Going Through Young Justice Part Nine

Here we are, the day after Thanksgiving, and what do Jimmy and Tom have to chat about?  A Halloween episode of Young Justice.  Oh, and another one.  Regardless, they had a bit of their usual talk over the episodes “Secrets” and “Misplaced”.

“Secrets”

While Wally, Conner, and M’gann attend a Halloween party, Zatana and Artemis discover a nasty secret in New York.

jimmy:  Well, that was, dark.

tomk:  Harm got what he deserved.

jimmy:  Getting his heart ripped out Temple of Doom style?

tomk:  He didn’t deserve that?

jimmy:  He wasn’t the nicest fella, no.

tomk:  And we will never see him again.

jimmy:  Not surprising. So who was the comic version original member you mentioned previously?

tomk:  Secret.

jimmy:  Secret eh?  Fine, don’t tell me then!

tomk:

https://youtu.be/3sX_sE31r9Q

jimmy:  Classic.

Based on your article, looks like Harm was fairly faithfully adapted too.

tomk:  Well, he didn’t speak in rhyme or refer to himself in the third person, but being a cocky asshat who deserved a punch to the head?  Yes.

jimmy:  His speech patterns certainly added to the asshatery.

tomk:  Also, referring to other people as an “it” is not a nice thing to do.

Too bad that severed hand didn’t clamp down on his genitals.

jimmy:  Is that from the comics?  Because the zombie hand sheath was pretty cool.

tomk:  Sadly, no. Magic sword seems to be something the show made up.

jimmy:  Ah. The “prophecy never said the heart had to be pure good” seemed to be a classic Peter David move.

tomk:  It is clever.

jimmy:  He was also pure asshat.

tomk:  Like anyone we know?

jimmy:  That goes without saying.

tomk:  Regardless, Harm got what was coming to him…as much as a show that ran on Cartoon Network on Saturday mornings would allow.

jimmy:  And I know there are lots of crappy super hero/villain names out there, but Harm has got to be one of the worst.

tomk:  It’s effective. It’s what he wishes you.

jimmy:  Me?  I didn’t do nothing!

tomk:  Exactly.

You didn’t help Marvin prank the school either.

jimmy:  Uh, yeah, right…I didn’t!

tomk:  I mean, Martian invasion on Halloween?  Good one, Orson.

jimmy:  And Martians that looked like Marvin at that.

tomk:  Well, they might.

There are all kinds of Martians. M’gann mentioned white ones to Conner at one point as a group the others treat like dirt.

jimmy:

tomk:  That’s for later.

jimmy:  Much later I hope.

tomk:  Season four. You’ll forget by the time we get there.

jimmy:  Forget what?

tomk:  Your boarding pass for the buffet cruise. Those meatballs aren’t going to eat themselves.

jimmy:  Geez, don’t let me forget that!

tomk:  It’s over there by the magic sword you can’t use.

jimmy:  Are you saying I’m not pure of heart?

tomk:  No. That one is Ryan’s.

jimmy:  To wield it you must have a pure love of Krull.

tomk:  Yes.

And then all it does is let you play the movie on any device with a screen.

jimmy:  In PiP.

tomk:  The other picture is Morbius  the Living Vampire.

jimmy:  Morbius: The Musical by Lin Manuel Miranda.

tomk:  No magic sword can produce that. You need a magic mop handle.

jimmy:  I think this might be our first Fantasia reference in all the chats we’ve done together.

tomk:

jimmy:  Did comic book Secret get her name from a store across the street?

tomk:  She got her name because even she didn’t remember what her life was like before and the boys rescued her from a secret lab.

jimmy:  And I’m guessing “Secret” wasn’t the only thing she could say?

tomk:  True.

Have a blueberry surprise.

jimmy:  Thanks.

And we got to see those “not really heroes (yet?)” classmates of theirs.

tomk:  One wore the 90s Superboy costume. It was much better than Conner’s stray bandages look.

jimmy:  Heh, I noticed that.

tomk:  That Conner’s Halloween costume sucked?  I should hope so.

jimmy:  Well, that, and the 90’s Superboy costume.

tomk:  Oh, that’s much better.

jimmy:  It’s hard to even think of Conner and post Death of Superman Conner as the same character.

tomk:  In many ways they aren’t. Technically they have different powers. This Conner can’t even fly.

jimmy:  Damn retcons.

tomk:  More like just a different universe with slightly different characters.

jimmy:  Well, I assume Conner is based on the retconned version of the comic character.

tomk:  There’s a lot we still don’t know about Conner

jimmy:  Though we know he can pull a good prank.

tomk:  That seems more like Wally’s department.

jimmy:  I thought Wally was the prankster at first.

tomk:  It was a team effort.

jimmy:  I meant the original alien invasion prank.

tomk:  That was Marvin.

