Man, did I miss this show. Besides the Halloween special last year, it’s been two and a half years since we’ve had a Venture Bros. episode. The third episode of season five premiered on Sunday (with a small but cheeky performance from Gillian Jacobs) and between that and the hour-long premiere the other weekend, this show continues to surprise me with big changes for the Venture clan.

Show creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick have never been shy about making story choices that greatly change the characters. I mean, in the last moments of the season three finale they killed off 24 right after Brock quit — two fan-favorites gone from the series, at least as regulars. But that fearlessness and willing to shake things up is how the show went from a straight-forward Johnny Quest satire to the eclectic, often bizarre and even touching show that it is today. The one aspect of the show that has ultimately changed the least is the boys.

That’s not to say Hank and Dean haven’t grown up at all during the first four seasons. Both boys have been disillusioned about their father’s success as a scientist and have an overall better idea of the world around them. But while the show has had the boys change in previous seasons, their naivety seems to snap them back over and over. In the last couple weeks (on top of the Halloween special), I’ve started to think the brothers are really changing.

Hank’s personality hasn’t changed nearly as much, but he is stretching his wings. Hank Co. is back at the compound  and as much as Rusty has belittled him for not being the ideal future super scientist like Dean, Hank is showing initiative. Then in this past episode, we see Hank with highly focused Dark Knight-esque survival and combat skills that save the day. Granted, he was hyped up on coffee at the time, but the only thing that went wrong in his plan was the iPad didn’t go off. That’s pretty impressive considering how many times he died previously due to his own incompetence (including via rooftop umbrella drop trying to be Batman).

But as Hammer and Publick have said before, the show is really about failure. And while the boys are becoming their own people, I doubt their lives are going to be any less disturbing. I mean, in the premiere Dean gets a girlfriend who slowly mutates thanks to Rusty’s new radioactive project, then beats the mutant’s leader in hand-to-hand combat to please his mutant girlfriend, which he then discovers will doom the world to a mutant apocalypse.

The boys might change, but some things stay the same. And I’m looking forward to watching it all.

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This Saturday morning marks the season finales of both Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Since neither show has been renewed as of now, there’s a good chance they will also be the series finales for both shows. Now, there is a strong renewal campaign being led by both fandoms together, so all hope is not lost; but, for this week, I’ve been thinking about how special the shows are. In particular, how special the shows are for featuring several fantastic female characters. These are just a few of the badass women that have made my Saturdays a little brighter.

Carol Ferris
Carol has not always been written well throughout her history in the comics, but this might be one of the better versions of the character overall. She’s the first person to have the power of the Star Sapphire ring and be able to give it up. Carol is also the one to revolutionize the concept of love for the Star Sapphires. When Hal is sent back to Earth with no memory of being a Green Lantern, it’s Carol who helps him regain his memory and urges him to go save the universe. More than that, she breaks up with him only when she knows it’s not the right time for them to be together.

Probably best of all is when she’s called back to the Star Sapphires to be their champion for love — one minute she’s in the middle of a business buffet and the next she’s in outer space, called upon to fight Atrocious. And considering the situation, she takes it in stride. What’s great about Carol is that whether she has the ring or doesn’t, she always seems to be a huge part of why the day is saved.

Artemis Crock
Artemis Crock is kind of an anomaly. In comic book canon, she’s an antagonist. In Young Justice, she was brought onto the team out of nowhere with a secret. Since there was a supposed mole on the team, viewers were supposed to wonder if that was Artemis. After all, Artemis came from a family of criminals and assassins, but she wanted to be something better.

She grew stronger as she learned to trust her teammates, but she was always brave. Even when her dad told her that she couldn’t run from her family — that being a villain was in her blood — Artemis just wanted to be a hero. It would have been easy to have Artemis go back and forth between good and evil, self doubt and self confidence; these tropes are used so often and it can get frustrating to see them overused. So it was refreshing to see her go “No, this is what I want. This is who I want to be. I make my own destiny.” It’s a real shame the writers took her out of the hero life in season two, but the sacrifices she made while undercover just shows how strong a person she is. I just wish we could see more of her beyond the season finale.

