Drop-Zone

"Drop-Zone" is the fourth episode of the first season of Young Justice, and the fourth episode of the overall series. It premiered on January 28, 2011.

Logline
Batman sends the Team on its first official mission... and they don't even have a leader yet! The teen heroes are sent to investigate the production of a new drug called Venom in a nearby rogue country, but soon find themselves in the middle of a war between Bane and the cult organization Kobra.

Synopsis
Inside the Santa Prisca Venom facility, the Cult of the Kobra has taken over, but say that if one of the prisoners defeats their master's champion in single combat, they will leave. Bane steps forward and is given back his Venom which he uses to enhance his strength. At the other end of the arena, a scrawny Mammoth enters, and is infused with a dose of Kobra-Venom, transforming him into a hulking monster.

Bane and Mammoth begin their brawl, with Bane taking a considerable beating. As Mammoth defeats Bane and throws him to the ground, the Kobra Cultists begin to chant, "hail Kobra".

The Bio-Ship is on approach to Santa Prisca, as Robin reminisces the mission details assigned to them by Batman. They are told that Santa Prisca, the world-wide producer of the illegal super steroid Venom, has ceased all shipping of the drug, despite the fact that the facility seems to be producing the steroid at full capacity. The Team's assignment; infiltrate the prison, figure out what is going on, and report back to the League. If the League feels they need to intervene they will. When asked about the lack of a clear leader for the Team, Batman states that is their responsibility to decide amongst themselves.

Nearing the first drop-zone, Aqualad activates his Stealth-tech and the Bio-Ship enters camouflage mode. Aqualad dives into the water, and lands on the beach, where he patches heat and motion sensors and gives the Team the order to move in. Robin, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Superboy get ready to descend to Santa Prisca, where Kid Flash comments on the new stealth-tech, pointing out that it isn't to late for Superboy to put on his, to which he refuses. Miss Martian comments that it "totally works for [him]".

The four descend to the ground, where they contact Aqualad, who, scaling a cliff, tells them to head for the factory, and that he will meet them there. On their way, Superboy hears a twig snap. Kid Flash switches his goggles to thermal mode, and sees two squads of "armed bozos" heading for one another. They meet, and a firefight breaks out. Aqualad orders them to steer clear, only Kid Flash runs of to find Robin and ends up tripping and falling into the middle of the skirmish. The rest of the Team arrive, and fight off the two squads, Superboy tackling Bane to the ground. During a conversation after the fight, the Team discuss the current situation, deciding that Batman did not know that Kobra was in charge of Santa Prisca, and that it was likely Kobra came in and tossed the "goons" out. Kobra is hording the Venom, and Robin claims they don't leave until he knows why. He then breaks out into an argument with Kid Flash about who the leader of the Team should be, both attempting to assert themselves to the position, until Bane interrupts. He offers his "assistance", and a way in via his secret entrance. Miss Martian reads his mind, and confirms that there is a secret entrance, but that Bane's also hiding something. Bane offers his assistance once more, as "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

Meanwhile, Kobra and a cultist stand on a balcony at the Venom factory, when the cultist claims that "he approaches". Kobra orders him to activate the radio-jamming net, as nothing must interfere.

Bane and the Team overlook the factory, Robin noting the amount of Venom boxed and ready to ship. They come to the conclusion that a "buy is going down", and need to determine the buyer. Kid Flash and Robin again have a dispute about the leader issue, as Bane reveals the opening to his secret entrance and leads them in to the factory. As they enter, Robin disappears, followed by a competitive Kid Flash. Robin knocks out a cultist with a specialised baterang and accesses a computer, as Miss Martian notices that Kobra is only shipping the newest Venom and Superboy hears an incoming helicopter. Robin and Kid Flash identify a chemical formula as a mix between the Project Blockbuster formula, and Venom.

The helicopter lands, revealing Sportsmaster to be the mystery buyer. Floating above Sportsmaster and Kobra in camouflage, Miss Martian sends Aqualad a telepathic image of Sportsmaster. Aqualad attempts to contact Red Tornado and the League, without success. Bane then suggests he has a plan, and dives off of a balcony into the middle of the factory, attacking two cultists. Aqualad and Superboy are then attacked by Mammoth, who crashes through the factory window. Superboy and Mammoth engage one another in combat, as Aqualad fights off cultists, and Bane escapes. The rest of the Team arrive and help fight the cultists, while Robin goes after Kobra.

Aqualad orders Miss Martian to link them up telepathically, and then gives Robin the command to return to the fight, as they need to retreat. Kid Flash clears a path, and they escape, but the cultists and Mammoth chase them through Bane's secret passage. Aqualad orders Superboy to destroy the support beams, and the tunnel collapses. Robin questions his failure on his first mission as leader, as Aqualad hypothesizes that he may be too experienced for such a new team. Robin then suggests Aqualad be leader. The rest of the Team agrees, and Aqualad accepts, but makes it clear that it is only until Robin lifts the burden from his shoulders. Aqualad then announced their first priority is to prevent the shipment from leaving the island. Sportsmaster attempts to start the helicopter, but Robin had previously sabotaged it. A cultists asks whether they should send out a search party for the Team, but Kobra says that they will come to them.

