Reach Plans Unfold
Looks like the villains of this season The Reach, the aliens behind Blue Beetle’s scarab, are stealthily looking to conquer Earth. Phase 1 is make positive overtures to the United Nations and Phase 2 is to sound benevolent, seem helpful, but also stealthily discredit the Justice League.
In this episode, The Reach ambassador outs the Justice League being on trial elsewhere in the universe to the U.N. ambassador. This causes Captain Atom, the seeming leader of the Big 7-less League, to verbally stumble in front of the U.N. rep who is asking for answers on what he sees as serious charges. Later in the episode, after all Justice League members inside and outside of Despero’s force field were fruitless in downing the field, The Reach ambassador easily uses a scarab to bring it down. He also laments at the destruction of the Justice League HQ at the hands of Despero, but remarks that the League still has its Watchtower that orbits the Earth. This leads to the U.N. Ambassador upset again not knowing of the Watchtower. G. Gordon Godrey, the TV host on anti-League crusade, uses these reveals to further his claims that the League are not honest and good for humanity.
In a Reach related development, the episode ends with Jaime Reyes 
wanting to lose the Scarab so Impulse’s prophecy that he turns on humanity doesn’t come to pass; a future seen in technicolor in episode 10.
The Reach appear to be doing on TV what our Nexus EIC wishes Lex Luthor would be doing in the DC New 52 comics; be a stealth villain basking in a benevolent aura with humanity.
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