Salvage

"Salvage" is the fourth episode of the second season of Young Justice, and the 30th of the overall series. It aired on May 19, 2012.

Logline
While Superboy and Blue Beetle battle Intergang, Nightwing and company try to salvage the soul of a former comrade fallen from grace.

Synopsis
A thief is fleeing a store after robbing it. Before he can get far, he is tripped up by an arrow, which releases knockout gas. Red Arrow arrives on the scene, and proceeds to collect the stolen money. The manager, having seen everything, offers a reward. Red Arrow claims that it isn't necessary, but does take a stack of bills for himself. The manager thanks him, not knowing he has been cheated. Unknown to either of them, Green Arrow is watching from a distance. He contacts someone, telling them the situation is worse than expected.

At STAR Labs' Erdel Initiative, Adam Strange and Eduardo Dorado Sr. are making the final preparations for the Zeta-Shield. He contacts the Watchtower, telling the League that the shield satellites are in place.

Captain Atom gives Strange the go ahead. The satellites are activated, with the new Zeta-Shield covering the planet.

M'gann, La'gaan, Mal and Jaime are watching the shield go up. La'gaan thinks it's an historic event, and asks Lucas Carr, who is homeschooling Garfield, to assign his pupil a term paper on the shield. Garfield does not take the suggestion kindly. La'gaan goes on, explaining to M'gann how all interplanetary Zeta-Beam travel is now impossible without approval. Superboy is not fully impressed with the shield, as it does not block Boom tubes or spaceships. Jaime asks, out loud, what a boom tube is, but he's not happy that his scarab gives him a vague answer. Mal and Kon watch him argue with himself. Superboy inquires about Nightwing, but he's out on personal business. He grabs Jaime, for his own personal business.

Roy shoots his zipline, but his landing on the rooftop is far from perfect. He stumbles and falls, and lands at Green Arrow's feet. He refuses help, but then sees his mentor is not alone: Nightwing, Jim Harper, Black Canary and Wally West have joined him. Red Arrow brushes them off, but as he wants to leave, Green Arrow confronts him about the money he stole. Red Arrow thinks he deserved it. Besides, he needs it to look for Speedy, now that the others have given up the search.

In the Super-Cycle, Superboy, Blue Beetle and Wolf follow a white van at the capital's Southeast Freeway. Blue Beetle, at his scarab's insistence, asks about the mission. Superboy explains that because the bomb on Malina Island was alien, he suspects Intergang, notorious alien tech traffickers. He's observed Whisper A'Daire, and discovered she and Bruno Mannheim are on the move. They're heading for the Hall of Justice. Bruno and Whisper arrive at the Hall of Justice and carry a case toward the building. Blue Beetle tries to scan it but his scarab says that it is "incompatible". When Superboy wonders who his teammate is talking to, Blue Beetle explains that the scarab grafted to his spine gives him his powers, and it has an artificial intelligence. Superboy has him scan the Hall and confirm that it's deserted.

Mannheim gets to the building and opens the case, revealing an Apokoliptan device. They move in but Mannheim activates the device, sending out waves of energy that stun Blue Beetle's armor. Inside, the husks of the Appellaxian warriors that the Justice League defeated on their first adventure come alive and merge into one.

Outside, Superboy and Wolf confront Mannheim and Whisper. Before the heroes can do anything, the merged Appellaxian golem breaks through the wall. Mannheim commands it to attack Superboy, while Sphere creates a device to neutralize Mannheim’s device. Blue Beetle recovers once the device is shut off, but when he attacks with a sonic blaster, the golem bounces the energy attack back, stunning him and Superboy. Mannheim figures the League will be there any second and he has the golem pick him and Whisper up and fly away with them.

Superboy and Blue Beetle fly after Mannheim and Superboy tells the freshman about the Appellaxian invasion. Sphere tracks the device and they fly toward the forest near Arlington.