Iolande
Iolande is one of the recurring GLTAS characters taken from established Lantern Corp canon. A princess on her home planet, we get to know Iolande over the course of her introductory episode “Heir Apparent” and while some in her court challenge her role as the singular ruler of her people, Hal and the Green Lantern of her sector have confidence in her. And when the lantern ring comes to her, she decides to take on both the responsibilities of the Queen of her people as well as the new Green Lantern for her sector.

Barbara Gordon

Some other Batgirl highlights? Well, she was a huge part of stopping the war world from destroying Earth. When Blue Beetle attacked the team later that episode, Barbara’s first instinct was to push Robin out of harm’s way while she felt the full force of the blast. Her detective work back in “Beneath” was the start of them figuring out the ancient Scarab technology. And if you count the tie-in comic (which I do), she also went toe-to-toe with Match AKA the Superman clone. Even Superboy had a tough time with Match and Barbara still fought him for an hour!

She’s smart, brave and as seen last episode, can knock four ninjas unconscious in a matter of seconds — all without superpowers. As much as I wish they would have given her more character focus, she’s still very badass on the show and I’m so glad she was included.

Aya
What better way to round off this list than with Aya. I’ve written about this complex original character earlier this year — how she went from being a bodyless nav computer to a robot who wants to be a Green Lantern to one of the bravest members of the crew. Of course, right after I wrote that piece was when things started going back for Aya. But what’s beautiful about her character is how human she really is; when her heart is broken, all she wants to know from Hal is how she can make the pain go away — how much more human can you get?

And she made the ultimate sacrifice twice. First she put herself in harm’s way to save Razer from the Anti-Monitor. Then she sacrificed her emotions and (with her emotions, everything that’s the fans love about her) so she could save her team. Sure, removing her emotions meant she didn’t have to feel the crippling heartache, but it was still the only way to save her family. And now that she is this cold, cruel mistress of the Manhunters, it only hurts more because the viewers love Aya so much and will make the finale that much harder to watch.

Over the last year, I’ve just been so impressed by both of these shows and how great all their characters are. But the truth is, there are plenty of other great female characters in Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice — who are your favorites?

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I’m a sucker for romance. OK, scratch that — I’m a sucker for good romance. And while that definition can be very subjective, for me it’s about couples with a slowly developing relationship. It starts with building trust and growing into something special. Most of all, it’s about respect as well as romance. So imagine how happy I am that not only is a pretty cool romance happening on one of my favorite shows, but one that’s happening on a show aimed at adolescents – Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Yes, while Young Justice is my favorite cartoon out there right now, GLTAS has really captured my heart and much of that has to do with the relationship between the show’s two original characters — Razer and Aya. This newest episode “Blue Hope” focused on the two of them for the first time this season and really highlights why this only-really-just-begun relationship is so refreshing.

For one, the characters both have separate story arcs and character development outside of their budding romance. Razer spent most of season one as a sort-of prisoner turned ally for the Green Lanterns because he realized he couldn’t kill innocents anymore. He dealt with his past and his demons mostly by lashing out at others and himself, but he wanted to be a better person. Razer also came to better terms with the loss of his wife, arguably the driving factor to him becoming a Red Lantern and the main source of his rage (and therefore power). On the other side, we have Aya. To put her in the simplest terms, Aya is awesome. She’s a AI nav computer who keeps saving Hal and Kilowog and Razer over and over. She chose to make herself a Green Lantern. When Kilowog says she doesn’t even have a body, so how could she be a Lantern, she immediately makes herself a body and basically responds, “Any other reasons?”  She’s brave, clever and by the end of the first season all three of her shipmates acknowledge that’s she’s (to use Hal’s wording), “Not a rookie anymore.”

Outside of their own character development, season one had oodles of hints at their attraction to each other. It was very easy to go into full fangirl mode and squee with delight every time they had a moment together because they’re just so adorable. Yes, she’s technically their spaceship. Yes, she does accidentally look like his dead wife (oops). But the season finale proved that Razer’s affection for her is genuinely for her — I seriously doubt the Star Sapphires could have gotten him to Aya if he didn’t really love her.

Now that the hiatus is over and we’ve finally seen Razer and Aya face to face in season two, the best thing I can say about the episode is how it was just as much about their personal development as it was about the two of them together. Razer is dealing with his overall rage through Blue Lantern Saint Walker’s training, but he’s still struggling with his disbelief that Aya could ever love him … and whether he deserves to have love in his life again at all. Sure a lot of this comes from self-loathing, but he doesn’t just assume Aya loves him just because he loves her — that’s a big plus in my book.

