Young Justice S02E03 Review: Aliens on Earth

Young Justice: Invasion, Episode 3: Alienated

This episode of Young Justice is slightly more packed with content and characters compared to the previous episode, and as always is with Young Justice, there is a fair amount of nice little touches that really show that Young Justice is a burden of love for fans of the DC comics. It's just such a shame (and also a blessing) that it has such a limited episode count and had such a problematic production that we don't get more episodes than the two seasons and the upcoming third... although perhaps it's to its own benefit. After all, part of Young Justice's unique charm is its extremely dense inter-episodic storytelling.

Take the little details told here, for example. We get a lot of gas filled, and I'm not just talking about the Aqualad revelation either, which I'll cover separately. Take the brief moments of Superboy and Superman making jokes with each other and the tender moment when Superman calls Conner his 'little brother'. It shows that after the events of the first season, the aloof Superman actually did end up making up with Superman. Or take the slow, silent, knowing glance that J'onn gives M'gann during the interrogation. Take how the Bat-family works as a wholly separate unit, so even without the focus being on them, the strong familial bond the Gotham vigilantes have are still around. There is so much to unpack and talk about in each episode, with so many little scenes that any cartoon could easily spin entire episodes out of.

We do get a bit of a catch-up after the slower 'Earthlings', with M'gann returning to the Justice League Watchtower and telling basically everyone about the missing 16 hours in the first season finale. Apparently Vandal Savage's mind control sent them all into space, into a planet called Rimbor where they wreaked havoc while proclaiming that they are villains from Earth, which is the reason that Earth is galactic enemy number one. We get a little cheeky plot handwave as Green Lantern notes that he genuinely doesn't know what's going on because Rimbor isn't in his sector.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Team is dealing with Kroloteans on Earth, mopping up the other impersonators, in this case beating up recurring character Bibbo Bibbowski. Bibbo is a character near and dear to my heart from the comics, and it's moments like this that I'm genuinely sad that Young Justice doesn't have enough time to explore extremely tertiary characters like Bibbo. Bumblebee and Blue Beetle get an action scene, but the Krolotean escapes and reveals that he's allied with Black Manta, tying to this whole alien thing being tied to Vandal Savage's Light organization. Or who we are led to believe to be Black Manta, anyway. We also get more Blue Beetle arguing with his suit, which is a neat beat of lampshading for future episodes.

From dialogue that we see from the Kroloteans in this episode, there are apparently other 'Competitors' for Earth, and that one of the Kroloteans are attacked by one of the Competitors -- with the most likely suspect at this point being one of the many alien characters in the League/Team's roster. Add that to the fact that Black Manta (whose alliance with the Light is clear as day at the end of the episode) is working with a mysterious figure with alien bombs only referred to as 'the Partner', and we get conspiracies layered on conspiracies. Also, Black Manta has replaced Ocean Master in the Light's inner conclave, another neat development that has happened in-between seasons.

But the big storyline for this episode, of course, is the revelation that the person in the Black Manta suit that has been running around in the first half of the episode is actually Aqualad. Or, well, Kaldur'ahm, since he's apparently shed the mantle of Aqualad and has joined the side of evil because his father is actually Black Manta -- a fact that Aquaman kept from him. The hurt in Aquaman's voice during their confrontation, the rage in Kaldur'ahm's voice, and the disgust in La'gann's voice at this traitor are all done amazingly well for such a short confrontation. We quickly catch the fact that apparently his old love interest Tula had joined the Team as Aquagirl and got killed in a mission, and combined with the revelation of Kaldur'ahm's parentage, drove him into evil. It's a neat revelation that combined with Beast Boy's origin story from last episode, leads you to really wonder just what else has happened in the five-year gap between the two seasons.

It's an interesting scene, with Aqualad straight-up launching a missile meant to kill his former mentor, with La'gaan's angry cries of traitor (and La'gaan is built up to be the 'jock' hate sink, but you can't blame him), and the brutal battle between Kaldur'ahm against Superboy and Nightwing... it's a pretty neat confrontation and revelation.

