Young Justice 1.03

Welcome to Happy Harbor

Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash try talking Speedy into joining the team but he's not interested. Life at their new headquarters is kind of boring. Miss Martian takes the boys for a spin in her bio-ship. While they are flying around Happy Harbor they get a call from Red Tornado asking them to investigate a distress call from a factory in Happy Harbor.

At the factory they get into a fight with Mr. Twister, a super villain with powers similar to Red Tornado. They get it in their heads that Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise, but he isn't. He proves to be very difficult for them to defeat. He has their number and they can't seem to do anything to stop him until they fool him. Miss Martian uses her shape-shifting abilities to make herself look like Red Tornado. Kid Flash uses his superpowers to augment the illusion that Miss Martian is Red Tornado. It proves to be the decisive Factor that allows Aqualad and Superboy get close enough to finish off Mr. Twister who is, like Red Tornado, an android.

In the aftermath they return to the cave and ask Red Tornado why he didn't help them when they were having so much trouble with Mr. Twister. He isn't very forthcoming which leaves them a bit puzzled.

The first time I watched this series I wasn't completely won over in the early going. What got me in the end was the development that happens over the course of this season. There are a number of things being seeded here that will bear fruit later on. The main characters change, evolve over the course of the season.

There is a definite lack of teamwork in this episode. When the team arrives at the factory there is no coordination. Robin just takes off to deal with the problem without saying anything to anyone. The other team members kind of follow his lead but there is no plan or communication. They each attack on their own. It isn't until they follow Miss Martian's lead and work as a team that they are able to beat Mister Twister.

Miss Martian is new to Earth. She tries communicating with the others telepathically. Her telepathy proves to be useful in the battle with Mister Twister but it also leads her to a false conclusion. Because she is unable to read Mister Twister's mind, as she was unable to read Red Tornado's earlier in the episode, she concludes that he is not human. That was a correct assumption to make but then she jumps to the conclusion that he is Red Tornado, which is not the case.

T.O. Morrow, the inventor of the Red Tornado shows up briefly. He was the one behind Mister Twister. If I remember correctly this is not the only appearance he and his newer creations will make in this season.

Overall this is not a great episode but it is laying groundwork for the rest of the season. There is more than one story that runs through the season. This episode does not touch on all of those stories but it is an important building block.