After Aya calls Razer out for saying all machines are emotionless and apathetic (I was shouting, “Razer, she’s right there!” at the TV during that scene), she doesn’t wallow or try to figure out what she did wrong. No, she tries to befriend the damaged Manhunter instead. And it’s during these scenes that we get to see everything great about Aya come front and center. Aya sees the best in everyone. She chose her own fate. And as the Manhunter disturbs her with his blind apathy and desire to kill, she defiantly states, “I am nothing like you.” It such a powerful moment for the show and by the time the Manhunters detect emotion in her when she looks at Razer, we know it’s Aya choosing him for herself because she is her own person.

Best of all, the episode ends with Razer apologizing to Aya for his behavior, unlike some cartoon characters from last year (I’m looking at you, Young Justice and Legend of Korra). Thank heavens for that apology because it would have sent a really bad message to not have him apologize for indirectly calling her mindless and soulless.

While Razer and Aya’s relationship is such a great part of this show, the beautiful thing about them is that they both have emotional and complex story arcs of their own. Their personal growth makes their romance that much more interesting. So what am I looking forward to going into the rest of the season? I’m looking forward to more individual character development for both characters. I’m looking forward to a positive representation of a second love. And I’m looking forward to them continuing to act adorable. That being said, I’ve seen the DC Nation trailer and I know that some dark stuff is coming for these two. Considering how his rage exploded when she was hurt this episode, I can’t imagine what’s going to happen down the line.

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2012 was not the best year for my viewing experience. Besides Community being put on hiatus, the entire DC Nation block (Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and the animated shorts) were taken off Cartoon Network’s schedule only 12 hours before air, only to have the Cartoon Network Twitter account happily announce later that day the block was coming back in 2013. I wrote about the situation back when it happened in October, but it is disappointing that we were never given a reason for the hiatus.

Still, this Saturday marks the return of DC Nation and needless to say, I’m very happy about it. The thing is, the episodes premiering this weekend also happen to be the ones that were still sold on iTunes for about 24 hours after the hiatus started, so I’ve already seen Young Justice‘s “Before the Dawn” many times over in the last few months. So without giving away spoilers, here’s why you should watch if you’re at all a fan of the show.

So if you remember from the last episode “Darkest,” undercover operatives Aqualad and Artemis had to kidnap three of the younger team members (in particular Blue Beetle) and blow up the cave in order to keep their cover. “Before the Dawn” is entirely about the team’s multi-layered mission to get the kids back. Missions like this were the norm last season and this one gives us plenty of opportunities to highlight several of the team members while keeping the story moving. For instance, we see more of Artemis and Kaldur undercover, but we also get to see M’gann struggle with the consequences of her actions during and leading up to the mission (something speculated several times over the summer by fans, actually). We also get to find out a little bit more about the future from which Impulse escaped and how Blue Beetle ties in to all of this. In general, we’re getting a clearer picture of the invasion that the season has been leading up to while also building on character arcs.

Personally, my favorite part of the episode was the focus on Batgirl and Robin. Both Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake are characters close to my heart thanks to growing up with the DCAU, but neither have had a huge amount of focus compared to the original team members and characters like Bart and Jaime. But in this episode, we get to see both of them working together to kick alien butt. And as a lifelong Barbara Gordon fan, it made me far too happy to see her take a leadership role, going as far as confidently making a very difficult but necessary decision by the end of the episode. Yes, Batgirl is awesome during this mission. Did I mention we also get an amazing cameo from another iconic Batfamily member that could potentially be foreshadowing a future team member?

So far, season two of Young Justice has had much more focus on the overarching plot and less on the characters. “Before the Dawn” is my favorite episode so far this season because it manages to balance character moments while still having plenty of action and adding to the overall story. The only negative about watching the episode was knowing that I’d be waiting months to find out what happens next, and considering there’s a pretty huge cliffhanger to end the episode … let’s just say I’ve been a very patient fan this winter. I’m definitely going to rewatch the episode this weekend when DC Nation return, but man oh man, I can’t wait for the weekend after to find out what happens next.

