Young Justice #49

Fighting Maad Part Three: A.W.O.L.

Peter David Writer
Todd Nauck Penciller
Lary Stucker Inker
Ken Lopez Letterer
Tom McCraw Colors
Digital Chameleon Separations
Tom Palmer, Jr. Assoc. Editor
Eddie Berganza

Don't let the Princess Bride reference fool you. This cover by Nauck and Stucker actually depicts the central conflict of this Fighting Maad storyline. The most vicious villain in all of Young Justice, the Baron, has killed Empress' dad, and she is justifiably going a little bit nuts. But before we dive into that, we need to bring Impulse back on the team.

Our story begins with Impulse randomly showing up in the Catskills Resort kitchen, making himself an enormous sandwich. Superboy is the first to find him, and he naturally asks Impulse what he's doing here. Bart says he doesn't have anything else to keep him busy, and when Kon reminds him that he quit the team, Bart replies, "And you listened to me?" Kon then notices that Bart's a bit bummed out, and Bart tells him that his comic book just got canceled — well, technically his favorite comic. He says he didn't realize how much he looked forward to that monthly adventure until now, and Kon says the same thing happened to him recently.

The Ray walks in and is immediately disgusted by Bart's eating habits, saying he tries to "eat light." But Ray also sympathizes with his teammates, saying his title — his favorite — was also cancelled years ago and when it comes to comics, he's basically been in limbo ever since. The three of them all complain about how unfair it is that certain comics get to keep going, even though they're not necessarily better or worthier. Robin then walks in, and everybody instantly glares at him. He asks what he did to deserve this, and Impulse, Superboy and Ray all angrily say, "Nothing."

Slo-Bo then arrives with the plot, telling the others that Anita is having a meltdown since the A.P.E.S. have decided not to take any action after her dad's death. Bart hasn't heard about Anita's dad, so Kon and Slo-Bo fill him in, explaining that Agent Donald Fite was killed a week ago by minions of Baron Agua Sin Gaaz, the same man who killed Anita's mom years ago. Bart asks why nobody told him and when the funeral is. Kon says the funeral was three days ago and that they tried to tell Bart, but couldn't track him down. Bart feels awful by this and wonders aloud what he should say. He suddenly has a huge burp, and Slo-Bo tells Bart to say anything but that.

Everybody heads to the main room, where Anita is arguing with her late father's partner, Agent Ishido Maad. Anita says they know where Sin Gaaz is and they should go after him. Maad points out that Sin Gaaz lives in Zandia, the nation inhabited entirely by supervillains. Snapper Carr suggests they go anyway, but Maad tells him that since Lex Luthor became president, the All Purpose Enforcement Squad has lost a lot of authority, especially in international matters. As such, all the A.P.E.S. can do is pursue a diplomatic solution, which Maad admits has a small chance of success.

So Anita vows to invade Zandia on her own. Slo-Bo is the first to insist on going with her, followed closely by Secret. Slo-Bo then turns to the team leader, Wonder Girl, to ask if the whole team should go. Cassie agrees, but says they're going to need a lot of help on this mission. Bart suggests the Justice League, but Cassie shoots him down, believing the League wouldn't agree with an invasion of a foreign nation. Snapper Carr then reminds everyone that he was appointed Young Justice's adult supervisor by Red Tornado, who takes his orders directly from the Justice League. Cassie sternly tells him that now's his chance to prove his loyalty to Young Justice. So Snapper dejectedly walks away in his Nightwing-themed shirt.

Cassie then asks Maad if he'll rat them out, but Maad says he has 17 weeks of saved-up vacation time, which he'll use to go on this mission with everybody. Anita happily gives Ishido a big hug, while Cassie starts asking for recommendations for anyone who can help out. She also warns everyone that if they want to back out of this mission, now's the time to do it. Ray raises his hand, and Slo-Bo, Superboy, Secret and Impulse immediately start berating him. But Ray was just going to ask where the bathroom is.

