Young Justice Invasion
It’s no secret that I’m not a DC girl. For me, DC tends
to miss the mark more often than it hits it. The same is true for their
animation. Aside from Batman the Animated Series which is sheer awesome and the
comedic anime-styled Teen Titans, I’ve not given DC a second glance. I do
remember watching Justice League, later Justice League Unlimited as a kid and
being unimpressed with the level of corniness. Then along came Young Justice
and it was finally a show that DC seemed to have the right balance of silliness
and maturity. Despite a relatively young cast, the show was surprisingly dark (in
comparison to other superhero shows comprising of teenagers – Teen Titans or
X-Men Evolution for example). The original season was clever, concise and had plenty
of character development. The second series is a different matter.
Season two is set five years after the events of the
season one finale (which only aired last week). Not that this is made clear as
to why, it’s only briefly referenced by Batman. So in the initial episode we
learn that Kid Flash, Artemis, Red Arrow and Aqualad are no longer part of the
team. Wow, I mean that could be quite a kick to the teeth to their fans.
Zatanna and Rocket have also left but we still do see them briefly as members
of the Justice League. Replacing them are Robin (Tim Drake), Blue Beetle, Beast
Boy, Batgirl, Wonder Girl, Bumblebee and Lagoon Boy. Disappointingly none of
these new characters actually makes an impression, their personalities pale in
comparison to the original cast. Whereas season one gradually introduced its
protagonists and even continued to expand up until the very end, season two
completely jumps the shark by creating an entirely new line-up. Of course the
biggest frustration is the break-up of Superboy and Miss Martian. During the
original series their relationship was crucial to either character in order to
gain stability and strength and ultimately to be able to accept themselves. It’s
seems almost undignified that they should break-up off screen. Or that Miss
Martian should be with Lagoon Boy (already top of the annoying list). I suppose
the writers wanted the inevitable Superboy/Wonder Girl hook up to be less
complicated.
In all, Young Justice: Invasion sure does have its work
cut out. I mean in order to forgive tossing away five freaking years; it has to
pull something beyond amazing out of its hat. I feel the need to explain to DC
that fans get attached to characters. And fans don’t like change. We like
characters with interesting personalities and experiences and we like watching
them grow throughout the course of a series. We don’t like them being expendable
or interchangeable.
Initial rating: 6/10
Much like Young Justice, The Avengers had a killer first
season with subtle hints towards an alien invasion in the next season. Unlike
Young Justice, The Avengers is smart enough not to uproot its prior cast for an
entire new one. Instead new characters/members are gradually introduced,
notably Ms. Marvel, making her the second female to join the team, progress!
The second season spares no time in plunging the team
into a new conflict with a new villain, none other than Dr. Doom. As well as
introducing a new alliance, the Fantastic Four. The following episodes are
primarily filler, exploring possible future story arcs, for example Maria Hill
discusses superhero registration which would unavoidably lead into the
notorious civil war scenario. The strength of The Avengers is in its awareness
for what fans want to see. It doesn’t overload us with too many characters
resulting in extended cameos, it takes its time to start on a smaller scale and
build around the primary cast. This obviously allows certain characters – Iron Man
for example more screen time, but more importantly is that it allows other
characters the opportunity to develop within their own stories and solo
adventures. For instance, Thor has not yet returned to Midgard, yet we have
seen him and are aware a big bad Asgardian villain will pop up some time in the
future. This is why I think Marvel has the upper hand as the
creative staff seem to know less is sometimes more.
Initial Rating: 8/10
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