Alienated

"Alienated" is the third episode of the second season of Young Justice, and the 29th of the overall series. It aired on May 12, 2012.

Logline
The Team and the Justice League continue to hunt the Kroloteans that have invaded Earth—but the aliens have help from an extremely unexpected source.

Synopsis
Jaime Reyes and Karen Beecher enter Bibbo's Diner. "Bibbo Bibbowski" is watching one of G. Gordon Godfrey's televised rants against the Justice League when he sees his guests. He throws out a casual welcome, until he realizes they're not there for anything on the menu. He bolts through a window, and runs through an alley. The two young heroes suit up and give chase. "Bibbo" is eventually cut off by the real Bibbo Bibbowski, who hits him to the ground. A Krolotean jumps out of the belly of "Bibbo", and escapes towards the sewers. Bumblebee can't stop him, though she manages to injure him. The Krolotean fires up a jet powered escape sled, covering his escape in a fiery blast. Blue Beetle argues with his armor about what he should have done—unable to track where the Krolotean has gone—while Bumblebee and Bibbo stare at him. The Krolotean escapes into Metropolis where Manta is waiting in his Manta-flyer with more Kroloteans. They submerge and depart the area.

At the Erdel Initiative in STAR Labs' Taos facility, Nightwing, Green Lantern, Captain Atom, Wonder Woman and Eduardo Dorado Sr. await the return of Zeta Squad. Beast Boy is eager to show his souvenir, but Miss Martian and Adam Strange get straight to business. M'gann reports that the Krolotean presence on Rann was stopped. The Kroloteans had settled on Rann after paying off a member of the Rannian Science Command, and a similar ship landed in New Orleans. From there they had been abducting and replacing humans, but Miss Martian isn't sure why. Adam tells them about Sardath's Zeta-Shield, and how it would aid them without disrupting the League's own Zeta system.

At Beast Boy's insistence, Miss Martian explains what else she has discovered: what happened during the missing sixteen hours. Vandal Savage sent the six League members to the planet Rimbor to go on a rampage attacking everyone in sight and loudly announce that the galaxy should beware the Justice League. The Kroloteans heard of the incident and invaded Earth in retalliation. John Stewart, who was unfamiliar with the events because Rimbor is not in his sector, vows to head to Oa to consult with the Guardians of the Universe.

At the Hall of Justice, Catherine Cobert is taking a tour group through the trophy room, showing them the League's origin and the remnants of an Appellaxian invasion. Some of the crowd discuss Godfrey's suspicions about aliens but Catherine ignores them and continues.

Miss Martian and Superboy join Batman in the interrogation room. Martian Manhunter is telepathically interrogating the Krolotean that Lagoon Boy and the others captured, but so far, he has been unsuccessful. Miss Martian quickly telepathically scans the Krolotean herself. Superboy is not happy she uses her powers to psychically torture someone. Miss Martian reports that the Kroloteans have an emergency rendezvous point inside a volcano on Malina Island.

Title
One of the meanings of the word "alienated" is to have become hostile or unfriendly where there was previously attachment. This possibly refers to Aqualad, who blamed the Team for the death of Tula, and Aquaman for concealing his parentage, thus becoming alienated from them. It may also refer to the Kroloteans, who were alienated from the Light thanks to its new partner, or Ocean-Master, who was disgraced and alienated from the Light. Finally, it can refer to Miss Martian's wanton use of telepathy, which further alienates her from Superboy.

Other possible wordplays exist based on the root word "alien". There are many aliens mentioned in the plot: the Kroloteans, and their "Competitor", who may or may not be the one who provided the alien bomb used to blow up the Kroloteans to dust. The Main Man, an alien bounty hunter, was also mentioned.

