With theTitansserving as Earth’s primary defendersin the Justice League’s place post-Dark Crisis,Young Justiceabsolutely needs to make a return. For a long time, the Teen Titans have served as a way for young heroes to gain experience in a team setting. Briefly, they even opened a school for younger heroes to learn tactics from past Titans members, but that chapter also closed withDark Crisis.
With the Titans taking the Justice League’s place, it’s time for Young Justice to rise as well.
With theTitans no longer welcoming newcomers, it’s time for DC to bring back its second team of young heroes. Young Justice last appeared inDark Crisiswith its tie-in seriesDark Crisis: Young Justiceby Meghan Fitzmartin and Laura Braga, which brought backthe team’s original lineup - including Robin, Superboy, Impulse, Wonder Girl, and Arrowette- to acknowledge the parts of their history that haven’t aged well.
This series came after the 2019Young Justicetitle by Brian Michael Bendis and Patrick Gleason, which brought together Wonder Girl Cassie Sandmark, Impulse, Robin Tim Drake, and Superboy toexplore how the team fit together after DC’sRebirthreverted their origins.The 2019 series also introduced newer DC heroes like Naomi and Teen Lantern to the iconic ’90s team. SinceDark Crisis, Young Justice hasn’t made a regular appearance as a team, though individual members have appeared throughout various DC series.
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Historically,the Teen Titans have served as a way for heroes to gain team experiencebefore moving on to solo careers, with some eventually going on to serve with the Justice League. Now that the Titans have shed their youth and solidified as a working team of adults, newcomer heroes have lost that way to get their foot into the superhero community. But theTeen Titans were never the only superhero teamthat filled its ranks with fresh faces: to fill that void, DC needs to bring back Young Justice to give newer heroes a chance to work together as a team.
The originalYoung Justiceseries by Peter David and Todd Nauck ranks among ScreenRant’s list ofbest DC comic series. The original run, which began in 1998, is available now both digitally and in collected editions from DC Comics.
Being on a team isn’t a requirement to be a superhero, butit’s a great way for characters to gain character development safelybefore striking out on their own. Teams not only allow readers to meet characters they haven’t connected with before, but allow for larger conflicts that single heroes can’t handle on their own. Within that, characters get a chance to flesh out their own story with the support of a greater cast. For new characters to DC, like City Boy or any of the lost sidekicks discovered inStargirl: The Lost Childrenby Geoff Johns and originalYoung Justiceartist Todd Nauck, that time would be valuable character work.
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While Young Justice has hosted many heroes over its time - and earned a TV show with the same name -its original members are undeniably the most memorable, including but not limited to the aforementioned Wonder Girl, Impulse, Robin, and Superboy. The four reunited for 2019’sYoung Justiceand again forDark Crisis: Young Justicebefore branching off in their own directions; Tim headlined his own series,Tim Drake: Robinby Fitzmartin and Riley Rossmo, andSuperboy starred inSuperboy: Man of Tomorrowby Kenny Porter and Jahnoy Lindsay.
Meanwhile, Impulse has been making regular appearances in theFlashrun helmed by Simon Spurrier, and Arrowette returned to the field inGreen Arrowby Joshua Williamson and Sean Izaakse - two key books in DC’s now-winding-down Dawn of DC era.
However, even though their separate stories clarified their individuality apart from the families they’ve been recognized in,the group’s role in the larger DC Universe have yet to change, despite decades of history. With the Titans taking the Justice League’s place, it’s time for Young Justice to rise as well.
The Titans now have their hands full with global crises, butthat leaves a whole slew of more intimate planetary issuesfor another team to tackle. That should be Young Justice’s role going forwards. The original team’s ages might not have changed much since their debut, but they’ve gained experience over the years that has earned them an aging up, in terms of DC’s team hierarchy. They’re not new characters anymore, but seasoned DC veterans; it’s time DC realized that their full potential as a team has yet to be seen.
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Aging characters up is always a difficult pill to swallow, but there’s no denying thatDC’s method of slowly letting characters gain experience and developmentso that readers aren’t taken aback when they’re suddenly older has worked well. It paid off for the Titans; now it’s Young Justice’s turn, especially as the generation below them - like Damian Wayne, Jon Kent, and Wonder Woman’s “new” daughter Lizzie Prince - continues to creep up on them in age.
By bringing Young Justice to the Teen Titans’ level, DC can kill two birds with one stone, giving the superhero community (and younger readers) a place for new heroes to find their footing in a world filled with team-ups and families. TheTitansare older now, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s simply time for DC to move on.Dark Crisis: Young Justiceproved the fan-favorite ’90s team is no longer stuck in the past, and it’s time forYoung Justiceto move into the future.
Dark Crisis: Young Justiceis available now from DC Comics.
Young Justice
Batman. Superman. The Flash. The incredible members of the Justice League of America cast a long shadow, and the members of Young Justice are eager to step out of it. Robin, Superboy, and Impulse want to prove to their superhero mentors that they’re capable of tackling super-villains on their own. Under the guidance of the stoic, wise Red Tornado, the three teen heroes begin their quest to make a name for themselves, apart from their famous friends.
