Agendas

"Agendas" is the 22nd episode of the first season of Young Justice, and the 22nd of the overall series. It aired on March 24, 2012.

Logline
Superboy returns to Project Cadmus, where he learns the top-secret genetics lab may have created another Super Clone. Meanwhile, the Justice League convenes at the Watchtower to discuss an important matter.

Synopsis
Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman are in the Watchtower's garden, admiring the view and waiting. Aquaman informs them their wait is over: all members of the Justice League have arrived.

In the boardroom, the four (of seven) founding members open the meeting, the outcome of which can change a lot, including the perception of the Justice League. The main matter is simple; should the League expand, and if so, who should join?

Martian Manhunter begins with a note of caution: a bigger Justice League might cause more groups of villains like the Injustice League to form. Superman assures him he can vote no on all candidates if he wants to, and is quick to nominate his first suggestion: Icon. It gains some chuckles from Green Arrow, who wonders if Superman thinks Icon is another Kryptonian, like he had thought with Captain Marvel. Wonder Woman agrees with the suggestion, but more so because of Icon's protégé, Rocket. Her idea to welcome more female members is welcomed by Black Canary and Hawkwoman, though some of the men frown at their enthusiasm.

Wally helps himself to some treats while M'gann and Zatanna prepare Thanksgiving dinner. M'gann asks him if he shouldn't be heading home, since he'll celebrate with his family. As soon as he leaves, Zatanna starts crying. Though she claims it's the onions, she misses her father. M'gann consoles her.

Superboy watches them from the lounge when he gets an ultrasonic message. The voice, which only he can hear, tells him to go to East Potomac Park in Washington D.C. Superboy leaves, telling the others that he'll just be taking Wolf for a walk.

At the League meeting, Captain Marvel questions the use of the Atom. Batman interjects, stating the diminutive size is what makes Atom useful. Flash takes the opportunity to suggest Guy Gardner because of his power, but the other Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, quickly dismiss that idea.

It's raining in the capital as Superboy arrives in the Super-Cycle. He parks under a bridge in East Potomac Park, and waits for his contact to arrive: Lex Luthor. Superboy doesn't trust him and walks out, but Luthor grabs his attention by saying Cadmus has created another super-clone.

Enraged, Superboy turns to the Cadmus facility, telling Guardian he will break the doors down if he's not let in. Despite protests from Dr. Spence, Superboy is allowed to enter. He confronts Guardian about the super-clone, but he doesn't know anything about it. Dubbilex is also certain Superboy is the only Kryptonian clone in the facility. Spence tells him all cloning experiments were shut down following his escape—a choice in words that does not delight Superboy. She hurries off back to her lab. Guardian removes his helmet and bemoans his job, and when Superboy notes his resemblance to Red Arrow, he tells him the archer is his nephew.

While discussing Blue Devil for League membership, Green Arrow nominates Red Arrow. Though his strong suit is the experience, Aquaman is quick to note his behavior has been less than stellar, and he does not think it's right to reward his rebelliousness.

Guardian gives a tour of the new Cadmus, starting with Spence's labs. He explains they treat the genomorphs differently; they have more freedom and some—like Benny and Erin—even have names. Dubbilex telepathically contacts Superboy and tells him he can trust Guardian. He also tells Superboy that since they were all bred as weapons and menial labor, the genomorphs can never be truly free. Dubbilex wants to know what Superboy plans to do when he finds the other clone. Superboy is clear on that: liberate him. Guardian lets Superboy look on his own, as he has missing genomorphs of his own to find.

Superboy returns to Project Kr and looks at the empty pod. Wolf sniffs out the walls, and finds something suspicious; upon closer inspection, Superboy hears machinery behind the wall. He rips away the shielding and reveals a door, and behind it countless experiments, locked away and frozen. In the center pod, he finds a boy that resembles him, and also wears a solar suit. Superboy thaws out the pod, and releases the so-named "Project Match". The clone slowly wakes up, and attacks his liberator. The fight destroys multiple pods, and eventually brings them back to Project Kr. Match is feral, but stronger than Superboy, and can fly. The only damage Superboy can do is rip the chest (and S-shield) from the solar suit. Match takes down Wolf and Superboy, and when he notices his S is missing, he brands a new one in his chest with his heat vision.

