Usual Suspects

"Usual Suspects" is the 25th episode of the first season of Young Justice, and the 25th of the overall series. It aired on April 14, 2012.

Logline
The Team gets a new member and a new mission – a mission that may finally expose all the Team's secrets... and all their lies!

Synopsis
Press has gathered outside the Hall of Justice. From behind a lectern, Superman gives a speech. They are gathered to introduce five new members of the Justice League: Doctor Fate, Atom, Plastic Man, Icon and Red Arrow.

Inside the Hall, the Team watches Cat Grant's report on television with their newest member, Icon's sidekick Rocket. Wally is glad Captain Marvel has managed to retain his place in the League, and likes the idea that there's a ten-year old in the League. This surprises Rocket, and causes Robin to remind him that though she's on the Team, there's no need to tell her all secrets they know just yet.

Cat continues on, how Superman hands out each member's official card. Robin briefly consoles Zatanna when the mention of Doctor Fate reminds her of her father. Rocket is jealous of Icon, considering that she convinced him to become a hero in the first place.

Green Arrow makes it personal by handing out the card to Red Arrow himself. It causes a cheer inside the Hall, and the Team considers him their example, the first sidekick to mature. Rocket wants to know what's so bad about being a sidekick—the original sidekicks inspired her. Robin wants to explain the events of six months earlier, but an alarm on his computer cuts him off.

Outside, the majority of Leaguers depart. Superman, Green Arrow and Aquaman remain behind to talk to the press, while Batman, Black Canary and Red Tornado prepare the new members for transport to the Watchtower. Canary wants them to allow the Team to congratulate them, though Icon doesn't think Rocket is in the right mood to do that. To their surprise, they find the lounge area completely empty.

The Team is quickly briefed about the signal Robin received: Cheshire was reported boarding a plane in Asheville, and she carried the briefcase containing the modified echinoderm. Rocket wonders what is so important about the case and they explain that it belongs to the villains responsible for the Injustice League. Kid Flash complains that they didn't get it in New Orleans, looking pointedly at Artemis. They trace Cheshire's plane but discover that it has crashed, and the Team lands to investigate. Robin explains that the plane hadn't registered a flight plan and that it only came up on the League computers, and he hacked the computers. When Rocket wonders why the League isn't involved, Aqualad explains that Cheshire is the team's unfinished business.

There is no sign of any bodies, but Cheshire emerges from the shadows. She's brought company: Riddler, Shimmer, Mammoth, and a group of mercenaries with Apokoliptian weaponry. They surround the area with a force field to trap the Team. The villains figured that the young heroes would track Cheshire and prepared an ambush. Aqualad quickly orders his troops into battle; Zatanna summons a snowstorm as cover. Superboy puts on the last shield and attacks the force field pylons, while Artemis goes after Cheshire. One mercenary stuns Rocket with an energy disk and Aqualad goes to her aid, while Mammoth attacks Superboy before he can destroy more pylons. As Superboy goes berserk again, Robin notices that his teammate is flying and using heat vision.

When Superboy's battle brings down a cliffside, Cheshire leaps to Artemis's aid, knocking her out of the way. She admits that she doesn't want her sister dead and then slips away. Meanwhile, Robin knocks out Shimmer and Zatanna captures Riddler. Once the force field is down, Zatanna drops the storm and the team takes their captives into custody. They discover Cheshire left the suitcase behind.

Batman seemingly berates the Team, but his mood is turned and it turns into congratulations. Now that three escaped felons are back in custody, Batman's suspicions about Hugo Strange's involvement in their escape is confirmed. They have also discovered that the villains were using some kind of biotechnology integrated with nanomachinery. As Icon leaves, Rocket congratulates her mentor and apologizes for leaving earlier. He replies that they have both found teams that suit them.

