Episode 4: Drop Zone
Takes place on July 19 - 23
When Kobra and his followers take over the drug-making operations of Bane on the island of Santa Prisca, Batman sends the team in their first covert mission to investigate.
They discover that Kobra is turning the Venom drug into a Super-Strength-granting serum (using the Blockbuster formula from episode 2) for a special client - The Sportsmaster. However, the kids accidentally reveal their presence and decide to deal with the situation by themselves. This leads to a conflict over leadership that has Robin pass it over to Aqualad. The kids have to join forces with Bane, who betrays them in the end (but they deal with him). Kobra escapes when faced by the whole team. The Venom factory is destroyed, and Sportsmaster escapes with a sample for his masters, The Light, who decide that the teen heroes are interfering too much.
Notes:
- Kobra was a villain with his own series, created by Jack Kirby in the 1970s, and his group is not based on the G.I. Joe characters (though it still might be a tribute when they chant his name.)
Tropes:
- Arson Murder And Life Saving: The Team is chewed out by Batman for numerous mistakes that complicated an otherwise simple recon mission... and then commended for their adaptation to get the job done.
- Call-Back: The events of the previous episode are why M'gann doesn't pursue leadership of the team.
- Deadpan Snarker: Bane.
- Enemy Mine: Bane seeks a temporary alliance with the team in order to reclaim his factory. When he is completely assured that the young heroes can't handle Kobra, he turns on them, deciding to kill them and use their deaths to bring the Justice League in to finish off his nemesis.
- Evil vs. Evil: Bane against Kobra.
- Luminescent Blush: M'gann blushes and hides behind her hair after Superboy compliments her for doing okay in the "Mr. Twister fiasco".
- Oh, Crap!: Once the incident at Santa Prisca is resolved, Robin realizes that since he wasn't the one chosen to be team leader, he is relieved that he doesn't have to report that the team went beyond mission parameters to Batman. This, of course, leaves Aqualad feeling a little unnerved about that impending encounter.
- Pinned to the Ground: During the Team's fight against his cult, Kobra throws Robin onto the ground and pins him down with his foot on his chest slowly crushing it.
- Running Gag: Perhaps the major obstacle for the team in this episode is deciding which one of them should be the leader.
- Underestimating Badassery: The Light decides that the young heroes are becoming too much of a nuisance to ignore anymore, and the group plans to do something about it next time they meet.
- Wham Shot: Bane, renowned in the comics universe for being one of Batman's strongest opponents, is quickly taken down in combat in the Cold Open.
- Would Hurt a Child: Bane, Kobra, Shimmer, Sportsmaster.
