Young Justice, Green Lantern return January 5th

They sure put a lot of stock in some ancient legend. "We can't defeat the Anti-Monitor without it!" Excuse me? Besides, the fact that they could defeat Larfleeze so easily and walk off with the lantern should provide a hint how powerful it is ... or not.

 

Yeah, this week's GL was pretty weak, unfortunately.

 

I thought Green Lantern was just okay this week. It was great seeing the Orange Lantern and I thought Larfleeze had some comical lines, but overall it felt like it was putting a damper on the whole Anti-Monitor storyline at a point when it should be ratcheting up the action and tension.

As for Young Justice, another solid episode. I was surprised by Godfrey's turn against the Ambassador. I enjoyed the Ambassador's scenes a lot this week. Black Beetle remains a force of destruction.

I really liked a lot of other interactions in the show this week. The Nightwing-Miss Martian mutual apology society was nice. Though I didn't quite get why Mal and Bumblebee broke apart after being rescued. That was odd to me; I wish there had been some dialogue there. Arsenal was quite the jerk, but I liked that because it added some combustibility into an already volatile situation.

I did like how Nightwing dressed down Arsenal and how the new kids balked at joining Young Justice. If the show had not been canceled I wonder if they would've formed their own super team, this universe's version of the Titans, Outlaws, or Outsiders?

 

He's always been a xenophobe. It's nice to see his darker instincts turned toward a decent cause, though. It would have been a bit ridiculous for him not to notice the massive attack fleet rising from our oceans as being a potential threat to the Earth.

 

GL was okay. Larfleeze was fun, but the episode really did nothing to move the story forward, and in a series that's been this arc heavy that can be annoying. YJ was great though, we got lots of interesting developments. It was great seeing Godfrey tear into the Reach Ambassador, and it makes wonder if we might see some other non-team member characters start to question them and their motives. I really enjoyed seeing the new heroes again, and we got some good stuff with the main cast in the end.
Kevin Grevioux really needs to play a Klingon in a future Star Trek movie or show.

 

They could have used this episode to move along the arc by having Larfleeze join the group. The "he's stealing your stars" argument seemed to work well enough for him, and they could always trade him other stuff. Though, I suppose it would be awkward having Larfleeze around if their ultimate goal is to talk Aya back to sanity.

 

I didn't care for Nightwing's reaction. As he said himself, the time for that is when they get back to Earth, not in the middle of combat. What if he drove Arsenal to do something even more rash?

And you don't chew out your subordinates in public. Bad for morale. He might not have lost the new kids otherwise. I wouldn't want to work for such a jerk either.

Nightwing has a lot to learn about leadership. The business with Aqualad and Artemis may be another example, though I'm still trying to decide if he was wrong.

 

^
Fair enough. But Arsenal deserved to get reamed. He needed to be checked, right then. Perhaps Nightwing could've handled it a bit better, but I can understand why he did it.

 

Yeah, it's actually a situation where there are pros and cons from the management perspective. I can see where the other team-mates might have been resentful had Nightwing not come down hard on Arsenal.

 

^But it was contrived to have him do it right then and there, instead of afterward in a proper debriefing. They only set it up that way to give the Runaways their excuse to get home on their own and thus let Nightwing see that they had a Father Box, tipping him off to Apokoliptian involvement.

 

Dumb question, what's there a difference between a Mother Box and a Father Box?

 

Mother Boxes come from New Genesis, Father Boxes from Apokolips.

 

Really? I actually didn't know that. I thought Father Box was just a Grant Morrison thing.

 

It apparently predates Morrison, but Father Boxes are of Apokoliptian origin. Link

 

I quite liked the Larfleeze episode. He's a fun and mischievous character and it was nice to finally see him in live action. I also liked the that the episode touched on how the mind can be taken over. It's something a lot of us face with unwanted thoughts and habits, so it was worthwhile. I'm also fascinated by the orange lantern itself and how there's only one member. Considering it deals with greed, it's very fitting. I've always thought that if I had a ring, it would be an orange one, since I don't like to take orders. Power's all mine!

Try to find the Larfleeze Christmas Special is you can. I got it last year and loved it. It's a fun read. You'll get to see Larfleeze and his sidekick Glomulus take on the spirit of Christmas and learn nothing. But it's still got heart and a great orange lantern cookie recipe thrown in.

 

Nightwing was the moron who put Arsenal on the team in the first place despite the fact that he was mentally unstable and had previously tried to kill Lex Luthor. Dick's problems as leader is becoming more and more apparent. The conflicts within the Team are just the result of him ignoring the individual members and playing everyone like chess pieces.

Invasion is essentially Nightwing's Greatest Fuckups.

 

Ummm, this isn't live action.

 

^

Why, did you watch the rerun?

(wokka wokka!)

 

Some miswording there. It was nice to see him in action, period.

 

Well, I see it this way. Dick, being Roy's friend, cared about him and wanted to keep a support network around him. Two, Dick probably would rather have Roy around to better keep an eye on him. Letting Roy go rogue might have been too dangerous. I'm not saying that Dick's actions have been perfect, but I do understand them. Just like I can see that maybe he misjudged how badly damaged Roy had been by his experiences, which led to Roy going rogue anyway.

As for him playing everyone like chess pieces, I think that's partially true, but they have all been played by The Light and now the Reach. But if you see that controlling side to Dick, I'm sure you know where he got it from. He just hasn't mastered it at this point.