Once the adults leave, Robin points out that someone on the Team must have tipped off the villains. They explain to Rocket that for a while they believed there was a traitor on the Team. Aqualad wants to discuss Superboy's recent berserker rages, but Lex Luthor uses a high-frequency signal to contact Superboy. He says that he should meet him at Santa Prisca for more of the shields, and Superboy tells his teammates that he has business to tend to.

When Superboy takes Sphere to Santa Prisca, he finds Luthor waiting for them along with his other cohorts Sportsmaster, Blockbuster, and Queen Bee. Bane is letting them use of the island in return for favors. Superboy then realizes that the Injustice League was a distraction and that Luthor and Queen Bee were behind all the criminal activity, which Luthor admits. Artemis and Cheshire arrive by helicopter, Artemis explains that no one trusted her and she's now where she belongs. Miss Martian arrives in the Bio-Ship and is surprised to see Superboy and Artemis. Queen Bee tells her to keep her promise, and Superboy agrees to help in return for more shields. Luthor realizes that he's lying and gives the command phrase "Red sun" to render him helpless. Artemis asks what they want them to do and Sportsmaster tells her to come with him.


 * In the cave, Superboy didn't directly leave. He told the Team his secret, that half of his DNA came from Luthor and that he has used Luthor's shields to suppress his human DNA and obtain full Kryptonian powers.

Luthor tells Blockbuster to bring Superboy along so that they can reprogram him, and Artemis shoots an arrow at the villain.


 * Following Superboy's confession, Artemis fessed up. She revealed to the Team that her mother used to be known as Huntress, and Sportsmaster and Cheshire are her father and sister. Kid Flash realized that she failed in New Orleans because she didn't want her secrets exposed, and Robin admits that he knew all along. He didn't tell because she's earned her place on the Team.

Queen Bee telepathically instructs Miss Martian to take Artemis down. The Martian appears to obey, telekinetically levitating Artemis - just as Sportsmaster's counter-attack would have hit her.


 * While Kid Flash supported Artemis for her honesty, Miss Martian decided to speak out too. She explained that Queen Bee is blackmailing her by threatening to reveal her true Martian form. She showed the Team what she really looks like: a White Martian. Aqualad assured her that they would have accepted her no matter what, and Superboy took her hand and explained that he has known her true form since they mind-melded months ago in Bialya.

Miss Martian telekinetically slams Queen Bee against a tree, rendering her unconscious. She then signals Superboy that he's safe from being controlled by her. Superboy stops pretending to be shut down, and advances on Luthor, who realizes that Miss Martian had purged all trigger phrases from his mind. Blockbuster attacks Superboy, and Bane has his men open fire, but Sphere opens fire on them. Sportsmaster and Cheshire advance on Artemis, who calls in the rest of the Team for reinforcements. Bane triggers his Venom injector and attacks, while Aqualad tries to stop Luthor leaving. Mercy takes him down with one shot.

Blockbuster knocks Superboy off a cliff while Rocket goes after Luthor's helicopter, but is halted by a rocket barrage. Aqualad calls her back to help the others.

Sportsmaster brings Artemis down but Kid Flash comes to her aid. Meanwhile, Zatanna creates an army for Robin illusions to distract Bane long enough for the real one to bring the villain down by cutting his Venom line and tasing him.

Miss Martian assists Superboy against Blockbuster, but both were instructed to pull back by Aqualad, as he and Rocket attack Blockbuster with the Apokoliptian weaponry. They then trap Sportsmaster in mud. As he cries for help from his daughter, Cheshire slips away, and Artemis kicks her father unconscious. She then tosses Kid Flash her father's mask as a souvenir for his collection. The Team had won a decisive victory.

Batman investigates the biocircuitry when Red Arrow comes in to check on him. He surreptitiously slips a chip on the back of Batman's neck, mentally enslaving him. In the central hall, all the other Leaguers have suffered the same fate. Batman activates the Zeta-Tube to grant access to Vandal Savage. Red Arrow suddenly wakes from his obedient trance, and looks around to see, in shock, that he himself was the mole. Savage coldly confirms it and proceeds to the observation window to gaze upon the sun setting behind Earth.

