Warning: contains spoilers for Dark Crisis: Young Justice #1!
Despite being a group of well-established heroes in DC Comics, the Young Justice team is one of the most forgotten. After all, the Justice League and Teen Titans are tough acts to follow. When it comes to crises in the DC Universe, it’s often up to Young Justice to pick up the pieces. In Dark Crisis: Young Justice, readers follow Wonder Girl‘s narration as the team faces yet another crisis with the death of the Justice League.
Following the Justice League’s battle against the Dark Army, the world was left without their greatest heroes. While some, such as Nightwing, refuse to believe that the League is truly dead, many of DC’s remaining heroes are putting their efforts into moving on and stepping up to defend Earth. While Jonathan Kent attempts to form a new Justice League, legacy heroes and civilians alike gather for the funeral of the Justice League. The second Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark, stands there alongside her former teammates, reflecting on everything Young Justice has been through together and the emotional burden it has placed on all of them. How will they handle yet another crisis?
In Dark Crisis: Young Justice #1, by Meghan Fitzmartin, Laura Braga, and Luis Guerrero, the Young Justice team is back together again and Cassie’s got an axe to grind with just about everyone, especially Arrowette. She feels betrayed but perhaps also a little jealous of Cissie, who seems so easily able to “chuck your friends and responsibilities for civvie life.” She also reflects on how Robin, Superboy and Impulse never really got to grow up—they died, they came back, they could never hang up their capes and tights because there was always a crisis. Even Tim, who once tried to live a normal life could never escape the path he chose as Robin. When the Tim, Kon and Bart disappear, Cassie seeks the help of other heroes, but as always, their team is pushed to the side and asked to deal with their problems on their own.
This issue speaks to the struggles of the younger generation of heroes, portraying an interesting parallel to the real world’s younger generation and their mental health difficulties. From childhood, the Young Justice team was trained to push their emotions aside, expected to handle every crisis like it’s nothing. The members of the Justice League, for the most part, didn’t adopt the hero life until they were adults. The Teen Titans were always the closest to their mentors and received more support than their younger counterparts. Young Justice are the kids who never got to grow up—stuck in limbo between being kids and being the heroes the world needs.
Hopefully, these problems are explored further as the Dark Crisis: Young Justice series continues. This series has to potential to create a strong story on grief and reconciliation. With Wonder Girl taking the lead, DC is setting up a space for some serious character growth alongside the revival of the Young Justice team.
Dark Crisis: Young Justice is now available digitally and in print from DC Comics.
