To make your mark on the future, it helps to take stock of where you’ve been. 2017 promises to be an exciting year for DC and its fans, but before we celebrate the new year, we thought we’d look back on 2016 and consider some of the places we’ve been. DC made some bold choices in the worlds of comics, film and TV, and many of them set our course for the months and years ahead. The past year was full of memorable moments, but some of these moments held real significance. Some of them really mattered. So as we do every year at this time, we thought we’d discuss a few of them. These are DCComics.com’s “Ten Moments that Mattered” for 2016.
 

Let’s be honest, fans are often the real super heroes.

When it debuted in 2010, Young Justice represented something of a departure for DC animation. While it maintained the fun and energy of prior animated shows like Teen Titans and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, it also possessed a level of substance that’s rarely seen in American-produced animation. It didn’t just introduce us to a new team of super heroes—it welcomed us to a new world of them that was full of familiar faces and names, but offered a continuity that was often vastly different than anything we’d seen before.

It was a show that demanded investment in its characters and storylines, and fans were more than willing to agree to just that, getting to know these original takes on characters like Nightwing, Aqualad, Blue Beetle, Superboy and Artemis for two critically acclaimed seasons.

And then the show was unexpectedly canceled, leaving storylines unresolved and thousands of fans frustrated.


Image from Season 1 of Young Justice

This isn’t exactly uncommon in the world of TV, and typically the fans get angry, vent online to their fellow fans, let the network know how upset they are on Twitter…and move on. But nothing that’s happened when it comes to Young Justice has been typical. The fans did everything mentioned above, but they didn’t let up. They got #SaveYoungJustice trending on Twitter. They organized email campaigns and Facebook groups. They were unwavering in letting DC, Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network know how important the show was to them and how much they wanted it back.

Well, it appears they’re going to get their wish. In early November, Warner Bros. Animation announced that it had begun production on a third season of Young Justice. Producers Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman will be returning, though who else may be involved remains to be seen. Also unknown at this time is when and where the third season will air, but for fans who have been asking for another season since 2013, waiting a little bit longer will likely be a small price to pay.

But as exciting as the prospect of new Young Justice may be, the bigger story here is the role the fans played in all of this. There would be no third season without them. It was the loud, unwavering and continual outreach made by fans around the world, along with their support of the series on Blu-ray, DVD and streaming that demonstrated the size and passion of Young Justice’s core audience and made all of this happen. While we expect the heroes of Young Justice will save the lives of many over the course of their new season, it was the fans and Young Justice’s devoted creative team who saved the life of their show.


Be sure to check DCComics.com again tomorrow for another moment that mattered in 2016.