Meanwhile, Mannheim explains to Whisper that his device taps into the residual psychic energy of the golem's alien controllers, animating it. He plans to expand Intergang's reach. Superboy arrives and has Sphere jam the device's signal. The golem goes berserk, attacking Whisper and Mannheim and then lunging at Sphere. It knocks it out of the sky and easily repels the attacks of Superboy, Wolf, and Blue Beetle. Once they're down, it spots a nearby nuclear power plant and walks towards it. The guards try to hold it off without success.

From the shadows, the Partner and Sportsmaster watch the attack. The Partner is content to let the power plant go into meltdown, but tells Sportsmaster to dispose of the others.

Superboy grabs Mannheim and Whisper, who warn that no one is controlling the golem. Blue Beetle locks them up and the heroes go after the golem to keep it away from the reactor. They manage to bring it down and Blue Beetle fires large clamps to pin it down so Sphere can try to take control of it. The golem knocks them all aside and frees itself, and the scarab suggests that it might be able to communicate with it.

Blue Beetle uses a sonic beam to try to establish communication with the golem. They discover that the creature is in pain from all the power of life. The golem wants to use the reactor to destroy itself and end the pain, and Superboy offers to help it. However, the Partner fires a sonic blast, disrupting the communication beam and shattering the golem. The guards thank Superboy for his help while Blue Beetle realizes that the creature was alive, and wonders who killed it. When they go back to get Mannheim and Whisper, they discover that the villains are alive but comatose.

Sportsmaster returns and reports to the Partner that he left Mannheim and Whisper as a warning to anyone who would interfere with the Light. The Partner says that it was better to destroy the golem then let it fall into enemy hands.

Wally West returns home to Artemis and their pit bull. He informs her of the failed intervention and then remembers his Vietnamese Literature paper is due in the morning, he asks—perhaps jokingly—if he can copy off of hers. She cheerfully refuses. They then celebrate Valentine's Day. They embrace, but the moment is bittersweet for Wally, who fears Roy will never get help.

Roy breaks into his own apartment, and breaks down on the couch. Cheshire confronts him about his physique, but Red Arrow rebuffs her concerns, as she lost the "right" to criticize him when she left him to return to a life of crime. Cheshire disagrees, stating it was only a side benefit for her actual reason: his search for Speedy was wearing him down. It was detrimental to him, her, their relationship, and their daughter. Roy is shocked to learn he's a father. Cheshire introduces him to Lian Nguyen-Harper, and gives her to Roy to hold. She explains she called in all her chips, and has found a lead on Speedy they could pursue together.

