YJ ANIMATED SERIES vs COMIC CONTINUITY

[Masterff]

I have to say that I think the Anime Series has a MUCH MUCH better writing compared to the Comics (with Comics I mean the Comic CONTINUITY, not only single comics).

1 The JL is MUCH more likeable and has a much better relationship with the proteges.
Characters like Aquaman, Batman etc. are much nicer in the TV Series compared to the Comic Versions and have a better relationship with their proteges.

2 The Characters are allowed to grow up and become members of the JL and look the same throughout the Series.
In the Comics especially Conner Kent looks EXTREMELY different from Series to Series, while in the TV Series he looks the same (but older and more muscular).
I also LOVE the Idea of the Voting (who can join the JL), a much better and plausible way than it’s done in the Comics.

3 The Characters like Conner Kent etc. get more respect than in the Comics

4 I prefer the Trainings how its done in the TV Series (with Black Canary training them etc.)

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Young characters tend to work better in series where time moves forward. Plus I felt like the cartoon has better worldbuilding and infrastructure than the comics. The latter feels like paint tossed at a wall and it became easier to not care too much about it.

But the cartoon spreads itself thin with its cast and the core villian group is rather meh.

The timeskips are a double edged sword.

[Primal Slayer]

They both have their ups and downs.

The constant time jumps in YJ haven't done the show much help and piling in every character known to man left most of them severely underdeveloped.

[Frontier]

They both have their ups and downs.

The constant time jumps in YJ haven't done the show much help and piling in every character known to man left most of them severely underdeveloped.

The time jumps, the lack of consistent character focus, the overall plot moving at a snail's pace, and featuring as many characters as they could (even if they barely did anything with a lot of them) didn't do the show a lot of favors.

[Drako]

The time jumps, the lack of consistent character focus, the overall plot moving at a snail's pace, and featuring as many characters as they could (even if they barely did anything with a lot of them) didn't do the show a lot of favors.

YJ cartoon lost me when they choose to finish a plot line from another show instead of focusing on the character headlining the arc.

[Primal Slayer]

YJ cartoon lost me when they choose to finish a plot line from another show instead of focusing on the character headlining the arc.

Yeah.....the team looking at it as a legit DC Universe show instead of YJ past s2... that's why having limitations can help and aren't always a bad thing

[king of hybrids]

I mean, while the JL doesn’t have the pit of moral oblivion that was Superman turning a blind eye/ear to the mind wipe cabal; YJ’s Justice League was very quickly falling down the ‘road to hell is paved with good intentions’ sort of corruption

[James Cameron]

No DC animated series has achieved what Young Justice has. YJ is the rare case of animated content not being manipulative or talking down to children. It is intricate and complex and touches on themes that too many shows are afraid to. It highlights superheroes as people instead of archetypes. Young characters learn and grow and the show's continuity is respected all the way through. I thought season 3 was pretty bad (that's not saying much since the whole show is the gold standard) but everything else is just stellar. I'm still hoping for a proper conclusion one day but with how good season 4 was I'm very satisfied.

[Gaius]

Should have stayed cancelled is my hot take.

[Primal Slayer]

No DC animated series has achieved what Young Justice has. YJ is the rare case of animated content not being manipulative or talking down to children. It is intricate and complex and touches on themes that too many shows are afraid to. It highlights superheroes as people instead of archetypes. Young characters learn and grow and the show's continuity is respected all the way through. I thought season 3 was pretty bad (that's not saying much since the whole show is the gold standard) but everything else is just stellar. I'm still hoping for a proper conclusion one day but with how good season 4 was I'm very satisfied.

Greg has said there will never be a conclusion. It'll just continue to on cliffhanger after cliffhanger.

[Frontier]

YJ cartoon lost me when they choose to finish a plot line from another show instead of focusing on the character headlining the arc.

When it wasn't Razer it was Orion or Forager and his new romance...

Or like how in Zatanna's arc where Zatanna got the least amount of screentime and action. Here's Etrigan, even though he barely contributed anything meaningful to the plot!

Or Nightwing's arc where Nightwing's only real role is doing detective stuff.

Don't get me started on Beast Boy's depression plot...

I mean, while the JL doesn’t have the pit of moral oblivion that was Superman turning a blind eye/ear to the mind wipe cabal; YJ’s Justice League was very quickly falling down the ‘road to hell is paved with good intentions’ sort of corruption

Oh yeah, I remember when M'Gann mindwiped that one Krolotean in front of Batman and J'onn and only Superboy seemed to care.

Of course it was also pretty consistent in YJ that they would sweet the characters' morally ambiguous actions and

Greg has said there will never be a conclusion. It'll just continue to on cliffhanger after cliffhanger.

And plenty of The Light going "just as planned!" or turning a loss into a victory or the overall story arc moving at a glacial pace.

Despite evidence to the contrary I feel like sometimes YJ really believed in the "illusion of change" mantra of modern comics.

[John Venus]

The show is more consistent than what the comics became after the Nu52, what with juggling multiple contradictory takes at the same time. YJ is far more consistent and clearly defined with a clear set vision. There is a lot of thought given to world building and I particularly like the fact that they took the time to give Atlanteans their own language.

