Young Justice: Season 1

Young Justice produced by Sam Register, Brandon Vietti, Greg Weisman (Warner Home Video) ASIN: B006PA0WF2

Plot Summary

The cartoon reimagines the teenage sidekicks of the DC universe -- in some cases (as with Aqualad) completely reimagining the character and his origin.  Unlike past cartoons like Teen Titans or the current Teen Titans Go!, Young Justice emphasizes the dramatic elements and creates season-long story arcs.  The story begins when Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, and Speedy (the Green Arrow's sidekick -- a running joke in the series is that people continually call Kid Flash Speedy to the consternation of both) are taken to see the Hall of Justice.  The teen heroes see the event as a rite of passage and a marker or their eventual admission into the Justice League.  Speedy demands to go to the true headquarters of the Justice League -- a secret satellite that only he and members of the League are aware.  He storms off angrily after being denied access.  Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin dutifully stay put as their mentors leave for a meeting of the league, but when an alert comes in to The Hall, the three teens take it as an opportunity to show their worthiness.  They report to a fire at Cadmus labs, where they find a teenaged clone of Superman.  The series sees these four heroes (plus Martian Manhunter's niece M'gann, another Green Arrow protege Artemis, and Zatana daughter of Justice League member Zatara) serving as a covert team of heroes.  Aqualad serves as their leader and they take missions from Batman.

Critical Evaluation

In addition to defeating supervillians, the show deals with crushes, romantic relationships, and issues of trust.  The episodes -- much like other shows featuring teens (like Buffy the Vampire Slayer) -- use plot elements to comment on or serve as a reflection of issues actual teens experience.  For example, in the episode "Image," it is revealed that M'gann -- a shapeshifting Martian -- has modeled her appearance on a television character named Megan.  Her true form is that of a white Martian (unlike green Martians, white Martians are not humanoid in appearance and have many insect-like features).  A villian in the episode threatens to expose M'gann's true form to her team.  Here, we see a reflection of  both the way that media shapes teen identity and a struggle with body image.   The show is smartly written and doesn’t talk down to teens.  It puts the teen heroes at the forefront in each episode despite the presence of the adult heroes.  The teen heroes have complicated relationships that mirror the teen/adult experiences of real teens.  The teen heroes are constantly fighting for respect and to be treated as equals.  The plot is complex and intriguing.  And the show presents a multicultural team -- a re-imagined African American Aqualad serves as the team leader -- and female characters are as capable as men.  The second season is even more diverse as Icon, Rocket, and Static Shock characters from DC owned Milestone comics (originally an imprint created by African American writers and artists), the Jaime Reyes incarnation of Blue Beetle, American Indian Eduardo Dorado Jr., and Japanese character Asami Koizumi are added to the regular cast of characters.

Reader’s Annotation

The teenage characters of DC Comics combine forces and work on covert missions.  It quickly becomes clear that all of their enemies are linked in some way.  Will the heroes discover what the villains are up to and can they thwart them?

Information about the author

From Greg Weisman's Wikipedia page:

Greg Weisman (born September 28, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Most recently, Weisman worked as producer on Young Justice animated series. In addition, Weisman wrote the script for DC Showcase: Green Arrow, an animated short feature that is included on the DVD for the film, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. His first novel, Rain of the Ghosts was announced and is to be released on December 3, 2013. It has also been announced that he will be an Executive Producer on the new Star Wars Rebels animated series, alongside Dave Filoni and Simon Kinberg.

Genre

Television Series/Superheroes/Action

Curriculum Ties

There are no clear curricular ties.  Though the characters encounter challenges that many teens are likely to face, it's highly unlikely that the work will connect directly to issues at school.  A savvy educator may be able to incorporate the show in an extra-curricular context -- that is to say, while it's highly unlikely an educator would find a defensible reason to use the show in the classroom, offering students the option of watching it outside of class and connecting it to literary analysis might be an option (however unlikely).

Booktalking Ideas

While, I'd be surprised if a popular action cartoon need a booktalk to increase interest, I would likely discuss the notion that the teen heroes are the center of the show and that they are portrayed in a way that is far more sophisticated and realistic than is normal (for superheroes in general and for teen heroes specifically).  The powerful roles for young women and other minority characters are likely to have some appeal as well.

Reading Level/Interest Age

The show contains character as young as 13, but would likely appeal to children even younger.  There is kissing and some physical violence, but would likely be suitable for children from the age of 10 and up.

Challenge Issues

There is some physical violence.

I would openly greet any patron who presented a challenge to the work, giving them ample time to detail their complaint.  I would listen attentively.  To respond to these challenges I would have some reviews of the work on hand.   I would be prepared to explain that as a public institution libraries "cannot limit access on the basis of age or other characteristics" (ALA, 1999).  I would have copies of the library's collection policy on hand.  I would be prepared to politely discuss that parents can control what their children are exposed to by coming to the library with them and examining books they check out.  If the Teen Advisory Group had written reviews of the book I'd have them handy.  While it may be of little comfort to certain parents, I would also be prepared to discuss my staunch support of intellectual freedom and abhorrence of censorship.  As a last resort, I would be sure to keep copies or a reconsideration form on hand.

Why did you include this series in the titles you selected?

I was already watching the show before the course started and found it to be of rather high quality.

References

American Library Association. (1999). Strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips

Wikipedia. (2013). Greg Weisman. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Weisman