Title
The main focus of the title "Salvage" is to rescue, in this case it applies to Red Arrow's soul. He turns this around and asks his 'rescuers' to save Aqualad's soul instead. Later, Cheshire also steps in to help him get his act together. The other application of the title pertains to an alternative definition for salvage, in which something useful or valuable is extracted from items thrown away. This refers to Bruno Mannheim's re-use of the Appellaxian husks to create the Golem to act as Intergang's enforcer. A third definition of salvage, used in the Philippines as slang for extra-judicial killing, could pertain to the Partner's summary execution of the Appelaxian Golem.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3"| Non-speaking roles
 * rowspan="2"| Dee Bradley Baker
 * colspan="2"| Wolf
 * Jeremiah
 * Nick Chinlund
 * colspan="2"| Sportsmaster
 * rowspan="2"| Crispin Freeman
 * colspan="2"| Red Arrow
 * colspan="2"| Jim Harper
 * Grey Delisle
 * colspan="2"| Whisper A'Daire
 * Kevin Grevioux
 * colspan="2"| Partner
 * Kelly Hu
 * colspan="2"| Cheshire
 * Stephanie Lemelin
 * colspan="2"| Artemis Crock
 * rowspan="2"| Eric Lopez
 * colspan="2"| Blue Beetle
 * Scarab
 * Yuri Lowenthal
 * colspan="2"| La'gaan
 * Vanessa Marshall
 * colspan="2"| Black Canary
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2"| Nightwing
 * Nolan North
 * colspan="2"| Superboy
 * rowspan="2"| Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2"| Bruno Mannheim
 * colspan="2"| Mal Duncan
 * Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2"| Wally West
 * Michael Trucco
 * colspan="2"| Adam Strange
 * Alan Tudyk
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * Vanessa Marshall
 * colspan="2"| Black Canary
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2"| Nightwing
 * Nolan North
 * colspan="2"| Superboy
 * rowspan="2"| Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2"| Bruno Mannheim
 * colspan="2"| Mal Duncan
 * Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2"| Wally West
 * Michael Trucco
 * colspan="2"| Adam Strange
 * Alan Tudyk
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * colspan="2"| Wally West
 * Michael Trucco
 * colspan="2"| Adam Strange
 * Alan Tudyk
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * Alan Tudyk
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * colspan="3" | Beast Boy
 * colspan="3" | Black Lightning
 * colspan="3" | Captain Atom
 * colspan="3" | Doctor Fate
 * colspan="3" | Eduardo Dorado Sr.
 * colspan="2" | Golem
 * colspan="2" | Lian Nguyen-Harper
 * colspan="3" | Lucas Carr
 * colspan="3" | M'gann M'orzz
 * colspan="3" | Norman (photograph)
 * colspan="3" | Zatanna
 * colspan="2" | Golem
 * colspan="2" | Lian Nguyen-Harper
 * colspan="3" | Lucas Carr
 * colspan="3" | M'gann M'orzz
 * colspan="3" | Norman (photograph)
 * colspan="3" | Zatanna
 * colspan="3" | Lucas Carr
 * colspan="3" | M'gann M'orzz
 * colspan="3" | Norman (photograph)
 * colspan="3" | Zatanna
 * colspan="3" | Norman (photograph)
 * colspan="3" | Zatanna
 * colspan="3" | Zatanna

Continuity

 * Adam Strange sets up the Zeta-Shield that Sardath was working on in "Earthlings".
 * Red Arrow is still searching for the real Speedy, which he set out to do in "Auld Acquaintance". He also still hasn't come to terms with the fact that he's a clone, which he also found out about in the same episode.
 * Superboy mentions the bomb that Aqualad used to destroy Malina Island in "Alienated".
 * He also mentions Intergang and their M.O. of smuggling alien technology via boom tubes, something he discovered in "Disordered".
 * Jim Harper, the former Guardian, reveals that he is a clone, a fact hinted at in "Fireworks" and "Auld Acquaintance".
 * Ugly activates the Appellaxians' husks seen in display in "Alienated".
 * Sphere tries to override the Appellaxian Golem like she did to Infinity-Man in "Disordered".
 * Red Arrow makes the same "whelmed" pun that Robin did in "Independence Day".
 * He also alludes to Aqualad's switching sides, as revealed in "Alienated".
 * As a Valentine's Day treat, Artemis serves Wally his favorite meal: "everything," which was established in "Coldhearted".
 * Artemis and Wally are still together after the events in "Auld Acquaintance", and are now living together.

Trivia

 * Artemis's shirt has the same maroon/white color scheme of Stanford University, a university located in Santa Clara county, which is adjacent to Palo Alto, California.
 * Both Wally and Artemis have taken a Vietnamese literature elective, a callback to Artemis's half-Vietnamese heritage.

Goofs

 * Superboy, Blue Beetle, Sphere and Wolf disappear for a single frame, when the Appellaxian Golem was freed from Mannheim's control.
 * When Mannheim calls Superboy "Superbrat", his lips mouth "Superboy".

Cultural references

 * Blue Beetle compares the Scarab to Jiminy Cricket, the Walt Disney version of "The Talking Cricket" created by Carlo Collodi in his 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio.

Unanswered questions

 * Why is Blue Beetle's Scarab incompatible with Boom tubes and Apokoliptan tech?
 * How did Jim Harper learn that he was a clone?
 * Why did Kid Flash quit the hero life?
 * Is Artemis still part of the Team?
 * Why did the Light have Ted Kord killed?
 * What did Superboy mean when he said he could "relate" to the Appellaxian husk wanting to "end its pain"?
 * How did Sportsmaster lobotomize Bruno Mannheim and Whisper A'Daire?