Young Justice: "Before the Dawn" Review

Full superhero sidekick spoilers follow.

Have you heard the news, folks? Cartoon Network abruptly pulled its DC Nation block of programming -- which includes Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series -- this past weekend, leaving fans confused (and then angry) by the sudden, unexplained move. But what seems to have been an eleventh-hour decision means that the episodes that were originally scheduled to air on Saturday were still made available on iTunes for legal purchase (probably because someone forgot to pull them too). Which means we have this one last review for you before yet another Young Justice hiatus begins…

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And ironically enough, the episode itself, "Before the Dawn," is full of the revelations and incident that should really have given the second-half of Season 2 a big surge of momentum. In this 20-plus-minute segment, we get: the gist of Blue Beetle's origin; a new, not-so-nice Beetle, of the Black variety; the reveal that the Reach, much-guessed by you astute readers, are The Light's mysterious partners; an extended rescue of those aliens' test subjects by the Young Justice team; a reckoning between Miss Martian and Aqualad; and the reveal of the next stage of the Reach's plans. Oh, and I guess Stephanie Brown, a former Robin from the comics, showed up too (in non-super form and with little to do).

Amid all this plot progression, which is much appreciated even if it feels a bit info-dumpy, it's the typically excellent action sequences of the episode that really stand out. As the heroes attempt to free their friends (and several civilian young people), many of the cast members get at least one particular moment of awesomeness. Superboy's reveal, posing undercover as a guard, results in much smashing of heads. Robin and Batgirl, in their civvies but with utility belts wrapped around them bandoleer style, work in unison with explosive batarangs, Tasers and more. Beast Boy transforms into a ferocious tiger, logically enough, as he attacks Tigress… And lots more.

I really enjoyed getting to see more of "Impulse speed," as he rescues his new buddy Blue Beetle and we get to view the world from the hero's super-fast perspective (which is to say, reality is barely moving around him). But we also learned more about his particular mission as the boy from the future reveals in flashback (flashforward?) that BB will, in time, become the "biggest, baddest, big bad" in history, and that's why he came back -- to stop him and the Reach apocalypse.

This of course brings us to Beetle vs. Beetle. While I'd expected Jaime Reyes' predecessor, Ted Kord, to show up at some point, Black Beetle apparently is not him. What this hulking villain and agent of the Reach is, though, is a powerhouse who basically hands the whole team their super-butts on a platter. It's only Jaime, after giving full control to the Scarab, who can beat him. But how often can you submit to the Scarab before it decides it doesn't want to give control back?

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Perhaps the biggest emotional beat of the episode comes, though, when M'gann runs into Kaldur'ahm, who she believes is the enemy. (And perhaps is.) "Murderer!" she screams as she mind-wipes him, but in the process the truth of Aqualad's double-agent mission is revealed to her telepathically… only too late. Kaldur has been reduced to a slobbering shell of a man, like past Miss M. victims (though thankfully, with less drool), and M'gann too is deeply affected by this incident -- either shell-shocked, or perhaps psychically damaged. It's an effective semi-climax to all the intrigue involving Kaldur's mission, though I worry that when the show returns in January this quite dramatic moment will be washed away with another of the narrative feints that this show sometimes relies on.

Some notes: Miss Martian's "compacting" as she entered the waters of the deep sea was pretty cool. Nightwing is becoming a liar of the highest order when dealing with his teammates, isn't he? The beating Wonder Girl gets from Black Beetle was a bit brutal for a kid's show, in my opinion. And thanks, Batgirl, for explaining the whole Krolotean/Reach/Light situation, because frankly it's become increasingly difficult to get it all straight -- and this two-month-plus break we're heading into sure ain't gonna help on that front. See you in January!

IGN Movies Editor Scott Collura made a Kid-Flash costume for his son last year. Follow him on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.