http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/YoungJustice2010
A lot can be said about the characters, and their
various actions and motivations.
- Seasons 1-2:
- Some think that Kid Flash has trust issues and is actually rather insecure and that his cheerful attitude we've seen so far is really just him being a Stepford Smiler. Post- Time Skip, he's much calmer and serious and while he does make jokes he doesn't feel the need to crack wise or flirt with someone every time he opens his mouth.
- The League. One can only wonder what happens behind closed doors, given how little the show focuses on them. One could see them as a very loosely connected group of professionals who don't really interact with one another, or a group whose heroics dive into Informed Attribute, for all the supposed good they do that we don't see.
- Could Superman and Wonder Woman be a couple in this series? At least until Season 3, which very clearly jossed this in favor of Lois Lane.
- Could Wally's death be Artemis's Start of Darkness? Fortunately it's not. Artemis DOES permanently become her supervillain identity of Tigress, but she remains a hero.
- Vandal Savage - really a Well-Intentioned Extremist who thinks he's doing what's best for Earth's evolution, or just another power mad tyrant working a take over the world scheme (as this version, like in the comics, assumed the identities of notable historical tyrants like Genghis Khan in the past, and unlike most Earth-based villains, he's aiming for the galaxy itself)? Do any of his Light followers even really believe in their cause, or are they just out for themselves? Flashbacks in season 4 even show through the narrative pushed by Olympia Savage's journal showing how he played a part in the calamities faced by early civilizations. Several of the Light's later agents are also stated to be aiding Vandal in exchange for something in return, making it ambiguous as to whether some of them only work with him to get what they want, or if they do believe in his ideology in some way.
- There's been some significant debate as to the meaning of Artemis singing to the lost children in "Misplaced". As she sings nursery rhymes to them, she stops, thinks, and then switches to another of the nursery rhymes that uses the "Twinkle Twinkle" melody. There are those who think she was intentionally playing dumb to make the children laugh, but given that being raised at least in part by Sportsmaster means she had a very unconventional and sucky childhood, there are also plenty of people who think she did that because she legitimately doesn't know how the songs go. It also appears to run in the family, given her mother is shown doing the same thing at one point.
- Tim Drake lingering by Jason Todd’s memorial. Was he honoring his predecessor, mourning a lost brother, or contemplating his own potential mortality as Robin?
- Seasons 3 And Beyond:
- The 'Anti-Light', both as a group and its individual members can be seen in many different lights. Are they simply being pragmatic heroes that, after clashing with the Light for nearly a decade now, realize trying to beat them cleanly isn't possible and that what their doing is necessary? Or are they all just incredibly jaded and arrogant for thinking they have the right to manipulate not just the public, but their own friends and allies while being entrusted with the leadership of nearly all the teams currently operating? Is their claim that they're keeping this secret from as many other heroes as possible to insulate them from potential legal danger genuine, or is it just an excuse because they know full well many wouldn't agree with this plan? What exactly did they believe they were going to be doing that would put them at such risk, as Wonder Woman seems shocked they would go so far as to commit a False Flag Operation (which, while bad, is hardly the worst thing this kind of scheme could require)?
- When M'gann opposes Gar being let in on the secret after he founded the Outsiders, claiming he 'isn't ready', does she mean that he just formed his team and needs time to grow comfortable with leadership before being pulled into this, or does she mean he's not ready to understand what their doing and would expose their cabal and its actions to the other heroes if he's let in on it? Also, after her growing so comfortable with mind-rape in Season 2 and only growing out of it after the 'incident' with Kaldur, is the fact she's now in on this show she hasn't really changed that much? Is the fact she's so at ease manipulating events regarding her own brother just further proof of this, or can she justify it by claiming the everything they've done has been to his benefit?
