Young Justice - Bruce Timm and Paul Dini Aren't In Charge and That's OK

Yeah, I have to apologize for not reviewing this show sooner. Young Justice does not take place in the Bruce Timm DCAU, nor is it related at all to Teen Titans, despite having a nearly identical setup. Young Justice is also not based on the comic of the same name, which was about a team that succeeded the Teen Titans in the Tim Drake era, before eventually reforming the Teen Titans. It's more of a fusion of the two, also liberally pulling characters and tweaking their ages for the sake of "what if?" For example, the Robin portrayed in Young Justice is Dick Grayson, not Tim Drake. By the time Superboy arrived in the DC Universe, Dick Grayson was already into his 2nd costume as Nightwing. Miss Martian is another recent addition to the DC Universe, added after the "One Year Later" story which saw Tim Drake approaching adulthood.


ANYWAY, Young Justice does not take place in the DCAU, nor does it utilize any of the same voice actors in the same roles as shown in those shows, with the exception of Jerry O'Connell as Captain Marvel. Some voice actors who previously did work in the DCAU return in different roles, but the only one with a major role is Khary Payton who voice Cyborg in Teen Titans, which is not part of the DCAU. One notable voice actor who reprises a role is Bruce Greenwood playing Batman again after Batman: Under the Red Hood. The voice actors for each role are perfectly cast, with my favorite being Nolan "Nathan Drake" North as Superman & Superboy. North does an excellent job adjusting his voice to portray a younger, more angst-ridden Superman, while also voicing an experienced Superman.


Some complaints have been made about Young Justice not being in the DCAU or adhering to the comics strictly. You know, I don't remember the DCAU following the comics strictly. Didn't they give Tim Drake Jason Todd's origin? Didn't they completely ignore the continuity snarl of Hawkman and Hawkgirl? Didn't they completely erase the idea of Hal Jordan? Yeah, that's what I thought.


The show also has important feature that not enough western cartoons have: the passage of time. Each episode clearly lists a date that events take place, establishing that time is passing and these heroes will grow up. I don't have hopes for Nightwing making an appearance because its stated that Grayson is 13 at the start of the show. Although Grayson and Todd are the same age and they were Nightwing and Robin concurrently, I don't seem to remember Nightwing still being in high school, unless my memory is shoddy.


The show kicks ass so far, having only minor hiccups along the way like Robin's insufferable habit of using words that make no sense without a prefix and Miss Martian's catch phrase of "Hello Megan!" Despite those wacky problems, the show is still well-written, but not along the lines of Batman: The Animated Series. I would compare the level of writing to Justice League Unlimited, which was more like a TV adaptation of the comic The Brave and the Bold.


Check out Young Justice Friday nights on Cartoon Network at 6:30 PM, HD where available.