There comes a time in life where you must decide the type of person that you are going to become. For Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash, the time to stand up and be acknowledged is at hand. For years these four have been recognized only as “sidekicks”, but now the Justice League has invited them to begin the process of joining the big leagues. When things don’t go exactly as planned on their big day, the sidekicks must decide whether or not to take matters into their own hands and use what they were taught to help others…even if the League disapproves. Welcome to the series premiere of Young Justice, the new series airing on Cartoon Network, created by Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood) and friend of ComicsOnline, Greg Weisman (Spectacular Spider-Man). So how does this series hold up in comparison to the abundance of DC Animated projects that we have grown to love?
Right away we are shown that this is not Teen Titans, this is not Justice League, this is a brand new take on the DC Universe as a whole, and damn is it fun to watch.

Young Justice draws a lot from the DC Universe and isn’t limited to the current continuity of the comics. Set on Earth-16, Young Justice takes different pieces from the Teen Titans and Young Justice comics and creates a new and interesting world for the characters to inhabit. Again, this is not your typical DC story. The Justice League itself has only been around for a few years and the world is still star struck by superheroes. While the heroes are definitely an organized force in this universe (with a full 16 member team), the villains have also become more of a threat as well, as clearly evidenced in the opening moments of the premiere.
A major difference between this and the prior Teen Titans animated series is that there will be a very strong League presence, with the adults acting as mentors and trainers for the young heroes. This new team consists of Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian (with a few others joining the cast as the series continues).
As Greg did with Spectacular Spider-Man, the premiere has been structured like a Live Action pilot, setting the ground work for some great ongoing plot threads that can easily take these characters in some interesting directions as the season progresses. During NYCC: 2010, we learned that the team working on this show has been given the option to use the entire DC character library, with no characters off the table. This should allow for the teens to explore the greater DC Universe and really allow for some interesting cameos.

I’m sure that some fans of the comics are going to have a few questions about the specific characters, and here is some information that the creative team on the show has made known: Yes, it is Dick Grayson as Robin. Yes, it is Wally West as Kid Flash. Yes, they are using the new Aqualad and current Superboy from the comics…So there will be some purists saying that if we are seeing Robin, Kid Flash, and Superboy together then it should be Tim Drake and Bart Allen and not their predecessors in their places. But here’s the thing, with the way Greg has written these characters, it really doesn’t matter at all. The team dynamic and spirit is still very much apparent, and the comedic moments that you would expect are still there in abundance.

In the end, Young Justice easily lives up to the high expectations and standards that we would hope to see with any DC animated project. This series has the potential to take both the Young Justice team and the Justice League in a fantastic new direction.

ComicsOnline gives Young Justice – “Independence Day” – 5 out of 5 series that we really wish we could watch more of right at this very moment.

Make sure you check out our Young Justice Coverage from NYCC: 2010 with more information about what we can expect from the series.

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