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With Gravity Falls, Legend of Korra, Young Justice and Green Lantern: the Animated Series all on hiatus during the fall and winter (luckily all coming back in early to mid 2013), I’ve been jonsing for more cartoons on my TV. Luckily, The Hub is giving kids of the ’90s some much needed nostalgia this Christmas season — they’ve picked up Animaniacs for syndication starting on Christmas Eve. Not a bad Christmas present!

I guess it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the show has been picked up by The Hub — other Kids WB shows like Batman: The  Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series have been shown in syndication on the Hub, and Wakko’s Wish (the Animaniacs straight-to-video movie that was essentially the finale of the show) has been a part of the network’s Family Movies segment recently. Considering the Hub has had success with these other shows, it makes sense that they’d bring in arguably Kids WB’s most successful and beloved show.

Animaniacs helped shape my sense of humor more than almost any other show growing up. As a thematic descendant of Looney Toons and Merry Melodies, the show had tons of slapstick, puns galore, pop culture references and just enough adult humor that somehow always went over our heads. And with the insanely talented likes of Rob Paulson, Tress MacNeille, Jess Harnell, Maurice LaMarche, Frank Welker among others, the timing is just perfect. It also featured a plethora of original songs, including Broadway star Bernadette Peter’s work as Rita the cat and Paulson’s legendary Countries of the World song … which he’s been known to still sing by heart during conventions. It does my heart good to know that a new generation will be able to watch the show on TV again.

Of course, this makes me wonder what other cartoons from my childhood could show up on The Hub. My first guess is Pinky and the Brain, since it was a direct spinoff of Animaniacs, or maybe Tiny Toons as its predecessor, but I would love for the network to pick up Kids WB dark horse Freakazoid to give it more exposure to a generation that might not know about it. It would be fantastic to see the show Histeria! come back to television and while I have no doubt it aged poorly, a small part of me would want to see Road Rovers again.

A regular schedule for Animaniacs hasn’t been released, but The Hub will introduce the show with a four hour marathon on Christmas Eve starting at 4 PM EST and an airing of Wakko’s Wish at 8 pm EST.

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Truth be told, I was a bit underwhelmed by the season premiere, “The Crystal Empire pt. 1 and 2.” There were aspects of it that were really nice (how Twilight ends up needing Spike’s support and is willing to fail her test in order to save the empire), but the parts with the other ponies trying to stall the ceremony felt like the writers couldn’t figure out much for them to do after Twilight goes off on her own. I’m also not sure why Princess Celestia told Twilight she had to do it on her own when in fact doing it on her own would have doomed everyone. Last year’s hour premiere just had a better overall story, a better resolution and a far better villain. This year’s King Sobra has little to no presence (he’s just generically evil with no real dialogue) while John de Lancie‘s Discord was a huge personality who had a very clear purpose for his wicked deeds. So while I’m glad the show is back, the episode left me lukewarm.

But the one big ear perk for me was towards the beginning of the episode — Princess Luna and Celestia are discussing what has to be done to save the Crystal Empire. Luna questions if Twilight Sparkle can do what needs to be done and Celestia assures her sister that Twilight “will succeed at her task. And when she does, we’ll know that she is that much closer to being ready.” So the question is … ready for what?

Now, Luna and Celestia’s conversation was slightly vague and I’ve seen some online discussions suggest that it was actually Princess Cadence they were speaking about (Cadence has a huge part is saving the day in this storyline as well). However, during one of the new season commercials that aired during the premiere they go through a few up-and-coming moments, including the ponies magically de-aging, multiple Pinkie Pies and Twilight Sparkle’s destiny. So unless the commercial was part of the red herring to distract us from the actual reveal, it looks like Twilight is going to have an even larger role in the protecting Equestria.

In some ways, they’ve already been building up to this. From the very first episode Twilight has been the holder of the Elements of Harmony “big crown thingy,” arguably the leader of the group when they have to do their duties as the wielders of the Elements. In another episode she tries to hide just how talented she is at magic because she’s worried her friends will think she’s arrogant. It’s been highly implied that Twilight is well-above the experience of ponies her age and there’s definitely something extraordinary about her abilities. Was this fate the reason Celestia chose Twilight to be her apprentice in the first place? And at the very end of the premiere, we see Princess Luna lifting up a mysterious book … could that have something to do with Twilight “being ready?”

Throughout the series, I’ve appreciated that not all the episodes are one-shots. There are a few storylines that come back here and there in big ways. It looks like Twilight’s magic is going to be a much larger part of the overall arc of the season. I’m looking forward to it.

