The following contains spoilers for Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2, on sale now from DC Comics.
With Dark Crisis only just beginning, a lot of attention in this event is being drawn to the paradises created by the villain Pariah. These illusions are designed to trap heroes in their ideal world, like the recently deceased Justice League. The new tie-in series Worlds Without a Justice League focuses solely on these worlds. The first features Superman and Aquaman, whilst The Flash sees Wally and the rest of the Flash Family exploring Barry Allen's perfect prison. The same goes for the new Young Justice series that also spawned from the latest Crisis event.
Tim Drake, Conner Kent and Bart Allen all disappeared in the last issue, and Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2 (by Meghan Fitzmartin, Laura Braga, Luis Guerrero and Pat Brosseau) shows them diving deeper into the world they found themselves in. It's clear that this Earth is the same as those in the Justice League have found themselves trapped in. It gives Young Justice the thing they've been wanting for a long time -- the spotlight. It's an Earth filled with nostalgia -- but that's not a good thing.
The boys first felt the unease of this world when they encountered the villain they faced in their first issue decades ago -- the Mighty Endowed. This villain is entirely dated now, as an altogether immature and ridiculous character whose powers are wholly derived from her chest size. Although it seemed like this '90s embarrassment was just a call back to their first official mission as Young Justice, this latest issue confirmed that it wasn't just a one-off.
Throughout Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2, all the faults of the original series are laid bare in the harsh light of day. As Robin, Superboy and Impulse dove deeper into this world created just for them, they started to notice how terrible their stories were back then. The Mighty Endowed was just the first of a series of bad decisions. The character who followed her was Tora, a rather racist portrayal of a non-white character. She was also entirely one-dimensional, something the trapped heroes noticed themselves now that they're older and wiser.
Perhaps the worst part though, was when they met the Justice League. Having been summoned to the Watchtower, the team they met was exactly as it was back in the 90s when Young Justice were the up-and-coming heroes. Each got time with their mentors, with Superman even asking Conner to take over for him in the future, as there was no Jon Kent at that time, and, therefore, no Jon Kent here. Tim Drake, on the other hand, did not have as great a time. Batman told him that he would be the next Batman, true, as there was no Damian here either, but the comments he tacked on to that declaration were completely offensive.
Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown had a flourishing romance back in those days, and the fake Batman seen here insisted that they were destined to be together on this nostalgia-fueled Earth. When Tim said that he didn't want to be with Stephanie but rather his new boyfriend Bernard, Batman said his recently revealed bisexuality was just a "phase" that he would grow out of. Tim was, understandably, outraged.
Although most view these times with rose-tinted sunglasses, the racism, sexism and homophobia highlighted in this issue have existed for decades. There is no way that Tim could have come out as bi back then, as it would have been seen as a "phase" as Batman said. They all see how problematic it was, and it angers them greatly, Robin in particular. This realization wasn't even contained to this Dark Crisis Earth either. Retired hero Cissie King-Jones revealed to Cassie Sandsmark, as they searched for the boys, that she quit being a hero because women were always chasing after the men, with no agency of their own. Although Cassie didn't see it that way back then, she does now.
The first issue of Dark Crisis: Young Justice saw Cassie and the three boys longing to go back in time before they faced the traumatic events that followed. Now, they're starting to realize that those whacky adventures were outdated and downright offensive. They've learned that the people who they were back then weren't as good as the people they are now. They've come a long way since then, both in universe and in reality. By highlighting the ugly truth, this series will serve to propel Young Justice into the more tolerant 21st century.