SPOILER ALERT! This is a full episode recap, so if you don’t want to read any spoilers, please watch the episode before reading this!
The teens kidnapped by the Reach, are getting frustrated at the Taos Star Labs where they are still being experimented on, only by human scientists this time. Virgil Hawkins is using his electricity to move a garbage can lid, while the Latino youth, Eduardo Dorado Jr. is arguing with his father, a scientist who specializes in Zeta beam technology. Eduardo’s father who points out that his son now has teleportation abilities, indicating that the Metagene is opportunistic, granting abilities based on significant forces present. Eduardo storms out and runs into the others, Virgil, Tye Longshadow, an Asian girl named Asami “Sam” Koizumi and a bald Caucasian boy named Newt. Virgil then states that they are breaking free that night.
In the meantime, crates arrive via Zeta beams, containing Amazo’s body, which has been dismantled.
Newt tries to reason with the other kids, pointing out that they can’t control their powers and that Star Labs is trying to keep them safe. Their mentor, Dr. Wilcox (a tribute to the Super Friends, Colonel Wilcox, perhaps?) seems dismissive and bored however. The others are unconvinced however and depart. Virgil addresses the Japanese girl as Sam… as in Samurai? But she doesn’t appear to speak English. Just before they depart, Newt sets off an alarm, locking them in.
The teens’ lack of control over their abilities makes escaping difficult, as Eduardo explains he can only teleport himself and only within his line of sight. Tye also indicates that he doesn’t know how to activate his powers. Three guards approach them, but the kids use their powers to knock them unconscious. The power in the building goes out, possibly due to Virgil’s electrical abilities and disables the locks. Sam opens the door and they flee.
Nightwing charges Blue Beetle with keeping an eye on the others, who have arrived at a bus station where Virgil leaves a voice mail for his family. He points out that the others are runaways, but that he was mistakenly kidnapped as he was waiting at a bus station for his sister. He explains that he and his family are “good” and he asks them to wire him money so they can go to his hometown, Dakota City (as it is in the comics). Unlike Eduardo, he doesn’t want a cure for his abilities, which he likes. He uses them to get a soda out of a vending machine, but Tye warns him not to drink it, because it’s Reach. (See last episode.)
Doctor Wilcox and a group of Star Labs security guards arrive at the bus station and Tye, who has fallen asleep, is engulfed in golden energy as his powers activate. He levitates and is surrounded by a gigantic energy form, in an homage to the giant abilities of his Super Friends inspiration Apache Chief. He tears the roof off the bus station and hurls it at their pursuers. The guards pull their guns, but Wilcox reminds them that they are there to protect the kids.
Blue Beetle arrives, but is quickly squashed by Tye’s astral form. Tye then, still unconscious, scoops up the others and goes on something of a rampage, fleeing the scene. Once they are clear of the guards, Tye’s astral form sets the kids down and the energy fades as he comes to. Blue Beetle arrives and removes his armor, revealing his identity to the others, including Tye, who it was previously established is one of his best friends. He shows them his scarab and explains that it is the source of his powers and also was crafted so that the Reach could control him. He tries to urge them to go back to Star Labs. When they are resistent, he suggest they seek help from Green Beetle, since he was able to help him gain control over the scarab. (Or did he?)
Suddenly, Star Labs is attacked by Red Volcano, who is seeking Amazo. The android quickly destroys the Zeta tube so no Leaguers can teleport in. Nightwing calls Blue Beetle on his cell phone and orders him to Star Labs, since he’s the closest to the site. (Impulse and Flash are the two that could get there quickest but they’re busy rescuing tsunami victims.) Beetle armors up but tells the others to stay put, but Eduardo is worried about his father and they all decide to head for Star Labs.
They arrive just in time to see Red Tornado crush Blue Beetle with his seismic powers. Apache Chief… I mean Tye Longshadow, vows to save Blue Beetle and tells the others to pursue Red Volcano who has returned to the facility. Tye focuses and generates his huge astral form.
Inside, Red Volcano has located all of Amazo except the head, which Eduardo Sr. informs him was sent to another location as precaution. Angrily, Red Volcano states that he will take Eduardo’s head as compensation, when Eduardo Jr. teleports in and rescues his father. I guess he can teleport more than just himself after all.
Static and Sam arrive… as does Red Volcano. The teens attempt to fend off the android, but he is too powerful and seems to turn their powers back on them. Tye and Blue Beetle combine their efforts but Volcano seems too powerful. Blue Beetle unleashes his sonic abilities to their maximum level… despite the fact that he is damaging Star Labs which still has people inside. Virgil tries reasoning with him, but it doesn’t work. (Hmmmm…)
The four super friends enter the building in order to rescue the people trapped inside. Afterward, Red Volcano uses his powers to trap the four teens, but rather than trying to free them or surrender, Blue Beetle hammers away at Red Volcano. Eduardo realizes that he paid no mind to them and was willing to sacrifice them as they use their powers to free themselves. In close range, Blue Beetle destroys Red Volcano.
Obviously in an irrational state, Blue Beetle demands the kids go to Green Beetle. News reporters arrive and mistake Jaime for the former Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, distracting him so that the other teens can slip away. Later, we realize that (SURPRISE!) Green Beetle is in league with the Reach and his tampering with Jaime’s scarab last episode was just a means of taking him over. They are both working for Black Beetle now.
Virgil, Sam, Tye and Eduardo return to the trashed bus station, where they encounter (ANOTHER SURPRISE!) Lex Luthor! He reveals that he knows who all of them are and has been keeping tabs on them for weeks. He tells them that Blue Beetle is now an agent of the Reach and hints that he thinks the Reach has been using him. He attempts to pull the kids into his servitude.
Well this isn’t going to end well. I am a Super Friends Super Fan, so I loved this tribute to that show and its ethnic characters, but I think if I weren’t familiar with that show, I might have been annoyed that these characters took center stage and the majority of the YJ cast didn’t even appear.
As for the one character who did appear, Blue Beetle, I think we all saw this coming. Green Beetle has just been too good to be true, so this revelation wasn’t that big a shock. And Lex Luthor just oozes duplicity, so obviously he doesn’t have the kids’ best interest at heart. Hopefully things don’t go too badly for them!
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