From his limo, Luthor watches on. Match goes crazy, and the security camera goes offline.

Superman does not want any member of the Team, other than Red Arrow, to be included in the Justice League. His comment that he does not want children in the League unnerves Captain Marvel. Doctor Fate knows from his experience with them that both Aqualad and Kid Flash are ready, but becomes protective when Wonder Woman brings up Zatanna. Captain Marvel questions Fate's membership, as he has only usurped Zatara's seat, and coerced the sorcerer into giving up his body. Fate declares that Zatara wants him in the League, so that they can both be closely watched.

Superboy wakes up to discover he is in his old pod and becomes so enraged, he smashes it. Spence tries to calm him, stating it was the best way to heal his injuries, but Superboy doesn't accept it. He accuses her of creating Match, and visibly frightened, she runs off. Guardian defends her; she was as shocked as he was seeing Match. He explains they are still looking for the clone. He goes off looking for Match, and the other missing genomorphs, with Dubbilex. Luthor contacts him, inquiring about his fight. Superboy brushes him off, demanding information on Match. Luthor explains about Superboy instead. Kryptonian DNA was difficult to read, let alone replicate, so gaps in Superboy's genetic sequence were filled with human DNA. Because of that, he does not have access to full Kryptonian powers, and will never have. Luthor offers help in the fight against Match: Shields, patches that suppress his human DNA for about an hour. Though Superboy initially declines them, Luthor tells him to keep them anyway.

At the League meeting, Plastic Man is the next prospect. Flash has doubts over his criminal record, and Captain Marvel thinks he's laughable. He's surprised the entire room is staring at him, and Flash puts his head on the table. Not everyone in the League is happy with the fact that he never told them he is really ten years old. Especially Wonder Woman is vocal in her dislike, but Batman defends him, claiming he knew. Hearing this, Wonder Woman chews him out on endangering children, like Billy, and like Robin. Batman refutes that he trains Robin so that he won't grow up like he did.

Superboy continues his search for Match. He contacts Dubbilex, knowing he is hiding something. Dubbilex admits; he has questioned the oldest genomorphs, and learned that Match is not a younger, but an older project. After being deemed a failure, he was frozen by Desmond and Luthor. He also admits he was the one who took Match, and directs him down the hallways and stairs to a secret hideaway deep under Cadmus.

The cave is crawling with genomorphs; G-Trolls and G-Elves build houses, while G-Sprites hang on the ceiling providing light. Dubbilex welcomes his brother to his new home: Genomorph City.

Superboy surmises Dubbilex was the one behind all the genomorph disappearances. The G-Goblin confesses; he wants to create a city in which the genomorphs can live in freedom, in the hopes that one day, they might be accepted in society. No-one can be allowed to know about it, which is why he took Match.

Match is in chains, and telepathically being sedated by three G-Gnomes. Superboy demands that he is released, but as Dubbilex tries to reassure him, Match breaks loose. He attacks Superboy (or rather, the S shield on his chest). Wolf and Dubbilex try to help, but are overpowered. After being shown all corners of the city, Superboy reconsiders his original stance on Shields.

Martian Manhunter continues the meeting by proposing his niece, Miss Martian. Though she is an adolescent by Martian standards, she was born forty-eight Earth-years ago. His questions on the matter on biological age versus chronological age make Red Tornado and Black Canary posit a similar query about Superboy: would he have to wait seventeen years before he can join the League? Superman is still unnerved by anything pertaining to his clone, and looks away.

Superboy decides to take a Shield anyway. After an initial power rush, he makes quick work of Match. However, he is so angry that he can't stop fighting him, even after he's down. Unfortunately, Guardian, Mercy and Cadmus security have by now found Genomorph City. Dubbilex bows his head, knowing he has lost.

