GUIDES – EPISODE REVIEWS – “EGO AND SUPEREGO”
#95 Ego and Superego
Original Airdate – May 19, 2022
Nightwing and the gang refurbish a bus and hit the road.
Written by Michael Vogel
Directed by Vinton Heuck
Review by Yojimbo
Media by Warner Bros. Animation
Please be advised our regular reviewer, “GregX,” is currently on sabbatical.
Review:
Written by Yojimbo, edited by James Harvey
After that last great episode, with the entertaining detective story structure and brisk pacing, it for the most part comes to a screeching halt this week as the episode jugles some housekeeping and tries to make room for four or five different plots. The magic school bus gets found but, in a very-Young Justice way, there’s another setback. It’s been crushed into a cube at a local dump. But like last week, Zatanna quickly has a solve – bringing back the Trogowogs she helped banish during her story arc and making a bargain. Very humorously, Nightwing’s SUV and Chicken Whizees for them restoring the bus to working order.
And in a very ironic Young Justice-kinda way, they still decide to keep it a secret from Miss Martian. Y’know, four seasons in and they still keep a friend in the dark? But that’s not it. If you look at it from another angle, they froze out the most important member of the original Team out of the rescue mission. The one with telepathy and the strongest link to Conner. The same Conner that needs some serious telepathic intervention to deal with the Zone Sickness that has done a number on him and will very likely attack them in defense of Dru-Zod when they cross paths. Plus, it feels like they’re going in so blind and are completely unprepared for the dangers that await them: the rules of the Zone like willpower makes real, the Devourers, whatever is worse that Zod alluded to, the Zone Sickness, the evil Kryptonians who are adept at fighting in the Zone, and Conner opposing them. And of course, the danger that not all of them will make it back to the real world and/or any of the evil Kryptonians making back with them.
Things went down in the Phantom Zone just as I thought and feared. Conner was too far gone for Phantom Girl to reason with and to make matters worse, his willpower and pledge to Dru-Zod prevented her from forcefully taking Superboy back to the physical realm. On one hand, she got away before she could be exploited by Zod. On the other hand, she’s stuck on Mars and in excruciating pain from the injury she sustained trying to save Superboy. On the other, other hand, if she took Superboy with her, he’d be in a bad spot as well. On the other, other, other hand, he’s still with Zod and company. So… yeah, not much happened here except to clear Phantom Girl off the board in anticipation of the original Team sans Miss Martian and Red Arrow showing up.
Violet Harper’s subtle recurring season arc seemingly comes to a head in this episode. Last time we say them, they graduated from high school and now Violet is about to start freshman year at Ivy Town. I don’t think “Uncle” Will or “Aunty” Artemis are footing the bill so I guess Violet magically won a Wayne Foundation scholarship? And that courtesy wasn’t extended to Harper I guess… In any case, it was interesting to see this arc continue to revisit issues set up last season. Violet still has unresolved issues with Brion and Harper decides to make her feelings crystal clear, something that’s been in the ether since the drunk kiss at Mount Justice pre-arrest. Violet finally removes herself from Brion and moves forward with Harper. All truncated by the start of their new life so to speak with the start of college.
It was an interesting move that while at the figurative crossroads of their life, Violet’s arc literally intersects with the arcs of others this episode, namely Beast Boy and Brion. First off, after finally having a break through, Beast Boy finally seems to be in a good place and on the mend. The reveal of Wingman was a little bit spoiled if you were observing the watch party on May 12 when some preview pages of the upcoming Targets tie-in comic were revealed. One of those panels depicted Beast Boy with Wingman. Regardless, it’s a relief to finally see Beast Boy doing good. But not magically all better, just making progress at long last which I suspect will continue into the comic and season five, knock wood.
To show just how packed this episode is, it even makes sure to spend some time in Markovia. Sure, it’s been in the background of this season being referenced off and on. A lot of intriguing things are revealed since we last saw it in Outsiders’ season finale “Nevermore” and, most importantly, Brion is starting to suspect something sketchy is going on behind his back. And, yes, I have no clue what’s going to happen in the last three episodes this season. But for that same reason, there’s three episodes left and a lot left to see and do: the rescue op in the Phantom Zone, what will happen with Conner, will Dru-Zod and/or his followers escape, will Lor-Zod and Ma’alefa’ak steal the Kaizer-Thrall from Oa and do whatever they plan to do, can Kid Flash, Saturn Girl, and Chameleon Boy escape with Bio-Ship without revealing themselves and further screwing up the timeline? The list goes on.
