A Tale of Two Cassies
Meghan Fitzmartin Writer
Laura Braga Artist
Luis Guerrero Colors
Pat Brosseau Letters
Max Dunbar and Luis Guerrero Cover
Nikola Čižmešija Variant Cover
Dave Wielgosz Editor
Ben Abernathy Group Editor
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Superboy created by Jerry Siegel.
By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.
Our cover is a nice improvement over last issue. It’s bold and dynamic and three of the four characters on it look halfway decent. (Superboy looks like he’s 60 years old for some reason.) Yes, I am annoyed that even the digital version of this cover is forced to perpetually advertise a lame kids movie — ironically right next to the box that says this comic is for ages 13+. And I always have problems with covers that are misleading and/or spoils. This one manages to do both. It’s instantly revealed that this Wonder Girl is a bad guy, although a fight like this doesn’t occur anywhere in this issue, or this whole series, for that matter.
The variant cover is a very nice homage to Superboy and several of the big moments in his career. I’m a little surprised by the choice of using Tim, Bart and Cassie in their Teen Titans gear, but I’m glad they’re here all the same.
This issue is narrated by Robin, who is surprised to see that the Mighty Endowed has easily thrown Wonder Girl off her. Tim’s glad to see Cassie again, but he wonders why she didn’t show up at Happy Harbor like the rest of them. He orders Impulse to keep his eyes up to avoid being hypnotized (I’m not sure if he meant that in a literal or metaphorical sense), and Tim admits it’s fun being the leader again.
Wonder Girl claims to have been in this world for a while now and is glad the boys have finally shown up. She says it’s a fun place and can’t wait to show them around. But first she needs to take care of the Mighty Endowed, which she does by lifting her high into the sky. The boys gape up at the two female figures, and Bart says he’s “loving the view.” Conner and Tim stare at Bart, who can’t believe he just said that. Surprisingly, Conner says, “The old Bart is back!” Bart correctly insists he was never like that and says they really need to figure out what’s going on. But Conner rushes back into the battle and Tim just tells Bart to not worry and try to have a little fun for a change.
So Bart reluctantly joins in the battle, and everybody gets a hit in. Finally, Wonder Girl puts down the Mighty Endowed for good, triumphantly stating that “Young Justice prevails!” Superboy asks if they’ve ever said that before, and Impulse insists they never say it again. Robin says they now need to figure out what they’re doing here, much to Impulse’s relief. Bart also points out that they didn’t see anyone actually in trouble from the Mighty Endowed — she was just waiting for them. He also asks where exactly they’re supposed to take her. Tim suggests they question her, but Wonder Girl distracts everybody with a ride in the Super-Cycle.
Bart is annoyed to be reunited with this vehicle, but Conner declares it to be the best and Tim admits he missed it. (Laura Braga, meanwhile, forgot to draw room for Bart’s and Tim’s legs, which I guess is hard when their pecs take up so much space.) Conner urges Bart to lighten up, but Bart oddly says he still has nightmares about the Super-Cycle. I only remember him hating the name of it, not the machine itself, but whatever. Tim realizes he hasn’t felt this light in a long time, and he’s happy to see Conner be filled with life once again. He’s also happy to see that Cassie is less angry than she’s been in years, but he does admit he barely remembers her being this clueless.
Suddenly, Oracle calls Young Justice over the Super-Cycle radio (something that never happened in the original series). She orders them to head to Metropolis to stop Tora — another minor villain from Young Justice’s early days. Tim suggests they call in some backup, like Jon Kent, Damian Wayne or even Wallace West. Wonder Girl insists they can handle Tora by themselves, adding that she hasn’t even heard of any of the people Tim just mentioned. The boys are all pretty spooked by this comment, but whereas Conner says this means they have more responsibility now, Tim seriously begins to wonder where they are.