Finally, while not a real definition, to alienate someone could mean the process of turning someone into an alien—something that refers to the Kroloteans abducting Earthlings and replacing them with alien fakes, in effect "turning" them into an alien.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3"| Non-speaking roles
 * Tim Curry
 * colspan="2"| G. Gordon Godfrey
 * rowspan="2"| Miguel Ferrer
 * colspan="2"| Vandal Savage
 * colspan="2" | Bibbo Bibbowski
 * rowspan="2"| Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2"| Batman
 * Eduardo Dorado Sr.
 * Kevin Grevioux
 * Partner
 * Logan Grove
 * colspan="2" | Beast Boy
 * Phil LaMarr
 * colspan="2" | Aquaman
 * Stephanie Lemelin
 * colspan="2"| Catherine Cobert
 * Eric Lopez
 * colspan="2"| Blue Beetle
 * Yuri Lowenthal
 * colspan="2" | Lagoon Boy
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2"| Nightwing
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2"| Miss Martian
 * Masasa Moyo
 * colspan="2" | Bumblebee
 * rowspan="2"| Nolan North
 * colspan="2"| Superboy
 * colspan="2"| Superman
 * rowspan="2"| Khary Payton
 * colspan="2"| Aqualad
 * colspan="2"| Black Manta
 * Maggie Q
 * colspan="2"| Wonder Woman
 * rowspan="2"| Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2"| Green Lantern
 * colspan="2" | Martian Manhunter
 * Michael Trucco
 * colspan="2" | Adam Strange
 * Michael T. Weiss
 * colspan="2"| Captain Atom
 * Mae Whitman
 * colspan="2"| Wonder Girl
 * rowspan="2"| Nolan North
 * colspan="2"| Superboy
 * colspan="2"| Superman
 * rowspan="2"| Khary Payton
 * colspan="2"| Aqualad
 * colspan="2"| Black Manta
 * Maggie Q
 * colspan="2"| Wonder Woman
 * rowspan="2"| Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2"| Green Lantern
 * colspan="2" | Martian Manhunter
 * Michael Trucco
 * colspan="2" | Adam Strange
 * Michael T. Weiss
 * colspan="2"| Captain Atom
 * Mae Whitman
 * colspan="2"| Wonder Girl
 * Michael Trucco
 * colspan="2" | Adam Strange
 * Michael T. Weiss
 * colspan="2"| Captain Atom
 * Mae Whitman
 * colspan="2"| Wonder Girl
 * Mae Whitman
 * colspan="2"| Wonder Girl
 * colspan="2"| Wonder Girl
 * colspan="3" | Atom (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Batgirl
 * colspan="3" | Black Canary (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Brain
 * colspan="3" | Captain Marvel (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Doctor Fate (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Flash (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Green Arrow (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Hal Jordan (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Hawkman
 * colspan="3" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="3" | Icon
 * colspan="3" | Klarion
 * colspan="3" | Lex Luthor
 * colspan="3" | Plastic Man (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Queen Bee
 * colspan="3" | Ra's al Ghul
 * colspan="3" | Red Arrow (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Robin
 * colspan="3" | Rocket
 * colspan="3" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="3" | Icon
 * colspan="3" | Klarion
 * colspan="3" | Lex Luthor
 * colspan="3" | Plastic Man (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Queen Bee
 * colspan="3" | Ra's al Ghul
 * colspan="3" | Red Arrow (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Robin
 * colspan="3" | Rocket
 * colspan="3" | Ra's al Ghul
 * colspan="3" | Red Arrow (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Robin
 * colspan="3" | Rocket
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Robin
 * colspan="3" | Rocket
 * colspan="3" | Rocket
 * colspan="3" | Rocket

Continuity

 * This episode takes place right after the events of "Earthlings", with Zeta Squad reporting on events that occurred on Rann.
 * Miss Martian explains what happened in the sixteen hours from "Auld Acquaintance", with accompanying visuals from the same episode.
 * Miss Martian again aggressively interrogates a Krolotean, resulting in a vegetative state as seen in "Earthlings".
 * The Kroloteans discuss Lobo's presence, from "Happy New Year".
 * Nightwing invokes Maneuver Seven with Batgirl, a combination move shown in "Revelation" and "Humanity".
 * This episode shows a marked improvement of Superboy and Superman's relationship, which came to a turning point in "Auld Acquaintance".

Trivia

 * Other than the shells of the Appellaxian invaders, the Hall of Justice trophy room also houses many items recognizable from the comics:
 * Costumes of Guardian, Firebrand, Wildcat, Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Red Torpedo, Flash (Jay Garrick) and Sandman.
 * the disassembled Amazo.
 * Amos Fortune's Wheel of Misfortune from Justice League of America #6.
 * The Star Diamond from Justice League of America #4.
 * Kanjar Ro's Slave Ship of Space from Justice League of America #3.
 * The Green Bell of Uthool, the Silver Wheel of Nyorlath and the Red Jar of Calythos from Justice League of America #10.
 * The Key's Key Gun from Justice League of America #41.
 * Libra's scale staff from Justice League of America #111.
 * The Gamma Gong from Justice League of America #4.
 * Doctor Light's light-projector from Justice League of America #12.


 * Wonder Woman mentions Icon has experience with intergalactic tribunals. In the comics, he defended Earth in front of the Terminian court, who considered the planet so uncivilized it warranted destruction.
 * Superman calls Superboy "Kon-El". This is also Conner's (pre-new 52) adoptive Kryptonian name in the comics.
 * The order in which the members of the Light are presented on-screen corresponds to the descending order of their induction: L-7, L-6, L-4, L-3, L-2 and L-1. L-5 is absent due to his ousting.

Goofs

 * In one shot of the episode, Beast Boy's souvenir was red, but in the next shot, it was black.
 * The number of stars on Wonder Woman's briefs varies throughout the episode.
 * When the Team is evacuating the island, Wonder Woman picks up Lagoon Boy and Wonder Girl picks up Aquaman. When they reach the Bio-Ship, Wonder Woman carries Aquaman and Wonder Girl carries Lagoon Boy.

Cultural references

 * Catherine Cobert refers to the Justice League as "Earth's mightiest heroes", a phrase frequently used for the Avengers.

Unanswered questions

 * How did the Kroloteans plan to profit from Earthlings?
 * Who is the "Competitor"?
 * How and when did Tula die?
 * How did Nightwing find out that Aqualad had started working with Black Manta?
 * When and why did Tula join the Team?
 * How did Aqualad find out that Black Manta was his father?
 * What happened to Ocean-Master?
 * Why is Icon familiar with intergalatic trial law?