I love comic book stories. They can take the absolutely impossible and ridiculously absurd and make them fantastic and real. Batman and other vigilante heroes have their time in the, proverbial, sun while the more bombastic and super-powered brood enjoy the actual daylight and the stardom it provides. Meanwhile, tucked away in the shadowy corners of these insane shared universes, there rests another realm of possibility: Magic.
Magic users are often relegated to less grand stories on the periphery, so when they do get the limelight I always get a front row seat. The current saga taking place in Young Justice: Phantoms is just such an occasion. The most recent episode, “Nomed Esir!” follows Zatanna and her students as they learn the greater truth of the threat the Child poses, and we learn a little more about the history of Earth 16 as told to us by Vandal Savage himself.
Before we dive into “Nomed Esir!” make sure you check out my recap/review of the previous episode if you haven’t already, and be warned that there are copious spoilers ahead. Shall we?
The Story (Gninraw Reliops!)
“Nomed Esir!” opens on a starry sky as Vandal Savage (David Kaye) begins narrating a continuation of the Phantom Stranger’s (D.B. Woodside) history of the world from the previous episode. Vandal, then Vandar, was now aware of the Lords of Chaos and Order after having met Klarion the Witch Boy (Thom Adcox-Hernandez). He knew things about the nature of the universe unknown to anyone else before or since, and had 1000 years to find a way to make use of this knowledge.
After a century and the birth of his grandson, Vandar left to explore and conquer anew. Another 200 years later, having taken the name Varl’jat, he returned to find Atlantis had grown exponentially in his grandson’s care. His grandson, Arion, Lord of Atlantis, was an immortal like himself, and the first in his line.
After the opening title sequence, we rejoin Zatanna (Lacey Chabert) and her students after their fight with Klarion. Their throats are bruised from the Witch Boy’s attempt to strangle all of them and their voices are clearly strained as they struggle to pull themselves together. Another quiet reminder of how powerful the childlike Chaos Lord actually is. Khalid (Usman Ally) remedies the situation with a quick and effective spell before the Phantom Stranger reveals himself to the group of mages.
Suddenly the music stings and we appear in Roanoke where Klarion and the Child (Erika Ishii) stand in opposition. Klarion insists that the Child’s presence isn’t necessary before learning that she is there for a far more nefarious purpose. She’s not there to chaperone him. She is there to replace him. To decorporealize him. Klarion quickly sets to defending his time on Earth and with Vandal Savage only to be dismissed by the Child out of hand. “In fact, your entire tenure on Earth has been quite the fiasco. That ends now.”
With a mighty blast of energy from the Chaos Lord’s outstretched hand, we jump back to Outsider’s headquarters in Hollywood. We see inside Gar’s bedroom at the mess therein. He has his sheets pulled up over his head and the light from his phone illuminates his silhouette. The box of sleeping pills from the all-night drug store sits just outside the fortress of cotton, torn open. Under the sheets, Gar is looking at old photos on his phone of Conner, M’gann, and himself before his transformation. Before he lost Rita. Back when the three of them were happy. Before all of the complications. Gar’s eyes close as he falls asleep; the trio’s happy faces staring back at him.
The photo of M’gann’s (Danica McKellar) happy green face is quickly replaced with her actual sullen white one as we move to Baby Bio-ship en route to Earth. She, her sister Em’ree (Hynden Walch), and her uncle J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter (Kevin Michael Richardson) all sit in silence as they travel through the vastness of space. Em’ree looks longingly back at her sister before playfully asking, “Are we there yet?” She knows some of Earth’s customs and quirks, and she’s trying to reach out to her sister to get her to open up, but this plan fails. Em’ree asks for her uncle’s help elsewhere in the ship. M’gann barely notices them leaving; only being shaken from her daze when Em’ree tries to speak to her. J’onn explains that M’gann needs her found family on Earth and the love that they provide her to get through this trying time, but Em’ree insists that she needs to do something before then. She is worried about her sister, and wants to help her. What can she do?
Before returning to the immediate action, we resume our history lesson with Varl’jat. Cast in warm reds, oranges, and magentas, the flashback scene stands in stark contrast to the dark night of the scene before. Varl reveals that the crown worn by his grandson was a gift from the Lords of Order that influenced his very core. Arion and the crown’s magic spawned a new race of humans, the homo-magi, who lived in prosperity in Atlantis with Varl’s homo-meta and the homo-sapiens. Arion also grew adept with magic and used his abilities to advance Atlantis both technologically and magically in ways his grandfather had never dreamed. With the collective power of Varl’jat and Arion, the city of Atlantis soon became a kingdom spanning the entire continent.