Once our team reaches Metropolis, Impulse recognizes Tora and immediately charges into battle with Superboy. Conner asks Tora if she’s ready for a real bullfight, but Bart suggests he rethink that. Robin, however, pulls Wonder Girl aside, saying they need some answers before they keep getting distracted by fights. He asks if they’re in an alternate dimension and why they’re fighting their old villains. Wonder Girl concedes that something strange is going on, but says that she can’t figure it out — only that she’s been waiting for the rest of the team to show up. Tim feels they’re finally getting somewhere, just as Impulse and Superboy finish up with Tora. Conner is surprised that Wonder Girl and Robin didn’t want to join in on the fight, and Bart asks if Tora was always this cartoonish. Wonder Girl says that although she doesn’t have any answers, she knows someone who might.
We then return to the real Cassie Sandsmark, who is hunting down Cissie King-Jones at Cardy Boarding School (which Cassie describes as a hoity-toity place that sends its students to the Ivy League. Cissie is not thrilled when she spots Cassie, but nevertheless politely introduces her to her nonbinary friend, Liz, who says nothing, does nothing and will promptly disappear only to never be seen or mentioned again. Really makes me wonder why the creators of this book made such a big deal to introduce a character that has nothing to do with the plot whatsoever.
A little while later, Cassie continues her plea with Cissie at the archery range. Cassie insensitively says that Cissie is only practicing because that means she wants to be Arrowette again. Cissie patiently explains that she is using archery to earn a college scholarship. This angers Cassie, who can’t believe that Cissie is more concerned with college than helping her oldest friends. Cissie says she’s more worried about a world without a Justice League than a world without Conner, Bart and Tim, adding that she doesn’t have the same fond memories that Cassie does. She oddly says she only remembers fighting people the Justice League didn’t understand, like women and people from other countries who were just doing their best. (I have no idea where this comment came from, but it isn’t remotely true.)
Cassie admits they all made mistakes when they were kids, but says the world needs Tim, Bart and Conner now more than ever with the Justice League missing. Cissie says that Cassie only visits her when something’s wrong with the boys — an accusation that Cassie rejects. Cissie then insanely says she stopped being a superhero because of the toxicity. (Again, this is a flat-out lie!) She says Cassie’s life revolves around the boys and she asks who she is without them. Cissie says she didn’t want her life to end up like Cassie’s — overshadowed by three privileged idiots who had the whole world handed to them on a platter. Ultimately, though, Cissie does agree to help Cassie, but says this is the last thing she’ll ever do for Young Justice. Cassie tries to apologize, saying she didn’t realize Cissie felt this way, but Cissie coldly tells her it’s too late and slaps her hand away.
We then cut back to Bart, Conner and Tim, who appear to be riding in Impulse’s old, forgotten spaceship, The Max, to the JLA Watchtower on the Moon. The boys are greeted by the entire Justice League, and Superman even says it’s good to have them home. Tim is shocked to see the League look like it did back when they started out, and Wonder Girl coldly says it’s because it is the League. But Tim feels like he’s remembering two different truths. Before the stunned boys can even exit their ship, Wally West zooms inside and wraps his arm around Bart, saying how happy he is to see him. A confused Bart points out that Wally just saw him not too long ago, and the Wally he remembers never liked him this much.
Superman invites them all inside, and he, Wonder Girl and Superboy have a private little meeting. Superman and Wonder Girl present Superboy with a red cape, saying the world needs him and he deserves this mantle, completely ignoring Conner’s comments about Jon filling in his father’s footsteps.
Wonder Girl also seems to be simultaneously meeting with Flash and Impulse privately in a room that looks like an ordinary gym, but Wally and Wonder Girl insist is full of fun trophies, such as boomerangs and cosmic treadmills. Bart asks Wally what’s going on, saying this feels like a memory, but he doesn’t remember this part. Wally brushes off that comment as “Impulse always joking,” but Bart sternly says that Barry would know he’s not joking. He tells Wally that he thinks he’s seen cracks in this world and a total lack of awareness when it comes to other people. Bart’s having trouble fully articulating the problems he’s noticing, even asking if it was always like this. But he is certain he isn’t home, so now he has to figure out what brought him and his friends here and why. Wonder Girl says it’s obvious. As she presents Bart with Wally’s mask, she tells Bart he was brought here to become the next Flash.
