The Five Bests Episodes Of Young Justice Season 2
After years of campaigning, Young Justice fans finally received the news they'd been waiting for. [...]
After years of campaigning, Young Justice fans finally received the news they'd been waiting for. Young Justice Season 3 is coming. Eventually. Fans are still waiting on a premiere date for Young Justice Season 3 to be announced.
In the meantime, why not go back and revisit some of the best episodes of Young Justice that are already out there? ComicBook.com is here to help with that.
Yesterday, ComicBook.com presented a list of the five best episodes of Young Justice Season 1, to help the busy Young Justice fan get the most of his or her rewatching time.
Today, we present a similar list, this time featuring the five best episodes of Young Justice Season 2, also known as Young Justice: Invasion.
Keep reading to see which five episodes we chose as the best of Young Justice Season 2. Don't agree? Let us know which episodes you have chosen as the best of the best in the comments below!
Young Justice Season 3 is now in production.
More Young Justice: The Five Best Episodes Of Young Justice Season 1 / Young Justice Season 3 Officially Announced / Five Plot Threads Young JusticeSeason 3 Needs To Resolve / Which Network Will Young Justice Season 3 Air On? / Twitter Reacts To Young Justice Season 3 / Young Justice Season 3: Who Will The Villain Be?/ What Fans Want To See In Young Justice Season 3 /Young Justice Showrunners Thank Fans For Young Justice Season 3 / Listen To The Young Justice Soundtrack
Beneath
One of the coolest things about Young Justice was the series sense of time. Five years passed between the Young Justice Season 1 finale and the Young Justice: Invasion premiere.
The time jump facilitated the introduction of an entirely new generation of young heroes who joined the Team under the guidance of the original Team members. "Beneath" is an episode that serves as a great introduction to several of those new team members.
There are two plots that flow through "Beneath." The first follow Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, as he searches for his missing friend, Tye Longshadow. This plot introduces audiences to Jaime's homelife. Blue Beetle ends up being one of the most important characters in Young Justice: Invasion, making this character work vital, and the disappearance of Tye kicks off a long-term plot that pays off later in the season.
The second plot sees Nightwing sending a covert squad into the nation of Qurac to investigate a lead involving the Light's dealings with Apokolips. Knowing that Queen Bee - a member of the Light and the ruler of Bialya who would like to annex Qurac - has the ability to control the minds of men, Nightwing makes the squad all-female. The now veteran Miss Martian leads newcomers Batgirl, Wonder Girl, and Bumblebee.
Miss Martian's team runs into trouble and has to face off against a team of villains that includes the psychic Psimon, leading to a rematch between Psimon and Miss Martian that serves as a kind of a sequel to the events of "Bereft," but by the end of the episodes all Miss Martian's team members have an opportunity to show their worth.
Bloodlines
Two of the core themes of Young Justice is the superhero legacy and superheroes as a family. Ask any DC Comics fan and there's a good chance they'll tell you that no group of characters exemplifies those two themes quite as perfectly as the Flash Family.
It seems the writers of Young Justice understood that as well and decided to use that sentiment in the Young Justice: Invasion episode "Bloodlines." The episode introduces a brand new speedster, Impulse, and sees every Flash putting on their costume for one more run.
Impulse arrives from the future and claims to be Bart Allen, grandson of the Flash. The Team doesn't believe him at first, but Impulse has no time to waste. He sets about making preparations to stop a villain named Neutron. Impulse teams with his grandfather to knock Neutron down, and Impulse uses his knowledge of the future to stop the Flash from pointlessly sacrificing himself, but it takes Kid Flash and original Flash Jay Garrick both coming out of retirement to save Flash and Impulse from being caught in Neutron's final blast.
The truth about Impulse's future ends up being a mystery revealed over the course of Young Justice: Invasion, but the young speedster certainly seems to have a new future ahead of him in Young Justice Season 3.
