If you haven't seen season one of Young Justice, or like us, haven't seen it in awhile, then we've got you covered! We are re-watching all of Young Justice to prepare for the coming new season! It's been a fantastic ride and it brings back so many fun memories of our favorite team and their founding members. In season one, we watched a group of teenagers grow from young sidekicks to a cohesive and powerful group that in the end took on the Justice League themselves and won. Here's how season one's story stood out for us:
- The Founding Members: Speedy (Red Arrow), Robin, Kid Flash and Aqua Lad have been waiting for a long time to join their mentors in the Hall of Justice, the perceived home of the Justice League. After a brief tour and paparazzi photos, the team is welcomed to an area that is off limits to the public. It is quickly revealed, however, that this is not the real location that the Justice League operates out of and the sidekicks' hopes of becoming full members of the League are dashed. This pushes Speedy over the edge and he walks out and begins his career as Red Arrow, a solo hero act.
- Cadmus Debuts: While the League begins to handle a global crisis from The Watchtower, the sidekicks, now minus Speedy, get a call of a fire in Washington DC at Cadmus labs. The three head to investigate and help put out the fire when they realize that this is not the two-story facility it appears to be. Investigating further, they come across Superboy, a clone of Superman who's growth is being accelerated to Superman's age so he can take over as Superman and is controlled by a mysterious agency. Our heroes are caught but not before Superboy is released.
- Welcome Superboy: The three sidekicks are trapped and are about to be cloned just as Superboy was. Kaldur aka Aqualad, was able to reach out to Superboy and convince him to rise above his programing and save the three before they are cloned and killed. Now acting as a team, the four begin to climb from the basement floors and escape. It is only with the help of Dubbilex, the leader of the Xenomorphs who run Cadmus, that the team can escape. In a desperate act, the professor that was heading up the project takes a venom serum that transforms him into a monster with super strength. Our heroes work together to bring down the villain and the building in the process.
- Young Justice League is Formed: The now four heroes emerge from the wreckage of the building and are met by the Justice League. Batman realizes that the four heroes did a good job in a very tough situation. Superman, very disturbed by seeing a younger clone version of himself departs. Batman, however, decides that the four are ready to be their own team. They renovate the old Justice League headquarters inside Mount Justice where they are met with their fifth founding member of the team, Ms. Martian. Red Tornado becomes the team's supervisor and Batman announces that the team will be used for recon missions only.
- Enter Artemis: While much of the following episodes were entertaining and showed how the team developed to trust each other, the main story arc picks back up with the addition of the next founding member of the team. With Red Arrow refusing to join the Young Justice team, Artemis is brought in as the team's archer and the team is told she is the niece of Green Arrow. Her origin is kept secret for a very important reason which leads to her motives being questioned throughout the season.
- The Team Takes on More Difficult Missions: The founding six members of the Young Justice team have been established and they are starting to be tested with more difficult missions. After the Justice League took down Amazo, a robot that can mimic the powers of any meta-human attacking him, the team is tasked with escorting his pieces to secure locations. They are successful, though not without difficulty. Also, among some of the difficult missions the team is able to pull off is rescuing Red Tornado from his creator, fighting alongside the Justice League to bring down the "Injustice League", and taking on the powers of "Fate" and free Kent Nelson from his captivity in the Fate helmet.
- Zatanna Circles the Group: Zatanna, daughter of Zatara, visits the group from time to time. She is a powerful sorcerer, but is in need of practice and training. Her father, an active member of the Justice League, isn't ready to let her go on her own and join the Young Justice team but eventually she joins after Dr. Fate claims her father as his human source on Earth. Zatara sacrifices himself so that Zatanna doesn't have to wear the helmet and allows her to grow and live her life as a team member.
- Romance Blossoms: One of the more entertaining portions of the show for us are the romances that pop up on the team. Conner Kent aka Superboy clearly has the eyes of several of the girls on the team but it's Miss Martian that finally claims his heart. The two date in secret but it isn't long before the team figures it out, all but Wally West aka Kid Flash who is constantly after Miss Martian. Artemis had her eyes on Conner for a time but once she realizes that M'gann aka Miss Martian has him already, she backs off. Meanwhile, despite their constant bickering, it becomes clear that Artemis and Kid Flash definitely have something for each other but it isn't realized until the end of the season! Finally, Zatanna and Dick Grayson aka Robin, have a passing attraction. The two even share a kiss at midnight on the new year!
- Secrets Revealed: The theme of a spy being in the group is one that persists throughout the first season. Artemis' family is revealed to be villains. Her mother, a now law abiding citizen, was once Tigress, a master thief who was married to Sportsmaster, one of the villains the team often runs into. Additionally, Cheshire is also revealed to be in Artemis' family. She is actually Artemis' sister. Artemis is desperate to keep these secrets but she is also committed to being a hero, a fact she proves time and time again with the team. Artemis isn't the only one with secrets though. Miss Martian, who consistently shows herself to be a Green Martian, is actually a rarer White Martian! Her kind is looked down on by Martian society which is a fact that makes M'gann desperate to hide. Superboy is also keeping a secret. On a solo mission, he found out that the human side of him is actually from Lex Luthor. He even meets Lex who gives him "shield" patches that suppress his human DNA allowing him to access all of his Kryptonian powers. In a moment of great need, the team sets apart their need to keep their secrets, and tells everything that was happening. They were able to get the jump on much of the remaining Injustice League and reveal that Hugo Strange, who was running Belle Rev Psychiatric Hospital, is a member of the Injustice League.
- Real Traitor Revealed: Speedy aka Red Arrow is actually the mole that the Young Justice team has been hunting for all season. He actually isn't Speedy but a clone of him that was preprogrammed to seek membership in the Justice League. Once there, he could get to each of the members and put them under the control of season 1 main villain group, "The Light" led by Vandal Savage.
- The Light: Throughout the season the audience is able see special meetings between "The Light" members. We aren't sure who they all are but we do know who several of them are. They have been working through the whole season to acquire the necessary tech and spells to create a piece of Staro tech infused with techno spells that can allow "The Light" to take control of the wearer like a robot. Because of the masterful skill in the tech, it didn't matter if you were human, robot, or alien; the tech would work on ANYONE. Red Arrow was actually able to put one on all of the Justice League which leads us to the finale.
- Fight Against the Justice League: With the Justice League under "The Light's" control, only Red Tornado was able to write a script that would shut him down if he attempted to put a patch on anyone. Because of this, the team is able to hook him up to his android proxy where his consciousness is transferred and he is able to warn the Young Justice team. Working with scientists in Atlantis, the team is able to make a new patch that will deactivate the patch that the Justice League is wearing. In a systematic attack, the team is able to free most of the Justice League. It's the six remaining members that prove to be the most challenging. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter arrive from being off-world to face their counter parts in the Young Justice team. Our heroes are victorious and Superboy finally gets the credit he deserves from Superman.
With "The Light" escaping and the heroes back to normal, we are left with a heck of a cliffhanger. The six Justice League members that were the last to be freed were actually off world for 16 hours. During that time, they have no memory of what they did. "The Light" all but guts Cadmus and takes everything they need to a new location. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman wonder what it is they did in that time off-world and what kind of consequences could come from it.
Whew, ok so there you have it. That was basically all the major events in season one. Of course the best way to get all the facts is to watch the first season for yourselves, but we know not everyone has the time to binge 26 episodes. We hope you liked our recap and please share your thoughts or favorite moments from season 1 in the comments below or in our forum!