Title
The title refers to Superboy, Artemis and Miss Martian—all of which have been suspected of being a mole ever since "Secrets". The events of "Agendas", "Insecurity" and "Image" further strengthened the suspicions (to the audience) on each suspect, respectively.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3"| Uncredited ! colspan="3"| Non-speaking roles
 * Lacey Chabert
 * colspan="2"| Zatanna
 * Crispin Freeman
 * colspan="2"| Red Arrow
 * Kittie
 * Rocket
 * Stephanie Lemelin
 * colspan="2"| Artemis
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2"| Robin
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2"| Miss Martian
 * rowspan="2"| Nolan North
 * colspan="2"| Superboy
 * colspan="2"| Superman
 * Khary Payton
 * colspan="2"| Aqualad
 * Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2"| Kid Flash
 * Nick Chinlund
 * colspan="2"| Sportsmaster
 * Miguel Ferrer
 * colspan="2"| Vandal Savage
 * Dave Franco
 * colspan="2" | Riddler
 * Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2"| Batman
 * Kelly Hu
 * colspan="2" | Cheshire
 * Vanessa Marshall
 * colspan="2"| Black Canary
 * Masasa Moyo
 * colspan="2"| Cat Grant
 * Mark Rolston
 * colspan="2"| Lex Luthor
 * Marina Sirtis
 * colspan="2"| Queen Bee
 * Tony Todd
 * Icon
 * Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2"| Batman
 * Kelly Hu
 * colspan="2" | Cheshire
 * Vanessa Marshall
 * colspan="2"| Black Canary
 * Masasa Moyo
 * colspan="2"| Cat Grant
 * Mark Rolston
 * colspan="2"| Lex Luthor
 * Marina Sirtis
 * colspan="2"| Queen Bee
 * Tony Todd
 * Icon
 * colspan="2"| Lex Luthor
 * Marina Sirtis
 * colspan="2"| Queen Bee
 * Tony Todd
 * Icon
 * Tony Todd
 * Icon
 * colspan="3"| Bane
 * colspan="3"| Blockbuster
 * colspan="3"| Mammoth
 * colspan="3"| Shimmer
 * colspan="3"| Mammoth
 * colspan="3"| Shimmer
 * colspan="3"| Shimmer
 * colspan="3"| Shimmer
 * colspan="3"| Aquaman
 * colspan="3"| Atom
 * colspan="3"| Atomic Skull (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Black Adam (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Captain Atom
 * colspan="3"| Captain Marvel
 * colspan="3"| Count Vertigo (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Doctor Fate
 * colspan="3"| Flash
 * colspan="3"| Green Arrow
 * colspan="3"| Hal Jordan
 * colspan="3"| Hawkman
 * colspan="3"| Hawkwoman
 * colspan="3"| Huntress (profile on screen)
 * colspan="3"| John Stewart
 * colspan="3"| Joker (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Martian Manhunter
 * colspan="3"| Plastic Man
 * colspan="3"| Poison Ivy (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Red Tornado
 * colspan="3"| Sphere
 * colspan="3"| Ultra-Humanite (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Wonder Woman
 * colspan="3"| Wotan (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Hawkwoman
 * colspan="3"| Huntress (profile on screen)
 * colspan="3"| John Stewart
 * colspan="3"| Joker (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Martian Manhunter
 * colspan="3"| Plastic Man
 * colspan="3"| Poison Ivy (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Red Tornado
 * colspan="3"| Sphere
 * colspan="3"| Ultra-Humanite (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Wonder Woman
 * colspan="3"| Wotan (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Poison Ivy (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Red Tornado
 * colspan="3"| Sphere
 * colspan="3"| Ultra-Humanite (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Wonder Woman
 * colspan="3"| Wotan (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Ultra-Humanite (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Wonder Woman
 * colspan="3"| Wotan (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Wonder Woman
 * colspan="3"| Wotan (photograph)
 * colspan="3"| Wotan (photograph)

