A few years ago, fans were enraged when Chumptoon Network decided to cancel Young Justice to make room for Teen Titans Go!, rather than expand the fading DC Nation block.
Head writer Greg Weisman could relate. Some years earlier, Weisman was the head writer for Disney's Gargoyles, which was plucked from syndication and picked up by ABC as a weekly series for its third & final season, using the sub-title, The Goliath Chronicles. The show's quality took a hit, and Gargoyles was done.
A fan campaign led to reports of Young Justice being revived, but this time, it would be online. At first, it was reported that the series was ticketed for Netflix, which was streaming the first two seasons. Then, DC and Warner Bros. launched DC Universe, their streaming service, last summer. Young Justice: Outsiders, which bowed last month, was one of the centerpieces of the new network's lineup.
As before, Young Justice is blessed with lush, excellent animation, a mix of 3D & traditional linework. Much of the cast has returned, including Khary Payton (The Walking Dead, Teen Titans Go!), who voices Black Lightning here, as well as the new Aqualad, who is also the son of Black Manta, and Danny "Brick" Brickwell, a Green Arrow villain. Those of you who follow Arrow might feel cheated about producer Greg Berlanti rebooting Brick as an Australian (Vinnie Jones, "The Condemned"), but hey, it's his world. Greg Cipes will wind up being typecast as Garfield "Beast Boy" Logan, but his characterization here is way more mature than what he does on Teen Titans Go!, as Gar is the girl-crazy TV star we met in New Teen Titans back in 1980, filling the time after the then-demise of the Doom Patrol in the books. Danica McKellar (ex-The Wonder Years) reprises as M'gann M'orzz, or Megann Morse, aka Ms. Martian. Actor-singer Jesse McCartney is Dick Grayson, now using his Nightwing alias.
Let's take a look at a sample clip:
I promised a friend that I would invest in the season 1 & 2 DVD's, and get caught up down the line. If this season eventually makes it to DVD, I'm getting that, too.
Rating: A.
3 comments:
I would have preferred it if they put it on [adult swim] Toonami instead of DC Universe/HBO Max since Young Justice was created for cable, not streaming.
And this is only my opinion.
If a show is made for cable, then it should STAY on cable.
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