Young Justice Marked A Major First For DC That Nobody Ever Talks About

DC Comics has a long animation history. From the "Superman" animated short films by legendary Fleischer Studios to Hanna-Barbera's iconic "Super Friends," and of course, Bruce Timm's "Batman: The Animated Series." Each generation has their own completely distinct and unique cartoon that expands what can be done with the DC characters. And each cartoon added something new to the mythos that eventually became part of the canon (like "Super Friends" establishing the look of the Hall of Justice or "B:TAS" introducing Harley Quinn).

For kids who grew up in the 2010s, "Young Justice" was their big DC adaptation. Created by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti, the show focuses on the lives of teenage superheroes and sidekicks working as a covert team supervised by the Justice League. "Young Justice" took the young superhero team approach of "Teen Titans," with the expansive universe and large roster of heroes of "Justice League Unlimited." Sure, you had the Justice League showing up on occasion, but also characters like Artemis, Rocket, Geo Force, or Spoiler — many of them making their screen debut in the show. Most importantly, "Young Justice" marked a pretty big "first" for DC Comics TV shows — it was the first DC Comics animated series to be rated TV-PG. As Brandon Vietti told The World's Finest, the aim of the show was to "Capture the interests of not only the youngest kids but also the older crowds."

Vietti said that "It was never a goal of ours to 'push it to the max' with adult content just to upgrade our rating," but the rating most certainly allowed the show to deal with some pretty mature themes and storylines that we hadn't seen in a DC cartoon before, at least not explicitly.

The TV-PG rating certainly allowed the show to explore things that previous DC cartoons barely got to hint at. There's the queer representation in the show, which only grew once it became a streaming series. From characters coming out as non-binary to a polyamorous relationship, "Young Justice" was like no other superhero show on TV.

Part of what made "Young Justice" stand out was how it used serialization to add consequence to the heroes' actions and depth to the story. This includes deaths, which were tragic and given enough time to show how they affect the entire team and beyond. We've seen heroes make the ultimate sacrifice, and new ones take their place, picking up their mantle and legacy, like a new Kid Flash and a new Robin arise.

A big aspect of season 4 was the mental state of Beast Boy. After nearly a decade on The Team, he saw his fair share of tragedies and traumas, and they finally started to take their toll, causing him to go on a self-destructive spiral that affected those around them. One standout episode early on is "Disordered," where members of The Team undergo counseling sessions with Black Canary to address their trauma after a virtual training simulation where they witnessed all their friends perish. The episode showcases the five stages of grief, exploring how each hero tackles their issues.

Because every season of "Young Justice" jumps forward in time, by season 4 it was a decade since the formation of The Team, and the characters went through a lot in that time. Losses, lies, secrets, and grief take their toll, and it's great to see a show aimed at all audiences tackle how these things change you over time.