WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms, streaming now on HBO Max.
In Young Justice: Phantoms, while the spotlight on Mars has been taken up by Superboy and Miss Martian’s wedding, there’s also been a key arc developing with one major hero. This is none other than the Bio-Ship used in many fights back on Earth. Ironically, it’s bittersweet because while Bio-Ship officially opts out of the field, the perfect replacement has already been tried and tested.
Miss Martian confirms Bio-Ship is pregnant in “Volatile,” as speculated in the last episode. It went off and split into an offspring known as “Baby,” with Miss Martian taking the senior ship and Conner and Beast Boy’s team to go make their wedding crystals.
As they head off, Miss Martian locks in telepathically and realizes Bio-Ship won’t be going back to Earth — it wants to retire immediately and spend its last days on Mars, its true home. It hits hard because while the ship was bonded to her uncle, J’onn, she secretly bonded to it before, which is why it kept her secret as she stowed away to Earth. In that sense, it’s been her best friend throughout the years, especially as she didn’t have great relationships with her siblings.
Rest assured, the Earth team will be in great hands. Baby does have the memories of its parent, so the guys do feel comfortable manning the newbie; although, they didn’t know just yet it’d be a permanent change to come. Luckily, Baby helps them speed to the surface to rescue Conner when Beast Boy’s trauma causes him to lose control and nearly kill them. It ends with Beast Boy thankful for Baby’s presence, but wondering how Forager will fare back home as he bonded to its predecessor deeply.
Superboy’s got no issue too when the switch is revealed, because while Baby’s kinks still need to be ironed out, Baby has proven it can get the job done. Even the other Martians drop their stamp of approval on it.
It’s definitely sad, but honestly, Bio-Ship deserves to head off into the sunset as it communicated with other ships when it turned into an egg/pod previously, clearly indicating it wanted to be with its kind. On Earth, it felt more like a tool, but this swan song provides nuance and personality.
Not to mention, it adds drama, mystique and intrigue to come as Baby will have to integrate and train with the roster. This could make battle complicated, as it acclimatizes on a new world but this arc is teeming with potential because Baby feels like a ship that can help win many wars to come.
To see Bio-Ship’s offspring take the baton, the first three episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms are streaming on HBO Max.
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