This long awaited, for me anyway, return of the Young Justice comic is finally here and the first arc was both new and exciting, but also pulled at my nostalgia heart strings.
Full disclosure, the original Young Justice comics came out right when I was around 10 and was my first comic I followed every month (previously devouring bronze age Marvel comics my dad had). It was my favorite comic, and yes the show based on it I also love. So, I am biased toward this team and these characters
The team:
Reintroducing Wonder Girl, Impulse, Robin, and Superboy.
Introducing Jinny Hex, Amethyst, and Teen Lantern
Robin, aka Tim Drake, is in metropolis when the city is attacked (as usual) by some aliens. Jinny Hex, Teen Lantern, Impulse, and Wonder Girl are all there and fight them off, but get transported to Gemworld where they meet Amethyst and meet up with a long missing Superboy.
Tim Drake was in metropolis with his girlfriend Stephanie Brown, which my bias fangirl self loved every second of because they both haven’t been treated very well in comics recently, to meet with Zatanna to figure out what is going on with his memories. Learning they have been tampered with (we are unsure if this is a relation to Doomsday Clock), he suddenly remembers the pre-52 Young Justice team and is deeply troubled that he forgot his best friends.
Meanwhile, Wonder Girl just got a mysterious visit from her grandfather Zeus. He offered her some powerful item, but Cassie being the total badass she is decides that she rather discover herself and her place in the world for herself. This mimics her development in the original series where she slowly develops more confidence.
Teen Lantern is Keli Quintela, a young girl from Bolivia who manages to hack into the Green Lantern power ring and create some constructs herself. She doesn’t have much development in this story but lets hope we have some more in the future. To be honest, the trope of having kids and teens hacking into hero’s stuff and gaining powers is pretty over played at the moment, mostly from Marvel, but as a non-apologetic Green Lantern fan I’m willing to give this trope a chance and see where this character goes.
Jinny Hex has a bit more of an interesting reveal that she has a mysterious box she inherited and is trying to learn more about it. While the contents of the box remain a mystery for now, her character and personality is well developed and is compelling.
Amethyst is then introduced as a princes of Gemworld, fighting against the tyrant Lord Opal. However the adults on the council of Gemworld have a problem listening to a teenager, so they ignore her and even punish her for saving the world. From previous installations of Gem World this is totally normal for the people in charge to care about nothing but themselves.
Impulse, fresh out of the Speed Force and freshly introduced to the Rebirth world, comes out swinging and is glad to be back. Seeing his old friends and ready to have
They meet up with Conner Kent, Superboy.
(Same)
Bart immediately hugs him, something I fully endorse, because this is Conner Kent’s first time in the Rebirth universe. The explanation is that while messing around at S.T.A.R. Labs, he gets transported to Gemworld. He agrees to marry a single mother for mutual protection an follows Pa Kent’s sage words of advice: “When in doubt, farm.”
The original team reuniting (and making my heart soar) The Summary of what the first few issues did
The Plot
The team is finally together and hold nothing back as they go up against Lord Opal.
Bart and Conner’s quick wit is on full display, along with the power house that is Cassie and master fighting style of Tim Drake. Teen Lantern, Jinny, and Amethyst hold nothing back and are able to defeat them.
However the council is more upset that Gemworld had interference and, under the guise of sending them back to earth, banish them to a mysterious place.
What will happen next? Will Teen Lantern develop a personality? Will Stephanie Brown show up again? What’s in the box? What will we get from the Multiverse of previous incarnations of the DC Universe?
Final Thoughts:
Personally, I’m excited. It was well written with believable stakes and just the right amount of nostalgia. 8/10.