Your cousin, Marvin Impossible.

jimmy:  That guy’s always getting into some kinda mischief.

tomk:  Family reunions must be fun.

jimmy:  They’re…impossible.

tomk:  I would imagine so.

At any rate, anything else to add about this spooky episode, Jimmy?

jimmy:  I do, but it’s a secret.

tomk:  Shut up!

But in less secretive developments, maybe it’s time for Zatanna to finally join the Team.

jimmy:  Taht htiw enif m’I.

tomk:  You may change your mind when you see what finally gets her there.

“Misplaced”

When everyone over the age of 18 disappears without a trace, it is up to the Team to get some answers.

jimmy:  That Nabu is kind of a jerk.

tomk:  Yes. Nabu was the bad guy here.

jimmy:  Oh, Klarion is a bigger jerk.

tomk:  And not Sportsmaster leading an anti-mask protest outside of STAR Labs?

jimmy:  Also a jerk.

tomk:  So many jerks, so little time…

jimmy:  Those guys at the end were jerks. And that piece of rock or whatever it was they stole, definitely a jerk.

tomk:  Looked like some kind of fleshy tentacle.

jimmy:  Previously attached to a giant eyeball perhaps?

tomk:  Well, maybe a giant starfish.

jimmy:  With a giant eyeball?

tomk:  Um, probably.

jimmy:  I knows stuff.

tomk:  Yes, you do. You get a prize.

jimmy:  Is the prize an ancient helmet?

tomk:  Well, you can have a boat or whatever’s inside the mystery box.

jimmy:  MYSTERY BOX!  It could be anything.  Even a boat!

tomk:  It’s two tickets to Watson’s one man show “Ladies, I’m Here” for one night only inside the Helmet of Fate.

jimmy:  Worst. Prize. Ever.

tomk:  It’s OK.  The boat had the same tickets in the glove compartment, and you only got to borrow the boat for one weekend.  And no, you couldn’t pick which weekend.

jimmy:  Probably the weekend where all the fun girls got sent to another dimension. We’d need Mary Marvel to zap back and forth to fix that one.

tomk:  Fun fact:  Mary Marvel was almost a member of the Team.

jimmy:  Oh?

tomk:  The creators had a list of some fifty or so young heroes for the Team, and the plan is to eventually feature all of them.  Mary was on the list.

jimmy:  Cool.

I did like the Shazam trick to communicate with both dimensions.

tomk:  This episode was based on an early story setting up the Young Justice team. Captain Marvel was, once again, at the center of everything. But that was just Tim Drake, Superboy, and Impulse.

Though if I remember it correctly, Marvel was being held in magical suspension that put everything that way.

jimmy:  Has there ever been a teen based team show or comic that hasn’t had a variation of the “all the adults disappear” story?

tomk:  Um…Hannah Montana?

jimmy:  Was Hannah Montana a team?

tomk:  Well, she had her, uh, groupies and roadies and other -ies types.  I don’t know.  I was hoping you wouldn’t know either so we can just move on to other topics like what you do against a giant housecat or how come the Riddler is Sportsmaster’s sidekick.

jimmy:  Well, a giant housecat you get a giant litterbox.  The other one I can’t help you with.

tomk:  Would you rather get the Riddler back in one of his previous incarnations?

jimmy:  Go back one more.

tomk:

jimmy:  Hmph.

tomk:

jimmy:  Hey!  How about that Mary Marvel?

tomk:  She had nothing to do with Klarion or those other guys.

Also not helping was Red Arrow, who apparently is 18 years old.

jimmy:  He had to be 18 to legally change his name from Speedy.

tomk:  You sure about that?

jimmy:  Of course not.

tomk:  Well, at least you’re honest. That’s good enough for a brownie infused with peanut butter.

jimmy:  Awesome. Enjoyable by the young and the old.

tomk:  You would have gotten a second if you were sure and correct.

jimmy:  One will do.

tomk:  That’s fine. It’s not like you’re going to meet four spell casters at a midnight crossroads to create a duplicate Earth.

jimmy:  So did they completely create a duplicate Earth or just transport them to another dimension…with an exact replica of Earth, albeit empty. That doesn’t make much sense I guess.

