Evolution
Original Airdate – January 18, 2019
Aliens once again threaten the Earth, but with the Justice League split and scattered, only Earth’s first and greatest hero can save us!
Written by Brandon Vietti
Directed by Christopher Berkeley
Review by GregX
Media by Warner Bros. Animation
Review:
Wow.Pour yourself a drink, sit down, and make yourselves comfortable, because I have a lot to say.
This is, without a doubt, the episode that I have been waiting for ever since Young Justice was first announced way back in 2009. Before I say what I am about to say, I understand that this was Brandon Vietti’s script (and believe me, I’ll get to that); but one of my favorite things about previous series’ that Greg Weisman produced is that his villains are delicious. David Xanatos and Demona from Gargoyles. Nerissa from the second season of W.I.T.C.H.. Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Tombstone, etc from The Spectacular Spider-Man. His villains have always been terrific. But, throughout the first two seasons of Young Justice, the Light operated mostly in shadow. They were kept mysterious. We got to know them more as the series went on, but aside from Lex Luthor in episodes like “Agendas” and “Satisfaction” and Black Manta throughout the second season, the rest of the Light remained mostly shrouded. Chief among them, their prima inter pares, Vandal Savage. Until now. “Evolution” gave me everything I wanted in regards to Vandal Savage. His history, his motivations, his goals. Who he is. How other people view him. “Evolution” did for Vandal Savage what “City of Stone” did for Demona way back in 1995. And that is the highest praise that I can give. Don’t get me wrong, while I did come to love the series over its first two seasons, this episode was the final ingredient that I needed to make the show one of my all time favorites of all time. I love this episode.
We open in Outer Mongolia, where we meet Cassandra Savage, the daughter of Vandal. We are also introduced to a much older woman named Olympia who presents Cassandra with a journal detailing the events of Vandal Savage’s fifty-thousand year life. From his time as a primitive Neanderthal who conquered a Cave Bear (Olympia’s favorite story!) to his encounter with the meteorite that transformed him into the world’s first meta-human. His legend continues into the thirteenth century when Vandal took the name Genghis Khan, and built the largest empire on Earth… only to set his sights on even greater prizes when Darkseid invaded. Vandal and his sons tried to fight off Darkseid, only for Vandal to be defeated by an Omega Beam to the chest… but he got right back up. Probably the only being to ever do so. We then find out that Darkseid was impressed, and forged a pact with Vandal… Vandal would raise armies of meta-humans and the two would conquer the galaxy, and when that was done, Earth and Apokolips would engage in one final winner take all battle.
This explains so much. I remember when “Auld Acquaintance” aired and there were some snickers about Vandal not understanding what survival of the fittest was. But here, he is the father of all meta-humans. Meta-humans’ powers are usually activated by intense trauma… such as his being speared by a primitive human. Or the Reach’s experiments. Or Bedlam’s tar. This is what Savage was talking about when he was troubled by the existence of the Justice League, protecting mankind from disaster, crime, and tragedy of any kind.This is what he meant by forcing the human race to evolve on a more advanced schedule. And who knows how many descendants he has on Earth… if he was Genghis Khan, the answer is a lot. I believe the statistic was one out of every two hundred people is descended from Genghis Khan, because ol’ Temujin there really got around.
(On a related and personal note. My late grandfather used to say we were descended from Genghis Khan. His family ancestors were from the Ukraine and were there when Khan and his horde swept through the area. I later took one of those ancrestry DNA tests and, sure enough, I have distant Mongolian ancestry).
We also get another story of ancient Babylon when Vandal was known as the demi-god, Marduk. He and his children, Ishtar and Nabu (yes, that Nabu) battled and defeated Starro. Nabu fell, but Marduk and Ishtar triumphed. And, from the looks of the flashback. He took Starro and traveled thousands of miles to dump the carcass in the arctic, freezing it in case he needed it later… as we would see with the Starro-Tech in the first season. This guy wastes nothing.
On the note of Vandal Savage wasting nothing, there’s the Sun Tzu quote we get more than once throughout the episode: “For war is death, and death is waste. A life should not be wasted while it may yet be controlled to serve a greater purpose.” Which also explains the attitude that Savage has taken towards the Justice League and why he’s not out to kill them. He’s probably hoping to make use of them in his inevitable battle with Darkseid. He’s managed to manipulate them before, and they’re too big a gun in his arsenal to cast aside. Oh yeah, and another one of Vandal Savage’s aliases was Sun Tzu, the great strategist. I am loving this episode The Art of War says, “Oh, divine art, of subtlety and secrecy. Through you, we learn to be invisible.” Now tell me that doesn’t describe the Light to a tee.
And while I’m still on the subject of Vandal’s time as Marduk. This was a major plot of the Young Justice video game. The temple of Marduk was unearthed in Bialya where Tiamat was kept after being defeated by Marduk, who the Team referred to as the world’s first superhero. So, if the temple was in Bialya, and Marduk’s daughter Ishtar was a goddess of lust… does that remind anybody of another member of the Light? I think this may be Queen Bee’s ancestry, too. Cassandra calls Vandal Savage Earth’s first, last, and greatest hero. So that begs the question. Is he? By ancient standards, the answer isn’t no. If you read the ancient myths and romances, the heroes of that age were monstrous compared to what we have come to think of as heroes in today’s day and age. Back then, heroes were conquerors, they were nationalists, they killed those who stood before them to spread their empires. They weren’t merciful. Savage didn’t respond to Cassandra calling him a hero, as I believe he sees himself as a leader and a visionary. But make no mistake, I refuse to whitewash him. Yes, he saved the world from Starro. Yes, the deal he made with Darkseid saved the planet, because Darkseid would have easily taken it. But that doesn’t mean Vandal is any less of a monster. There was a time when vikings taking hostages was considered barter and fair combat as opposed to cowardly and terrorist today. Times change, we evolve, even if, ironically, Vandal hasn’t.