That said, I find the show to be far from perfect. The world building is far too homogenous; every villain is connected to the Light and Vandal Savage planned everything. Characters bend towards the plot rather than the other way around leading to dialogue that's often stilted. The constant time skips plus the need to focus on a huge cast of characters often lead the show to lose sight of their core cast with many of their important developments happening off screen.

Some of their decisions regarding their characters I find to be either bizarre, frustrating or not my thing. Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing represents him moving away from Batman's shadow. On the show, the Team is very much under the League's purview. Dick talks about not wanting to be dark like Bruce but this Bruce is probably the nicest, most sociable person on this DCU Earth. Personally, I prefer a Batman who sticks to the streets and not chairing JL meetings but that's my preference. Then there is Artemis Crock who is a villain in the comics, I don't mind the re invention into a hero but then they jumped extra hoops by making her and Cheshire sisters (which divorces Cheshire from her comic book family) and also makes Linda Park obsolete by pairing her with Wally West. Speaking of, I don't mind Wally being a little jerk when he starts, that's part of his character, but not only does he die in the show without achieving anything relevant, he is also shown to fall behind both Barry and Impulse. Aqualad/Kaldur; I love the character and his arc, I just wish he wasn't slotted into Dick's generation. He would have worked fine in Tim's generation (which is the generation his comic counterpart is going to be in in the comics anyway). Having him in Dick's generation leads to clash with him and Garth. Speaking of clashing generations; I very much would have preferred Conner and Miss Martian to be in Tim's generation (in fact, why not start with Tim in the first place?) with Zatanna in the JL's generation and Zachary on the Team. It also would have been nice to see some interaction between WW and her side kicks before being shipped off to be paired with the Bat Kids.


And I know many people love the YJ origin of Beast Boy. I'm partial to it but I also think there is something to be mined in his original origin of being a sick kid given an experimental vaccine by his parents who then perish saving him.

[Agent Z]

I mean, while the JL doesn’t have the pit of moral oblivion that was Superman turning a blind eye/ear to the mind wipe cabal; YJ’s Justice League was very quickly falling down the ‘road to hell is paved with good intentions’ sort of corruption

Not remotely. The closest they got to this was Batman's covert ops team in season 3 and even that is tame compared to what he's done in the comics.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

The show is more consistent than what the comics became after the Nu52, what with juggling multiple contradictory takes at the same time. YJ is far more consistent and clearly defined with a clear set vision. There is a lot of thought given to world building and I particularly like the fact that they took the time to give Atlanteans their own language.

That said, I find the show to be far from perfect. The world building is far too homogenous; every villain is connected to the Light and Vandal Savage planned everything. Characters bend towards the plot rather than the other way around leading to dialogue that's often stilted. The constant time skips plus the need to focus on a huge cast of characters often lead the show to lose sight of their core cast with many of their important developments happening off screen.

Some of their decisions regarding their characters I find to be either bizarre, frustrating or not my thing. Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing represents him moving away from Batman's shadow. On the show, the Team is very much under the League's purview. Dick talks about not wanting to be dark like Bruce but this Bruce is probably the nicest, most sociable person on this DCU Earth. Personally, I prefer a Batman who sticks to the streets and not chairing JL meetings but that's my preference. Then there is Artemis Crock who is a villain in the comics, I don't mind the re invention into a hero but then they jumped extra hoops by making her and Cheshire sisters (which divorces Cheshire from her comic book family) and also makes Linda Park obsolete by pairing her with Wally West. Speaking of, I don't mind Wally being a little jerk when he starts, that's part of his character, but not only does he die in the show without achieving anything relevant, he is also shown to fall behind both Barry and Impulse. Aqualad/Kaldur; I love the character and his arc, I just wish he wasn't slotted into Dick's generation. He would have worked fine in Tim's generation (which is the generation his comic counterpart is going to be in in the comics anyway). Having him in Dick's generation leads to clash with him and Garth. Speaking of clashing generations; I very much would have preferred Conner and Miss Martian to be in Tim's generation (in fact, why not start with Tim in the first place?) with Zatanna in the JL's generation and Zachary on the Team. It also would have been nice to see some interaction between WW and her side kicks before being shipped off to be paired with the Bat Kids.


And I know many people love the YJ origin of Beast Boy. I'm partial to it but I also think there is something to be mined in his original origin of being a sick kid given an experimental vaccine by his parents who then perish saving him.

I think weisman's reasoning was Dick and Wally were the first sidekicks of their mentors.

[Agent Z]

Then there is Artemis Crock who is a villain in the comics, I don't mind the re invention into a hero but then they jumped extra hoops by making her and Cheshire sisters (which divorces Cheshire from her comic book family) and also makes Linda Park obsolete by pairing her with Wally West.

I understand the issues regarding Linda and prefer her as a love interest to Wally over Artemis. However, Cheshire's family in the comics has rarely ever been relevant and was already retconned in Gail Simone's Birds of Prey (it's not even clear if her mother is alive in the present since all we know is Cheshire was sold into slavery as a child). Making Jade and Artemis sisters not only gives Jade a family that is important but one that also provides an interesting dynamic for her outside of whomever she's sleeping with.

If there is one thing I can say this show did perfectly, it's the Crock-Nguyen family.