Fireworks

"Fireworks" is the second episode of the first season of Young Justice, and the second of the overall series. It premiered on Cartoon Network as part of the one hour, two episode long pilot movie on November 26, 2010. The episodic version of the episode first aired on 14 January 2011.

Logline
Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash have infiltrated Cadmus, where they find the sixteen year old clone of Superman, Superboy. They free the clone, and escape from Cadmus after battling Blockbuster. Once the building collapses, the Justice League appear, and the four boys demand to be recognized as a team. After agreeing to found the team on League terms, the Martian Manhunter's niece also joins.

Title
The title is an extension the previous episode, still referring to the national holiday, in which this episode takes place, usually associated with fireworks. (Indeed, fireworks can be seen being set off during the episode.) It may also refer to how Robin defeats Blockbuster using an array of bombs, reminiscent of a display of fireworks. The word fireworks can also be used metaphorically to refer to periods of excitement.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3"| Non-speaking roles
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2" | Robin
 * Danica McKellar
 * Miss Martian
 * rowspan="2" | Nolan North
 * colspan="2" | Superboy
 * colspan="2" | Superman
 * Khary Payton
 * colspan="2" | Aqualad
 * Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2" | Kid Flash
 * René Auberjonois
 * colspan="2" | Mark Desmond
 * George Eads
 * colspan="2" | Flash
 * Miguel Ferrer
 * L-1
 * Crispin Freeman
 * colspan="2" | Guardian
 * Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2" | Batman
 * rowspan="2" | Phil LaMarr
 * colspan="2" | Aquaman
 * colspan="2" | Dubbilex
 * Mark Rolston
 * L-3
 * L-1
 * Crispin Freeman
 * colspan="2" | Guardian
 * Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2" | Batman
 * rowspan="2" | Phil LaMarr
 * colspan="2" | Aquaman
 * colspan="2" | Dubbilex
 * Mark Rolston
 * L-3
 * colspan="2" | Aquaman
 * colspan="2" | Dubbilex
 * Mark Rolston
 * L-3
 * Mark Rolston
 * L-3
 * colspan="2" | Black Canary
 * colspan="2" | Captain Atom
 * colspan="2" | Captain Marvel
 * colspan="3" | Dr. Spence
 * colspan="2" | G-Gnomes
 * colspan="3" | Green Arrow
 * colspan="2" | Hal Jordan
 * colspan="2" | Hawkman
 * colspan="2" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="2" | John Stewart
 * colspan="2" | L-2
 * colspan="2" | L-4
 * colspan="2" | L-5
 * colspan="2" | L-6
 * colspan="2" | L-7
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="2" | Wonder Woman
 * colspan="2" | Hal Jordan
 * colspan="2" | Hawkman
 * colspan="2" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="2" | John Stewart
 * colspan="2" | L-2
 * colspan="2" | L-4
 * colspan="2" | L-5
 * colspan="2" | L-6
 * colspan="2" | L-7
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="2" | Wonder Woman
 * colspan="2" | L-2
 * colspan="2" | L-4
 * colspan="2" | L-5
 * colspan="2" | L-6
 * colspan="2" | L-7
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="2" | Wonder Woman
 * colspan="2" | L-5
 * colspan="2" | L-6
 * colspan="2" | L-7
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="2" | Wonder Woman
 * colspan="2" | L-7
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="2" | Wonder Woman
 * colspan="3" | Red Tornado
 * colspan="2" | Wonder Woman
 * colspan="2" | Wonder Woman
 * colspan="2" | Wonder Woman

Continuity

 * The three day gap by the end of the episode is covered in Young Justice #0: "Stopover".

Ratings
"Fireworks" garnered an average of 1.8 million viewers among kids between 6 and 11 and boys between 2 and 11 and 9 and 14.

Trivia

 * Main title scenes: (six out of the seven images are actually from "Independence Day")
 * (from "Independence Day") Superboy waking up inside the pod (20:36)
 * (from "Independence Day") Superboy lurching from the pod (20:38)
 * (from "Independence Day") Robin falling on his back (21:05)
 * (from "Independence Day") Kid Flash trying to restrain Superboy (20:48)
 * (from "Independence Day") Dr. Desmond smirking at a Blockbuster formula (13:15)
 * Aqualad looking at their getaway (13:33)
 * (from "Independence Day") The Guardian's G-Gnome contacts the others inside Kr (20:13)
 * The Team defeats Blockbuster by using the same strategy Spider-Man used to defeat Shocker in the episode "Market Forces" of The Spectacular Spider-Man, also produced by Greg Weisman.

Goofs

 * The main title features seven images, but only one is from this episode, whereas the others are from "Independence Day".
 * The official summary for the episode refers to Superboy as a "sixteen year old clone", when in reality he is sixteen week old. He is biologically sixteen years old though.
 * After the Cadmus building collapses, Robin's cape is damaged, exposing his right shoulder. However, the sleeves of his tunic are still intact.

Cultural references

 * Dr. Desmond tells Superboy he's not a "real boy", alluding to Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who wanted to become a real boy. The character was created by Carlo Collodi in his 1883 novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio.
 * Kid Flash describes Superboy's jumping power as "leaping tall buildings in a single bound", part of Superman's classic introduction used since the 1940s Fleischer Superman serial.
 * Guardian's words "a kinder, gentler Cadmus" are a reference to George H.W. Bush's acceptance speech for the Republican nomination in 1988, where he used the phrase "I want a kinder, gentler nation".
 * Wally refers to Blockbuster as "you incredible bulk," a reference to Marvel's Incredible Hulk.

Answered questions

 * Where did the Justice League take Blockbuster? (Answer)
 * Who are the members of the Light? (First revelation, Final revelation)

Unanswered questions

 * Is Blockbuster's mutation irreversible?
 * What is "The Light"?
 * What's their agenda?
 * What are the "other subtler means of control" that L-3 refers to?
 * How can the Light turn the loss of Superboy into an advantage?