The present day plot consists of Vandal Savage, accompanied by Cassandra and Olympia, using the War World to defend Earth from an invading armada when the Justice League is unavailable to do so because the Light has done too good a job dividing and distracting them.The armada is under the control of either a returned Starro or another Starro… either way, it seems to want revenge for what Vandal did as Marduk. Vandal defeats the creature, cuts it up, and imprisons it… it might be useful later, and then we get the dark ending of the episode. Olympia, having shown signs of dementia, is embraced by Vandal who asks her why the story of the cave bear is her favorite. Her eyes light and she tells him why only to have her neck snapped, dying happily in her father’s arms.
There are so many ways to to read that ending. Cassandra seems to talk herself into believing it was a mercy since Olympia’s mind was going. And maybe it was. Vandal seems affectionate when he asks for Olympia to have a funeral worthy of the gods. Maybe he was angry that he had told her not to log his story several times, and she insisted on doing so. Maybe he despises the story of the bear because it reminds him of when he was a mere mortal. Maybe it’s all of the above. Or something else entirely. But still, what a sinister note to close the episode on and a reminder of who this man really is.
I’m going to be bold and say that Young Justice, particularly this episode, has done for Vandal Savage what Batman: The Animated Series‘” “Heart of Ice” did for Mr. Freeze. It re-imagined him as a threat almost on the level of Darkseid, himself. In many ways, he’s the through-line of humanity, itself. Somebody who has taken a view of paternal ownership over the Earth and its inhabitants, but in a really negative fashion. I hate to compare him to other adaptations, but please bear with me. He was fun in the Justice League episode “Maid of Honor”, but he was mostly a Bond villain that happened to be immortal; and the episode “Hereafter” is really good, depicting a regretful version of Vandal as the last man on Earth. But as an overall villain, I recall wanting more. There was potential, something there that would make him a great foil for the League as a whole; and I think Young Justice nailed it. The version of Savage on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is a joke. And the comics I’ve read with Savage mostly depict him as a classy psychopath. But, again, I feel that Young Justice nailed what the character should be, and I would like to see the comics, and potentially live action movies follow suit with what they’ve been given here. Even his design is an improvement. The original Vandal Savage design is, without question, a white guy. A white guy who happened to also be Genghis Khan (hey, it worked for John Wayne… wait, no it didn’t). Here, he looks ancient, and ambiguous… you can’t really place him in one of humanity’s many races which allows him to stand out more and yet blend in better.
There’s a B-plot focusing on the Outsiders as Nightwing gives them their costumes and they pick their code names. Brion picking Geo-Force (after failing with Hot Lava!). While it’s not an action packed exciting story, it’s pure development with our heroes chilling on a beach around a campfire bonding. Nightwing and Tigress tease each other about the other’s code names. And there’s even a discussion on who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman. Superboy responds “that’s stupid, why would they fight?” Which some people have taken as a shot at Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but reminded me more of Greg’s stock answer to questions about heroes fighting each other. He responded to the Death Battle between Goliath and Beast with “why would they fight?”, for example. But I have no idea if that line was his.
The boarding and direction of the episode was excellent. I seldom bring that up, but I feel I should here because I’ve seen many people speculate that there were budget cuts for this season because of the use of still images in the flashback. I’m not going to speculate whether or not it was the case. But, if there were budget cuts, then this was a very smart way to save money… the still images during the flashbacks give it an almost fable-like feeling. As if you’re looking at pictures in a book… like the one Cassandra happened to be reading. And if there weren’t any budget cuts, it still works as a creative decision for the very same reason.
The episode was dedicated to the late Miguel Ferrer, who voiced Vandal Savage in the first two seasons of Young Justice. I remember being crushed hearing the news that he passed away, and only two months after the revival of Young Justice was announced. He was an amazing actor and he is missed. But I need to give a hand to David Kaye for stepping in and filling the void… there are moments when I would swear that it’s still Ferrer. That’s also the mark of an amazing actor, and I’ve been a huge fan of Kaye’s voice work since his break out role as Megatron in Beast Wars. And, of course, it amuses me to no end that he’s the narrator on Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.
While I am praising the voice work, I need to shout out to Zehra Fazal again for her work as Cassandra Savage. This is a little embarrassing, but I didn’t recognize her. And Cassandra’s voice is her normal speaking voice, which I have heard many times in person. Remarkable talent.
“Evolution” was written by Brandon Vietti, Greg’s partner on the series. After the episode was posted, Greg wrote a post over on ASK GREG detailing his views that when it comes to story, Vietti is the smartest man in the room. They broke the episode together, and Greg went home satisfied… Brandon didn’t. He wanted to add a new character, something he felt was missing. Greg resisted it. But Vietti’s idea was the character of Olympia and I find it impossible to imagine this episode without Olympia. Without that ending. I’ve followed Greg Weisman’s work for decades. Prior to Young Justice, the only work of Vietti’s that I was familiar with was Batman: Under the Red Hood. But there’s a lesson there about choosing great collaborators, listening to them, asking for feedback. I’ve sat down and listened to Greg discuss storytelling many times. I’ve only ever met Brandon once, briefly, but I’d kill for the chance to pick his brain now, as well. Here’s the link to Weisman’s ramble, as I believe it is well worth reading.
Overall, this is my favorite episode of the series, and definitely one of my all time favorite episodes of any series, animated or live action. It was a twenty-two minute epic that did more in its limited run time than many shows do with over a hundred episodes. “Evolution” is a perfect episode, and I so seldom get to say this. The episode is less than a year old and I cannot imagine Young Justice without it anymore. Perfect.
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