Match is frozen again, though Superboy is still not completely comfortable with it.

With no other suggestions for membership, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman wrap up the meeting. The League has to vote on the new or continued membership of Doctor Fate, Captain Marvel, Icon, Atom, Plastic Man, Blue Devil, Red Arrow, Rocket, and all members of the Team.

Back in East Potomac Park, Superboy confronts Luthor. Luthor calmly admits everything: not only cloning Match, but also sending him back to Cadmus to find the genomorphs. He also tells Superboy who the donor of his human DNA is: he himself. Luthor tells his "son" about Superman, who doesn't trust him, and that he is much better off, and much closer to him. Superboy is angered, and after Luthor refuses to take the Shields back, Superboy threatens him. But by speaking the words "Red Sun", Superboy is frozen, and Luthor gets away. Hours later, in the night, Superboy comes back on, with only Luthor's tie left. He considers throwing the Shields in the river, but decides to keep them.

The League ratifies the results of the vote unanimously, and Batman adjourns the meeting.

Title
An agenda is a "list of the matters to be discussed at a meeting". The Justice League convenes to discuss the recruitment of a new member and Lex Luthor arranges a meeting with Superboy to discuss his origins. The term agenda can also be used to describe an objective or set of goals, or a plan to implement them (as in the phrase hidden agenda). Dubbilex has an agenda to free the genomorphs, and Luthor uses Superboy as part of his agenda to locate the missing genomorphs as well as part of a longer-term agenda to subvert Superboy's loyalties.

In the comics, the organization responsible for creating Match is called "The Agenda", and Amanda Spence is one of its members.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3" | Uncredited ! colspan="3" | Non-speaking roles
 * Lacey Chabert
 * colspan="2"| Zatanna Zatara
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2"| M'gann M'orzz
 * rowspan="4"| Nolan North
 * colspan="2"| Superboy
 * Match
 * colspan="2"| Superman
 * colspan="2"| Zatara
 * Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2"| Wally West
 * Dee Bradley Baker
 * colspan="2"| Wolf
 * Jeff Bennett
 * colspan="2"| Red Tornado
 * George Eads
 * colspan="2"| Flash
 * Crispin Freeman
 * colspan="2"| Guardian
 * Bruce Greenwood
 * colspan="2"| Batman
 * rowspan="2"| Phil LaMarr
 * colspan="2"| Dubbilex
 * colspan="2"| Aquaman
 * Chad Lowe
 * colspan="2"| Captain Marvel
 * rowspan="2"| Vanessa Marshall
 * colspan="2"| Black Canary
 * colspan="2"| Amanda Spence
 * Maggie Q
 * Wonder Woman
 * rowspan="3"| Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2"| Martian Manhunter
 * colspan="2"| Nabu
 * colspan="2"| John Stewart
 * Mark Rolston
 * colspan="2"| Lex Luthor
 * Alan Tudyk
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * Chad Lowe
 * colspan="2"| Captain Marvel
 * rowspan="2"| Vanessa Marshall
 * colspan="2"| Black Canary
 * colspan="2"| Amanda Spence
 * Maggie Q
 * Wonder Woman
 * rowspan="3"| Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2"| Martian Manhunter
 * colspan="2"| Nabu
 * colspan="2"| John Stewart
 * Mark Rolston
 * colspan="2"| Lex Luthor
 * Alan Tudyk
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * colspan="2"| Nabu
 * colspan="2"| John Stewart
 * Mark Rolston
 * colspan="2"| Lex Luthor
 * Alan Tudyk
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * colspan="2"| Lex Luthor
 * Alan Tudyk
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * colspan="2"| Green Arrow
 * Greg Weisman
 * Captain Atom
 * colspan="2" | Hal Jordan
 * colspan="2" | Hawkman
 * colspan="2" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="2" | Hal Jordan
 * colspan="2" | Hawkman
 * colspan="2" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="2" | Hawkman
 * colspan="2" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="2" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="2" | Hawkwoman
 * colspan="3" | The Atom (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Aqualad (hologram)
 * colspan="2" | Benny
 * colspan="3" | Blue Devil (hologram)
 * colspan="2" | Erin
 * colspan="3" | G-Dwarves
 * colspan="3" | G-Elves
 * colspan="3" | G-Gnomes
 * colspan="3" | G-Sprites
 * colspan="3" | G-Trolls
 * colspan="3" | Guy Gardner (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Icon (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Mercy Graves
 * colspan="3" | Plastic Man (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Red Arrow (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Robin (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Rocket (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | G-Sprites
 * colspan="3" | G-Trolls
 * colspan="3" | Guy Gardner (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Icon (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Mercy Graves
 * colspan="3" | Plastic Man (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Red Arrow (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Robin (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Rocket (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Plastic Man (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Red Arrow (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Robin (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Rocket (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Robin (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Rocket (hologram)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Sphere

