#and sometimes the cartoon version of yj is the only one mentioned

[missbrunettebarbie]

When I read a YJ fic and I see show!Conner constantly be reffered as Kon by both the narrative and non-Clark people I need to take a deep breath and close the fic, cause clearly the author is not writing about cartoon!Conner.

[stealingyourbones]

I know nothing about Darkseif except what you've explained, but didn't you mention he has a son? I submit: Enemies-to-Lovers redemption arc between that guy and Danny.

Bonus, Danny is penpals with someone in the Teen Titans and they've been giving him advice without actually knowing Danny's true power or who the other party is.

HE DOES HAVE A SON!!

Ok so I myself don’t know tOO much about him but the entire thing with his son is a whole fuckin tHing.

In short summary: The rulers of Apokolips and New Genesis were gonna swap sons as a means of a truce (spoiler alert: Darkseid didn’t keep the truce.)

Darkseid took All Father’s son and tortured the fucker and trapped him in so many various torture devices that he eventually became a master at escape. He became Mister Miracle, otherwise known as Scott Free. I know a LOT about mister miracle but he isn’t the person in question here.

The person in question’s name is Orion the War God. It truly depends on what story you read. Either he is able to quell his rage and goes on adventures with a bunch of New Gods and helps with issues that normally center around earth, or he cannot quell his anger and rage and embraces his heritage. He overthrows Darkseid as the Ruler of Apokolips and goes to harness the Anti-Life equation to destroy Earth.

I really haven’t read much that focuses on Orion besides a few New Gods comics by Jack Kirby. They are truly a work of art.

(Orions helmet is sometimes steel, sometimes purple, sometimes blue. Gotta love color inconsistency. Oh and for those who have only watched the Young Justice tv show, that red fucker is what Forager’s original design looks like.)

I love love love the interpretation of Orion in the Young Justice cartoon. His primary debut is in Rocket’s character Arc in the 4th season. The dude is autistic and is used as a vessel to help Rocket grow as a person and help her stop her neurotypical biases. In the show he tries his best to be a good person even though his entire bloodline and race fully goes against that morality. It’s really hard but he grows as a person as well and learns to accept himself as he is and use his rage to help others. (Oh also he’s literally one of the best autistic characters I’ve ever seen in animated media. Like genuinely it made me really happy to see that they went above and beyond and let this man kick some ass and show he’s powerful as hell.)

I love YJ Orion with my heart and soul. That version of Danny I could absolutely see have an enemies to lovers arc with Danny. The comic version is really a pure villain and even worse than Darkseid.

Also everyone say thank you to Jack Kirby for his wild ass designs because look at this fuckers outfit:

He looks so funky. Imagine a man with that outfit meeting Danny. First thing Danny would comment on would be his wild ass clothing choices.

———

Oh I love the idea that Danny is a pen pal with a titan. Big question is who? It would be neat for Beast Boy or Raven to be his penpal and slowly get some clues that something is off with this kid. Not off enough to say “wow this kid is a superhero.” But in the sense that they might think something is off in his living situation. They’re both glad that they have a friend they can talk to about just mundane stuff and not have to worry about superheroism for the few minutes a day they read and respond to each others letters/emails.

[sebeth]

Young Justice: “Fears” and “Drop-Zone”

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 Issue 6: “Fears”

We left off with Superboy declaring the thought of “destroying Superman” is constantly on his mind.

While Superboy’s teammates reel in shock, Dick decides to narrate his origin recap.  But internally since Batman won’t let Dick share details about his personal life

We flashback to four years ago, the Flying Graysons (John, Mary, Dick, Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin John) were performing at Jack Haly’s Circus. Dick mentions he was nine-years old.

Dick mentions that “I never knew either of my grandfathers.  They died a long time before I was born.” He also comments “I was the youngest of the troupe, so father said I wasn’t allowed to be involved with the most dangerous stunt the Flying Graysons performed.”

