Shortly after the events of Young Justice: Invasion, the team finds themselves tying up some loose ends at a film convention. As if the rocky friendship between Superboy and Miss Martian weren’t enough to contend with, telepathic terrorist Psimon is trying to lead our heroes into a trap! Can the team take him down without a repeat of their last encounter? And what happens when M’gann gets to meet one of her idols?
With new comics (both based on the cartoon and in-continuity at DC) and a new season of the television series, 2019 is going to be a freaking Young Justice renaissance and I cannot tell you guys just how much I am HERE for it!
Since the television series was canceled back in 2013, fans have been clamoring for any hint of what happens next to our heroes. Is Wally dead or trapped in the Speed Force? What plans do Darkseid and Vandal Savage have in mind for the Justice League and their proteges? Will Conner and M’gann work out their problems with one another?
Well, aside from that last one, don’t expect any major revelations in this digital comic miniseries. This is strictly an excuse to catch up with some of the characters and check in on them before the real meat of the Outsiders plot kicks in when the show finally returns on the DC Universe streaming service this January.
Psimon traps the team in Miss Martian’s mind, which takes the form of a rerun of the sitcom Hello, Meagan! Relying on Beast Boy’s encyclopedic knowledge of the series, Superboy navigates the plot of the episode and tries to reach the real M’gann.
The main drawback to this mini is how slight the story feels. Aside from hints at a possible full reconciliation between Conner and M’gann, there’s not much here in the way of plot. It falls victim to the tie-in comic curse, where all true forward momentum needs to be shown on the screen, so little of consequence is allowed to be portrayed in the books. The villain isn’t really dealt with and no one seems to be bothered by the unmasked superheroes running around and interacting with actual celebrities. It’s not wrapped us as tidily as one would hope.
The real reason to read this mini is if you’re like me and you’re still terribly invested in seeing M’gann and Conner work things out. The development and dissolution of their relationship was one of the most consistently strong things in the original television series, so I’m hoping this miniseries is a good indicator that their story won’t fall by the wayside in the new season.
Even with my gripes about the thin plot, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a big smile on my face while reading it. I missed these versions of the characters. Young Justice is such an action-heavy show, so it was nice to see them explore the characters’ relationships through a type of story they probably wouldn’t attempt in the television series.
It’s fun to see the usually-stoic Connor try to bluff his way through sitcom-land and to watch M’gann feel right at home in it. Bringing Psimon back as a threat is also a clever choice, considering what a big part he’s inadvertently played in the grand scheme of Connor and M’gann’s relationship since the first season of the show. It’s also fun seeing Batgirl joining the team for a field mission, although her involvement doesn’t really amount to much, other than making Gar less of a third wheel in the Superboy/Miss Martian A-Plot.
All in all, I enjoyed this return to the characters, but felt a little underwhelmed. The main crux of the story is something that seemed to have already been put to bed in the series proper; they just kind of explore it in a slightly more meta fashion here. It’s hard to say what I’d have rather seen, considering I still don’t know what the upcoming third season will explore, but I’m just glad it exists, despite its flaws.
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