Young-Justice-Image Television 

Five Thoughts on Young Justice‘s “Image”

By | October 4th, 2017
Posted in Television | % Comments

It’s not summer and have I really binged any of this? Both good questions! We’ve got 6 more episodes to go of the first season of Young Justice and this Megan-centric episode is a fun and deep one that I think offers a lot of good fun and nuance. Oh and the birth of Beast Boy. Let’s dive in!

1. Teenage Martian Kinky Hijinks

Let’s be honest, the opening of this episode is weird af, not PG, and just kind of a weird thing. So it opens with Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Red Tornado calling Black Canary and Green Arrow (who have been dating) to see a security video where Canary seemingly makes out with Superboy. You think you’re in for a whole different episode.

Turns out it was just Miss M shapeshifting and playing a “game” as Martian Manhunter put it, but let’s be honest this is kinky Martian foreplay, and in a kid’s show, it’s kind of weird. Plus, it doesn’t really go with the rest of the show outside of Canary explaining humans don’t copy other people, or engage in things like this, which I really think deserves the caveat since they can’t. Also, Megan is white when Canary knocks on the door, which if they’d have opened with that, and found another excuse for Canary to talk to Megan, it would’ve been better. I think it’s very telling we aren’t privy to the conversation they have…maybe I’m reading too much into this whole scene, but I find it weird.

2. Democratically elected my ass

This is the other weird part of the episode. So the current president of Qurac was democratically elected, which assumes a system of checks and balances, so then how can he simply declare Qurac and Bilaya will be one country? Maybe I’m just used to the current snail’s pace of crappy politics in my country and so am trying to assert some ideal on a fictional Middle Eastern country, but that plot point is flimsy at best. Even with the mind control.

3. The birth of Beast Boy

I was not a comic reader the first time I watched this show. I had watched all of the Teen Titans show, but had no ideas of the origins of Beast Boy, and I didn’t put the connection together until an embarrassingly later period that his origin is what appears in this episode. The clues are there with animal sanctuaries and the transfusion of green blood, but yeah maybe I’m just dumb. I like this origin a lot more though, and I think grounding it in the show is a really cool aspect and play on everything this show tires to be.

I can’t wait to see more of Garfield and his relationship with Megan (and knowing he appears in a second season means I don’t have to). The homage is cool, this is one instance of retroactivity I don’t hate.

4. Hello Megan!

The other really cool aspect of this episode is finally the full reveal of who Miss M is. We’ve had hints of her basically being a television character caricature, and I think the way the writers go about this, between the team watching Hello Megan!, to the reveal that Miss M is a White Martian trying to hide herself and take on a new skin is effective. Even the deceit at the end where she lies about her true form is so sad, and I think relates how many persons feel about who they are and how they be. It parallels many queer and minority persons experiences of being known, revealing half-truths, and so forth. It feels tragic. Megan feels that she can’t “pass” even in front of her teammates, that to be anyone else is altogether better than being her…and people take advantage of that which leads to…

5. Tinker, Tailor, Martian, Spy

Now we have a whole new mole. If Artemis, Superboy, and Red Tornado didn’t already give you pause, we get more mole candidates in the future actions of Miss Martian based on coercion by Queen Bee and her blackmail and threat of exploitation. It’s so interesting how this show really continually highlights teenage insecurity as the pinnacle of using people. But Megan basically lobotomizes someone based on that insecurity? Which is mega-bad. I guess don’t worry, cause we’re down to the wire and it’s gonna get much worse

That’s all fore this week folks, sound off in the comments on your thoughts on this episode and check back next week as Superboy gets another spotlight!


//TAGS | 2017 Summer TV Binge | Young Justice

Kevin Gregory

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