WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first five episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms, streaming now on HBO Max.
In a world of superpowers and magic like that of Young Justice, it would be understandably difficult for regular humans to keep up. But as the show proves time and again, with enough training, even those without superpowered talents can hold their own in any fight.
In fact, the best battle yet in the latest season features Will Harper kicking keister even when he shows up to a fight with weapons that are less than ideal. In the right hands, even a pen and a clipboard become deadly weapons.
The fight initiates while Tigress and her companions are escorting two defectors from the League of Shadows to safety. While Tigress, Arrowette, and Arsenal are fully decked out in their superhero gear, their companion, Will Harper, is not quite as prepared. Although he used to go into battle dressed as Red Arrow — and dons the mantle once more later in the episode — during the escort he is in his simple civilian identity as the head of Bowhunter Security. But just because he doesn’t have a robot arm or a katana does not mean he is useless in the fight that ensues when the League of Shadows ambushes their caravan with a horde of gun-toting ninjas.
Will seized his trusty clipboard from the seat next to him and hops into battle where the item immediately proves useful at blocking a tranquilizer dart fired from a sniper aiming for Will’s “brother,” the original Roy Harper, now known as Arsenal. Soon after, Will enters into a melee with the item, fighting off ninjas who prove just how evil they are when they unleash their most devastating attack, breaking Will’s favorite clipboard over their knee. Incensed, Will replaces the item with a simple pen that proves just as effective in combat.
Freed from the series’ earlier restrictions on violence when Young Justice was on Cartoon Network, Will actually stabs the pen into one ninja’s back and sends out a spurt of blood. Retrieving the pen once more to continue using it, he knocks the ninja out with a straight punch to the head you can almost feel the impact from. He holds his own perfectly well in the fight, proving every bit as capable as his allies despite facing opponents who are far better equipped. It makes for a riveting action sequence, but also speaks to one of the coolest features of the fights in Young Justice.
Skill is its own kind of superpower in the world of DC characters, but quite often it takes a backseat to the gadgets and weapons they often utilize. While Batman may be one of the best trained martial artists in the world, more often than not he utilizes his Batsuit and utility belt to give him the edge in any fight. Stripping characters down to use merely the mundane items around them helps showcase just how important their skills are to keeping them alive. With the first episode of Phantoms focusing so heavily on the League of Shadows, whose assassins are among the top tier of fighters in the world, Will’s contribution to the fight brings up an important consideration in comparing combatants as the arc progresses. Which ones are better trained, and which ones are just better equipped?
Fighting with a clipboard and pen makes for not only a quirky and unique aspect to the fight, but helps ground the action into real and understandable stakes. Coming off the heels of the four-episode arc in Mars where so much of the time was spent on an alien world where everyone has inhuman powers, the League of Shadows fight shifts gears to prove just how versatile Young Justice can be.
The episode hints at even greater fighters like Sensei, Lady Shiva and Orphan who have yet to fully showcase their abilities. As those abilities unfold on screen, viewers should keep in mind an important question in assessing their abilities: Their swordsmanship and fighting skills may be top-notch, but how would they do if they had to fight with a stapler?
To see Will Harper hold his own with the bare minimum, the first five episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms are streaming on HBO Max.
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