Continuity

 * Martian Manhunter mentions the Injustice League from "Revelation".
 * Conner mentions the last time he helped in the kitchen, which ended with most ingredients on him, in "Downtime".
 * Zatanna is still having a hard time dealing with the loss of her father to Nabu since "Misplaced".
 * At Cadmus, Guardian, Dr. Spence, and Superboy refer to the events of "Independence Day" and "Fireworks".
 * Aquaman refers to Red Arrow's disrespectful and uncooperative tendencies, which happened in "Independence Day".
 * Doctor Fate has taken Zatara's place in the League.
 * Doctor Fate mentions that Kid Flash and Aqualad put on the Helmet of Fate; this happened in "Denial" and "Revelation", respectively.
 * The League deals with their discovery in "Misplaced" that Captain Marvel is actually a 10-year-old boy.
 * Batman confirms that he was the only other League member who knew Marvel's true age, which was hinted at in "Misplaced".
 * The way Match attacks Superboy upon being freed mirrors how Superboy attacked Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash upon his liberation in "Independence Day".
 * Most of the heroes who were considered as candidates fought alongside the Justice League in "Revelation".

Trivia

 * Main title clips:
 * Superboy angry (21:15)
 * Superman arguing (10:13)
 * Superboy and Wolf inside Cadmus (07:37)
 * Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman (19:54)
 * Guardian, Dubbilex and Amanda Spence (04:28)
 * Superboy breaking a pod from inside (11:04)
 * Match burns the backwards S in his chest, which is an homage to Superboy-Prime. The mirrored S is also common among Bizarro versions of Superman.
 * The genomorphs Benny and Erin are named after Greg Weisman's children.
 * Lex Luthor is able to incapacitate Superboy with the trigger phrase "Red Sun". This is a reference to Krypton's sun, Rao, and Superman's weakness to red-sunlight.
 * Green Arrow says that Superman suspects Icon of being Kryptonian. In the comics, Icon is an alien from the planet Terminus and recently is being watched by General Sam Lane under suspicion of being Kryptonian.
 * This episode aired in Brazil on March 13.

Cultural references

 * Dubbilex says "I have a dream that one day...", which resonates the words of Martin Luther King.
 * Lex Luthor contacts Superboy via a high-frequency signal, stating, "With Superman off-world, only one thing alive with less than four legs can hear this frequency, Superboy, and that's you." In Superman (1978), Lex Luthor contacts Superman in a similar manner and says roughly the same thing.
 * The spell Zatanna used to season the turkey is "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme", the refrain from the traditional English ballad Scarborough Fair.

Answered questions

 * Why were Hal Jordan and John Stewart so adamant to cut short any discussion on Guy Gardner's induction into the Justice League? (Answer)
 * What is the result of the Justice League's membership vote? (Answer #1, Answer #2)
 * What additional code words have been implanted in Superboy? (Answer)

Unanswered questions

 * Where were Artemis, Robin, and Aqualad?
 * Why does Zatara want Nabu to be closely watched?
 * What happens now to Genomorph City?