Review: Young Justice: Phantoms “Volatile”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Miss Martian and Superboy grapple with family traditions, while Beast Boy struggles with something much darker.

Our Take:

It appears that our little “vacation” on Mars is still taking a turn for the worst for our teenage heroes. For us fans of the series, it turns out to be the opposite. HBO Max pulled off a surprise that’s as huge as the new Batman trailer during the DC Fandome event on Saturday. Instead of just talking about the show’s fourth season, the streaming service unexpectedly dropped the first two episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms early. It was surprising, but it was also a welcoming gift for those who were patiently waiting to reunite with their favorite teen superheroes.

The episode sees Miss Martian and Superboy preparing for a wedding ceremony on Mars. While Superboy, Beast Boy, and Prince J’emm set out to create an arch for the ceremony, Miss Martian, the priestess, and her family go to the Crystal Caves to sync up some crystals. But, unfortunately, their preparations are far from easy. As tensions rise between Miss Martian and her sister, Beast Boy’s behavior starts to grow worse.

“Volatile” continues the galactic wedding scenario that began with “Inhospitable” by providing more drama than action. Like the first two episodes, the direction may sound boring at first, especially for a superhero show. However, it proved to be another satisfying humanization of the super teens that offers a fresh take on the wedding preparation situation. In addition to the wedding ceremony, the episode provided some continuations of certain character arcs, such as investigating the Red Martian King’s death and Beast Boy’s strange behavior. Although they’re slightly brief, they’re fine enough to inject some more depth into the characters. 

The only character arc that intrigued me the most so far was Beast Boy. Not only was he worried about his team, the Outsiders, but his behavior was heavily affected by the Martians’ brain blast attack in “Inhospitable”. As a result, Beast Boy starts to become grumpier and has hallucinations of Brion attacking Superboy. It’s an engaging arc that saw the character dealing with his past traumas, especially his encounter with Brion in the previous season. It also ended on a fulfilling note when part of Beast Boy’s brain was healed by Miss Martian, later revealed to be Chameleon Boy in disguise.

Overall, “Volatile” is another absorbing chapter in the “Wedding on Mars” story arc. What seemed to be a filler episode with little to no action turned out to be another suitable ceremony preparation episode filled with important character-driven moments. With the wedding close to being finished, it’s only a matter of time before we see SuperBoy and Miss Martian finally tie the knot.