Comic-Con Warner Bros. Bags Announced!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

One of the things I was super-excited about before my first Comic-Con was the swag bags. I didn't know what they were going to be ahead of time, so I had a great time on Thursday morning in line for badge pick-up, seeing people with bags they had received on Wednesday and trying to figure out how many different ones there were. Ultimately, I had my heart set on a ThunderCats bag, so I was a little dismayed when I was handed Fringe. Fortunately, so many people at Comic-Con are really nice, so I only had to ask five or six ThunderCats folks if they wanted to switch before finding someone more than happy to oblige. Well, I've been on the lookout this year to find out what the bags would feature, and was thrilled to see the selections when they were announced this morning! They're not all television shows, of course, but there's a great variety!

First up, the standard side that everyone will have: 

Now, onto the individual options...

Fringe

Arrow

Supernatural

The Vampire Diaries

DC Nation, featuring Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and original shorts.

  and, The Big Bang Theory, which is the one I'll be shooting for this year.

Man of Steel and Pacific Rim will also be available, but the artwork on those is not yet available.

Aqualad’s Leadership Is Questioned

by Christopher Scott

Young Justice “Alpha Males” (S02E04):

This episode begins right where the last left off. Our heroes are still being freed from their various traps and details are being sought after by the Justice League. Superboy’s super-hearing eavesdrops on Aqualad talking to Batman about the mole possibly being Red Tornado. He subsequently freaks out along with the rest of the team. They all believe that they should have been informed of the mole and that he was withholding information from the group­­ that contributed to them almost dying. (As much as I agree with them, I would think at least one of them would see that this had to be kept secret. Can’t any of them tell that the only way the mole would be caught would be if they were not aware they were being watched?)

Batman steps in, stating that they need to put this aside and go on a mission right away. He puts a quick stop to the bickering and explains that they will not have a rotating Den Mother instead of Red Tornado or anyone else being a permanent staple. First up, Billy Batson, aka Captain Marvel. (How awesome is that!? For those of you who don’t know, he is like 10 years old in real life. His powers allow him to be a grown-up superhero. Hanging out with a bunch of kids is an awesome occupation for this guy.) They are to track down some killer gorillas that wield guns. I wish I was making this up.

Captain Marvel accompanies them on their mission, much to the chagrin of Aqualad, who does not enjoy being babysat. The team hits the ground in a dense tropical area. Aqualad attempts to give orders, but is ignored as everyone goes about their business. Superboy gets protective of Miss Martian and is scolded and ends up going off alone. Miss Martian is with Artemis, Kid Flash with Robin, and Aqualad with Captain Marvel. It isn’t long before they are all in combat with jungle creatures with collars. The animals have all been enhanced by the Cobra Venom and are twice their normal size and strength. The collars seem to control them all and keep them aggressive to intruders.

Aqualad starts to target the collars and makes short work of the animals. Eventually, communication is set up by Miss Martian, and all of the others do the same to the collars. They start to come up with a battle plan while Captain Marvel gets lost chasing a tiger (like a 10-year-old). He gets captured, which adds a whole new dimension to this plan. Reconnaissance is no longer the aim of the mission. Aqualad demands their respect and takes command back into his hands, offering to give up his leadership only after this mission has been completed successfully.

Captain Marvel has been taken hostage by The Brain and his gorilla accomplice, Mallah. He plans to access his brain and gain the knowledge of his mind. (See, Captain Marvel is not just strong. He is a culmination of many powers at once: the wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, power of Zeus, courage of Achilles, and speed of Mercury. It spells Shazam, which is the secret word he uses to go from boy to hero and back.) The wisdom of Solomon is great and vast. It is little wonder that a villain known as The Brain would want that.

The Young Justice crew finds the hideout and blast in. For some reason, some of the jungle creature aid them in battle. Superboy has made friends with a wicked-looking white wolf and the tiger that Captain Marvel had followed earlier, and they help him escape. The battle is short-lived, as is the episode really, and The Brain and Mallah escape.

They all meet back at the ship. Aqualad explains himself to everyone as to why he kept secrets and they all decide to leave him in charge. Miss Martian and Superboy make their apologies, and everyone heads home. Captain Marvel goes back to his uncle’s apartment and goes back to being Billy Batson.

Not the best episode for sure, but after the last three, what did you expect? What do you think is next for the team? And what Justice League member are you looking forward to taking the lead for a short time? I’d like to see the drama for a Superman episode frankly. Leave your comments below!

