Saturday, March 16

Young Justice Finale

Young Justice (Cartoon Network, 2 seasons, 2010-2013)

I just finished watching (via DVR, a couple hours after it aired), the series finale of Young Justice (a.k.a. Young Justice: Invasion for its second season). It's quite bittersweet.

I unashamedly proclaim that I loved this show. I was a big watcher of cartoons in my youth – who wasn't? – but watched very few in my adult life, mainly just the DC Animated Universe (or “Dini-verse) shows starting with Batman: The Animated Series 'way back in the early 1990s up through Justice League [Unlimited for its third season] a few years ago. The direct-to-DVD animated films that have followed up the departure of those series in the past few years I find very hit and miss, but this late series, although a departure in detail from the traditional DCAU, which had a more or less cohesive continuity, was very much its heir in spirit and may have been of even higher quality – a hit, through and through. I know that I found it consistently enjoyable, with better writing and characterization than a lot of live action TV shows, and frankly presenting a far more palatable “updated” version of the DC Universe than do the comic books themselves in the New 52. I will miss it deeply.

It wasn't a perfect ending by any means – but it was probably the best we could expect since I don't think the creators themselves knew it was coming until too late to do more than possibly tweak the last couple of episodes. It felt a lot more like a cliffhanger leading into a season three that we will unfortunately never see. There is an excellent review already up at IGN (http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/03/16/young-justice-endgame-review), and I'm sure others will follow.

I could go on and on at how shabbily DC's corporate “sibling” Cartoon Network – they are both part of the Warner Brothers empire – has consistently treated DC properties through the years, but the demise of this show did not surprise me in the least. It saddens me, but does not surprise me at all given the headwinds that it labored against. But all continuing down this path would do is raise my blood pressure uselessly. Instead, I'd rather start the call here:

DC Comics – Continue Young Justice as a digital-first title, Young Justice: Season 3, à la Smallville: Season 11!

Thanks for reading, and Thank you, creators of Young Justice, for two very enjoyable seasons.

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