Young Justice is an American animated television series created by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti for Cartoon Network. Despite its title, it is not an adaptation of Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck's Young Justice comic series, but rather an adaptation of the entire DC Universe with a focus on young sidekicks. Batman has a small role in the series, however, his sidekick Robin is a main character in the show.
Overview
Young Justice focuses on the lives of a group of teenaged superheroes and protégés attempting to establish themselves as proven superheroes as they deal with normal adolescent issues in their personal lives. The show is set in Earth-16, a DC Multiverse world, and corresponds to the present time of our world, a time period Vietti has called "a new age of heroes." The pilot movie aired a month prior to the debut of the regular series.
Sypnosis
Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Artemis. It established their desire for greater recognition and respect, namely, a promotion from sidekicks to full-fledged superheroes. Met with opposition from their respective mentors in the Justice League, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, and Green Arrow, the protégés react in different ways. Speedy resigns from being Green Arrow's partner and begins calling himself Red Arrow. The others seek to persuade their mentors of their worth by secretly taking on a Justice League mission to investigate the Cadmus building. During their infiltration of Cadmus' headquarters, the four heroes find a clone of Superman named Superboy. After the discovery, the team finds out Cadmus is being run by the Genomorphs. The movie deals with this revelation, the orign of Superboy, and how this relates to a mysterious group of people called The Light. In the end, Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy negotiate with Batman to organize a covert operations team as a practical contrast to the Justice League whose celebrity status makes it difficult to maintain secrecy. After consulting with his colleagues, Batman establishes Young Justice in a secret cave on a secluded island here the teens are trained and mentored by the Justice League. Miss Martian makes an appearance at the end of the movie and joins as the fifth member.
Cast & Characters
Young Justice includes an array of characters from DC Comics as the supporting cast, which will continue to expand throughout the series. As of episode 16 of season 1, there are 135 characters from the DC Universe in the show. The main characters and Batman are listed below in alphabetical order.
| Character | Voice Actor/Actress | Description | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artemis Crock/Artemis | Stephanie Lemelin | Artemis is loosely based of the comic book character, but still sharing her name, is the team's fifteen-year-old archer, being very skilled with a bow and arrow. She is introduced Green Arrow's niece, though it is later implied that this is was said to help her join the team, instead of her possibly becoming the villianess Tigress. | Majority of the series. |
| Bruce Wayne/Batman | Bruce Greenwood | Both aspects are based on the comic book character of the same name and is a member of the Justice League of America and assigns Young Justice covert missions. | Majority of the series. |
| Connor Kent/Superboy | Nolan North | This version of Connor Kent is a clone of Superman, made by Project Cadmus. Although he does not have all of Superman's abilities, he has a relationship with Superman himself. | Majority of the series. |
| Dick Grayson/Robin | Jesse McCartney | While based off the character of the same name, Dick Grayson is the youngest member at age thirteen, though he is also the most experienced superhero on the team. Batman has forbidden Robin from revealing his secret identity to the team. | Majority of the series. |
| Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad | Khary Payton | He is the leader of the team and loosely based off the comic book character of the same name. He displays several Atlantian powers and will have Robin as his successor. | Majority of the series. |
| Miss Martian/M'gann "Megan" M'orzz | Danica McKellar | Megan is Martian Manhunter's sixteen-Martian year-old niece, based off the comics character, as well as being an inexperienced superhero. She also has a crush on Superboy (Connor Kent). | Majority of the series. |
| Wally West/Kid Flash | Jason Spisak | Based off the comic book character of the same name, Wally West is a fifteen year-old boy with enhanced speed. Though he cannot vibrate his molecules through solid objects like the Flash and gets a bloody nose during the attempt, he flirts with women, such as Miss Martian, Artemis, and Black Canary and is best friends with Robin. | Majority of the series. |
The Justice League play a major role, primarily as mentors to Young Justice. There are sixteen members in total, though members that do not have an immediate connection with the main characters will serve as background characters. Direct mentors — Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow — will feature prominently. Batman, Red Tornado, and Black Canary are the most frequent recurring characters. In addition to leading the Justice League, Batman acts as Young Justice's "general," a role compared to Director of Impossible Missions Force Jim Phelps, choosing the team and assigning missions. Red Tornado and Black Canary respectively function as their supervisor and combat trainer. DC Universe characters who are neither affiliated with Justice League nor Young Justice will also be supporting characters. This includes frequent recurring character Roy Harper, who starts out as Speedy and later assumes Red Arrow as his superhero identity.
Gallery
.JPG "Robin (YJ).JPG (25 KB)")
.JPG "Kid Flash (Wally West).JPG (27 KB)")