Continuity

 * The results of the membership votes from "Agendas" are revealed.
 * Wally refers to Captain Marvel's secret identity, which the Team found out in "Misplaced".
 * Robin wants to refer to the events of "Independence Day" and "Fireworks" before being cut off by his computer.
 * Artemis recognizes Cheshire's suitcase as the one from New Orleans, which she saw in "Insecurity". Kid Flash later mentions how that mission failed because of Artemis.
 * The Apokoliptian weaponry first introduced in "Disordered" reappears during Riddler's ambush and the fight against Bane's minions.
 * Riddler mentions his previous sentencing in Belle Reve in "Terrors".
 * The Team mentions the Injustice League's plant attacks from "Revelation"; Rocket fought the one in Paris.
 * When Batman makes his "familiar" speech, he chooses the same words he did in "Fireworks".
 * Miss Martian, Superboy and Artemis were coerced into cooperation in "Image", "Agendas" and "Insecurity", respectively.
 * The compromised team members were instructed to proceed to Santa Prisca, a location the Team visited in "Drop-Zone".
 * Luthor contacts Superboy in the same way he did it in "Agendas", via a hypersonic frequency.
 * Lex Luthor used the same kill switch he used on Superboy in "Agendas".
 * Robin explains that he knew Artemis's real identity; this was hinted at in "Homefront" and "Secrets". His admission of this knowledge echoed the one Batman made regarding Captain Marvel's secret identity, in "Agendas".
 * Miss Martian reveals her true form to the Team, after lying about it in "Image". Robin even mentions the lie, "bald M'gann".
 * Superboy says he has known about Miss Martian's true form ever since their mission in Bialya, which took place in "Bereft". When Miss Martian infused him with the Team's collective memories, there was a glimpse of a White Martian that slipped through.
 * Superboy figures that the Injustice League wasn't the Secret Society behind all the criminal activity, as The Team and the Justice League had thought since "Revelation".
 * When abandoning her father, Cheshire repeats a line that she had said in a flashback in "Homefront": "In this family, it's every girl for herself."
 * The identity of the mole is finally revealed. This subject had been tapped in several episodes: "Infiltrator", "Targets", "Secrets", "Insecurity" and "Performance".

Trivia

 * Main title clips:
 * The Team gathered at the Cave (09:11)
 * Superboy recomposing himself (09:43)
 * Miss Martian piloting the Bio-Ship (03:56)
 * Batman debriefs the Team in the cave (08:23)
 * Superboy and Lex Luthor face to face (11:21)
 * Aqualad blocking a blast (16:53)
 * Number 16:
 * Superman makes a public announcement introducing five new members of the Justice League at 09:16 EST.
 * The logo of the Justice League membership cards uses the same font and color as the title card of the Justice League animated series.
 * This episode aired in Brazil on March 16.

Goofs

 * In the scene right after Blockbuster was taken out, Sportsmaster is shown advancing on Artemis, twirling his spiked ball and chain menacingly. In the shot where Artemis leaps to a tree branch above him, he's no longer twirling his weapon, but the sound effects remain as if he were.
 * In the establishing shot of the Watchtower atrium that shows Batman and Red Arrow walking towards the zeta tube console, Captain Atom is off-model and is depicted shorter than Hawkwoman.

Cultural references

 * The phrase "the usual suspects" comes from the classic film Casablanca and is uttered in one of Claude Rains's most memorable lines, "Round up the usual suspects". This expression was also used as the title of a column in Spy magazine and the 1995 film directed by Bryan Singer, starring Kevin Spacey.

Unanswered questions

 * Where was Wolf?
 * Where did Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, and Sportsmaster want to take Superboy, Miss Martian, and Artemis from Santa Prisca?
 * Why was Red Arrow shocked at finding out he was the mole?
 * How long has Red Arrow been under the influence of the Light?