Dick continues “I was jealous of my older cousin, secretly wanting to be in his place.  He would always mess up my hair and say ‘Don’t worry, squirt, you’ll get a chance sooner than you think.  He always knew the right thing to say.”

We know what happens next: Zucco – tampered ropes – bodies hitting the floor.

“A lot of things happened after that.  Most of them were a blur, even if I could concentrate, I didn’t think I would be able to say exactly what order things happened in.  The next crystal-clear thing I do remember was Bruce Wayne.”

“My mother and father dead. My aunt and cousin dead.  My uncle alive but paralyzed for the rest of his life. The only living family member I had was unable to take care of me.”

“Bruce Wayne came to my rescue and let me become part of his family.”

We know the rest – after training, Robin is born and Zucco is brought to justice.

This is the only instance I can recall of Dick having relatives other than his parents. Discounting generations-back Talons.

An odd choice to leave the uncle alive since he’s never mentioned again.  The extent of the paralysis isn’t mentioned.  Since it appears that gaining custody of Dick was never an option, I would assume the paralysis is from the neck down. It’s a safe bet that Bruce provided the best medical care for the uncle.  

Poor Uncle Grayson. He lost his wife, child, brother, and sister-in-law!  And, as an aerialist, he is now paralyzed.  All in one night.  Talk about your worst nightmare coming true.  I wonder if Dick maintained contact with his uncle.  He could use the support but he was dealing with multiple traumas and depression – would he have even wanted to see his nephew?

Wally interrupts Dick’s ruminations: “Robin, did you hear what he said? He just said that he wants to take down Superman!”

Superboy clarifies: It’s how I feel…sometimes.  What if that’s why I was created?  What if that was the only reason I was created? I just feel…I don’t know what I feel. Sometimes…thoughts happen.”

Dick agrees Conner has a valid point: “We really don’t know anything about what they did to him yet.”

Wally defends his friend: “We know he’s one of the good guys and we know he’s part of this team.  In my world, actions speak louder than words. Superboy has proven his intentions with actions.”

Wally checks in with his other pal: “Hey, what’s with you? Not like you to zone out like that.”

Dick admits to being lost in thought.

The writers seem to be taking a nod from the Justice League cartoon and are establishing Wally as the heart of the team.

Wally asks Megan about her story.  Megan gives a few selective details:

·         Martians live underground as the surface is uninhabitable.

·         Family lives are very entwined.

·         Martians mostly communicate telepathically.

·         Telepathy helps large Martian families maintain a sense of community.

·         Martian families are usually quite large.

·         Megan has 12 sisters, 17 brothers, and over 300 cousins.

·         M’gann mentions that Martians are green, white, or red.

·         Megan claims that her parents were green Martians and she was raised in a liberal environment.

·         “Others were not as tolerant and the treatment of white Martians was especially horrible.

·         M’gann states that she was the closest to uncle J’onn: “We had a great relationship.”

·         We discover J’onn is the most famous Martian in history: “He grew to be a true beacon of hope and stood for what our society could achieve.  Upon his return to Mars it was declared a day of planetwide celebration.  When he came back it was not just for adulation.  He also had a specific purpose in mind.  Having learned about all of you, J’onn decided now was the time to introduce a younger Martian hero to earth.  J’onn J’onzz came to Mars and decided he would hold a competition to find the next Martian champion that would be returning with him to fly among the heroes of earth.”

·         Megan enters the contest – very shades of Wonder Woman and wins.

·         “At first, Uncle J’onn seemed as if he didn’t want me to compete.”

M’gann has revised significant parts of her background as we discover later in the season.

I wish we knew more of J’onn’s Young Justice background.  In the traditional comic book-verse, J’onn is the sole surviving Green Martian accidentally brought to earth by a scientist.  The Green Martians were wiped out by a telepathic plague. White Martians were imprisoned/banished before the plague but small numbers turn up to cause trouble for J’onn and the Justice Legue at various points.  White Martians are very barbaric and warlike.  “Red martians” are an alien species found on Titan/Saturn – the most famous member is Jemm, Son of Saturn.