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This autumn has been a dark time in the Schenkel household. Between Community pushed back to February, DC Nation (which includes both Young Justice and Green Lantern) put on a surprise three month hiatus after only two weeks back and a bunch of my favorite shows like Legend of Korra still not back after their summer seasons, I’ve been pretty bummed out lately. Luckily, Adult Swim was kind enough to give me a little taste of the show that always keeps me waiting — The Venture Bros.

Look, the show is well worth waiting for, but that doesn’t make the couple years between seasons any easier to swallow. Last year we got a very brief, less-detailed animated short chronicling Hank’s band in a Behind the Music-eque documentary (narrated brilliantly by Bill Hader). Besides that, the last episode we got was the hour-long season four finale “Operation: P.R.O.M.,” which premiered on November 21, 2010. So yeah, after close to two years since the last season ended, I’ve been hungry for more from Astro Base Go! … which is why the Halloween special was a much needed treat.

The episode was chock full of characters thanks to three storylines of various significance (four if you count Dermot and Hank separate from Dean). Rusty and company betting on whether or not trick-or-treaters could get through the compound’s intense and homicidal defense systems was classic. Orpheus’ seance was heavy handed writing-wise, but having the Master (voice once again by the awesome H. Jon Benjamin) turn into a zombie-destroying Santa was a brilliant surprise (and I have a feeling “pleasure toast” is going to be a new inside joke for Venture Bros. fans). But the real bright spot of the special was Dean.

Last season we got to see Hank get out of his shell, but he didn’t quite develop into a more self-aware soon-to-be adult. I mean, he tried to take his middle-aged female mail carrier to prom. But the very last moments of the last season finale showed a hint of Dean getting a good dose of reality. So when I saw Dean in all black with the black hair and blasé attitude, I paused the episode to cheer a little. After four seasons, Dean Venture is finally coming into his own. This is only expanded when he meets the very Lebowski-like Ben (J.K. Simmons once again knocking it out of the park) and discovers the long-buried truth of his clonehood. His eventual acceptance of it and his choice to hide the painful revelation from his brother is just another reminder that The Venture Bros. isn’t afraid of genuine character’s growth.

While we still don’t have an air date for season five, the Halloween special was a friendly reminder of how much I love this show. It somehow balances very dark, adult humor with obscure pop culture references and just enough sincere storytelling. I’m very excited to see where Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer take us. Oh, and it was awesome to finally see former CliqueClacker Annie Wu’s name in the credits (she’s working on the color design for season five).

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Dear Cartoon Network,

Considering this is a cartoon column, it shouldn’t surprise you that I’m a fan of your work. I was a huge fan of Dexter’s Lab, Powerpuff Girls, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and your other mid-to-late 90s work. I think Regular Show and Adventure Time are both fantastic. And more importantly, I’ve been completely smitten with pretty much all your content on Saturday morning’s DC Nation — Green Lantern, Young Justice, the various shorts … all of it really, with my absolute favorite of the line-up being the fantastic story and characters you have in Young Justice.

So imagine my surprise when I wake up this morning to catch the hour-long superhero block full of all new episodes and … nothing. You gave us Johnny Test and Riders of Berk reruns instead. And as I was writing this carefully polite letter, you cheerfully announce that DC Nation will be back! … in January.

Today would have marked only the third episode back for both shows in your line-up after a grueling three month summer hiatus. Might I remind you of what happened on these shows last week? On Green Lantern: The Animated Series, our hero Hal Jordon has apparently been disintegrated by a giant Manhunter. On Young Justice, the Dick/Wally friendship is splintering and the Light has captured Jaime, Bart and Garfield. Oh yeah, and Mount Justice was blown up. This is not the time for you to surprise us with another three month hiatus!

Why replace two brand-new shows in your superhero showcase with reruns of the two shows that usually come on right after it anyway? Why pull the programs just hours before airtime? And an even better question: why another hiatus after only two episodes?

Worse still, apparently even the show creators had no idea. GL:TAS creator Giancarlo Volpe was passionately doing press this week for today’s episode, YJ creator Greg Weisman wrote a little about the next episode on his website (even mentioning that he’d be out of town today but was excited to watch it and Green Lantern on his DVR when he got back) and a shocked YJ co-creator Brandon Vietti simply tweeted this morning “I hate waking up to bad news.” Sure, the fact that you didn’t release any preview videos this week should have been a clue to your fans, but we just figured it was a matter of spoilers. We (and apparently the show runners) didn’t expect you to pull the whole line-up without explanation.