Vandal explains here that his glorious capital city was the greatest achievement in human history “before or since,” and I’d believe him. Atlantis is shown to have technology similar to that of the New Gods and this is over 1000 years in the past. The city stands tall with gleaming metallic super-structures as the citizenry literally flies about in personal levitating crafts propelled by magic and energy sources we’ve never seen or heard of. You truly get the sense here that Vandal’s dream is being realized.
We jump back to the darkened streets of New York as the Phantom Stranger cryptically alludes to the danger that Klarion’s counterpart represents. Zatanna, having just been attacked by the Witch Boy, is none to keen to help him. Understandably so, I’d say. But Phantom Stranger disagrees. He throws his cloak over the mystic, shrouding her in darkness, before she appears in the dark woods of Roanoke with the Chaos Lords. She takes watch as the two entities begin their battle. Immediately it becomes clear that Klarion is outmatched by this new Chaos Lord. Zatanna’s students question where the Stranger sent their mentor, and he responds in his trademark cryptic way. Almost mockingly he asks if they want to help her, and they of course agree. Just as before with their teacher they are whisked away in the darkness of the Phantom Stranger’s cloak.
We cut back to Klarion and his battle with the Child to see the Witch Boy straining. He doesn’t understand why she seems so much stronger than he is. His confusion is lifted when the Child reveals that she is using the power of all the Chaos Lords. Understanding gives way to fear as he is nearly obliterated in a wave of red energy. He quickly teleports behind her and, in a surprising twist, cuts the Child clean in half! The girl’s innards are visible as her body falls to the ground in a heap with an unsettling dull thud. Klarion’s wild face again goes to confusion as the body begins to melt and reform on the ground in front of him. The Child stands as the red energy from her attack burns the trees behind her. She mocks her counterpart for believing he’d beaten her so easily. Even his cat Teekl has to agree with her on this point. She turns the tables by pulling all of the burning energy into the form of a massive serpent! The fiery cobra’s jaws snap shut around the Chaos Lord as fear covers his face again.
Returning to the past, Varl and his grandson stare out into the ocean on a clear night. Varl is calm as he explains his plans for the city. He wants to sink the capital into the ocean, killing thousands of people, to activate the latent meta-abilities of hundreds more and facilitate their dominion over the seas of the Earth as well as the surface. Arion disagreed vehemently with his grandfather’s plan. This would prove to be of little consequence to Varl’jat. On the thousandth anniversary of his pact with the Chaos Lord, Klarion returned. We’ve seen that Vandal Savage always had a need to control the world, but this is the first time we see the lengths he was willing to go to in order to accomplish those goals. This is a man on a mission to bring order to the world by any means necessary, and he has all the time in the world to make it happen.
With Atlantis now plunged beneath the waves, the story jumps back to the present and Zatanna’s students as they arrive in an unfamiliar place. The Phantom Stranger explains that this is the sanctum sanctorum of Jason Blood (David Shaughnessy). Jason quickly makes himself known and ask why the Stranger brought the group to him. He and the Phantom Stranger exchange enigmatic words with each other. Blood alludes to “the Demon” and how he hasn’t “let him out for years,” but the Phantom insists. The young magicians peruse Blood’s sanctum. He calls them down before they can touch various artifacts as he and the Phantom continue. Begrudgingly, Blood utters an incantation as fire swirls about him and he is consumed by Hell itself. In his place rises the Demon, Etrigan. Jasons’s screams of pain and anguish are replaced by raucous laughter as the hellfire dies down and Etrigan stands to meet the group.
We appear in the dark vacuum of space onboard Baby bio-ship. M’gann is still isolating from her uncle and sister. Em’ree, with a flash of a smile before beginning, lays into the trip and M’gann. She criticizes how her sister has spent the entire trip ignoring her and being rude when her only reason for coming was to help her sister. For the first time during their journey together the sisters talk. Well… shout. Em’ree baits her sister to get her to break out of her shell, but M’gann is a professional counselor. She knows exactly what Em’ree is doing. And it’s working. The walls fall and the sisters embrace each other. Tears flow as M’gann opens up to her sister and they have a proper connection for the first time. Just before we leave this heartfelt moment a school bus flies by Baby bio-ship!
Meanwhile, Etrigan and the young magicians get acquainted. Etrigan compares Mary (Erika Ishii) to Jason Blood, much to her displeasure, saying that she has “an’other hiding within her.” Another reference to her being Sargent Marvel. The Phantom Stranger takes the choice to help away from the Demon, flashing his cloak over the beast and sending him to Zatanna’s side in Roanoke. The flaming serpent that ate the Witch Boy explodes in a soft pop as Klarion and the Child resume their battle. Zatanna questions Etrigan’s arrival, but doesn’t have time to do much else before the Demon engages with the Child’s anchor, Flaw. The Demon and the golem clash and their strength is on full display. Though it proves to be insufficient. The Child, protecting her anchor, lifts a massive section of the island high into the air as Zatanna, Etrigan, and Klarion all look on in horror. They all know what comes next.
