Drop Zone (Young Justice)

ORIGINAL AIR DATES: 1/28/11
EPISODE NUMBERS: 04
PRODUCTION CODE: 104

SYNOPIS:

_{On their first official assignment – a covert recon mission to the VENOM-producing island of SANTA PRISCA – THE TEAM finds itself caught in a struggle between the deadly BANE and cult leader KOBRA for possession of something far worse than they suspected.}

<sub>In Santa Prisca, the Cult of Kobra breaks into a drug-production factor and tells its owner, Bane, that he can go if he defeats their champion. They give him his Venom injector, claiming that it won't be a fair fight without it. At the other end of the room, a man is shoved in and given an injection of a drug by his sister, and transforms in to a huge hulking figure, Mammoth. He lunges at Bane and soon smashes the villain down. The crowd cheers in praise of their leader, Kobra, who has watched the entire thing.

Young Justice fly across the Caribbean toward Santa Prisca using Miss Martian's bioship, and Robin remembers how Batman briefed them of how the island factory creates Neo Venom, a powerful super-steroid. Batman wants them to observe and determine if League intervention is necessary. When Robin wonders who was in charge, he tells them to work it out themselves.

The team drops off Aqualad at the first drop-zone. He swims to shore and sabotages the motion sensors. Miss Martian then places her ship in hover mode and the team dons their new stealth costumes... except for Superboy, who refuses to wear tights or a cape. He drops to the ground, refusing to be quiet, and the team heads for the factory while Aqualad follows their GPS and moves to intercept them.

As they make their way through the woods, Superboy hears a noise and they draw to a halt. Robin slips away on his own, and Kid Flash spots incoming two squads of soldiers. The two squads open fire on each other, and Aqualad tells his teammates to stay clear. However, Kid Flash goes to find Robin, and trips in the mud. He stumbles directly into the middle of the firefight, and finds Bane standing there. Bane opens fire on the opposing squad of Kobra's cultists. Kid Flash ducks out of the way and Superboy attacks Bane, while the Kobra cultists fire on Kid Flash. Robin drops down to assist his teammate, and complains that they're not remaining silent as agreed.

Aqualad arrives and helps take out the squad, and they compare notes. They figure that Kobra is hoarding the drug, and Robin wants to find out what's going on. Robin insists that he should lead, but Kid Flash disagrees. Superboy and Miss Martian have no interest in leading. As they argue, Superboy overhears Bane whispering to his men to play along. Bane then offers to lead the team into the factory via his secret entrance. Miss Martian tries to read his mind and learns what he is hiding, but he manages to block her telepathy by reciting football scores. Bane says that it's simple: the enemy of his enemy is his friend.

Bane leads Young Justice toward the factory, while Kid Flash and Robin continue to argue and disagree. They enter the tunnel, Bane leads them in, and Robin slips away. Kid Flash goes off on his own to prove himself and learn what's going on, much to the others' disgust.

Robin takes out one of the Kobra cultists in the control tower. He hacks the computer and Kid Flash arrives as Robin realizes that Kobra is mixing the Blockbuster serum with Venom, tripling its strength and creating permanent mutation. They figure that Kobra's supplier of the Blockbuster formula is also the buyer.

The supplier, Sportsmaster, arrives to collect his serum. He boasts that with it, he and other villains can go head-to-head with the Justice League. Miss Martian cloaks herself and watches, sending an image of Sportsmaster to Aqualad. When they realize who they're up against, they try to signal out but are unable to contact the League. Bane takes over and leaps into battle, and Mammoth attacks Superboy and Aqualad.

Superboy takes on Mammoth while Aqualad engages the cultists. Bane withdraws, chuckling. Sportsmaster spots the invisible Miss Martian when she comes to the aid of her teammates, and throws an exploding javelin at her. Robin and Kid Flash leave the command center and help Aqualad as the cultists pin him down with gunfire. Aqualad tells Miss Martian to telepathically link them.

Kobra tries to leave by helicopter and Robin ignores Aqualad to intercept him. The cult leader's lieutenant, Shimmer, attacks him but Aqualad orders Robin to retreat. Robin does so and his teammates flee back down the escape tunnel, bringing it down behind them. Once they're back together, Robin wonders how his mission could have gone wrong. Aqualad notes that as leader, he must be clear in his orders and his years of training with Batman make him unsuitable. Robin admits that Aqualad is right, and says that he's the one to lead the team. Aqualad accepts the responsibility until Robin is ready, and says they need to stop the shipment from leaving the island.

Kobra discovers that Robin has sabotaged his helicopter and orders his people to make repairs. He realizes that the heroes will come after him to stop the shipment

As the team makes their way back outside, they wonder what's going on and realize that there's more going on than they have seen. They find Bane waiting for them, ready to blow up the escape tunnel and seal them inside. He explains that the whole thing was a ruse for him to regain control of his factory. However, Kid Flash steals the trigger at superspeed before Bane can trigger the detonation, and Superboy knocks the villain out.

As Kobra's men finish repairing the helicopter, Young Justice arrives and attacks. Sportsmaster opens fire on Superboy, using a weapon capable of harming him. Miss Martian tries to help, but Sportsmaster captures her. Robin confronts Kobra, who says that he has no choice but to take action. He easily repels Robin's attacks.

Aqualad holds Mammoth off long enough to electro-shock him unconscious. Meanwhile, Sportsmaster boards the helicopter and shoves Miss Martian away, and then departs. Miss Martian triggers the explosives which she planted in the helicopter. It goes down and Sportsmaster is forced to bail out as the helicopter lands on the factory, destroying it. Bane, tied up in the woods, looks on in dismay.

Kobra brings Robin down, but his teammates arrive. The cult leader disappears into the shadows rather than waste more time fighting in a useless cause. Robin admits that Aqualad is the person to lead… and he'll be the one to tell Batman what happened.

Back at Mount Justice, Batman tells them that they made many mistakes, but they adjusted well and made the right choice to determine who leads.

Sportsmaster reports to the Light's Board of Directors, informing them that he recovered a single vial of the Venom serum. The Board realizes that the teenage heroes represent a major threat and that it's time to take direct action.</sub>

Written By: Andrew R. Robinson

Directed By: Christopher Berkeley

Nolan North (Superboy)
Jesse McCartney (Robin)
Khary Payton (Aqualad)
Jason Spisak (Kid Flash)
Danica McKellar (M'gann M'orzz/Miss Martian)
Bruce Greenwood (Batman)
Danny Trejo (Bane)
Arnold Vosloo (Kobra)
Nick Chinlund (Sportsmaster)

This quote is a reference to 'No tights, no flights', a rule imposed by producers of Smallville. This rule does not allow the TV character Clark Kent to wear his trademark Superman outfit, nor have the ability to fly.