Young Justice: Alpha Male & Revelations Reviews
Not by any fault of the author – but our Young Justice reviews have been tardy as of late so to play catchup and get ramped up for this weekend’s episode we’ve got two reviews back-to-back, Alpha Male and Revelations. Both were GREAT episodes.
Seriously, if your not watching this show, you are-a missing out!
SE 1: Episode 13 “Alpha Male”
Young Justice continues its string of really good episodes with “Alpha Male.” This is set immediately after “Homefront,” last week’s episode. The Justice League is helping repair Mt. Justice after the Red Robot Riot. The team learns that Aqualad had known there was a traitor, and much bickering results. The team’s mood is not improved when Batman informs them they will be assigned rotating monitors in the wake of events with Red Tornado, that they will be sent to India to investigate strange animal attacks, and that current supervisor Captain Marvel will be coming with them.After much fighting with scientifically augmented animals, the team finally pulls together after Aqualad gets some tips on leadership from Marvel and his Wisdom of Solomon. The team even rescues the Captain after he was captured by the Brain and Monsieur Mallah. After the heroes inevitably win, Aqualad remains leader by unanimous vote, and he shares the reason he chose not to tell them about the tip- it came from Sportsmaster. Seeing as the team almost fragmented over this issue, the rest agree. Superboy ends up keeping a large white wolf that befriended him during all this, and Cap met a tiger he calls Tawny, a nice nod to some Captain Marvel mythos. The only time Cap did change to Billy was at home, at the end of the episode, where he appears to be living with Uncle Dudley, another old Marvel supporting character.
What I liked and what I didn’t:
This was a great episode, and I loved that they fit it so closely with the previous one. The team not reacting well to secrets was well written and believable. Robin and Kid Flash sticking together also made a lot of sense, as they’ve known each other longest. Cap was written very well for his boy-as-man character, and, for once, him turning from Cap into Billy Batson was NOT part of the adventure. And, again, no irksome “Hello, Meggan.” The League helping rebuild the base, and Batman declaring Red Tornado was a League problem nice touches. Another nice touch was that one of the leads in repairing the base was John Stewart, using both his Green Lantern ring and his training as an architect.
My only complaint really is that I think Captain Marvel was taken down and imprisoned too easily. I’ve long had a problem with scientific toys shutting down mystic powers, and that happened again here. But, that’s a small quibble for a great show, and I’ll let it go.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| None | the science/magic power issue |
| Rating |
SE 1: Episode 14 “Revelations”
I’ve been watching, and reviewing, Young Justice since it started. One of the things I’ve been impressed by is that the show seems to keep getting better and better as time passes. This week’s episode, “Revelation,” was quite possibly the best yet. Teamwork from the young heroes, the Justice League with reserves called in, a great plan from Batman, and some actual smart super villains all combine for a fantastic episode. Giant plant creatures are attacking all over the world, and the new Injustice League pops up to take credit, just after Batman was briefing the team about the recent villain attacks having to be the work of an organized group.This version of the team consists of Wotan, Atomic Skull, Poison Ivy, Black Adam, Count Vertigo, and the Ultra-Humanite, who combine their various powers and skills to control the rampaging plants. Batman sends the Young Justice team after them, after establishing that the JLA will be very visibly fighting the monsters. About all the regular League is shown in the fight (I kinda wonder where Wonder Woman was), as well as tons of back up, including series semi-regular Red Arrow, Blue Devil, Guy Gardener, Plastic Man, and what appeared to be Icon and Rocket, which would be their first appearance in any cartoon, another great step for Milestone.The JLA fights the monsters, the Young Justice team fights the villains, and there’s tons of action and well planned out fighting. When the young heroes start losing, they pull out “Plan B”: the helmet of Fate. One of the things I loved about this episode was them drawing on the show’s continuity so far, including things like having the helmet. The heroes win, of course, and the Injustice League get captured. Which is just how the Light wants it, using the Injustice League as a distraction, making the heroes think they’ve caught the shadow villain group they were theorizing about. The Light were revealed as Ocean Master, Ra’s, Luthor, Klarion the Witch Boy, the Brain, Vandal Savage, and Queen Bee, who staged all of this just to throw the League off their trail. Good planning by some smart villains, another nice twist.
What I liked and what I didn’t:
This was just fantastic. The YJ team used all their assets, from Meggan’s ship to the helmet of Fate, and Superboy’s new pet wolf, as well as some real team work. The villains were smart, the threat was well done, and the shots of the League and their reserves were great. And they finally used Milestone characters BESIDES Static. Yay for Icon and Rocket finally showing up somewhere. The entire episode was just amazing. They even worked in one of the more adult humor lines I’ve heard on the show so far: Artemis, realizing her bow and arrows were taken, laments “I feel naked. And not in a fun way.”
Two minor gripes: tons of League members and guest stars, but no Wonder Woman? What happened there, she was in the pilot… And, sadly, the incredibly annoying “Hello, Meggan!” returned.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| great cameos and guest stars, well written, nice action scenes” cons= | None |
| Rating |
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1 Comment
Great reviews for a great set of episodes!
However you forgot to mention the YJ’s version of the joker which, for lack of a better word, was a cartoon-ified version of Heath Ledger’s joker.
Not only were his speech patterns and mannerisms more than similar to TDK joker, but the fact that he pulled out 2 knives at the end just made his inspiration that much more obvious!
Also, was feeling pissed that Joker was put on the decoy injustice team rather than the powerhouse Light, especially since he’s the most famous comicbook villain ever . . .. .still, i was happy to see him get his due.