Super Powers Are For Chumps

by Christopher Scott

Young Justice “Homefront” (S02E03):

I love the Young Justice team. I love the characters. I love the story. I love the powers. But, you know what else I loved? Batman cartoons. The guy is the single greatest hero in the DC Universe. Hands down. Bruce Timm, creator of Batman: The Animated Series, reminded me of that fact time and again. He had the brains, brawn, money, and skills to make all the super-powered cohorts of his look weak and foolish. In this episode, we are reminded again of what it takes to be a hero… and it’s not powers.

The episode starts with a very short flashback and intro that are worth mentioning. Following Artemis, the flashback shows us a very young version of her trying to convince her stepsister to stay and wait for their mother to return from prison. Why she is there makes little difference. Her stepsister is Cheshire, which explains some things. It also shows us a small window into Artemis’s psyche. She has a problem with leadership. She is great at backing up her team, but when the pressure is on, she loses it. Good to know.

The short intro is split into very few insignificant parts. First, Artemis started her first day at the new prep school she got into during Season 1. It happens to be Robin’s school too, and he is quick to introduce himself. It is clear he knows her secret identity. (For a split second we meet Barabara Gordon, Batgril, too. Man it would be so cool to add her to the team. She has really only had one cartoon where she got her due and it was excellent. Go watch The Batman starting at Season 2 if you don’t know what I’m talking about.) In Mount Justice we see the remainder of the team going about business as usual. Aqualad confides in Red Tornado his suspicions of a mole in the team. Red Tornado leaves the matter to Aqualad to deal with and exits the hideout. All is well at this point.

Robin arrives at the Gotham City teleporter to Mount Justice at the same time. She says that she was there to visit her cousin …. lame. Robin enters first, followed by Artemis. Cue disaster! She enters to a blazing fire with smoke everywhere. Robin shouts words of warning and she reacts accordingly. The fire takes a life of its own, chasing the two down corridors. The chase scene and acrobatics cannot really be described, so if you can I suggest you find this episode online because it is animated very well.

They make their way to the showers and hit the water to stop from being burned alive. Great idea, until the shower heads come blasting off of the wall. Water is now gushing into the room at an alarming rate. So either the enemy can control elements or there is more than one villain in the lair. Greeeeat! Robin blows a hole in the wall to escape, which buys them a 30-second lead.

Next, they are in the kitchen, catching their breath as best they can. Robin downloads blueprints of the hideout so that he can track movements and runs through an escape plan. Artemis chooses a vent over the stove as their next step and the two jump inside. The faceless enemy is no fool, shooting waves of flame through the ductwork. They dodge the brunt of the attack and quickly run through their options. Robin disables the security sensors so they cannot be tracked so easily now and then runs through the security footage to see what they are up against. All they see is the mountain being flooded as the cameras are systematically dismantled.

They have now found their way into the library, still being chased. Someone speaks out, calling for Artemis and Robin in the voice of Red Tornado. Artemis jumps out excitedly to her rescuer, only to find that it is a robot, and red, but very clearly not Red Tornado. Robin, with his intense training, falls for no such trick and saves Artemis from a very hot fate. And we’re on the run again! Into a secret passage in the library, which impresses Artemis, the two escape without a scratch. (I like when Artemis gives a nod to the secret passage and Robin mentions how much more complicated and impressive the Batcave is. I’m glad they added someone to the team with such a rich history.)

The androids come over the intercom to state that the remaining heroes have 10 minutes to surrender, and we get a glimpse of where the rest of the team is. Miss Martian and Aqualad are in a cage of fire. They both have a weakness to the heat, so they are out of commission. Kid Flash and Superboy have been trapped by some metal that was melted and then reshaped around them. They are also surrounded by water that is slowly rising to drown them. Things look bad. Fortunately, the remainder of the free team is still very capable of freeing their friends.

Robin and Artemis head for the hanger as instructed, but covertly. They have a doubled-edged plan to begin freeing everyone. First, they want to test the strength of their captors. Second, they need to establish communication with the remainder of the team. They start to fight. There are explosions. And Robin throws a well-placed batarang that lands next to Kid Flash. Artemis and Robin escape again and are reminded that they only have 6 minutes to comply with their surrender.

Robin is unfazed while Artemis begins to freak out a little. Robin starts to talk to KF though the batarang to come up with a plan. They decide on an EMP. Robin grabs parts from the X-Ray machine and they head to the generator in the hangar to hook it up, but of course it doesn’t fit. Meanwhile KF and Superboy distract the robots. The two are spotted and Artemis uses her last arrow to fend off the attackers. Artemis manages to retreat, but Robin is not so lucky.

