1x05 Schooled

[7.0/10] Once again, there’s a good central take here. The idea that Superboy is upset that Superman won’t acknowledge or train him, and projecting that anger onto his other instructors, is a solid idea. Watching Ssuperboy hassle Black Canary or be a jerk to his teammates makes sense given what he’s feeling but can’t express to the person he wants to.

The catch is that the show can’t find much of a way to dramatize that idea. Amazo and Dr. Ivo are some decent villains for the heroes to contend with, but the execution is too simple. Superboy is mad and so works harder, not smarter. That's pretty much it. We see him come in hot with robotic monkeys, the uber-android, and others, but can only win the day when he slows down and channels his anger rather than being consumed by it.

I have to remind myself that this is a show aimed at a younger audience, and so complicated messages and psychology aren’t necessarily the name of the game. But Young Justice’s predecessor shows pulled it off, so you’ll forgive me if I have high expectations for this one.

All of that said, the idea of the Junior Justice League protecting various trucks transporting Amazo’s parts is a good setup. The action isn’t amazing or anything, with confusing cuts across the two locations of the chase. But seeing our heroes on (very toyetic) motorcycles having to fend off enemies mid-drive makes for some good set pieces.

In the end, I do appreciate the poetry of the group defeating Amazo by overwhelming him with too many inputs and catching him off-guard by attacking Ivo. It’s not unlike Superboy himself being overwhelmed. And the scene between Batman and Superman is great, with Bats being paternal and having to bring out the more nurturing side of Supes for once. But on the whole, the illustration of the key point here for Superboy comes off a bit too simple and stock for my tastes.