Cornered

"Cornered" is the 11th episode of the second season of Young Justice, and the 37th of the overall series. It was originally scheduled to air on October 20, 2012, but was pushed to a later date in a last minute schedule change that preempted the entire schedule of October. It aired on January 12, 2013.

Logline
The Team is trapped inside the Hall of Justice for a cage match against a brutal alien gladiator!

Synopsis
Aboard a spacecraft wandering through space, L-Ron presents Despero holographic projections of multiple superheroes from Earth. L-Ron runs down on a list of superpowers that Superman possess. Despero grins wickedly. Though L-Ron informs him that Superman is on Rimbor—a planet under the protection of the Green Lantern Corps. Despero is displeased. The robotic majordomo reassures his master of other superhuman beings from Earth that he can pick from. Hovering around a holographic Captain Marvel projection, he asks his master how would the heroes head look on his trophy wall. L-Ron encourages his master acquire more than one trophy from Earth; Despero then opens up his glowing third eye.

Title
The title is a reference to Despero "cornering" the Team in the Hall of Justice with the force field he places around it. It also refers to the Reach slowly undermining the credibility of the League, and to the fact that the dormant metagene becomes active when the individual is "cornered" through exposure to extreme trauma.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3" | Uncredited ! colspan="3" | Non-speaking roles
 * Lacey Chabert
 * colspan="2" | Zatanna
 * Tim Curry
 * colspan="2" | G. Gordon Godfrey
 * Bryton James
 * colspan="1" | Virgil Hawkins
 * rowspan="2" | Phil LaMarr
 * L-Ron
 * colspan="2" | Ambassador
 * rowspan="2" | Eric Lopez
 * colspan="2" | Blue Beetle
 * colspan="2" | Scarab
 * Chad Lowe
 * colspan="2" | Captain Marvel/Billy Batson
 * Jason Marsden
 * colspan="2" | Impulse
 * rowspan="2" | Vanessa Marshall
 * colspan="2" | Black Canary
 * Mrs. Berkowitz
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2" | Nightwing
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2" | Miss Martian
 * Masasa Moyo
 * colspan="2" | Bumblebee
 * Nolan North
 * colspan="2" | Superboy
 * Yuji Okumoto
 * colspan="2" | Tseng Dangun
 * rowspan="2" | Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2" | Guardian
 * colspan="2" | John Jones
 * Michael T. Weiss
 * colspan="2" | Captain Atom
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2" | Nightwing
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2" | Miss Martian
 * Masasa Moyo
 * colspan="2" | Bumblebee
 * Nolan North
 * colspan="2" | Superboy
 * Yuji Okumoto
 * colspan="2" | Tseng Dangun
 * rowspan="2" | Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2" | Guardian
 * colspan="2" | John Jones
 * Michael T. Weiss
 * colspan="2" | Captain Atom
 * rowspan="2" | Kevin Michael Richardson
 * colspan="2" | Guardian
 * colspan="2" | John Jones
 * Michael T. Weiss
 * colspan="2" | Captain Atom
 * Michael T. Weiss
 * colspan="2" | Captain Atom
 * Stephanie Lemelin
 * colspan="2" | Tigress (archive footage)
 * colspan="2" | Tigress (archive footage)
 * colspan="3" | Aqualad (Flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Beast Boy
 * colspan="3" | Black Lightning
 * colspan="2" | Despero
 * colspan="3" | Icon (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Lagoon Boy
 * colspan="3" | Martian Manhunter (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Nathaniel Tryon
 * colspan="3" | Tye Longshadow
 * colspan="3" | Superman (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Wade Eiling
 * colspan="3" | Wolf
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Woman (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Martian Manhunter (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Nathaniel Tryon
 * colspan="3" | Tye Longshadow
 * colspan="3" | Superman (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Wade Eiling
 * colspan="3" | Wolf
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Woman (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Superman (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Wade Eiling
 * colspan="3" | Wolf
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Woman (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Wolf
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Woman (Image)
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Woman (Image)

Continuity

 * Bumblebee laments having to use her stingers to wake up teammates from a state of unconsciousness; she previously had to do it to Batgirl in "Beneath".
 * Ambassador mentions the Justice League are wanted criminals, which the League (via Miss Martian) discovered in "Earthlings" and "Alienated".
 * He also mentions the Team's attack on his ship in "Before the Dawn".
 * Tseng says he knows that the League has young covert operatives because he was rescued by them in "Happy New Year".
 * The first thing M'gann does after entering her uncle's apartment is filling a watering can; upon his departure in "Alienated", he had asked her to water his plants.

Trivia

 * Number 16:
 * L-Ron briefs Despero at 00:16.
 * Virgil mentions he underwent a treatment of "static shocks", a reference to his own series, Static Shock.