Guy, there was a certain lyrical sense of that post... was it a hikoup (sp?)?
I've taken to calling them Guyku.
I've taken to calling them Guyku.
I hate Dragon Ball.
Wow, this was very impressive. More Greg Weisman goodness, but taking a more serious, adult tone right off the bat than Spectacular Spider-Man. Strong characterizations, interesting worldbuilding, and clear hints of arc and continuity already. Excellent animation, though I'm lukewarm on many of the League character designs (Wonder Woman's eyelid-hugging tiara is ridiculous). The voice work ranges from good to excellent. I thought Khary Payton was very good as Cyborg on Teen Titans, but here, as Aqualad, he shows he's able to do a completely different character type just as well, if not better. He's an impressive presence. Nolan North does an interesting job doubling as Superman and Superboy; I didn't even recognize they were the same voice. And there are some impressive names in the JL roster: Bruce Greenwood as Batman, Alan Tudyk as Green Arrow, Phil LaMarr as Aquaman (and Dubbilex), Kevin Richardson as Martian Manhunter. Plus we had Crispin Freeman as a very intense Speedy, Rene Auberjonois as the mad scientist, and Keith Szarabajka as Mr. Freeze (using a very Michael Ansara-like delivery).
I'm a little disappointed that they went with the inevitable Dick Grayson for Robin, given that his hacker characterization here is a better fit to Tim Drake. So basically he's Tim with Dick's name -- which I guess is appropriate, since the DCAU Tim Drake was really Jason Todd with Tim's name. Although, well, I guess this Robin has Dick's fast-talking jokester personality melded with Tim's computer savvy, so maybe I'm overstating it.
My main complaint was that the resolution was too abrupt. I know there's a sense of obligation to get the premise set up by the end of the pilot, but the whole thing was too rushed -- "Okay, now you're our covert team and here's your clubhouse and here are your teachers and oh by the way here's your coequal regular cast member who was totally absent from the episode until just now." I wish that either they'd wrapped up the Cadmus thing faster and spent more time setting up the team, or else ended the pilot more ambiguously and saved the team setup for the next episode.
The character was created for this show by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti, but Geoff Johns liked him and added a version of the character to the comics. Due to the different production times of TV and comics, the later version of Aqualad came out first.
Well, imagine how he must feel. He's suddenly had what's essentially a son dumped on him out of the blue -- and at the same time has discovered that he's been violated on a profound level. Just because he can change the course of mighty rivers doesn't mean he can easily process a life-changing bombshell like that. On some level, he probably hates what Superboy represents, an assault on his very identity. But he knows that's not Superboy's fault, and being Superman, he knows he needs to do the right and responsible thing, and oh Great Rao he's a dad! Even a man of steel would be understandably freaked out at a time like that. And a relationship that complicated is not something that can be "set right" in the closing two minutes of a pilot episode.
Oh, it was unmistakeably he.
Auberjonois also did a lot of voice work for Hanna-Barbera in the '80s -- including Desaad in Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, a role he later reprised in JLU.
I'm a little disappointed that they went with the inevitable Dick Grayson for Robin, given that his hacker characterization here is a better fit to Tim Drake. So basically he's Tim with Dick's name -- which I guess is appropriate, since the DCAU Tim Drake was really Jason Todd with Tim's name. Although, well, I guess this Robin has Dick's fast-talking jokester personality melded with Tim's computer savvy, so maybe I'm overstating it.
My main complaint was that the resolution was too abrupt. I know there's a sense of obligation to get the premise set up by the end of the pilot, but the whole thing was too rushed -- "Okay, now you're our covert team and here's your clubhouse and here are your teachers and oh by the way here's your coequal regular cast member who was totally absent from the episode until just now." I wish that either they'd wrapped up the Cadmus thing faster and spent more time setting up the team, or else ended the pilot more ambiguously and saved the team setup for the next episode.
The character was created for this show by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti, but Geoff Johns liked him and added a version of the character to the comics. Due to the different production times of TV and comics, the later version of Aqualad came out first.
Well, imagine how he must feel. He's suddenly had what's essentially a son dumped on him out of the blue -- and at the same time has discovered that he's been violated on a profound level. Just because he can change the course of mighty rivers doesn't mean he can easily process a life-changing bombshell like that. On some level, he probably hates what Superboy represents, an assault on his very identity. But he knows that's not Superboy's fault, and being Superman, he knows he needs to do the right and responsible thing, and oh Great Rao he's a dad! Even a man of steel would be understandably freaked out at a time like that. And a relationship that complicated is not something that can be "set right" in the closing two minutes of a pilot episode.
Oh, it was unmistakeably he.
Auberjonois also did a lot of voice work for Hanna-Barbera in the '80s -- including Desaad in Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, a role he later reprised in JLU.
I actually have likened Clark and Connor's relationship to be that of siblings, not a father/son relationship at least that is how I think it has been portrayed in the comics. They're not like Bruce and his adoptive sons. I think people have to remember too that this was just the pilot episode and that these are seeds to be explored in future episodes along the season. I very much doubt that Clark will just ignore his clone like the poster implies he is doing.
I really enjoyed it. Just excellent! 
