OK, time for shock is over; we are five years into the future of our heroes and added to the list of numerous questions we already had we now wonder what happened during that time. Three members of the original team are just not there anymore, along with a member of the Justice League. Earth has been invaded to the point of infestation with little gremlin-looking aliens called Kroloteans. A planet called Rann has a scientist developing advanced technology that is similar to the Justice League’s Zeta tube system and the Kroloteans have stolen some of his ideas. The same planet is also part of a galaxy-wide planet watch for the entire Justice League due to unexplained events involving the missing six from five years ago. Among the four teams that Nightwing assembled there was zeta squad, consisting of Superboy, Beast Boy and Miss Martian. Their mission is to infiltrate Rann and find out more about the Krolotean threat.
LET’S BLOW THIS POPSICLE STAND Miss Martian’s psychic abilities were even more invaluable than normal on this mission, as she allowed her team to communicate with their Rannian contacts via psychic link. The scientist Sardath, is developing a zeta beam shield which would prevent Kroloteans from traveling at will to and from Earth. In the meantime, zeta squad goes with his daughter, Alanna, to destroy the Krolotean zeta platforms. Things go smoothly until the success of gamma squad’s mission causes scores of Kroloteans to zeta into the facility. The hunters now become the hunted and even though their main objective was completed, they must survive long enough to get back home.
SUPERBOY – PRIMED Throughout the first season, Superboy was one big ball of anger and confusion. His relationship with M’gann initially made things worse as everything was about protecting her and he thought of little else. Once she “corrected” him, he started to get his head on straight until he met his biological parent, Lex Luthor. Luthor gave him shields that unlocked his full Kryptonian potential. The problem was that they ramped his anger and subsequently his violence level way up. In the end, he learned to work with the abilities he has without enhancement and even used them to stop a rampaging Superman. It seems now that despite his actual age (roughly six to seven years old) he has grown up into a real hero. He works with his teammates and does not strike out on his own without reason. You can tell the anger is still there but he really seems to have it under control. This is especially apparent whenever he sees M’gann with her new boyfriend, La’gaan (Lagoon Boy). I personally do not care about whether or not he has a love interest, but I am really happy to see him acting like a normal person that thinks before he acts.
DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Miss Martian is the opposite of her ex this season. While she was very lighthearted and happy, there seems to be a growing darkness within her now. What has happened to her over the past five years (aside from the breakup) might have a lot to do with this. She still clearly has feelings for Conner (and vice versa), but the only one she seems to be her old self around is her little brother, Garfield (Beast Boy). After the Qurac mission, the blood transfusion she gave Garfield developed his current powers. After the loss of his mother, she fully embraces him as family and looks after him. Aside from that, she generally does not play nice anymore. She only wears her stealth costume and the haircut gives the idea that her “Hello Megan!” days are long gone. Even to save Superboy, I cannot see the old M’gann basically tearing Clayface apart, even though we all know that would not hurt him. And her interrogation methods leave a lot to be desired. Even Conner was disturbed by seeing the state she left the Krolotean leader in after she found out what the Justice League did under Vandal Savage’s control five years ago. No matter what form she takes, M’gann is still a White Martian and they are known to generally be violent. It could be that, or it could be her original comic backstory. M’gann has a future, evil version of herself that inhabits her mind and sometimes takes control. No matter the reason, the sweetheart of the team has become a bit unhinged. I am hoping she does not go the way of the comic, but only time will tell. Her psychic linking of the team on and off missions is also a major reason for their success, so if she becomes a bad guy it would be devastating for the team.
DOOM PATROL Beast Boy is portrayed as very fun-loving and sort of fills the gap left by Kid Flash. He always seems to be happy until he comes across a waterfall on Rann and it makes him relive the moment where he lost his mother. Miss Martian shows her love for him and consoles him. We learn that Queen Bee was responsible for his mother’s death which is almost definitely foreshadowing. Somewhere this season, Garfield is going to run into her and that will be his real coming of age moment. He will likely be alone and how he chooses to deal with the Bialyan dictator will say a lot about his character. Being a fan of the goofy Teen Titan from the previous show, I just hope he makes the right decision.
Being used to seeing episodes that have two storylines running at once, this one was a little weird. It was not a bad thing however, as we got to see more of a new character and relearn some things about two of the originals. I see Superboy as being more compassionate for the overall team and mission. I also see him as becoming more than just the guy they send to knock walls down and draw fire. M’gann I am worried about as she has no qualms with using her psychic powers without permission anymore. Even when she consoled Beast Boy, she went into his head without asking. Maybe Superboy or someone else will get help from J’onn to have a talk with her. If not, I see things getting a lot darker for her future. If that happens, Beast Boy will likely be the one trying to bring her back, with or without help. The big thing to take away from this episode though is that M’gann has learned why the Justice League are intergalactic criminals. The next episode will have that reveal and we’ll see how the members of the JL deal with it.
BAD BUSINESS Gotta suck to be Lagoon Boy. Your girlfriend gets knocked unconscious and the name she calls out in her sleep is CONNER. Gonna love to see how that plays out, but first I wanna see what Superboy meant by she left him no choice but to leave.
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