Taking Megan’s account at face value – which is hard as she is a very skilled liar – it seems as if Martians are thriving on their home planet.  The white Martians don’t seem to have been banished or imprisoned but are not accepted by the green and red Martians.  

I’m assuming the white Martians are still very barbaric and warlike which causes their isolation.

Megan states she was raised in a “liberal environment”. Does this mean her parents were White Martian versions of hippies – make love, not war.  If her parents did adopt a more peaceful approach it could explain their isolation from the white contingent and the suspicion of the red/green groups.

M’gann’s White Martian nature explains her lax morals when it comes to her telepathic powers.  The White Martians abuse of their powers was one of the main divides between the greens and whites.  Assuming Megan’s parents left the “white nature” behind it doesn’t mean they were instructed in the strict guidelines the green/red follow. If the parent isn’t taught, it becomes hard to instill it into their children.

Megan’s desperation to escape her environment – and her hero worship of J’onn – is easy to see.  The later reveal of Megan’s White Martian adds another layer of “J’onn didn’t seem to want me to compete”. It’s important to note that the other competitors were all green Martians.  Megan, of course, is drawn as green as the big reveal hadn’t happened yet in the cartoon.

I’m curious if the White Martians ever attacked the Justice League in the YJ-universe?  It’s the only reason I can think of as for why Megan is so desperate to have everyone believe she is a green Martian.  Otherwise, there could be a whole rainbow’s worth of Martian colors – no one on Earth is going to know.  It would also explain why J’onn brings in M’gann as his “niece”.  It would eliminate any wariness the members of the Justice League might have about a White Martian being on their protégé’s team.

Does M’gann really have that huge a family?  As I said earlier, she’s a very convincing liar prone to living in her own fantasy life – is this extensive family yet another lie/fantasy?  Does her parents’ “liberal environment” cause her to be ostracized from this extended family?

Finally, how did J’onn arrive on earth?  Was he accidentally transported by a scientist or did he arrive on earth as an explorer/ambassador?  Is his wife and daughter still alive? How long was J’onn away from Mars before he returned?

The issue ends with a Cadmus flashback.  Superboy dreams of confronting and killing an out-of-control Superman.  A scientist informs Roland that the dreaming Superboy has cracked another containment pod.

Roland orders the scientist to “Keep him under and get a new containment pod in here!”

Another scientist comments “What the G-Gnomes make him see must be pretty real to him.”

We return to the camp fire as Superboy ruminates: “These are my thoughts.  This is what they put in my brain.  I remember…this is why I was created.”

We now return to “Drop Zone”.  I mentioned the apparent time screw-up in an earlier post.  Kobra’s invasion of Santa Prisca begins on June 19th. The next scene has Young Justice headed to Santa Prisca on June 21st – almost a month before the team actually formed.

I’m going with the assumption that June 21st was meant to be July 21st.   Otherwise, we would have 1) missed a whole year’s worth of the team’s adventures, and 2) it only took the Justice League 48 hours to discover the Light’s plans for Santa Prisca.  The Light would have a hard time passing itself off as criminal masterminds if they can���t even keep a plot secret for 48 hours.

Robin recalls Batman’s instructions to the team: “This is a covert and recon mission only.  Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will.”

Robin asks the important question: “So who’s in charge?”

Batman and Red Tornado glance at each other: “Work that out between two.”

Robin’s smirk indicates he believes he should be in charge.

Dick put Bruce in an awkward position. Bruce can only feel one of two ways: 1) He believes Dick should be in charge but doesn’t want to “play favorites” or 2) He doesn’t feel Dick is ready but doesn’t want to tell him that in front of the others.

Covert costumes make their first appearances.

“No capes. No tights. No offense.” – Superboy doesn’t need your stealth tech, thank you very much.  And all he needs to do is switch his shirt inside out in order to achieve stealth mode.

“It totally works for you.” – Megan is as subtle as Wally when it comes to flirting.

“Knew I didn’t need a line.”

“And yet creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the covert.”