To suddenly revisit Markovia and Brion’s arc so late into the season just kills the pacing of the main arcs that last week’s episode brilliantly streamlined. Even worse if this was a one-in-done. If that turns out to be the case, it seems this was better left for the opening of a hypothetical season five than the fourth to last episode of this season. Still, it does segue into Violet’s season long arc about establishing her identity as her high school life ends and college life begins. It’s a mixed bag.
Irregardless of whether this Markovia focus should have happened or not. Some very intriguing food for thought. The Light is quietly building their meta-human army in Markovia unchecked after Lex Luthor’s original plan hit a snag last season. Brion is being kept pacified by both the mental powers of Zviad Baazovi and kept busy by his supposed nation rebuilding and trying to undo meta tensions but thankfully is suspicious things are not what they seem then he’s validated when Fury reveals she feels the same way after she sees her team is also being used as jack booted thugs to intimidate dissenting opinions. Likewise, Brion, even if it’s on a subconscious level, sees Helga Jace manipulating meta-teens on an even larger scale than seen last season with Baron Bedlam’s operation and her infiltrating the Outsiders as the den mother. She seemingly has the full run of her own meta-human youth center, which is really just a feeder program into Infinity Inc. and thus she’s a crucial linchpin to rapidly expand the ranks of what’s really going to be the Light’s youth army brigade, a counterpart to the Justice League’s Team and to the Outsiders. Worse off, it seems like the Justice League and the world at large has no clue this is going on.
In total, it’s a very scary allegory about the rise of the Nazi Party in post-Word War I Germany whether that’s intentional or not on the part of Weisman and Vietti. Brainwashing disenfranchised masses (Zviad using his sway powers), the Riechstag slowly being supplanted by Nazis (the Markovian king slowly being supplanted by the Light), genetic purity (meta-gene in place of the pure German theory), Übermensc (building a nation of heroes), youth brigade/jack booted thugs intimidating dissenting civilians (instead of Hitler Youth, it’s Infinity Cadets and instead of Brownshirts, Infinitors, and the example of the trio being sent to intimidate Mueller), Vlatava will probably be the Poland of this story, etc.
Interestingly though, this show’s version of Fury has a new civilian name of “Rosa” rather than the Erik Storm version in the comics. One of the new Infinitors this episode is one of the meta-teens rescued from the Orphanage and was seen in “Influence.” The blue skin, white haired youth turns out to have the power to shrink like the Atom and Bumblebee and has taken the codename of Kobold. However, it still remains to be seen if he’s from the comics or is an original character. Josef Mueller, a Markovian minister, is also introduced in the episode but the closest match in the comics appears to be a Gotham cop named Josef Muller with no ties to Markovia. Phantom Girl states her whole name “Tinya Wazzo” and mentions her home dimension Bgztl. Beast Boy reveals he named his emotional support dog after Wing, the sidekick of Crimson Avenger, the first superhero, both mentioned for the first time on the show but not the first time mentioned to fans if you’ve been a long time watcher of Greg Weisman’s Ask Greg website. Dru-Zod’s coup is also delved into, revealed to have been sparked by his dislike of Kryptonian-New Genosian relations. The Trogowogs from “Odnu!” are revealed to be one in the same as infamous mythical creatures Gremlins.
And on a minor note, we also can look forward to who Violet’s dorm roommate will turn to be. Interestingly, Harper Row has a job at the HHDWP (Happy Harbor Department of Water and Power) instead of starting college, perhaps a nod to her background in the comics? Could Bluebird be that far behind in Earth-16? Hmm. Last but not least, the long awaited reconstruction of the Hall of Justice is set to start in the spring on “Justice Island” near the UN headquarters, perhaps a nod to the Metrotower in the classic Justice League Unlimited and Batman Beyond series?
The final arc of Young Justice: Phantoms pushes forward, even with a couple bumps, as our heroes begin a perilous trek into the Phantom Zone unaware of the true dangers that await them. Business as usual? Black Canary’s monthly group therapy chat goes as planned. Violet Harper makes some choices as the next chapter of her life begins and makes one last effort with repairing things with King Brion but things don’t go as well amid his own concerns about the changes he’s bringing to his nation. To his surprise, he’s not the only one getting suspicious. While it’s moot at this point if this Markovia side-trip has any relevance this season or plays into a hypothetical season 5, it does burn up the sound pacing of the rescue op, not to say anything of the Oa heist being completely absent this week. With three episodes left, let’s hope there’s enough room left for the pertinent storylines to be resolved… well, resolved in the Young Justice sense
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