Monsters of Television

“Billy Batson has the courage of…BILLY BATSON!“

As you may know, I have a pretty checkered history with Young Justice. I find its lack of perspective create a show that is overly generic, and when the show attempts to earn emotional moments, it cannot execute those moments very well (this episode is really no exception to the second point). As with “Targets” before, I rather liked “Misplaced,” but I’ve come to distrust my reaction to episode I like as I’m sure that I’ll get something truly horrible in a week or two.

But before allow myself to get too bogged down in dreading whatever may happen next, let’s talk about why I liked the episode.

Captain Marvel is awesome. (At least he is on this show, not sure how he is in the comics.) I’d actually go so far to say that he’s the show’s breakout character. Both voice actors (assuming that Billy is voiced by someone other than Rob Lowe, but I can’t seem to find out) are clearly enjoying themselves, and the writers are clearly enjoying writing for the character.  This episode utilizes the character remarkably well, as he is able to move between the dimensions that Klarion and his magical posse have created. And while it serves a narrative purpose, it does highlight just how snugly Captain Marvel fits into the show.

Likewise the episode solves a couple of problems that were lingering. Zatanna is a great presence for the show as she balances out the girl characters, between the ditzy and kind M’gann and the tomboy with a secret Artemis, and I’m glad she’s now a permanent member of the team. While I didn’t review the episodes wherein she was played a large part, I did like, and continue to like, the dynamic she brings to the team, and hope she interacts with some of the other characters more fully soon.

I’m even happier that the show has solved the Helmet of Fate issue. I was less than thrilled when the helmet was used to take down the Injustice League as it provides too easy an out for the show in helping justify how less-than-experienced heroes are able to take on full-blown super villains. And as both the team and the adults weighed the options of using it in this episode, I was thrilled when they decided not to and then horribly disappointed to see that Zatanna had brought it along.

And here’s where the episode kind of stumbles. Between the long break and my dislike of the Helmet of Fate as a plot resolving device, the way in which Zatanna becomes a member of the team — by having Zatara become Fate’s new host — wasn’t great for me. It’s a moment that might’ve had more impact if not for the break between episodes, and it had the Zatanna/Zatara momentum behind it. It does help deepen Zatanna as a character, and I do appreciate any time this show makes a push for character development, but it still felt just a little forced for me. (Really, there’s no pleasing me with this show.)

One last thing related to Zatanna and that also ties into the show as a whole. With the ranks of the group getting larger, I’m hoping that the writers take a step back and realize that they can’t have every member in every episode. With only 22 minutes of story, that’s not a lot of room for everyone to have a presence. And this episode does demonstrate this problem: the team feels decidedly secondary to this episode, and show’s rather erratic focus (it’s a Captain Marvel episode that becomes a Zatanna episode) didn’t help.

Young Justice has shown it can use only two or three of the team at a time, and it should consider doing that more often going forward. And when they need to use the entire team, it’s best to make sure the focus is clearly either on everyone working as a group and their dynamics, or that one particular member is the key for that episode. It’ll help the episode’s structure and pacing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• DC Nation Short: A Plastic Man short. It uses a fun with homophones approach as an old lady describes a man who stole her purse, and Plastic Man transforms into something else: “He was male” and Plastic Man morphs into a mail box. The punchline, as Plastic Man gets the face right only to be arrested, is perhaps the best bit. It’s funny enough, though I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Aardman Batman short with Green Lantern: TAS.
• “Zatanna is…SO my only child.” Zatara channeling his inner-Chandler Bing there.
• “They don’t make immortal evil sorcerers like they used to.”
• Artemis attempting to sing a lullaby is perhaps the funniest thing the show has ever achieved.