Review: Young Justice Phantoms “Death and Rebirth”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The very next final battle for the planet Earth…

Our Take: 

The showdown between the Team and the surviving Kryptonians of the House of Zod has begun! This has been a pretty exciting journey for my first trip back to Young Justice, and I must say that I still regretted skipping out on its previous two seasons. This latest season is officially drawing to a close with another epic battle between good and evil.

Following a brief recap of last week’s episode courtesy of Nightwing and Miss Martian, the episode immediately kickstarts the showdown with blazing fury, but not without a couple of emotional beats and surprises. One of these surprises is that Nightwing and Rocket have avoided death, with the former faking his death. As for Rocket, she was transported to Metron’s vault, where he offered her his time sphere to reunite with the Team. Another surprise that caught me off guard was when the Emerald Empress supposedly killed Miss Martian. Fortunately, she faked her death to turn the tables on the Emerald Empress. That bait-and-switch moment caught me by surprise, and I couldn’t help but love the episode because of it.

Amid its thrilling action, the episode’s heart comes from Superboy, whose flashbacks to his earlier days with Superman, Miss Martian, and the Team help him realize his true family. As a result, Superboy reverts to his own self and assists Superman in sending Dru-Zod back to the Phantom Zone. It’s a satisfying conclusion to Superboy’s grief that also sees him and Miss Martian finally getting hitched.

“Death and Rebirth” successfully concludes another strong season of Young Justice with an intense final battle and solid emotional depth. However, just because the overall arc is finished doesn’t mean there aren’t any more problems ahead. The Emerald Empress and Ma’alefa’ak are still alive and planning their next move. More importantly, the post-credit scene showcases that Darkseid’s army has some new recruits, including Mary and Supergirl. It looks like the Team might have another huge battle coming up in the show’s potential fifth season. Based on my experience with the finale, I’m more than willing to rejoin the fight if another season gets the go-ahead.