Coldhearted

"Coldhearted" is the 20th episode of the first season of Young Justice, and the 20th of the overall series. It aired on March 10, 2012.

Logline
Wally West comes oh-so-close to fulfilling his birthday wish to finally fight alongside the Justice League. Instead, a massively disappointed Kid Flash is taken off the mission and tasked with a simple delivery job. But a few deadly surprises await the birthday boy along the way...

Synopsis
Wally wakes at the sound of his alarm clock. He is elated because it's his birthday, he finally lost his cast, and it's snowing. His mother feeds him a big breakfast with toast, bacon, sausages and boiled eggs. His father offers to take him to the DMV after school to get his driver's permit, but Wally declines: he wants to go to the Cave after school, because he knows the Team is throwing him a surprise party. Mary turns on the news, where his aunt Iris first congratulates him on air, and then reports on the school closures due to the heavy winter weather. Wally cheers as his school is among those mentioned.

Title
A "cold hearted" person is someone devoid of sympathy or feeling. This applies to Count Vertigo, who plots to let his 10-year-old niece die, and kill Kid Flash if necessary, in a coup d'état. Vandal Savage also plays a part in this scheme. Also, Kid Flash is imbued with the mission of collecting and delivering a heart to save Perdita's life, while the episode takes place during a (staged) snow storm that dampers Kid Flash's efforts.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3"| Non-speaking roles
 * Lacey Chabert
 * colspan="2"| Zatanna
 * Stephanie Lemelin
 * colspan="2"| Artemis
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2"| Robin
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2"| Miss Martian
 * rowspan="2"| Khary Payton
 * colspan="2"| Aqualad
 * colspan="2" | Brick
 * Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2"| Kid Flash
 * rowspan="3"| Steven J. Blum
 * colspan="2"| Count Vertigo
 * colspan="2"| Rudy West
 * Henchy
 * Nicole Dubuc
 * colspan="2"| Iris West-Allen
 * Miguel Ferrer
 * colspan="2"| Vandal Savage
 * rowspan="2"| Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2"| Batman
 * Pieter Cross
 * Adrian Pasdar
 * colspan="2"| Hugo Strange
 * rowspan="2"| Cree Summer
 * colspan="2"| Mary West
 * Mattie Harcourt
 * Ariel Winter
 * Perdita
 * Miguel Ferrer
 * colspan="2"| Vandal Savage
 * rowspan="2"| Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2"| Batman
 * Pieter Cross
 * Adrian Pasdar
 * colspan="2"| Hugo Strange
 * rowspan="2"| Cree Summer
 * colspan="2"| Mary West
 * Mattie Harcourt
 * Ariel Winter
 * Perdita
 * rowspan="2"| Cree Summer
 * colspan="2"| Mary West
 * Mattie Harcourt
 * Ariel Winter
 * Perdita
 * Ariel Winter
 * Perdita
 * Ariel Winter
 * Perdita
 * colspan="3" | Aquaman
 * colspan="3" | Black Canary
 * colspan="3" | Captain Cold (TV)
 * colspan="3" | Flash
 * colspan="3" | Green Arrow
 * colspan="3" | Icicle Jr. (TV)
 * colspan="3" | Icicle Sr. (TV)
 * colspan="3" | Killer Frost (TV)
 * colspan="3" | Martian Manhunter
 * colspan="3" | Mister Freeze (TV)
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="3" | Richard Dragon (poster)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Wolf
 * colspan="3" | Killer Frost (TV)
 * colspan="3" | Martian Manhunter
 * colspan="3" | Mister Freeze (TV)
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="3" | Richard Dragon (poster)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Wolf
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="3" | Richard Dragon (poster)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Wolf
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Wolf
 * colspan="3" | Wolf

Continuity

 * Wally finally loses his cast, which he has had since breaking his arm in "Revelation". He wore it for 41 days.
 * Robin asks Zatanna about adjusting to moving into the Cave, which occurred in the previous episode, "Misplaced", when her father sacrificed himself to the Helmet of Fate.
 * Artemis tells Wally about Megan and Conner's relationship, which began in "Terrors" and was established in "Homefront". As Robin points out, he was the only one still in the dark. Robin and Aqualad had figured it out by "Revelation" and Artemis realized it in "Secrets".
 * Much to Batman's chagrin, Kid Flash mentions the Justice League's Watchtower in front of Zatanna. Its existence was supposed to be top secret, but Speedy told the Team about it in "Independence Day", after his mentor confided in him.
 * The fourth ice fortress was brought down by a group of heroes including Captain Marvel and Doctor Fate. Zatara became the new Doctor Fate in "Misplaced".
 * Kid Flash alludes to his encounter with Count Vertigo and the Injustice League in "Revelation" and reveals that the rest of the Injustice League was taken to Belle Reve Penitentiary.
 * Count Vertigo paraphrases a line he said to Kid Flash in "Revelation". In that episode he said, "Count Vertigo to you, peasant", and now he tells him, "King Vertigo to you, peasant".
 * Batman confronts Hugo Strange about the ice villains from both "Independence Day" and "Terrors".

Trivia

 * Number 16:
 * Wally's alarm clock goes off at 07:16.
 * Half of the clock is covered by a piece of clothing, showing only 16 minutes.
 * Wally turns 16 years old.
 * Wally teleports to the Cave at 16:05 EST.
 * Kid Flash arrives to Boston at 16:26 EST.
 * Kid Flash arrives to Chicago at 16:49 CST.
 * Kid Flash arrives to South Dakota at 16:13 MST.
 * One of the schools mentioned, Spisak Junior High, is named after Kid Flash's voice actor, Jason Spisak. Dubuc Elementary is named after Nicole Dubuc.
 * Kid Flash's cross country run to deliver a donor heart is based on Flash (Volume 2) #1 (1987). In that story, Wally had to deliver a heart from New York to Seattle on his twentieth birthday, and encountered Vandal Savage along the way. However, in that story, Savage's presence was a coincidence, not a planned delaying tactic.
 * Ariel Winter and Steve Blum reprise the roles of Perdita and Count Vertigo from DC Showcase: Green Arrow, written by Greg Weisman. Vertigo paraphrases his line from the short, "Count Vertigo to you, peasant" (which was also used in his first appearance in "Revelation").

Unanswered questions

 * What is Vandal Savage's history with Flash?
 * What is the Light's stake in Count Vertigo's coup d'état?
 * Were the ice-villains really behind the snow storm?