Snapper Carr then returns, carrying a bunch of papers and maps. Kon asks him when the Justice League is arriving to shut them down, but Robin suggests they not jump to conclusions. Kon reminds Robin that Cassie is the leader now, and they should follow her lead. Cassie decides to give Snapper a chance to explain himself. He hands her all the documents, explaining that they're detailed specs on Zandia, topographical maps, plans of their harbor and important buildings, in short, all the information they'd need for an invasion. Snapper tells them to never question his loyalty, even when he reminds them who sent him here. Cassie agrees, and Anita struggles to find the words to properly thank him.

We then cut to the home of Bonnie King-Jones, who is enjoying a game of darts with her daughter, Cissie, while discussing the sad fate of Anita. Cissie tells her mom that Cassie called not too long ago, telling her about their planned invasion. Bonnie assumes they wanted Cissie to join them as Arrowette, but Cissie says Cassie only asked her for phone numbers of other heroes. But Cissie does admit that she feels a bit guilty for being so mean to Anita for so long, especially since she was inspired by Arrowette to become a hero. Bonnie can tell that Cissie is considering coming out of retirement for this, and she says it's a bad idea. She says Cissie has never been so happy and relaxed since she retired, but Cissie says she feels guilty about doing nothing this time around. Bonnie says she's not doing nothing, she's doing what's best for herself, and heading into a dangerous mission with a misplaced sense of guilty could have fatal consequences. At that note, their stack of darts at the bullseye falls down, leading Cissie to wonder why they don't play Monopoly like normal people.

We then enter the black-and-white dream of Anita Fite. She finds herself naked in her house, with Slo-Bo reading the newspaper while wearing a tutu. She tells him pink isn't his color, and he asks how she knows the tutu is pink. Anita's dad then appears, wearing an apron that says "Kill the Cook." He says dinner will be ready in five minutes, and Anita tells him she had a weird dream where he died. Anita then notices a mysterious figure upstairs. Bits of the Empress costume appear on her and Slo-Bo, and her dad is suddenly covered in third-degree burns, saying dinner got a little burned.

Empress heads upstairs, as Secret suddenly appears and attacks Donald Fite. Anita finds the mysterious figure is Agua Sin Gaaz, and now they're in New Orleans, at the apartment where her mom was killed. Sin Gaaz tells her that the explosion was supposed to kill her dad, not her mom, and he regrets that. Empress pulls out two swords, but Sin Gaaz presents her with a knife stuck in a heart. He explains that it's the symbol of Erzulie, the Vodoun goddess of love. He offers it to Anita to show his love for her, but Anita slaps it away. Sin Gaaz then reveals that he is Anita's grandfather, but she calls him a liar.

Back in the real world, Secret admits to Robin that she didn't vote for him to be team leader. He says he figured that, anyway, since he can count votes. Robin doesn't understand why Secret felt the need to lie about it, but he didn't want to say anything about it. Secret angrily says it's good that he didn't say anything, because when he does say things, they can't always be believed. She reminds him how he promised to never leave and always be there for her, but then he did. Robin says she can't take it personally that he quit the team, but she insists it is personal. Their argument is interrupted by Anita crying out in her sleep. Robin tries to wake her from her bad dream, but Secret can tell this is no ordinary dream, so she enters Anita's mind through her ears.

In Anita's dream, Empress has stabbed Sin Gaaz, to no effect. She says her grandpere died in a car crash after he left Haiti with her grandmere but before her mother was born. Sin Gaaz says Anita's grandmere left Haiti while pregnant because she was afraid of what he'd do to their child, then she stayed hidden from him with her Vodoun arts. Sin Gaaz then pulls the sword out of his chest, explaining that they're in Anita's mind, so she can't harm him, but he can harm her. He holds her over a pit of alligators and says he'd prefer not to hurt her and instead would like to give her the opportunities he wanted to give his daughter. He again maintains he accidentally killed his daughter, but he is willing to deliberately kill his granddaughter.

