Greg Bishansky writes...

Homefront

On this week's installment of "Young Justice," Robin and Artemis return after an extended absence. And it is a welcome return. At first glance, the plot of this episode seems like your standard "powerless heroes triumph over the odds story, but we get a lot more than that.

This episode excelled at two things: character moments and suspense.

For the first time since she appeared, we really got to know who Artemis is. We got to see passed her cocky attitude and saw some very reasonable and very human fears. Without backup, and when things got too hot for a normal human being to handle, she fell apart. I've seen the character getting some grief for this online, but be honest, I think in the face of such things, most of us would crack at least a little. And as the end shows, courage isn't a lack of fear; courage is doing what you have to do despite that fear. And act, she does.

We also saw more of her background and received confirmation that Cheshire is, indeed, Artemis' sister. I've suspected as much since "Infiltrator." And, not that I thought for one second she was, but there is no way at this point that Artemis is the traitor.

Now, not being a DC reader, all I know about Red Tornado is that he exists and he is a robot. I have never heard of these other two robots, but as has happened in previous episodes, we have seen another Xanatos Gambit take place. Red Tornado was obviously the true target, as The Light tried to reprogram him through Mr. Twister way back in "Welcome to Happy Harbor."

The action sequences were intense, and I loved the use of flames and water as effective weapons. Especially the flame thrower. While I did not care for the robots as villains much, their powers were effective and intimidating.

I also enjoyed that, despite being held captive, Kid Flash and Superboy were far from helpless, and participated in the victory. Too often in plots like this, the powerless heroes would do all the work and single-handedly save the day. As such, this was a nice change of pace.

And really cool to see a cameo by Barbara Gordon. I wonder if she's already Batgirl. Hopefully time will tell.

Hoping this isn't a spoiler request writes...

Why did Paula get together with Artemis's father?

Blossom writes...

Hi! I loved "Home Front" to pieces, definitely the best episode so far. I just had a few questions:
1. Was Red Tornado always the mole or did some weird programming thing happen when the spark touched his finger?
2. In the beginning of th series, Robin was shown using his holographic computer on his left wrist, but during this episode he switched between both his wrists. Is it a glitch, or is he cool enough to access the computer from both gloves?
3. LOVED LOVED LOVED the Artemis flashback. So gladshe got some character development, but we will be seeing development for the other, too, right?
Either way, I can't wait for next Friday! I'm so hooked on this show!

Anonymous writes...

If you have gotten this far, I give you virtual cookies and milk. You've been slogging through a lot. They're not as good as real cookies and milk, but I can't send those via Internet yet.

YoungJusticeFan writes...

Hello. I love Young Justice. I was most impressed with "Home Front". As you can tell I'm quite an Artemis fan. Just have a few questions if that's okay.
1. After Red Tornado came in, I was a little confused. I mean, once his eye sockets turned red, was he like hypnotized (sorry for my misspelling) or did he just do that on purpose.
2. So after what happened in "Terrors" and later on in "Home Front" is it acknowledged that Miss M and Superboy are dating now?
3. What was with that awkwardness between Robin and Artemis in Gotham. Was he on to her when he was questioning her, or what?
Thanks for your time.

Paul writes...

I thought you were supposed to write the Captain Atom episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold originally, but when the episode ("Powerless!") aired in the UK in August, I saw that you were credited for contributing the story idea, but you didn't write the script. How did you go from writing it to Kevin Hopps and Todd Casey writing it, if you don't mind me asking?

By the way, "Powerless!" was good, but I think "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!" was better. It's one of my favourite episodes of that show, actually.

Paul writes...

1) Is Mr. Freeze's origin in Young Justice the same as it was in Batman: The Animated Series?

2) If not, did Nora Fries still play a part in his Young Justice origin?

greenman writes...

Has this earth had contact with extraterrastrial lifeforms other than the Martians (J'onn and M'Gann), Starro, and of course Kal-El?

Annica writes...

Can you please send a massive THANK YOU to Jon - "Home Front" was definitely the best episode so far. And I love the fact that you guys are keeping the realism. I see so many movies or shows where in the midst of craziness and tragedy the characters act like not much is happening, but I think it was great when Artemis had her breakdown, because it just emphasises the fact that they are only teenagers but they have to deal with adult-like problems.
I've also really enjoyed issue 7 and 8 of the tie-in comics (you can probably guess which of the team is my favorite characters) - so awesome job on those too, but I'm curious (and not sure whether it counts as a spoiler or not), how old was Artemis when her sister left?
Also I'm not sure if this has been answered or not, but who came up with the idea of Robin playng with the english language? Because, whether it was you, Vietti or someone else on the team, they are a genius - I am forever whelmed.

Thanks for taking the time to read/answer!

Anonymous writes...

Okay. So in "Front End" we find out Dick's a freshman. That got me curious about the others. Am I to assume Artemis and Wally are sophomores and Megan and Conner juniors? Correct or agree?