And then there was one. Artemis loses her composure and thinks of escaping the mountain. Surely her friends would die under those circumstances. She finally comes to her senses, deciding to save her team or die alongside them. If that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is! She grabs the arrow on display in the trophy room and returns to the hangar to fire it into the generator, completing the circuit. The EMP goes off and the bots hit the ground hard.

Red Tornado returns to the scene, coming up with an excuse that the teleporter was down and he couldn’t get there earlier. Suspicious, yes. During their interaction the EMP wears off and Red Tornado is affected by the other two cyborgs. His eyes turn red and he sucks all of the air from the room. The team go unconscious and are woken by the Justice League hours later. The three machines have escaped and left them all unharmed.

That’s where the episode stops y’all. Pretty epic I think. Like I said, if you can find it online do yourself a favor and catch this one. It was intense! What did you think!? Leave your comments below.

Miss Martian and Superboy Hook Up

by Christopher Scott

Young Justice “Terrors” (S02E02):

So, if you couldn’t tell by the summary, this is another tale of two of our heroes. The rest of the team pretty much sits the whole episode out. Miss Martian and Superboy are taking center stage as … villains? Let me explain.

A pair of twin troublemakers, the Terror Twins (which you would think would make their powers something fear-related, but it doesn’t) are “terrorizing” New Orleans. The Young Justice team and the Justice League team up for like three seconds to take them both out. Miss Martian and Superboy are given collars made to look like their powers are suppressed and are gussied up to look like the duo and take their place on the way to Belle Reve Prison. Confused yet?

It’s flashback time. Remember in the very first episode when four ice-based criminals attacked the Justice League on the same day? Well, apparently Batman hadn’t forgotten. After what I’d imagine was hours of investigation spanning weeks, if not months, he has determined all four criminals were eventually transported to the same jail. Two immediately, and two more were en route. This jail is the big house to almost every criminal mind in the DC universe that isn’t locked up at Arkham Asylum. Superboy and Miss Martian, disguised as the enemy, would be transported in as well, in an effort to uncover the truth behind why all of the ice-based criminals wanted to be admitted all at once.

And back into the present… we go to find this duo locked up in a transport with Icicle Jr. and Mr. Freeze (two of the four from that chilly event). The group meets the warden, Amanda Waller, and the prison psychiatrist, Hugo Strange (more heavy hitting characters from DC). The two explain that no one has ever escaped. No one ever will. And don’t bother trying to escape unless you want to be shocked to death by the collars everyone in the prison wears. That’s sure to keep everyone in line.

The men and women of the prison are separated into two different wings. To compensate for this Miss Martian sets up a telepathic link between them so that they can stay in contact. She is quickly accepted by her peers but Superboy must earn their respect. He thwarts an attack on Icicle Jr., which catches the eye of Icicle Sr., who seems to be the ring leader of the prison. After gaining respect, the two incognito heroes begin to gather intel.

There are a few more uninteresting scenes here where Superboy, pretending to be a Terror Twin, confronts his very real problems with his “father,” Superman, with the help of Hugo Strange, but they are short and don’t uncover anything we didn’t already know. The first step of the real plan starts in the mess hall. After accounting for the whereabouts of all the League members, Mr. Freeze stages a fight with Icicle Sr. in an effort to get taken to the warden. The breakout plan is given to Superboy, who gives it to Miss Martian and everything is laid in motion.

Mr. Freeze, once in Waller’s office, destroys his collar and threatens Waller to release the collars. She does so, but also commands a lockdown of all the exits. All of the prisoners are running amok. It takes Miss Martian about 3 seconds to blow her cover by saving one of the guards from a villain. She gets “put on ice” and is out of commission, as is her telepathic link. Superboy has one plan now above all others: get to Miss Martian.

Now, were you still wondering why this episode had anything to do with ice-based criminals? Well, the plan is to use ice attacks on the heavily reinforced doors to weaken the metal, and then use strong villains to pound away at the cold metal. I would have gone with fire-based criminals to melt the doors away, but nobody asked me.

Superboy makes an effort to distance himself from the action and then convinces Icicle Jr. that the collars are being turned back on. Being a gullible B-rated criminal, Icicle Jr. is quick to believe him and aids Superboy in turning them back “off.” Then the two work on making a door to the women’s side of the prison. As soon as the door is opened Superboy unleashes some inner fury, dominates the villains in his way, and saves Miss Martian. He reaches out to her telepathically, she breaks free, and the two kiss. Good for them. :)

The episode ends rather abruptly here. Obviously, with the collars reactivated, the uprising is quelled. Hugo Strange is put in charge of the prison. And what would a Young Justice episode be without a nod to the Light? Icicle Sr. and Hugo Strange are happy with the arrangement, agreeing that this was really the plan all along. Really? The plan was to lose? Or was the plan to get Superboy a girlfriend?