- Nightwing and Kaldur are both part of the conspiracy, and both were the original masterminds of the undercover op in Season 2, does this show that they are suffering from Aesop Amnesia, or did they arguably never learn anything to begin with and had no reason to? Their plan did succeed in breaking the Light's alliance with the Reach and let them take down a few of its leaders; and barring Kaldur being mind-raped by M'gann, the two never suffered any real consequences for their deception, as Kaldur not only got to join the Justice League afterward, but was even made its chairman, and Nightwing is still trusted enough to be able to form his own secret team without difficulty (he only quit the Team instead because Wally died). The worst either suffered from their friends was Nightwing getting called out by Wally (you have to wonder how he would react if he were still alive and found out about this) and the others being a bit miffed at them for a few scenes after they found out. So they were arguably never given any reason by the other heroes not to do it all over again. Of course, some would say they were completely right in Season 2 and completely right now; others would say that both are just asking for another situation like what happened with M'gann to occur. And some argue that, at the very least, what they did with the Anti-Light isn't as bad as what they did in Season 2.
- Wonder Woman is the only member to raise protest regarding the group's actions and remind them that, whatever their successes, they're only accomplishing it by lying to everyone around them. Is she just naive, or is she right that they're crossing lines they shouldn't? “Antisocial Pathologies” makes it clear that while she is aware of the group's activities, she only learns about them after-the-fact, hence her surprise and outrage when she's told of the false flag operation, and explains why she's so much more doubtful than the other members. It's entirely possible she was not involved in the actual planning to form the group and was only told of it afterwards by Batman, like she is everything else involving the Anti-Light.
- Are Batman and Wonder Woman right to lie to Superman to both protect him and not wanting (or trusting) him to lie if put under oath? Usually, it's just Batman who’s keeping secrets from the other two, rarely have Batman and Wonder Woman conspired while keeping Superman in the dark (in other media, that is).
- Does the uncomfortable silence after Diana criticizes the group’s methods means that they agree with her, or an unwillingness to tell her that they don't?
- Tim left the Team, seemingly already in the know about this whole plan, and this lead to his relationship with Cassie becoming rocky. Is he wrong to be keeping this all secret from her while it harms their relationship? Or is this just proof that they suddenly jumped into a relationship because of then-recent tragic events and maybe just aren't well-suited to each other? Cassie's likely reaction is one of the first things Garfield brings up to Tim after learning that he was in on it.
- Jefferson's behavior after putting together that the team leaders have all deceiving everyone and working together. Most are sympathetic to his position, not only because he was one of the heroes they were manipulating from very early on, and took advantage of him while he was struggling with some serious issues and had already said no to Batman when asked to join Batman Incorporated, thus it comes across as doubly manipulative, as he points out, but also because, while that confrontation is happening, Jace is confessing that her relationship with him was nothing more than a means-to-an-end and she's been using him all along, while his feelings for her were very real. However, some, mostly people who believe that the Anti-Light are right in their thinking and that the good they've done far outweighs the lies and deception, think he overreacted and was too harsh, that he chose to remain a member of Nightwing's team and go on missions when he didn't have to, and what difference does it make if Batman was involved? Still, most can't blame him when he decides to leave and tells the others not to follow after learning the truth about Jace.
- Garfield and his team. Is his founding a public team and taking advantage of social media to build a following among the younger generation smart, or is he being naive in the belief that this will ultimately change anything? It's true Gar's team is far more positively regarded by the public than the Justice League is, but the Light isn't going to be beaten just by performing actions that look good on social media. Embarrassing Luthor is satisfying but doesn't threaten his position. Also, how much of this is Gar wanting to get back at Gretchen Goode for trapping him in a contract now that he knows she's evil? His vendetta with her can seem extreme, given that while he knows she is evil, he mostly doesn't know the full extent as to how evil she is (the heroes don't even learn she is an Apokoliptian until Metron says she is).