Give Conner a break – he’s still figuring out the extent of his abilities.

Conner and Wally aren’t well-suited for “covert” – they don’t have the temperament for it.

“Did you hear that?”

“You do have great ears?” – Wally and Megan need to have a flirting contest – points given if they actually achieve the “subtle” art of flirtation.

Aqualad, dropped off at a different point on the island, is the only one attempting to come up with/adhere to the plan.  Dick’s already splintered off to do his own thing and Wally’s totally going to follow the plan as soon as he “finds Rob”.

Bane and his henchmen are having a shootout with Kobra operatives.  Wally stumbles into it: “So much for the stealthy.”

Superboy jumps into the brawl.  Bane tries a power attack but discovers it doesn’t work on a Kryptonian.  Poor Bane is having a horrible time this episode – his strength is one of his top assets but this is the second time it’s failed him. It must be humbling to think of yourself as a physically powerful man only to discover you can’t compete with the real powerhouses of the DC Universe.

Robin launches into the fray: “What is wrong with you guys? Remember covert? Why didn’t you follow my lead, vanish into the jungle?”

To be fair, the Flashes don’t do covert – they are brightly colored heroes much loved by the public. Superboy is fresh out of the containment pod and doesn’t have the temperament or training for covert missions. Miss Martian’s powers are perfect for these situations but she’s a total newbie plus her entire race consists of telepaths – is “covert” even a concept on Mars?

Wally explains to Robin that they’re not mind readers – they didn’t know Dick’s plans.

Megan pipes in: “You told me I could only read the bad guy’s minds.”

Aqualad reunites with the group.

Robin recognizes the Kobra goons’ outfits.  Kaldur and Dick agree Batman wasn’t aware of Kobra’s presence on Santa Prisca.  Batman had to suspect something was different on the island.  Why else would he send in the team – Bane has been running Santa Prisca/producing Venom since before he “broke the bat”.  Unless this mission was only supposed to be a “training wheels exercise” in covertness.

Wally says it’s time to radio Bats: “Mission accomplished>

Dick disagrees: “These cultists aren’t on venom. Kobra’s hoarding the stuff.  We don’t leave.  Not until I know why.”

Wally and Dick argue over who should be leader of the team.  Wally correctly points out that Dick is only 13-years old and ducked out on the rest of the group as soon as they arrived on the island.  Dick counter claims that Wally isn’t that mature at 15-years old.

The boys continue to bicker. Superboy makes it clear that he has no desire to be a leader.  Miss Martian forfeits herself due to the Mr. Twister fiasco.

A tied-up Bane and henchmen discuss plans while Dick and Wally continue to argue.  Superboy overhears and the small smile on his face indicates Conner understands Spanish.

Wally and Dick wrap up their argument:

“Duh. You’re not Batman.”

“Duh.  Closest thing you got.”

Bane bursts out laughing at this point: “Such clever ninos.”

Yeah, arguing like a pair of toddlers doesn’t help your credibility with bad guys.  And in front of one of your dad’s villains!  Shame, Dick!  You know Bane’s bringing it up to Bruce the next time they fight.

Miss Martian attempts to read Bane’s mind but he’s “not that easy”: “He’s mentally reciting football scores en Espanol.”  The moment is a testament to Megan’s youth and inexperience as a resident of earth. J’onn wouldn’t have been dissuaded by the “foreign language” trick.

Bane proposes the old “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” routine.

Bane and the team head to the factory.  Dick is still throwing jabs at Wally’s expense.  Wally again calls out Dick on his behavior: “A real leader would focus on getting answers.”

Dick is rather petty but he is only 13-years old.  Not the most mature time of anyone’s life.

The group enter the Venom factor via a secret entrance.  Robin promptly disappears.

Bane: “Has the young fool already been caught?”

A resigned Aqualad: “No, he just does that.”

Kid Flash decides he’ll get the intel and be back before Robin.  Ignoring Kaldur’s “Wait”, Wally speeds off.

A sarcastic Bane: “Great chain of command.”

