Marvel X-Men ’97 Superhero animated series are all the talk these days. Another animated series named Young Justice once attracted a lot of attention. Developed by Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman, the first two seasons of the series aired on Cartoon Network. While the third season aired on DC Universe, the fourth was released on HBO Max.
Being an animated series didn’t deter Vietti and Weisman from exploring realistic topics. One of the DC heroes of the series even became a symbol of sanity and the showrunners once revealed how it happened.
The superhero in Young Justice Whose mental health issues have been explored
Even if the title Young Justice suggests otherwise, the series is not an adaptation of the eponymous comic book series written by Peter David, Todd Dezago and Todd Nauck. Instead, the series has an original story, set in the DC Universe and featuring young superheroes. The series was initially canceled after the second season. However, Warner Bros. Animations picked it up for a third season in 2016.
The series sees young superheroes and sidekicks like Artemis, Superboy, Miss Martian, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin as part of a fictional undercover task force. This team is attached to the superhero team Justice League but works in areas where the adult superhero team finds itself limited by bureaucracy.
Another superhero seen in the series is Garfield ‘Gar’ Logan, also known as Beast Boy. Gar’s main super power is transforming into various animals. In the twelfth episode of the third season, Gar’s mental health issues are explored.
In an interview, showrunner Greg Weisman explained why they chose Gar to explore this sensitive topic (via CC), saying:
“I was once on a conference panel and an Iraqi vet talked about his post-traumatic stress and wished his favorite shows covered more of this topic. It felt like a cloud was dissipating. Of course, Young Justice should address these issues. And given his history, Beast Boy seemed like the character to focus on.
The fact that the showrunners put so much thought into the show and decided to explore such a topic rather than sticking to the simple goal of entertaining the audience is appreciable.
Brandon Vietti explains why they chose to explore mental health issues in Young Justice
There are many Marvel and DC superhero shows, and even hundreds of shows outside of those. While each show has its own focus, mental health is a topic that is often not given enough importance or addressed properly.
Young Justice Showrunner Brandon Vietti revealed why they explored mental health issues on the show:
“High-stakes superhero lifestyles must have an impact on mental health at some point. So we wrote therapy scenes into our series from the first season in order to add realistic consequences to the dramatic events.
Vietti further said they understood they needed professional help to ensure they were describing mental health issues correctly. Luckily, they had Dr. Janina Scarlett to help them.