Aquaman already had a beard in the premiere. Going by that picture, though, he will have grown his hair longer.
He already is. He was there with everybody else in the premiere.
Aquaman already had a beard in the premiere. Going by that picture, though, he will have grown his hair longer.
He already is. He was there with everybody else in the premiere.
The computer reminded me of Brother Eye's priority ranking for the meta-humans. Batman was Alpha 1, Superman Alpha 2, Wonder Woman Alpha 3, and so on. I've not seen the episode yet due to not having cable, just have seen the clips and previews.
As with all adaptations, this show is free to define the characters in a different way. And one of the don't-call-them-sidekicks explicitly referred to him in dialogue as "Superman's son." That line wouldn't have been in the script if we weren't intended to see the character in those terms.
From what I read, this show is in the vein of something like Buffy, using its fantasy premise as a metaphor for exploring the coming-of-age experience. What they set up here between Superboy and Superman is just dripping with daddy issues -- the boy craving approval from the father figure but finding him undemonstrative and aloof, breeding feelings of rejection that lead to conflict and rebellion.
This makes perfect sense. There's a tendency for fans to make a connection between the comics and the DCAU, looking for continuity where none exists.
Now that I think about it, the line-up has more of a Teen Titans comic feel than Young Justice. Are we ever going to see Li'l Lobo?
According to Wikipedia, it's sort of a hybrid of New Teen Titans and Young Justice, but they went with the YJ title because the name itself was a better fit to their ideas. (And probably because there's already been a show called Teen Titans, though it was reportedly more like the YJ comic.)
I wasn't arguing the point Christopher I was simply expressing my own interpretation of their relationship. Sigh.
Supes is 01
Bats is 02
WW is 03
Flash is 04
GL is 05
Aquaman is 06
J'onn is 07
GA is 08
Black Canary is 09
Hawkman is 10
Hawkwoman is 11
Captain Marvel is 12
John Stewart is 13
Zatarro is 14
Captain Atom is 15
Red Tornado is 16
Young Justice tie in comic series
The issues past 6 are all by Wiseman and Vietta apparently.
It's been quite a while since I've watched any of the DC animated shows (not since Justice League Unlimited and Batman Beyond, I believe), but I watched this premiere today and had a really good time with it. I thought the sidekicks (sorry, Speedy - "partners") preformed pretty well as a team, and I got a kick out of Robin dodging away from the genomorph attack to start hacking into the computer system, particularly with his and Kid Flash's exchange once KF and Aqualad had caught up.
When I was following comics, I rarely looked into any of the team comics, and even more rarely into the "young" teams, so I'm curious: Which of the kids leads Young Justice? Based on this episode, Robin seems to me like he'd be the best choice, though I'm assuming it'll be Superboy just due to the "legacy" factor.
I'm also curious to hear if any of the other post-JLU animated series are worth my time.
When I was following comics, I rarely looked into any of the team comics, and even more rarely into the "young" teams, so I'm curious: Which of the kids leads Young Justice? Based on this episode, Robin seems to me like he'd be the best choice, though I'm assuming it'll be Superboy just due to the "legacy" factor.
I'm also curious to hear if any of the other post-JLU animated series are worth my time.
Superboy is a couple weeks old, of which 99 percent of that life he spent sleeping.
For him to be in charge, the others would have to be tards.
For him to be in charge, the others would have to be tards.
Actually, Aqualad is the team leader here. Which is surprising, given that Robin has historically been the leader of DC young-hero teams and that Aqualad is a brand-new character created for the show. But he certainly seems worthy of the role. He's very powerful, superstrong even without his hydrokinesis; but moreover, he's smart, disciplined, and authoritative. He's the one who first had the idea to investigate the Cadmus fire; I think he's the one who decided to free Superboy; he's the one who convinced Superboy to help; and he's the one who stood up to the JL and asserted that the team would not stop its activities. So he did come off as a natural leader and the driving force behind the team.
^ That works for me, as I do agree with your description of Aqualad's characterization in this episode. I suppose I had the question in the first place because the decisions throughout the impromptu mission seemed to me more like a collaboration between Robin and Aqualad, rather than any one team member calling the shots. I guess that's just a large part of having a competent team and a good leader. In any event, "Independence Day" definitely did its job with me; I'm looking forward to the show's regular premiere. I think the only thing about the episode that bothered me was the repeated use of the "Today is the day" phrase; I know they were all understandably excited, but I thought it was kind of tiresome to hear so many times.
It was explained at comic con and we discussed this in the other Young Justice preview thread earlier in the summer time that while Aqualad is the current leader of the team that does not mean that there won't be changes made in the future.
I think it was very effective. Repetition is an important literary and poetic device, and it worked well here because of the ultimate payoff. First they establish it as a theme -- the young heroes are excited because "today's the day" they get into the League. Then it turns out they were misled, that it's not the achievement they thought it was. So at the end, when their own team is officially founded, it carries added meaning when Aqualad says "Today's the day," for real this time. That's the best way to use a repeated phrase -- when you can give it a twist that brings a new, profound, or ironic meaning by contrast with its earlier uses.
The definite hallmark of a Greg Wiseman script.
Similar threads