And I guess that’s what I’m looking for … an explanation. Because I understand that television programming is a business and that your decisions are focused on making a profit even if it goes against the fandom. I’m a Community fan … this is not my first disappointment rodeo. But despite how much I hate that Community fans are getting the short end of the stick, at least NBC’s decisions in the last few months make some semblance of sense from a bureaucratic and financial point of view. But pulling your two new episodes (both of which ended last week with major cliffhangers) just hours before airing and replacing the whole block — including new shorts, which have been very popular with fans — with reruns of the shows that normally follow it? And then happily announcing that fans can watch their favorite shows next year instead of this morning like they expected? As a fan and a reviewer, I just don’t get it.

When DC Nation first premiered, I praised it for being a return to Saturday morning cartoon viewing and a clever way to get viewers to tune in to live television — while other programs move their schedules around at the drop of a hat, kids can tune in every Saturday morning on the nose to watch their favorite DC heroes save the day. The shorts during the commercial breaks even motivate viewers to stay on the channel in between the shows, for crying out loud! If the days are numbered for GL:TLA and YJ (as a fan of both I realize that is a possibility), you still have new DC Nation shows in the works and removing the block altogether from Saturday mornings is a stupid move if you want people to tune in week after week when you do have new content.

Now, despite what some fans have concluded, you haven’t cancelled DC Nation … and that’s a good sign. But you have a pretty dedicated fanbase, as you have probably already noticed from the numerous Facebook and Twitter messages I’ve seen coming your way in the last few hours. I know some of my friends who love these shows have sent you emails and messages, so I guess this is mine — DC Nation is one of the best things the entire DC brand has going for it right now. It’s solid programming with a fanbase that spans kids and adults alike. Just this week a friend of mine checked out the pilot of Young Justice on my suggestion and sped through both seasons in just a few days — he’s absolutely hooked. You have an devoted, growing audience … we just want to keep watching.

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There are few shows I have fallen in love with faster than Gravity Falls. In fact, I knew I was going to like the show just by the many, many GIFs sent to me before I even watched the first episode. It’s still early in its first season, but I absolutely adore this show. It’s clever as hell, effortlessly hilarious, unafraid of being ridiculous and it features the dulcet tones of Ms. Kristen Schaal. Seriously, Schaal has a voice made for cartoons and her character Mabel is everything I wish I could be (“I’m legalizing everything!”). But the other great aspect of the show is the wide array of pop culture references, often hidden within the show so that only fans of that show/movie/etc. will notice and get really excited they got a shout-out. Hence this week’s episode.

Despite Gravity Falls being set in the summer, I don’t think the writers could pass up making a Halloween episode for the show all about creepy legends. Hence Summerween, which is just like Halloween except it fits with the premise of the show. Mabel does point out that the holiday seems forced … until she’s reminded it means free candy and then she’s A-OK with it! So, a sinister masked creature called the Summerween Trickster promises to eat the Mystery Twins and their friends unless they get 500 pieces of candy before the melon lanterns go out. Our brave young heroes don’t make their goal (thanks to Dipper being embarrassed about trick-or-treating) and the creature goes after them. It’s during the beginning of the chase that I noticed how much the Trickster looked and moved like No Face from Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. For one, the Trickster had become long and lumpy. For another, he started moving on all fours. Oh, and the whole wanting to eat people thing. I wondered if it really was a deliberate nod to Miyazaki or if I was just imagining it … until the creature changed into this:

Now let’s take a look at the original:

Oh yeah, it’s deliberate.

But why Spirited Away? Just a couple of weeks ago Gravity Falls did a very literal homage to Street Fighter and other arcade games. After that, I was expecting an episode filled with classic scary movie references. Except for one Friday the 13th-esque shot early in the episode, there really weren’t any, so I was especially surprised that this nod to Studio Ghibli was so prominent in the episode. Granted, it’s definitely one of Miyazaki’s more disturbing characters, but it’s not exactly Halloween-y. On the other hand, I admire the hell out of this show for daring to take a pop culture reference and running with it in a way no one could possibly expect. What I’ve learning is that just like Dipper and Mabel, we never quite know what we’ll find next in Gravity Falls. And that’s half the fun.