Robin and Kid Flash are in a control center, looking at chemical compounds.  Wally’s love of science is demonstrated as he recognizes one chemical compound as Venom and the other one as the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus.  The two combined make a powerful combination – and a permanent one.

Sportsmaster arrives on the island.  Yes, the Sportsmaster!  He’s a rather obscure Golden Age villain that I don’t even think has been used in the comics since the All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars/Infinity Inc days. I’ve mentioned before that I love the creators’ knowledge and fondness of the complete scope of the DC Universe – this is just another example.

Off topic, the main reason I hate re-boots and re-sets are because of all the characters and elements of the DC Universe that are lost every single time.  It’s the same reason I hate all the senseless deaths in comics.  Boo to all of that!

Did the Justice Society and its respective foes still debut in the World War II era?  Or was their debut pushed into a later decade – say the 1970s or 1980s?  Sportsmaster is looking rather young for a non-meta who debuted in World War II. Not that aging is a problem for comic book universes – with all the magic, chemicals, radiation, and cosmic craziness it wouldn’t take much to explain the slow-aging of every inhabitant on earth.  

Miss Martian spies on Kobra and Sportsmaster’s conversation.  Aqualad attempts to reach the Justice League but the coms are jammed. Kaldur decides they need a plan.

Bane: “I have a suggestion.” Bane leaps down and starts fighting Kobra henchmen.

Mammoth storms into the factory but finds Superboy isn’t as easy a target as Bane.

Bane leaves the chaotic scene.

Wally and Dick enter the fray. Miss Martian telepathically links the team.  Robin has – once again – disappeared from the scene.  Robin intercepts Shimmer and Lord Kobra at their helicopter. Kaldur demands Robin return – and, surprisingly, Dick listens.

Kaldur orders a strategic retreat.

Dick wonders “How could my first mission as team leader go so wrong?”

Kaldur diplomatically points out: “You do have the most experience.  But perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new. And a leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan.”

Dick completely misses the point: “So I’m supposed to hold everybody’s hands.”

Dick doesn’t take criticism well. Not even the constructive kind.

Dick concedes: “You lead us, Kaldur.  You’re the only one who can.”

Superboy chimes in with “Could have told you.” I’m guessing Conner thought Kaldur was the leader the entire time.

Kaldur graciously accepts, informing Dick “I accept the burden until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team.  Maybe not now but soon.”  Kaldur’s not only the team leader but the team diplomat.

Lord Kobra finds his helicopter has been sabotaged.

Bane betrays the team. Shocking, I know.

Bane monologues while Aqualad devises a plan.  Bane discovers he’s horribly outmatched against Young Justice including receiving a one-punch knockout from Superboy.  The day has not been a good one for Bane’s ego.

Young Justice storm Kobra and his henchmen.  Lord Kobra orders Sportsmaster to leave with the shipment.  Sportsmaster is very perceptive as he’s gotten the drop on an invisible Megan twice in this episode.  Kid Flash claims another souvenir.

Robin battles Kobra but is outmatched.  Aqualad puts down Mammoth – a nice testament to Kaldur’s skill.  Sportsmaster keeps Miss Martian and Superboy occupied which should be a nice testament to his skill but feels a bit ridiculous.  He shouldn’t be able to last two seconds against a Kyrptonian or a Martian much less both at once.

Sportsmaster escapes in a helicopter but Megan planted an explosive device causing the copter to crash.

Lord Kobra now faces the entire Young Justice team and decides to exit stage left: “Another time then”. The team simply stands there and lets him escape?

Batman reads the team the riot act: “A simple recon mission.  Observe and report.  You’ll each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes.  Until then…good job.  No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success.  And how you choose who leads determines character.”

Sportsmaster meets with the Light: “All I recovered is a single ampoule of the Kobra venom.”

The Light intones “Enemies of the Light must not stand.”

One member of the Light is speaking French.  I’m blanking on French bad guys in the DC Universe – the only ones I can recall are Monsieur Mallah, Madame Rogue, and Warp.