Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Young Justice: First Impressions

I finally got around to watching the episodes of Young Justice I had saved on my DVR.  Has anyone had a chance to watch this show?

While it's a shame Batman: The Brave and the Bold had to go away to make room for Young Justice, I find myself enjoying it nonetheless.  And that's even in spite of tweaks to character and continuity, too.  So, here's some random impressions:

Overall: It's a quality show, and the voice acting is quite good.  I'm liking the realistic style of the charcters, too.  Seeing some normally-proportioned bodies makes me realize how tiring the giant shoulder/tiny legs Bruce Timm JLU character designs were getting.

Care was taken to make sure each of the characters is unique, which is always refreshing.  Superboy is the brooding, tempermental outsider.  Robin is a plucky technie nerd.  Aqualad is very different from his Brightest Day incarnation: he's regal, exotic, and calm under pressure.  I guess he's like a future version of the Brightest Day Aqualad?  Kid Flash (Wally West) steals the show and is pretty much like non-kid Flash Wally West from the JLU days: impulsive, funny, and a tad arrogant.  Why Wally is Kid Flash and Bart isn't I don't know...becuase Barry is Wally's uncle?

I've got mixed feelings about Miss Martian.  She's cute and sweet but kind of clueless and talks to herself in the third person.  Judging by the number of Miss Martian-hating anti-tribute videos on YouTube ranting that J'onn should disown her, a lot of people don't like her, which makes me want to root for her a little more even though I'm not a big fan of the character in the comics.  I like how she's a more innocent female superheroine, albeit a bit ditzy, which I guess rubs some people the wrong way.  God forbid a female character isn't bad ass, I guess.  Apparently her dress is a point of contention, but I don't think these anti-fans realize it's pretty similar to a Japanese school uniform you would see on an anime series.


It's too bad that the writers had to take liberties with Miss Martian's continuity.  She's J'onn's niece and apparently she has ten brothers and sisters.  So that means she's a.) a Green Martian and b.) Mars isn't dead.  Which is going to be confusing to fans of the show who decide to pick up a few comics about her.  The other huge change?  She has telekinesis and she can move things with her mind.  So between reading minds and moving objects she's ridiculously powerful.  Oh, they kept the "fire" weakness but they changed it to "extreme heat."  And she can't ghost through solid objects like J'onn can.

What I do really like about Miss Martian is (I can't believe I'm saying this) is her clothing.  Like her ship, it's intuitive, so it changes shape with her.  Meaning that she doesn't have to manifest part of her body into a cape, which makes a lot of sense to me.  Wouldn't rendering part of your anatomy into cloth take a lot of concentration?  It was always something that bothered me a little.  Why I hate to admit it: the idea came from the Ostrander Martian Manhunter series, which I dislike greatly.  Except that Miss Martian's clothing isn't alive, nor is it called "Zo'ok" (or was it "Z'ook?") so I'm allowing myself to like that idea.

Oh, and Martian bonus points: I like the way they pronounce "J'onn" on the show.  It's not "Jean" like he's from Paris, nor is it "Juh-onn."  I can't really describe it.

Lastly: Artemis.  I can't stand this girl.  From her poofy early 90's pony tail to her impractical belly-exposing outfit with ugly mask with hair window* that makes her forehead look huge and a chest symbol that she stole from Jade, to her snotty I'm-better-than-you attitude.  Is this character in the comics?  Is she always this mean?  I'm a little rusty when it comes to the Arrow family.


A lot of the show is "teenagery" with who's got a crush on whom and all that, a lot of which is played for laughs.  Kid Flash is head-over-heels for Miss Martian, who's completely oblivious to Wally and who only has eyes for Superboy.  And Artemis likes Superboy, too.  Everybody likes Superboy, except Superman.  Yes, really.  He's quite mean to him.

So far the funniest bits have been Kid Flash freaking out over seeing Miss Martian grow extra arms to swat away robotic monkeys, and when Miss Martian telepathically links everyone up and Kid Flash forgets that everyone can hear him think.  Which is probably something I would do.  Thank God other drivers at least can't hear me when someone cuts me off, is all I have to say about that.

All in all, a good show.  I'm sad Brave and the Bold had to go away, but I'm enjoying Young Justice for now.

*Only Booster Gold is cool enough for a hair window.  Oh, and Animal Man.

8 comments:

Eyz said...

Great overview!

I'd say, it's like the perfect "Ultimate" DC Universe, more so than "Earth 1" by Straczynski would ever hope to be. And just sayin' that make me accept all the tweaks and adaptations they've been doing to the characters history.
(like Robin acting more like Tim than Dick)

But I digress with all those other opinions.
"Hello Megan!~"
I luuuuuuuuv Miss Martian!
Like you said, do all superheroes need to act the same gritty way??
I love the fact she looks so innocent or acts kinda clueless (makes me like her even more!). And the niece-thingie might be a cover story for a future white martian revelations - imo.

And as for Artemis... of course she's got a 90s ponytail, she's a 90s EXTREME! character!
(it's not Mia/Speedy or Arrowette both which might appear in the show's future like they said, she's that 90s EXTREME!! Amazon that replaced WW for a while)
I'm guessing the JL is hiding her for some reason and pretending her to be related to Ollie.

^As you can see, yep, huge fan of the show already^^
Though I prefer Brave & the Bold!

Bubbashelby said...

I love ths show too - especially Robin's portrayal. His giggle as he grapples towards danger is always a highlight. I also LOVE how Batman won't let Robin reveal his true identity - more a workaround for the writers whom I assume are not supposed to reveal him as either Dick or Tim - but an extremely clever one at that. Of course Batman would be so un-trusting!

And finally, yeah, why the heck is B and the B gone? There are a dozen crap shows they could have (and should have) pulled before pulling that masterpiece! Sheesh.

Eyz said...

Since Kid Flash is Wally, and the produced almost admitted it, I'm pretty sure this Robin's Dick...with Tim's computer skills.

As for Brave&theBold: There's still a last season/15 episodes to air!

I'm still crossing my fingers to see it *magically* renewed...

Smaerdyad said...

While KidFlash is Wally West, Apparently, according to the comic book of the show Robin is Dick Grayson, but he is wearing Drake's uniform and has computer skills like said.

SallyP said...

It would be a crime to cover up Booster Gold's hair!

Diabolu Frank said...

Liss, I don't recall your ever coming right out and saying you disliked the entirety of the Ostrander series, so yay kindred!

It's Zo'ok.

While everyone jumps to the conclusion this is Wonder Woman's Artemis, I understand this is actually Artemis Crock, daughter of the villainous Sportsmaster and the original 1940s Huntress. She's been around since the '80s, and these days goes by the name Tigress.

LissBirds said...

Really? I thought you knew I couldn't stand Ostrander! Well, now you know for certain. *solidarity fist bump*

Ahh, I didn't know anything about the Golden Age Huntress. Nor have I heard of Tigress, either. They've set her up as a mole, but I have a feeling she'll rebel against her handlers and probably wind up joining the team. They just revealed that she lives in a run-down apartment with what I'm assuming is her mother, who is in a wheelchair. I don't know if they made that up for the show or if it's from the comics.

Super-Duper ToyBox said...

Cool!