The older superheroes don't get as much focus as the members of the Young Justice Team, as, y'know,  it's not their show, but I do love the rare moments where they are allowed to shine. And while Aquaman gets some moments in this episode, perhaps the biggest points go to Superman. As the rest of the Team and League evacuate the exploding island, Superman beseeches and begs and pleads with the Kroloteans to please get on board their ship so he can fly them out, and the desperation in his voice as the Kroloteans refuse to listen to reason is amazingly delivered. The shots following are beautifully tragic as Superman falls into the water, is rescued by his allies, while Superboy morosely notes that Superman "won't be okay" and his failure to save the villains will haunt him. And in that short two-minute scene, Young Justice's Superman, a tertiary character at best, is easily one of the more faithful adaptations of the Man of Steel.

The episode ends with the six members of the Justice League that are branded terrorists to go onto space with Hawkman and Icon to stand trial, leaving the Earth in the protection of a skeleton crew and the Team. It's a clever way to get the bigger names out of the way while still tying them into the huge Light/alien plotline. Add that to many, many other smaller foreshadowings throughout the episode -- M'gann still being super-brutal with her mental interrogations; Godfrey's anti-JLA pundit TV show, the brief moments between Black Manta and Aqualad... there is a lot to love in this series.

Roll Call:

• Heroes: Bumblebee, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Nightwing, Adam Strange, Miss Martian, Superboy, Beast Boy, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Batgirl, Robin, Lagoon Boy, Aquaman, Superman, Wonder Girl, Icon, Rocket, Hawkwoman, Hawkman. The rest of the Justice League and Red Arrow appears in flashback.
• Villains: Kroloteans, Aqualad, The Appelaxians, Black Manta, "Partner", Klarion, Brain, Queen Bee, Lex Luthor, Ra's al Ghul, Vandal Savage
• Civilians: Eduardo Dorado Sr, G. Gordon Godfrey, Bibbo Bibbowski

DC Easter Egg Corner:

as literal an 'easter egg corner' as can be

• Green Lantern mentions Oa and the Guardians of the Universe, which I think is the first time they are ever referenced in Young Justice. The Guardians of the Universe, of course, are the ones that gave the Green Lanterns their rings and order them to police the universe. 
• The planet Rimbor is the home planet of Legion of Super-Heroes member Ultra Boy in the comics. 
• Tula has became Aquagirl and has been killed in the mission. In the comics, Aquagirl's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths has been one of the more major deaths that actually remained permanent for nearly the entirety of DC's original continuity. 
• Kaldur'ahm is introduced in the comics as Black Manta's bastard son in the comics. 
• Among the brief shots of the tour in the Hall of Justice are a lot of Easter Eggs:
• The Appellaxians, who are identified as the alien threat that brought the Justice League together. It's a role that they share with their comic-book counterparts as seen in Justice League of America #9, which details the official formation of the League.
• Amazo is apparently disassembled since his latest defeat and reduced to a trophy here as well.  
• The costumes in the trophy cases are Guardian, Firebrand, Wildcat, Alan Scott/Green Lantern, Red Torpedo, Flash/Jay Garrick and Sandman. All of them are 'retired' superheroes that have appeared as part of the Justice Society in Young Justice's canon.
• The green bell, the silver wheel and the red jar are the items used to summon the Demons Three -- Rath, Ghast and Abnegazar -- constant villains of the DC comics.
• Next to those three items appear to be the Key's, well, key; followed by Libra's staff; and what appears to be the Gamma Gong, a plot device that Kanjar Ro hunted in his first appearance.
• Next to Amazo's display case appears to be Dr. Light's... light-projector thing, featured on the cover of JLA #12. 
• The golden canoe is JLA villain Kanjar Ro's "Slave Ship of Space". Yes, he is an alien with a space canoe.
• (Not quite sure what the huge diamonds, the golden organ or the katana with a ribbon are meant to be. I'm sure they reference some JLA story somewhere.)