- How accurate is the story told to us in “Evolution” about Vandal Savage and the origin of his alliance with Darkseid? The book it's read from is written by Savage's own daughter, who is clearly both senile and worships her father, and portrays Savage as heroic and noble. Enough of it is accurate that Vandal doesn't want it written down and euthanizes his own daughter when she disobeys that order enough times, but the tone of the tale and some of the claims regarding the figures involved leave some room for argument. Does Darkseid really think of Savage as an 'equal', despite him easily besting him? Darkseid formed a long term alliance with him, but that doesn't mean they're equals; even being the leader of the Light, Savage doesn't possess anywhere close to Darkseid's level of power. Even if you assume he just meant his equal in terms of intellect, it's still hard to believe them seeing each other as equals. Godfrey and Granny pretty clearly don't. Also, it would hardly be out of character for Darkseid to maintain an agreement while it's beneficial, but abandon it when it becomes a burden. Given he's shown to be able to force Savage to ignore the usual code the Light follows to obtain Violet from Granny, it would seem this is a unequal partnership at best. In addition, the flashbacks showing the beginning of the partnership between Vandal and Klarion continue to poke holes in his ideology by revealing that Vandal ordered Klarion to summon the Starro species to attack Babylon and the sinking of Atlantis, leading to the deaths of Nabu and Arion (his own son and grandson, respectively), making him come across far less well-intentioned than he was presented to be.
- Tara being both The Mole and The Quiet One basically invites this. Unlike in the original comics, this Tara is on a team with her own brother, and she doesn't seemingly hate everyone around her for no reason. Does she not actually care about her brother, or does she think she can protect him from whatever happens to the others? Is she mostly willing or has she been beaten down for long enough that she'll follow whatever orders they give her? In “Elder Wisdom”, she learns of her parents' death, and that Violet's body's original owner let in the assassin who killed them, possibly solidifying a desire to destroy the heroes. There's also a possible ambiguity with her exact purpose as a spy. In the comics, Deathstroke needed her to find out the secret identities of the Teen Titans so he could target them, but the Light already knows the identities of every hero, so whether or not she's there to just be The Mole and send any information to them she believes would be useful, or if they sent her in to fulfill a specific purpose, as well as just send any useful information she comes across, is up in the air. Ultimately, she collects general intel for the Light, with her last order before blowing her cover to rejoin the League of Shadows being she is ordered to kill Beast Boy during Baron Bedlam's attempted coup of Markovia, but her being talked into a genuine Heel–Face Turn means she forgives Halo for what Gabrielle Daou did, and the other heroes for the Anti-Light conspiracy.
- Jade leaving her husband and daughter. Did she abandon her family simply because she couldn't adjust to a normal life, or is there clearly something more going on and she left to protect them? The show has so far kept the circumstances of her leaving vague, but it's clear that it wasn't the result of any kind of disagreement between her and Will, as he gives every indication he would welcome her back with open arms. Given one of Jade's more positive traits has been that she genuinely loves her family (excluding her father), is it believable she would just up and abandon them (not even getting into the fact she went to a lot of trouble helping Will resolve his issues so Lian could have a father), or does the fact she left Artemis behind as soon as she was old enough to make it on her own show she can still be selfish even if she does love her family? Season 4's ultimate answer is that she doesn't want to be a bad influence on her family, Artemis is barely able to get her to agree to come home, only for Jade to panic and run away again when Lian wears a likeness of her mother's mask over the phone.
- Is Paula right to chastise Artemis for remaining a hero after everything that's happened, as well as give up any hope for her eldest daughter? Could her certainty that Lian needs a mother possibly be the result of seeing what her own daughters became partly due to her absence? Is she right to pressure Artemis to take that role, when she isn't Lian's mother and may be uncomfortable taking the place of her own sister? Is she naive for thinking Artemis would quit being a hero when Wally couldn't stop her from going back? Is it fair she bring up Wally when she's trying to argue her daughter should leave the life and get together with someone else? Is she just trying to preserve what family she still has left, now that her eldest is seemingly gone, her husband has long been a lost cause, and just two years ago was lead to believe, for months, that her youngest died on the job? Or is she not giving Will enough credit as a single father, Jade enough credit as a mother (or person), and presuming far too much with Artemis?