And they kind of touch on it a little bit, but there must have been mass casualties during the switch. People dropping from the sky as planes disappear, lots of car accidents, etc.

tomk:  This was still a Cartoon Network show, so probably not much in the way of casualties.

jimmy:  Oh I know, but very much Infinity War/Endgame in the consequences.

tomk:  There were lots of heroes out catching stuff on both Earths.

jimmy:  Possibly, but they can’t be everywhere.

tomk:  It’s only a problem for people who took off in planes during the crisis. Otherwise, there are two planes, like the car with the baby in Fawcett City.

jimmy:  The whole scenario is problematic for all parties.

tomk:  Regardless, three Justice League members (and sometimes Captain Marvel) took down four evil wizards (including the Wizard) but the entire Team with Zatana couldn’t handle one punk Witch Boy.

jimmy:  That’s why they’re the minor league team.

tomk:  They need some more washed up Major Leaguers then. Like, I dunno, Booster Gold.

jimmy:  He’s too old. Maybe just Skeets. He can buddy up with Sphere!

tomk:  Or the Supercycle as Sphere is sometimes known.

jimmy:  Because Conner needs a rad bike.

tomk:  You’re not jealous after Ryan wrecked your moped, are you?

jimmy:  Yes.

tomk:  Look, I know you only had two more payments, but you didn’t see the Moose and the Beaver doing wheelies in the parking lot.

jimmy:  I trust those guys. They don’t like Krull.

tomk:  Yeah, but a full grown Moose is not good for the vehicle’s suspension.

jimmy:  I know. I need one of those super cycles for him.

tomk:  You need to go to New Genesis for those.

jimmy:  Is that an expensive flight?

tomk:  That depends.  Does Canada have Boom Tube technology?

jimmy:

tomk:  Then it will at least be a quick trip.

jimmy:  Nice.

tomk:  You’ll just need to raise about a quarter of a million dollars just to get there.  And then you can maybe find a used Supercycle relatively cheap for another half mill.

jimmy:  I’ll start checking the cushions in the Gabbing Geek break room.

tomk:  That’s a good way to go.  Maybe you can hit the Newmans up for a loan.

jimmy:  Jenny said she’d get me the money after she finished BTAS.

tomk:  Well, that’s bound to be any day now.

jimmy:  Probably right after Nabu releases Zatara.

tomk:  Well, clearly the episode set things up to be extra tragic.  At the start, Zatanna was bemoaning how strict her father was and how they didn’t connect.  Zatara, for his part, found being a single parent rough with his only child.  And then, by the end, well, they can’t deal with each other anymore because Nabu isn’t very friendly.

jimmy:  Though Zatara could have gone back on his word and not put the helmet back on.

tomk:  Yeah, that would have worked out well, I’m sure.

jimmy:  What could Nabu do?

tomk:  Come back the next time someone put that shiny hat on?

jimmy:  Just tell people not to do that.

tomk:  Three people have put it on so far.

jimmy:  So far…

tomk:  It won’t fit on the Moose.

jimmy:  We’ll see. Anything else on this one?

tomk:  I liked the set up to this one, showing how first the kids and then the adults reacted to the same event.

jimmy:  I did find the transition from one to the other a little clunky the first time.

tomk:  You just don’t like it when people repeat themselves.

jimmy:  They probably had the time stamp to clue the viewer in, but I barely pay attention to that.

tomk:  You also just don’t like it when people repeat themselves.

jimmy:  Stop that.

tomk:  See?  You just don’t like it when Watson steals your beer.

jimmy:  My name is written right on them!

tomk:  He says they must be from some hip new microbrewery selling Impossible Lagers.

jimmy:  Grrr.

tomk:  You do have good taste in beer. Or so I have been told. I don’t drink.

jimmy:  Me neither since it’s always gone when I go to get one.

tomk:  Well, in that case, have a beer.

jimmy:  I hope you stole it from Watson’s fridge.

tomk:  He has a padlock.  This came from Ryan’s.

jimmy:  Delicious.

tomk:  And don’t worry.  It’s not cursed in some way to make you really love musical theater.

jimmy:  …maybe I’ll save this for later.

tomk:  I think the Beaver drank it.

jimmy:  Typical.

tomk:  Well, he’s singing the Hamilton soundtrack now.  I must have grabbed the wrong beer.

jimmy:  Hey. You took your shot.

tomk:  We’re having shots now?

jimmy:  Go big or go onto the next episode.

tomk:

jimmy:  That’s the spirit!

tomk:  Or there’s the next episode, featuring Wally on his birthday, still too young to have any shots.

jimmy:  I feel like we just saw a Flash birthday.

tomk:  That was, uh…Watson’s?

jimmy:  Ah. The ladies were calling him “Flash”. I get confused. My bad.

tomk:  That’s OK.  Have a slice of birthday cake and a beer.

jimmy:  Now, where would you get birthday cake?

tomk:  The commissary?

jimmy:  That’ll do.

tomk:  So, next episode?

jimmy:  Indeed.

tomk:  Alrighty then.

Next:  Tom and Jimmy will return to this feature soon with the episodes “Coldhearted” and “Image”.