As the Team near the end of the passage, they come across Bane, who has planted explosives around the entrance. Bane reveals that he intends to kill the Team in order to get the League to come in, avenge their sidekick's deaths, and kick out Kobra. As Bane attempts to blow the explosives, Kid Flash steals the trigger from him, and Superboy knocks him out.

Just as the helicopter is operational again, the Team attack, this time better coordinated. Sportsmaster attacks Superboy and Miss Martian, as Kid Flash knocks out and steals the mask of a cultist, his "souvenir", leaving Kobra. Robin engages him, but is no match. Kobra effortlessly throws him back. Aqualad takes out Mammoth by electrocuting him, and Sportsmaster makes his escape in the helicopter. Little to his knowledge, Miss Martian has planted an explosive in it, and detonates it. Sportsmaster is unable to control the helicopter, and parachutes to safety. The helicopter crashes into the factory destroying it, with Bane, tied to a tree, onlooking.

Kobra escapes into the bushes, as Robin claims they chose the right leader.

At Mount Justice, Batman berates the Team for their many failures on the mission, but congratulates them for their ability to adapt to a new plan, and choose a leader.

Sportsmaster and the Light discuss the events on Santa Prisca, and Sportsmaster reveals he was only able to save a single vial of the Kobra-Venom, but L-6 states the formula can be reverse engineered. The Light states that three times now the Team has stopped their plans, they are now a nuisance and a threat that will have to be dealt with.

Title
The title refers to the Team's mission requiring two drop-zones and helicopters were seen flying from their drop-zones.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3"| Uncredited ! colspan="3"| Non-speaking roles
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2" | Robin
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2" | Miss Martian
 * Nolan North
 * colspan="2" | Superboy
 * Khary Payton
 * colspan="2" | Aqualad
 * Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2" | Kid Flash
 * Nick Chinlund
 * Sportsmaster
 * Miguel Ferrer
 * colspan="2" | L-1
 * Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2" | Batman
 * Danny Trejo
 * Bane
 * Arnold Vosloo
 * Kobra
 * Miguel Ferrer
 * colspan="2" | L-1
 * Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2" | Batman
 * Danny Trejo
 * Bane
 * Arnold Vosloo
 * Kobra
 * Arnold Vosloo
 * Kobra
 * Arnold Vosloo
 * Kobra
 * Nolan North
 * L-6
 * L-6
 * colspan="2" | Mammoth
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="2" | Shimmer
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="2" | Shimmer
 * colspan="2" | Shimmer
 * colspan="2" | Shimmer

Continuity

 * Miss Martian refers to the rule that she can only read the minds of villains, imposed on her in "Welcome to Happy Harbor".
 * Kobra-Venom is a composite of Venom and the Project Blockbuster formula created by Mark Desmond, seen in "Independence Day" and used in "Fireworks".
 * L-6 alludes to the Team's running interference in Cadmus in "Independence Day" and "Fireworks", and their thwarting Mister Twister in "Welcome to Happy Harbor" (thus revealing they were involved with the latter).

Ratings
"Drop-Zone" garnered an average of 963 thousand viewers among kids and boys between 9 and 14.

Trivia

 * Main title clips:
 * Bane staring (01:41)
 * Kobra-Venom on a computer screen (12:21)
 * Mammoth tackling Superboy (15:29)
 * Kobra looking suspicious (15:18)
 * Robin spots something (14:34)
 * Aqualad taking cover (14:38)
 * When the Team are discussing the new stealth-tech costumes being worn by Aqualad and Kid Flash, Superboy explains his refusal to wear a costume by saying "No capes, no tights". This is probably a reference to the Smallville TV series, which originally operated under a "no tights, no flights" rule imposed by the producers.
 * This is a featured episode in Young Justice: Season One, Volume One.
 * The DVD closed captioning for this episode reveals the identities of L-1 and L-6, months before they were revealed in "Revelation".

Goofs

 * Two of the three timestamps were incorrect on the first airings of this episode. The aired and correct timestamps are included in the table below. The timestamps had been reviewed and confirmed as correct, but were apparently changed during post-production. They have now been corrected for future airings of the episode, as well as for the Season One, Volume One DVD release. The timestamp of August 4 is from "Schooled".

Cultural references

 * Kid Flash calls Bane "El Luchador", a reference to his Lucha libre mask.
 * L-1's line "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is enemy action." is a paraphrase of one of Auric Goldfinger's lines in the novel Goldfinger: "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."

Answered questions

 * Why is the Light (via Sportsmaster) procuring means to go "mano-a-mano" with the Justice League? (Answer)
 * What happened to Mammoth and Shimmer? (Answer)

Unanswered questions

 * Is Mammoth's mutation irreversible?