Before they can meet a terrible fate, we’re taken back in time again. Back to the day Varl’jat and Klarion’s bargain was to be realized. The immortal and the Chaos Lord struck a new bargain and the Witch Boy happily agreed to sink Atlantis. In his lust for chaos though, the Witch Boy went much further than Varl’jat intended. He sank not just the capital city, but the entire Atlantean continent beneath the waves. Despite this, Varl’s endgame was achieved. The latent meta-genes of the citizens of Atlantis were activated in the crisis. The water breathing Homo-mermanus was born. Varl never intended for things to go this far, and it could be argued that he was punished for his transgressions with the death of his grandson. We’re told he was an immortal like his grandfather, but somehow this death feels permanent. Final.
We jump back into the action with the Child as she moves to drop a tectonic plate on Klarion and the others. Klarion, is clearly terrified as she nearly crushes him to death. Zatanna and Etrigan barely manage to escape the chaos on the ground below as everything buckles and cracks under the weight of the impact from above. Klarion bashes Zatanna into a newly formed river before narrowly escaping from the Child and retreating from the battle altogether. Zatanna slips beneath the rushing water as she begins to fall unconscious. Khalid saves her with his impressive magic skills as the sorceress wakes on the nearby shore. Blood has retaken his body over Etrigan as he, the Phantom Stranger, and her students all stand around her. “Have you acquired perspective?” A haunting line from the enigmatic Stranger is followed by an all-too-honest admission from Zatanna. “Enough to know we need help.”
We fade away from the group as Vandal’s narration reaches its conclusion and we see who it is he has chosen to speak to. It is none other than Zatanna’s father, Zatarra, the current Dr. Fate. He makes his plea to the agent of Order that Klarion must be preserved over the Child. Vandal can at least aim Klarion’s madness and power. The Child would be a true wild card that neither party can truly afford.
“Nomed Esir!” ends with Vandal and his daughter Cassandra onboard the War World bridge as he dictates his orders. He proceeds to order “Project Lifeboat” and explains that everyone and everything of value to him and the Light must be moved off of Earth and onto the War World until the situation with Klarion is resolved. This is the ultimate failsafe against total annihilation. Interestingly we see a brief moment of mercy and understanding as he tells his daughter to issue an invitation to Ra’s and his family. Cassandra says nothing the entire time, simply taking down all of her father’s orders until he finishes speaking. The quiet of space is mirrored in the very minimal music over the whole sequence. It’s calm and collected just like Vandal himself.
The Final Word
8.5/10: A compelling and dark story that keeps you wanting more
The flashbacks are phenomenal. Seeing how Vandal evolved and slowly came to the power he currently holds is compelling and drives the plot of the main story forward with urgency. I can’t wait to see what happened after the fall of Atlantis.
Zatanna, and her students to a lesser degree, provide a great “fish out of water” style to the episode that keeps things from getting too bogged down in lore and exposition as they are propelled into the unknown by the Phantom Stranger. We have to find out why, and this is the perfect way to do it. We’re able to see just how powerful our nemeses are and the immense threat they pose. We also see how dangerous things are for our young heroes, adding to the gravity of the situation.
One of my favorite aspects of the season so far has been the emotional journeys of the various characters as they deal with the death of Superboy. “Nomed Esir!” touches on the two most impacted parties and it manages to be simultaneously heartwarming and soul crushing. Seeing how differently M’gann and Gar are handling the tragedy and how the people around them are able to see and help them through it, or not, has been beautiful. Gar’s story specifically has been one of the most realistic depictions of depression and loss I’ve ever seen.
I’ve worked my whole life to become a comic book illustrator, writer, and stand-up comedian. Batman and Captain Benjamin Sisko helped put a good head on my shoulders. I spent most of my childhood saving Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom and seeing the Justice League save all of creation time and time again. I live in Johnson City, TN with my wife Kary and daughter Laila enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery and occasional show. Three puppies round out the family and take up the rest of the time that isn’t spent debating which Wes Anderson or Studio Ghibli movie to watch. I spend an inordinate amount of time binge watching SVU, Futurama, and Letterkenny, and when I’m not watching I’m listening to “My Brother, My Brother, and Me” or playing the occasional game of D&D. If there’s a nerdy endeavor out there, I’ve probably at least tried it.