Depths
In addition to introducing a new a brand new class of heroes to the Team, Young Justice: Invasion also finds the original Team members five years older and occupying some new positions.
Former Robin Dick Grayson has graduated into the persona of Nightwing and now occupies his mentor Batman's former role as mission commander. Kid Flash and Artemis have both retired in pursuit of a happy, normal life together. Aqualad has apparently defected to the other side and is working for the Light under the command of his father, Black Manta.
"Depths" takes that new status quo and turns it on its head. Nightwing asks Artemis to come out of retirement to help defend the launch of an important space shuttle. It turns out calling in extra help was a good idea since Aqualad and his crew arrive to ruin launch day. The two sides clash and, while the Team successfully defends the launch, it comes at a cost. Aqualad stabs Artemis, killing her.
Except everything isn't as it seems. While most of the Justice League and the Team mourn the loss of Artemis, Nightwing holds a secret meeting that includes Kid Flash, Aqualad, and the dearly departed Artemis. It turns out the entire scene was faked to make everyone believe Artemis was dead when in fact she's going undercover as Tigress, alongside Aqualad, in an attempt to infiltrate the Light's inner circle.
These kinds of unexpected twists are one reason that fans can't get enough of Young Justice.
Satisfaction
Young Justice Season 1 concluding with a major twist of its own. Red Arrow, who had been Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy and friends with Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad for years, had turned traitor. Or at least that's how it seemed.
It turned out that Red Arrow wasn't actually Speedy at all, or at least not the original Speedy. Instead, Red Arrow was a clone of Speedy who had been implanted with commands from the Light so that the villainous organization could infiltrate the Justice League's Watchtower headquarters.
With the truth revealed, Red Arrow became obsessed with finding the original Speedy, and finally did, but Speedy wasn't thrilled. He couldn't blame Red Arrow for not knowing what happened, but he could blame Green Arrow for not even realizing he had gone missing.
In "Satisfaction," Speedy decides to take out his anger on the man responsible for his capture and cloning, Lex Luthor. In the end, Luthor manages to bargain for his life, offering Speedy a cybernetic replacement for his amputated arm. Speedy takes the arm and gives himself a new codename: Arsenal.
All of this, plus a b-plot that sees the women of the Justice League and the Team working through their grief over the loss of Artemis by taking out Captain Cold, makes "Satisfaction" a very satisfying episode of Young Justice indeed.
Endgame
While fans were justifiably disappointed by the cancellation of Young Justice after two seasons, it is hard to argue that the Young Justice: Invasion finale itself was a disappointing episode.
"Endgame" brought so many season and multi-season plot thread to a head all at once. On the planet Rimbor, the case against the members of the Justice League who disappeared into space for 16 hours in the episode "Auld Acquaintance" concluded with a guilty verdict, though Superboy, Miss Martian and Adam Strange arrive with evidence that could clear the League's name.
Meanwhile, on Earth, the Reach decide they need to cover their tracks and set their plan to destroy the Earth into motion. In order to prevent the planet's destruction, every Justice League and Team member on the planet is called to action. Even Lex Luthor offers to help, though likely with selfish reasons in mind.
In the end, all of it isn't enough. There's still a price to be paid. In order to stop the final Reach device from detonating, Flash, Kid Flash, and Impulse must run together. But, being slower than the other two, Kid Flash becomes a target for the device's excess energy is dies.
With the Reach's threat ended, the Team and the Justice League are left to mourn their losses. Impulse takes up the mantle of Kid Flash, and Nightwing steps down as team leader.
Meanwhile, the Light member Vandal Savage takes Warworld past Rimbor, demanding the release of the incarcerated Justice League members and proclaiming that the Earth is off limits. Savage's final destination is Apokolips, where he greets Darkseid.
For a time it seemed like we'd never get to see these dangling plot threads resolved. Now, knowing that they'll continue in Young Justice Season 3 makes "Endgame" and even better episode than it was before.
