The team still isn’t quite a team and its leader is still dealing with how to exactly fill that role.
What They Say:
Alpha Male
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Young Justice follows up events of the previous episode well which had Robin and Artemis handling things while Red Tornadoes ‘siblings’ caused a whole lot of trouble in the base that they operate out of. As we’ve seen in the series to date, tension already exists easily among the younger members and finding out that Aqualad had a clue about what was going on. Amusingly, with Red Tornado himself out of the picture now and a League problem, Batman intends to rotate those that oversee the younger team. And first up is Captain Marvel, which is just too much of a good guy to be with these kids. Especially since he wants to hang out with them like the young at heart guy he is.
While that serves as the backdrop, the real fun here for me is that the gang has been sent on a mission to deal with Monsieur Mallah and Brain as he’s serving up a lot of trouble out in the jungles. But they’re not operating anything like a team with all the friction that’s going on between them all. It’s rather forced at times, but it fits in fairly well with the personalities. On the plus side, while they’re separated we do get to see a variety of conflicts as they deal with the animals that attack them and it’s rather well executed and choreographed. While it is generally bloodless, there are some serious scratches and hits going on here and the impact from the blows and being thrown around does work surprisingly well in making it feel like there’s some meaning to all of it.
What’s welcome about the episode in general is that it is finally starting to solidify the leadership role of the group. There’s the tension at first that lead to the split, and some real grousing about it later, but also the simple bit about how Batman commands a presence no matter what and from everyone, and that’s something that Aqualad has to really take to heart when it comes to being a leader. Circumstances brings him to the position but it’s how he takes to it and rallies the troops to the mission. It doesn’t go flawlessly, another plus to the design of it all, but it’s what they needed to start coming together in a stronger way with some understanding, though there’s still tension to be had. While the series has largely focused on them as individuals, or pairing them up, this is the one that really starts to cement them as a team and Aqualad as a leader.
In Summary:
Though it hasn’t been a big issue for me, one of the main complaints against Young Justice is that it’s not had them operating as a team for the most part. They aren’t much of a team for most of this episode either, but it has them all together and working through the main issue that’s keeping them from really getting their act in gear. Though the tension is somewhat forced and there’s some residual issues from previous episodes, I did like how it all came together and that the villains, not exactly the big players in the episode overall, are favorite lesser known ones of mine that have definitely had amusing comic arcs over the years. While it’s no Grodd, it’s the next best thing. Which to some is just one of the strangest things to say.
Grade: B
