Young Justice

"Don't call them side kicks" —Main punchline

Young Justice is an American animated television series created by Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti for Cartoon Network. Despite its' title, it is not an adaption of Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck's Young Justice series of comics, but rather, an adaptation of the entire DC Universe with a focus on young superheroes.

The series follows the lives of teenaged superhero sidekicks, who are members of a fictional superhero team known as Young Justice, and their relationships with their Justice League mentors. The story is set at a time where superpowers and superheroes are a recent phenomena.

Production
Development for the series began sometime in 2009, when Sam Register, Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs of Warner Bros. Animation (and executive producer of the show) wanted a show based on the Teen Titans and Young Justice comic series, but was not solely one or the other.

Register sought Greg Weisman immeadiately after he finished work on The Spectacular Spider-Man animated series, and after seeing Brandon Vietti's work on the DC Universe Animated original movie Batman: Under the Red Hood, hired him also. After taking the production name of Young Justice League, Weisman and Vietti created characters, ideas, and story arcs for at least two seasons, although the number of seasons Warner Bros. Animation wants from Young Justice is unknown.

Although there were several characters the producers were not allowed to use in the first season, a list that has gotten shorter throghout the course of the development, they were usually in charge of the decisions determining which DC Universe character would or would not be used. Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment, and Phil Bourassa, lead character designer for the show, also played a role in the conception and development process. Peter David, who penned the Young Justice series of comics, was approached to write several episodes. The show continued to remain in its development stages in early February 2010, when Stephanie Lemelin announced on her blog that she had been recently cast.

The first two episodes of the series, Independence Day and Fireworks premiered on Cartoon Network as a special one hour event of the series.

Characters

 * Aqualad/Kaldur'ahm (Khary Payton) is the Atlantean leader of Young Justice. He is able to manipulate water at will, and breathe underwater through the use of his gills. His mentor, and his king is Aquaman, a member of the Justice Leage. Aqualad holds great respect for his mentor.
 * Kid Flash/Wally West (Jason Spisak) is the speedster of Young Justice. His mentor is the Flash, and he's always joking around and wants to have fun.
 * Robin/Dick Grayson (Jesse McCartney) was a vigilante crimefighter in Gotham City, until he joined Young Justice under the guidence of his mentor, Batman.
 * Superboy/Conner Kent (Nolan North) is a genomorph and a clone of Superman. And constantly worried about living up to Superman.
 * Miss Martian/M'gann M'orzz (Danica McKellar) is a shy, caring, happy and kind Green Martian, with the abilities of flight and telepathy. She is also the Martian Manhunter's neice.
 * Artemis (Stephanie Lemelin) is a confident, flirty, and very outgoing, sixth member of Young Justice. She is an archer, and claims to be the niece of Green Arrow, although this isn't actually true.
 * Red Arrow/Speedy/Roy Harper (Crispin Freeman) is the former partner of Green Arrow who now works as a solo hero, but helps the team from time to time.

Other media
The characters and settings of Young Justice will appear in an official tie-in outside the television broadcast. A comic book series faithfully based on the animated television series will be released by DC Comics. It will be written by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, with Mike Norton providing the art. While children are said to be able to enjoy the series, it is aimed at an older audience as well.

Geoff Johns took a liking to the show's version of Aqualad, who was consequently introduced to the comics slightly altered in issue #4 of Brightest Day as the second incarnation of the mantle. In Brightest Day, he is portrayed as an "average student, with an on-and-off girlfriend, that’s pretty bored in New Mexico" by the name of Jackson Hyde.