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It seems crazy, but we only have two days until Young Justice comes out of its hiatus like a majestic bear waking up from its long slumber to maul us with heartache and emotions. It’s been a long summer to wait, to wonder, to over-analyze the past episodes for any clues to what could possibly be coming. Since DC Nation started in the spring, I’ve dived head first into the Young Justice fandom and since the animation department is the only area that DC Comics haven’t thoroughly messed up this summer, I’m very glad to see Young Justice come back. Between the preview videos and the preview screenshots (on top of the comic that was released earlier this month), there’s certainly a lot to say about the potential of the show in the upcoming episodes. So here’s what I’m thinking …

Jade and Roy go after Kaldur

Wally comes back to the Team
Yes, this is mostly what I want to happen, but it does make sense. If the fastest way to get Artemis home is to stop the invasion then Wally’s going to do everything he can to help. Plus, he has a chance to see her and make sure he’s the one to fight her instead of a team member who sees her as an enemy. I’m also thinking if Wally does come back to the team that we’ll see more Bart and Wally interaction with Kid Flash becoming a speedster mentor. And any interaction with Bart means more possibilities to learn about his future.

Artemis and Kaldur struggle with their identities
This was something I picked up on in the Comic-Con trailer, namely that Artemis looks miserable in her role as a would-be bad guy. And I don’t blame her one bit! The great part of her character arc in the 1st season was her choosing her own path despite her father telling her that crime was in her blood. She choose to help people and be a hero — to make her own fate. Now she’s back in the role of a villain and I’m guessing she’s really good at it because let’s face it … Artemis kicks butt. Her father’s voice is in the back of her head telling her this is where she belongs and she’s struggling without the support of most of her teammates, especially Wally.

More Batfamily scenes
Again, this one is more on the wish list side of things, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. We know we’re going to see Tim fighting in civilian clothes and Barbara is supposed to have a decent size storyline in the comics, so building on those characters looks good. And yes, I want Dick and Barbara to get together because I’ve been rooting for these two in the cartoons since about 1994, but I just want to see more of Barbara because she’s my favorite. So if that means we don’t get a Dick and Babs romance but we still have the Bat kid trio working together, then so be it. Like pretty much all the season 2 added characters, I just want to see more character development from Tim and Barb.

M’gann isn’t going to hurt Kaldur or Artemis
One of the very first hypotheses that came from the fans after “Depths” was that the now very powerful M’gann would destroy her former friend’s mind like she did the aliens. She’d either get revenge by mind-attacking Kaldur or his mysterious new second-in-command Tigress. And it would only be later that she discovers they were undercover and she has become the monster she was always terrified of becoming. However, there are two reasons why I don’t think it’s going to go down that way. For one, Jade is already focused on the revenge plot. They could do both Jade and M’gann going after Kaldur, but that seems a little too cramped for a season already filled to the brim with plot. There’s also the matter of Superboy’s talk with M’gann in the last episode. After hearing how she hurt him, I don’t know if she’s going to use her powers in so many situations or to a degree of torture. I can see her almost using her powers in the way again but then stopping herself.

Jason Todd is Young Justice canon
OK, this isn’t a prediction — it’s a fact. In the promotional screenshot of Garfield, Jaime, Bart and Tim looking at Artemis’ memorial, you can clearly see the memorials of the other fallen heroes: Aquagirl, Blue Beetle and … a Robin? And that’s the moment when I audibly gasped and shook my hands in glee. Because ever since the first episode of the season when Dick told Tim, “Just … don’t die,” we’ve wondered if they were going to at least acknowledge Jason Todd’s existence.

Some fans have already gotten upset that Jason is dead in the series, but I see this as an overwhelming good thing. Look, as soon as we saw the new Robin was Tim, there were only two ways the writers could have gone: either they ignore his existence altogether or he was killed within the five year jump. This is the first time a DC show has even had Jason be a part of its universe — this is huge! And more importantly, remember that Young Justice has a history of establishing characters and bringing them onto the team later. His very existence in the show means there’s a very good chance they’ll use him again. I don’t think its going to happen this season, but I’m calling it now — next season we’re going to get Red Hood.

Fellow Young Justice fans — as the hiatus comes to a close, what do you think will happen to our young heroes?

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