Naturally, Wonder Girl is also giving Robin a Batman mask at the very same time. She insists that Tim always wanted to be Batman, but Tim isn’t quite sure about that. He’s wrestled with this very problem since he became Robin, but when Damian showed up, Tim always assumed he’d get the cowl. However, Tim is now wondering what he’ll be if he’s not going to be Batman. Wonder Girl says she’s sure Spoiler would love to get back together with Tim once he becomes Batman, but Tim points out that he’s currently dating Bernard. Batman, however, insists that Stephanie Brown is Tim’s destiny, and he’ll start dating her again once he’s out of “this phase.” Tim is not at all pleased about that comment, but he keeps his thoughts to himself in a censored swear word.
Tim, Bart and Conner meet up at the JLA table to have cheeseburgers and fries and swap notes while the three of them are alone. Bart is shocked that Batman said Tim was going through a phase, but Conner doesn’t understand what he was referring to. Tim doesn’t want to talk about it, simply saying that the real Batman would never say that. Bart says he misses Barry, explaining that he forgot how impossible it is to talk to Wally without Barry around. He starts to ask what they should do, but Conner angrily throws his hamburger down on the table. Tim tries to calm him down, pointing out that something is clearly wrong. Bart agrees, but Conner cuts him off, saying he doesn’t think anything is wrong and maybe they shouldn’t even try to go back.
Tim insists they need to go back and Bart elaborates: This isn’t their past. This world got the design wrong, seemingly going out of its way to be sexist, racist and homophobic. Bart says this is a place for immature boys — not them. But Conner persists on asking if this is the world they belong in. Frustrated, Bart turns to Tim, saying, “I said words out loud, right? You all hear me?” Tim tries a different approach: asking Conner if he actually thinks this place is real. Conner responds by throwing doubt into all reality and all memories. He says they might be in heaven, or this is the real world and their old memories were something like the Matrix. Conner concludes by saying it’s better for them here because he never died in this world. Bart then abruptly changes the subject by asking where Cassie is.
The real Cassie, meanwhile, is rather randomly battling Red Volcano. Apparently she and Cissie were unable to find Red Tornado, so they went to his evil “brother” instead. Cassie is quickly encased in molten lava, while Cissie watches helplessly from afar, knowing her arrows are completely ineffective in this situation. Luckily, Red Tornado conveniently arrives in the nick of time and deactivates Red Volcano with a single stroke. Cassie asks for Red Tornado’s help, and he readily agrees, surprisingly giving the two girls big, rib-crushing hugs.
We cut back to Bart, Tim and Conner, who were unable to find Wonder Girl anywhere on the Watchtower. So they return to Earth to cruise around in the Super-Cycle, wondering where Cassie likes to go when she’s upset. Bart coldly assumes they hurt her feeling by being bad friends, and all of them feel a bit guilty. Tim suggests they split up. He says he last saw Cassie with him and Batman, so he offers to head to Gotham City to look for her. But Conner says she couldn’t have been with Robin and Batman, because she was last with him and Superman. Bart says she was actually with him and the Flash. As Robin wonders how she could have been in three places at once, we see a fleeting image of what looks like a young Mr. Mxyzptlk on the hood of the Super-Cycle.
Suddenly, the Super-Cycle crashes on a rock that seemed to appear out of thin air. Bart asks if the cycle tried to kill them, but Conner and Tim point out that the very Earth seems to be trying to kill them. The ground splits open, revealing an army of zombies. Impulse tries to take them out, but find he’s lost his speed. Superboy tries to blast them with his heat vision, but it won’t hit the zombies. Robin surmises that this world won’t let them fight the zombies, so they have to go back to Happy Harbor. Superboy agrees and he picks up his two friends to fly them over himself. Bart says he’d prefer to run, but then suddenly notice that the ground beneath them has mysteriously become a large body of water.