I liked it overall, but I am still missing some real teamwork. Still no Kid Flash, Robin, or Artemis. Who are you waiting for the most!? Leave your comments below.

Red Arrow Calls For Help

By Christopher Scott

Young Justice “Targets” (S02E01)

Young Justice has returned for round 2! The episode begins with Red Arrow staking out peace negotiations with Rhalasia. (Think Korea when thinking Rhalasia.) The two halves of this country have had some heated exchanges in peace talks and are awaiting a surprise negotiator who is coming to assist in bringing peace. Red Arrow has come to ensure that this special guest arrives safely. He had been tipped off that Cheshire, of the League of Shadows, was there to assassinate him/her. He makes a call to the Young Justice crew for access to their computer netw

orks. After reaching Aqualad, the two banter back and forth about how Red Arrow should just join their group, but he declines as usual (even though he wants to use all of their stuff apparently).

Just as the limousine pulls up, Arrow finds his target and Cheshire finds hers. An RPG is shot at the vehicle and deflected by Arrow. The two fight briefly, she is caught, and the rescued negotiator turns out to be Lex Luthor (dun, dun, duuuun).

Arrow approaches the billionaire wanting answers. Was the hit on Lex? Or on the peace negotiations themselves? Lex replies that it is really Arrow’s job to find out that part, and leaves him to his work. It is clear that Red Arrow is disheartened that he even saved the man in the first place. If only…

Anyway, back at Mount Justice, Miss Martian and Superboy have been asked to enroll in the local school to better familiarize themselves with Earth customs and such. It will make for better reconnaissance if they understand more of the world around them. Miss Martian becomes Megan Jones and Superboy is now Conner Kent. There are a few goofy scenes as they try to fit in at school, but nothing of importance takes place with these two. Also of note, Robin, Artemis, and Kid Flash are MIA from the entire episode. I was looking forward to seeing Robin in action at least.

The story now returns to Red Arrow, as he is speaking with Cheshire behind bars. She gives him little to none of the information he is looking for, but instead opens a whole new can of worms as she is broken out of prison by Sportsmaster (by the way, what a terrible villain. You can make him strong, fast, and give him all of the gadgets in the world, but he is still just a loser ex-PE Coach to me). Arrow tries to chase the two of them down, but it is no use. Thankfully, he fires off a beacon that he can use to track their escape chopper before losing them completely.

After hunting his prey throughout the city, he comes across the complex being used by the League of Shadows. There is Sportsmaster. There is Cheshire. And now, yet another villain joins the show for the first time, Raz al Ghul. Things just stepped up a level in complexity. Red Arrow is spotted and narrowly escapes them all, immediately calling for backup from Aqualad. Happy to get some airtime this episode, he accepts.

The final showdown takes place in a grand meeting hall. Lex is trying to bring both sides together using a tea ceremony native to both cultures. The woman serving the tea is recognized as Cheshire by Aqualad and it is ON. She throws the cart of tea towards the negotiators and public figures just as Aqualad summons all of the water from everyone’s drink using the power of his Water Bearers. The water pools itself upward, creating a massive shield of water just as the tea cart explodes tremendously. It blows out all of the windows and a huge hole in the side of the building, but leaves all of the people unharmed behind the watery dome. The water falls to the ground and Aqualad and Red Arrow jump into action. Sportsmaster also joins the rumble coming in via a helicopter full of henchmen. The bodyguards from both countries take on henchmen, and the heroes take on the villains. In the end, evil is thwarted and Lex’s cyborg liaison stops the final attacker, causing both of the Rhalasian countries to sign the peace documents and thank him profusely. Arrow and Aqualad take it in stride and depart.

Arrow has gained a new respect for his compatriots and pledges allegiance to the cause. He will still stay solo, but he can be counted on (it reminds me of Batman in Justice League). Also, Lex and Raz al Ghul seem to have been in cahoots the whole time, working for The Light. No surprise there as every episode so far seems to end with some sort of Light twist. I just wonder when they will expose The Light and finally have something to focus on. Who knows?

A good return to the series, though I will admit I miss the MIA characters. Is there a villain or hero you’re waiting to see? Comment below!