Letters to Young Justice #3

One of the things I’m liking about this series is that it offers a glimpse into the goings on of the Justice League during a rather hectic time for them, and it’s expanding their mythos in a way that compliments the present day title. This is set in the midst of some rather nasty goings on with Kobra, and the PR backlash they were suffering was severe. Having Young Justice bungle their debut by going rogue (even with the best of intentions) does them no favours, and I liked the press conference, I like the spokeswoman being present, and I liked the overall feel.

These were all things I had hoped to dip my toe into at the time, but very quickly the book took a turn for very ACTION ACTION ACTION, with little time to have these smaller moments breathe additional life into the story. A shame I never got to it, but I’m more than pleased to see the things I didn’t do appear here, because it means they were good ideas!

Anyway, less talk about Justice League, more talk about Young Justice…

The interplay between the characters is one of the strongest parts of this series so far and your grasp on the characters was fully formed from the zero issue. Their interactions pre-FBI shakedown were spot on, and I really enjoyed the way the teens bounced off each other, especially because it allowed their personalities to shine through with every quip and exchange of dialogue.

I thoroughly enjoyed Bruce and Tim’s talk inside the Secret Sanctuary, as it shines a spotlight on the unique relationship they have in the DC2, wherein after Jack Drake was murdered, Bruce adopted Tim and brought him into the fold. Their relationship is father-and-son, which I always enjoy. When Bruce treats his sidekicks as soldiers in a never-ending war against crime, I always cringe, because I’ve always leaned into the interpretation that Bruce is giving these kids an outlet to prevent them falling into the tragedies that he’s undergone. Being Robin is an outlet, and a great one at that.

Anyway, this was a great coda to a stellar first arc, and there’s plenty to come as the book progresses! Medea lurks rather menacingly in the background, and we’re about to get some new members! Very cool!

Unrelated to the story, I also noticed that FBI must have recruited agents due to the fact their smiles never reached their eyes. It made me laugh the second time that very particular turn of phrase appeared twice in quite close succession, but I know that I too am guilty of using the same idiom again and again and again, and I always dread it when Mark returns my work with edits pointing it out.