- Are Artemis and Will's implied feelings for each other genuine, simply the result of them developing an attachment to a person they are very close to after each lost a loved one, or an attempt by each to replace their lost loved one with someone who is arguably very similar? Are these feelings proper regardless of the reason? Will and Jade are very likely still legally married, even if they are no longer together. Both Artemis and Will seem aware that their feelings may not be appropriate, and given they live together as a family and there is a young child who would likely suffer if a relationship between her father and her aunt didn't work out (which given each of their issues, is very possible), there's plenty of reason for them not to try and explore these feelings. And that's not even getting into the fact that her late boyfriend is one of his oldest friends, whom he may or may not have parted on the best of terms with if they never spoke again after “Salvage”. "Overwhelmed" makes clear they were just misunderstanding their own feelings, its "too weird", and they can raise Lian just fine without being together romantically.
- Nabu. Does he not remember his original life as Vandal Savage's son and being part of the proto-Light? Or does he perhaps remember, but keeps it deliberately secret because he knows the Justice League only barely tolerates him as it is? Or, perhaps most believably, he does remember, but doesn't feel any obligation to tell them and doesn't feel it relevant to his mission as a Lord of Order? Or he's actually still working for his father and nobody has bothered to ask him?
- Zatanna and M'gann's actions in “Overwhelmed” are questionable at best. You can argue they did what was possibly required to get Artemis to move on from Wally that, while unpleasant and extremely deceptive, did work and provide Artemis closure, even if they believe it can only work if she doesn't (possibly ever) know it wasn't really Wally. Of course, it's also easy to argue what they did was a complete betrayal of trust on their part, that while Artemis did need to move on, tricking her into believing she's having one last meeting with Wally's spirit, all-the-while pressuring her to say good-bye with the justification of a (fake) deadline and a lie about being trapped forever if she stays too long, is a level of deception that crosses the line and isn't something they had any right to do. Also, Zatanna and M'gann don't seem at all concerned about Artemis possibly learning the truth on her own, likely because there are very, very few ways for her to learn it without them telling her and they know that, so while they feel some guilt, but aren't worried about their deception being revealed. This isn't even touching on the matter of Zatanna's potential hypocrisy (which she may see as her protecting her friend from a similar fate) or the fact M'gann is using her powers to deceive others again.
- How responsible Brion is for his actions in “Nevermore” is very much up for debate. The heroes all assume he did everything of his own free will with no outside influence, hence Black Lightning including his name alongside Fallen Heroes Vandal Savage, Black Adam, and Ra's al Ghul, when in reality Zviad Baazovi, while not in full control of him, did use his psychic powers to lessen Brion's inhibitions and give in to his own worst aspects, so it's not completely his own fault, even if he possibly still holds some responsibility for his actions. Brion's actions are all theoretically things that it's not impossible to believe he could've done of his own free will early on in Season 3, but not as likely given his character development and behavior subsequently. Granted, it doesn't hurt that the action that leads the other heroes to turn against him is Brion killing Baron Bedlam, a monster with a lengthy list of abominable crimes, so even if Brion wasn't being influenced by Zviad many, if not most, fans still probably would've thought that action was justifiable, unlike what the heroes seem to believe (most of their anger is mainly over the old saying "heroes don't kill"), if not his subsequent ones as a result. Also, his giving Jace a second chance can seem really odd after he was so unforgiving with Tara, meaning Zviad is likely strongly manipulating his actions in both cases. The show's fourth season and the Young Justice: Targets miniseries would later further highlight what happened to Brion, with him not killing anyone else, and Zviad now joined by members of Lex Luthor's Infinity, Inc. in manipulating events around Markovia, leaving Brion more of a Puppet King unaware of the full extent to what the Light plans to do with Markovia.
- Given how consistently manipulative M'gann is of others, some fans are left wondering if she studied psychology not to specifically become a student counselor, but to instead get better at manipulating others without her powers.
- Harper Row: a charming rebel with an innocent crush on Violet or a manipulative incel? Many of behaviors that Harper exhibits towards Violet (kissing her without consent, talking shit about her boyfriend, and not being upfront with her feelings) are very toxic and manipulative behaviors that the show doesn't really dissect at all, leaving it up to the viewer to interpret.