When they reach Happy Harbor, our heroes are shocked to see Deathstroke, Captain Boomerang and Lex Luthor standing at the entrance of the cave. With an unconscious Wonder Girl beneath them.
I thought that Meghan Fitzmartin understood Young Justice. I was wrong. True, she knows a bit more about their history than Brian Michael Bendis, but not that much. Or perhaps what I’m seeing here is even worse. Perhaps Fitzmartin is willfully engaging in revisionist history to suit her agenda. Look, I understand that her thesis is that nostalgia isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are lots of examples of things we loved as kids that are kind of problematic today. But does that really apply to Peter David’s and Todd Nauck’s Young Justice? I don’t think so.
Let’s break it down. First, the Mighty Endowed. A crude joke, for sure. A little sexist? Perhaps. But let’s roll back the tape and look at what actually happened way back in 1998. Mighty Endowed was only seen on two pages of Young Justice #1. And she didn’t even fight our heroes. She challenged them to a battle — which only the horny Superboy was interested in — and then she promptly collapsed due to the weight of her enormous breasts. Yes, I’ll concede that was likely Peter David’s clumsy attempt at appealing to teenage boy humor. But mostly, I look at it as commentary on the trend of so many comics of that day to give every female hero and villain impossibly large cleavage.
Tora was also a quick, throwaway villain that only showed up on a couple of pages. Fitzmartin (through Cissie) seems to be implying that Young Justice was somehow … unfair? … to fight her because she was a woman and from another country? I don’t fully understand the criticism. What seems unfair to me is to put so much stock into such a quick little gag. Tora robbed Wall Street and a china shop just because they were related to bulls. Then she tried to crash a plan onto a crowd of people watching the running of the bulls in Spain. Was it wrong of Peter David to create jokey villains like Mighty Endowed and Tora? I really don’t think so.
I do think it’s wrong to have Cissie complaining about Young Justice only fighting women and people from other countries. Both Mighty Endowed and Tora happened before Arrowette joined the team. And once she did join, they mostly fought an evil genie that warped reality, a bunch of different demons (some of which brainwashed toddlers into killing their parents), and Harm, a psychotic murderer who threw an arrow through Cissie’s shoulder. So I really have no idea what Cissie is referring to, or why Fitzmartin is choosing to say these things through Cissie.
Should we talk about why Cissie actually quite being a hero? Because Meghan Fitzmartin somehow missed reading one of the most emotional and significant issues in Peter David’s run. Cissie’s therapist and friend, Marcey Money, was tortured and killed by her ex-fiancé. Cissie retaliated by hunting down and attempting to kill that man, only being stopped by Superboy at the last possible second. Cissie stopped being Arrowette because she never wanted to risk returning to that dark place ever again. But she didn’t stop helping out her friends as a civilian — notably taking part in a high-stakes intergalactic baseball game and signing up as a medic during Our Worlds at War. She didn’t quit the team because of the male toxicity exhibited by Impulse, Robin and Superboy. Heck, it was Superboy who stopped her from becoming a murderer! And Cissie knows the boys well enough to understand that none of them had an easy life or “had the whole world handed to them on a platter.” I mean, two of them were killed, for crying out loud!
I don’t know which would be worse: Fitzmartin simply not knowing any of the things I just said, or knowing all that and choosing to ignore it because it didn’t line up with the story she wanted to tell. But either way, it makes for a very frustrating and distracting experience. I’m trying to get into the mystery and enjoy the moments of Impulse having the most level head of the group. But I can’t get past how angry Fitzmartin is making me. And Laura Braga, too. This is unacceptably bad art. In this day and age, with characters this iconic and revered, we should have more consistent artwork.
Next: The Trinity of Trauma!
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