Young
Justice: Season 1
(2011/DC Comics/Cartoon Network/Warner Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: D Episodes: B-
Created
by Greg Weisman (co-creator of Gargoyles)
and Brandon Vietti (director for Batman:
Brave and the Bold),
Young
Justice was
created for Cartoon Network as a series that follows the lives and
adventures of a host of young superheroes. Premiering in 2011 and
running until (an abrupt end in) 2013, Young
Justice had
a generally favorable reception from fans as it followed the exploits
of the young heroes and their exploits on Earth-16 in a new/fresh
way.
The
series revolves around The
Team,
a younger version of (essentially) The Justice League. On Earth-16
superheroes are generally a new phenomenon; though the people have
earth know of and live beside the already established Justice League.
Described by the creators as the 'new age of heroes' Robin, Kid
Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy compose the initial team; a team that
wishes to be upgraded from sidekicks to full-fledged heroes. The
first episodes have our young heroes taking on mission of their own
without their 'bosses' permission; though at this point Speedy has
resigned as Green Arrows sidekick to become Red Arrow. The Team
(again composed of Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Red Arrow) look to
infiltrate The Cadmus building (a secret Genetic testing lab in the
DC universe) as wrong doing is afoot. Once in Cadmus The
Team
discovers Cadmus has created Superboy using Superman's DNA; as well
as a creating genetic weapons called Genomorphs. In the end, The
Team escapes with Superboy and establishes the premise for the
series. Robin and crew strike a deal with Batman to be an
independent, covert team that takes on their own missions. Batman
and the rest of The Justice League find this to be a good opportunity
as (superheroes being relatively new) they are seen as celebrities
and performing undercover missions is becoming increasingly
difficult. They set up the newly established Young Justice team in a
former Justice League facility (a hollowed out mountain) called Mount
Justice. Here they are mentored by the seasoned veterans.
Season
One has
26 episodes that are very well done. The animations is crisp and
clean; and whereas not the most detailed design to date, it is far
from the sanitized CGI style in recent years. Unlike other series
like Batman:
Brave and the Bold, Young Justice embraces
an overarching storyline, with admirable continuity and intertwining
plot points. Batman seems to be the 'Charlie to the Angels' as he is
the hero who sends the team on the most missions; though certain
episodes have the team acting of their own volition. It takes about
12-14 episodes for the series to pick up speed and get its bearings;
in terms of continuity and a cohesive story. But once we as an
audience see Young Justice up against The Injustice League and the
mysterious group known only as The Light, we see how far the series
can go.
Young
Justice: Season One is
presented in a 1080p, 1.78 X 1 widescreen that is beautifully
pictured as it demonstrates bright colors, bold/inky blacks, crisp
lines, and an overall strong presence. The sound is a lossless
DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) 2.0 Stereo track that gets the job done, but
lacks the 'umph' this great series should have. Without a doubt
sound quality is crisp, clean and clear with dialogue presenting
nicely; but musical scores and overall action is weak.
No
extras are available on this set.
-
Michael P. Dougherty II