Secret then arrives and pulls Anita away from Sin Gaaz. Anita angrily blames her for taking her father's life, but Secret says now is not the time to discuss that. Sin Gaaz calls Secret a warder, and says he's surprised to see her trying to salvage the living instead of conducting the dead. Secret's shocked that he knows what she is, and he responds by saying it's been 28 years since he killed a warder and he wonders if he's got a knack for it. Secret wraps herself around Anita to teleport her away, but before she does, she warns Sin Gaaz that they're gathering a force to attack him in Zandia. And she's doing this not just because he killed Anita's dad, but also because she was present at his death and compelled to bring him to the next life. Sin Gaaz says he'll be waiting for them, along with his army of large, muscle-bound men he calls anti-bodies, soulless, synthetic life forms.

Anita wakes up, still shouting to Sin Gaaz, "You're not going anywhere — !" She's answered by Cassie, who says it'd be a shame if they everybody got dolled up for nothing. Surrounding them is virtually every teenage superhero in the DC Universe. And we've met a bunch of them — the Point Men, the Relative Heroes, many members of the various Titans teams, including Impulse's old teammates Damage and Terra. We also have Jakeem Thunder, the Star-Spangled Kid, Lagoon Boy and the Wonder Twins (remember the Super Friends? Shape of ice bucket, form of pterodactyl!). But the most shocking hero in attendance is Arrowette, wearing a red hood.

We end our story by visiting Agua Sin Gaaz at his home in Zandia, where he is speaking with a short woman named Devastation. She notes his talent for re-creating life and growing bodies, but says it hardly compares to her powers of a god. The Baron informs her that Zandia is going to be attacked, which she doesn't care about until he mentions Wonder Girl.



It's so great to have Impulse back on Young Justice! I love how casually he slid back onto the team, acting as if nothing had happened. And his conversation with Superboy and the Ray was a beautiful wink and nod to the readers. This was Peter David saying, "Yes, it sucks that these books got canceled. And no, it isn't fair that Robin gets to keep going." No offense to Robin fans out there, but I firmly believe his title wasn't any better than Superboy or Impulse. It was just connected to Batman, which ensured its survival.

Impulse really did come back to Young Justice at the right time — leading up to the 50th issue special. This issue was all set up, and it succeeded in getting me excited for next issue. Baron Sin Gaaz is a truly creepy and vicious villain with a literal army at his command. Young Justice is not only back to full strength, but have also enlisted the aid of basically everyone you could ever hope to see. That two-page spread at the end had nearly 50 different characters on it! And it's a testament of Todd Nauck's prowess that each and every one of those characters looked incredible.

Sadly, there isn't any letters to the editor in this issue, so let's head straight to the ads:

Straw included. Spitballs sold separately. Tang Berry Panic.

Cut loose. Stretch your tongue. Fruitopia.

Batman Haunted Knight, The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.

Let the mooching begin. Starburst. Isn't life juicy?

Super Monkey Ball 2 for Nintendo GameCube.

The Monkey Party Sweepstakes! Chances to win a GameCube, Super Monkey Ball 2, a TV, toys, etc.

Who needs nine lives when you can control time? Blinx: The Time Sweeper for Xbox.

Warning: When the game turns off, so do your powers. Superman: Shadow of Apokolips for PlayStation 2.

Naughty little bears. Haribo Gold Bears.

Pollution and paradise don't mix. Super Mario Sunshine for GameCube.

The wheelman is back! Driver 2 Advance for Game Boy Advance.

A word scramble for Tony's frozen pizzas.

Warning: Pot is addictive. It goes something like this: First you smoke pot, then you keep on smoking pot, then you can't have fun without pot, then you can't do anything without pot, then you're that skeevy loser who hangs out all day in front of the arcade.

Look at it this way — you either walk away a champion or a toaster. Battlebots for Game Boy Advance.

My only fear is running out. Got chocolate milk? with Joe Rogan.

Next time, we review our final issue of 2002, Young Justice #50!