I finally caught up on the new Young Justice animated series on Cartoon Network. While I enjoyed the opening couple of episodes the series felt a bit slow but that changed as the series progressed. I did like the idea of where it was going concerning the Justice League and the idea of Young Justice. The Justice League is comprised of some heavy hitting heroes such as Batman, Superman, Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, Wonder Woman etc..., The only problem is the Justice League is always in the spotlight. The villains have been taking advantage of that fact and doing crime in a way that allows them to go under the radar.

On the day that the JLA decides that they will be introducing their sidekicks to the big leagues a lot of disappointment is felt when Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Speedy find out they aren't being given access to all of the JLA's homebase or being fully briefed on the "real" headquarters. They are still being treated like sidekicks. Speedy decides that he's had enough coddling and goes off on his own and quitting as sidekick to Green Arrow. The remaining kid heroes decide to go on their own on a simple putting out a fire mission while the JLA is off handling a bigger situation. That mission turns out to be more than a fire and they get deep into Project Cadmus where they discover a secret lab which contains a teen clone of Superman. After their adventure and the aquisition of their new member Superboy, the group is made into a covert ops team by Batman to go where the JLA can't go without attracting attention.

*Some Spoilers Ahead*

As the series progresses the group aquires additional members such as Ms. Martian (Niece of the Martian Manhunter), Artemis (said to be Green Arrows niece, and more gets revealed later), and finally the newest one to pop up Zatanna (Daughter of Zatara). More characters should be on their way. Other sort of characters added are a giant mutated Wolf named Wolf. He is sort of Superboys own Krypto. The Super Cycle which was seen in the Young Justice comic book even comes into the series.

Although the season isn't over they've already shown tons of characters on both the hero and villain side. Some of my favorites such as Captain Marvel and Black Adam have shown up as well. Captain Marvel takes over Red Tornado's duties for a bit and gets to hang with the Young Justice Crew. They made it very interesting by having Captain Marvel being child like in his personality since Captain Marvel is actually a young boy named Billy Batson. He loves hanging out with the other kids closer to his age. Despite his youth he does manage to pop out some of that wisdom of Solomon when Aqualad is having doubts about being a leader. And for additional fan service we get a glimpse of Captain Marvel when he goes home and is greeted by his Uncle Dudley who some may recognize as Uncle Marvel of the Marvel Family. Captain Marvel even befriends a large mutated tiger he names Mr. Tawny another reference to his old comics and the talking tiger Tawky Tawny.

Other brief glimpses include Plastic Man, Madame Xanadu, Barbara Gordon and Bette Kane (both ladies have been Batgirl in DC's long history and Bette was also known as Flamebird). Many other heroes that I'd be hard pressed to remember them all in one shot. One episode written by Peter David even had Secret who was a member of Young Justice in the comic books. Also the somewhat obscure Red Torpedo and Firebrand/Red Inferno starred in an episode with Red Tornado. Green Lanterns John Stewart and Guy Gardner make a cameo. Not to be forgotten are the New Gods own Forever People and the JSA (Justice Society of America).

On the villain side we have the secret cabal of villains which includes, Lex Luthor, Ra's Al Ghul, Vandal Savage, Klarion the Witch Boy, Ocean Master and Queen Bee. Sportsmaster also makes an appearance mid-way through the series. But they are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to villains. The Injustice League made up of Count Veritigo, Black Adam, The Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra Humanite and Atomic Skull. Monsieur Mallah and his partner the Brain also come in to cause mischief. Cheshire is seen early on in the series as well. And this is just a fraction of the who's who of villains in Young Justice.

I am enjoying the series, the first few episodes left me a little worried at first but it picks up thankfully and the relationships are interesting. For example, Superboy is bitter and hates to be told what to do due to his near enslavement at Project Cadmus. He's also struggling with the fact that he's a clone. Something Superman hasn't been able to help with at all. If anything Superman is unsure of what he thinks about Superboy and his relation to him. He comes off as uncaring which causes even more emotional turmoil for Superboy. Later on Superboy ends up dating Ms. Martian which may turn into a love triangle if they introduce Wonder Girl, the Cassie Sandsmark version. If they bring in Donna Troy then it may not be an issue. There is also the big mystery of who is Artemis. We saw one episode where she is the sister to a villain in the series but there is more not being said. Captain Marvel I think should be given some focus, despite being in the JLA he is still a boy and his interaction with the team is great and at times comical.

If there is one thing I think DC is not doing with the series is taking advantage of all the characters being used and giving viewers a reason to check them out on the internet via the Young Justice website and using it as a springboard to introduce people to comics, mainly their new 52. The website has a bit of information about the Young Justice team so far but nothing on the cool villains or other heroes people may not be familiar with. That aside the series is coming out great. Hopefully we get to see characters like Static Shock or maybe Stars and Stripes join up.