Young Justice: The Meaning Of Artemis Reading A Tale Of Two Cities Explained
The Young Justice episode “Tale of Two Sisters” made several references to Charles’ Dickens’ classic historical novel A Tale of Two Cities.
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Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Young Justice season 4, episode 5, “Tale of Two Sisters.”
The Young Justice episode, “Tale of Two Sisters,” provided a fitting homage to Conner Kent, with Artemis Crock reading from A Tale of Two Cities at Superboy’s funeral. This was one of many references to the classic novel by Charles Dickens featured in the episode. It might also have been a clever bit of foreshadowing regarding Conner Kent’s destiny and Supeboy’s influence on the future.
Originally published in 31 illustrated installments, A Tale of Two Cities is remembered today as the most famous of Dickens’ historical novels. The novel depicted the French Revolution and how it changed the two titular cities, London and Paris. The novel’s opening and closing lines remain some of the most quoted works of English literature in existence today.
“Tale of Two Sisters” made reference to the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities when Artemis Crock (aka Tigress) drew a blank while teaching a literature class and was unable to complete the famous phrase, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This was meant to show how distraught she was in the wake of Superboy’s death in Young Justice season 4 and how overwhelmed she had become. The line was also an ironic echo, as the happy occasion of Superboy and Miss Martian getting married turned to tragedy after his heroic sacrifice.
Another nod to A Tale of Two Cities came in the closing credits of the Young Justice season 4 episode “Tale of Two Sisters,” which showed Superboy’s memorial. It was here that Artemis read from the final lines of A Tale of Two Cities, which related the thoughts of Sydney Carton before his execution by French revolutionaries. A cynical lawyer whose love for the heroine Lucie Manette went unrequited, Carton sacrificed himself by impersonating Manette’s husband and his physical double, Charles Darnay, and helping him to escape prison.
Carton’s closing speech was a fitting epitaph for the restless Conner Kent, who continually worried about proving himself worthy of respect and the Superman legacy. As the clone of Superman, Conner knew something of Carton’s turmoil in looking like another man who had everything that he wanted in life. While Conner was not as cynical as Carton, he was also not as idealistic as his older brother (as he and Superman came to view one another as brothers) and continually worried about living up to his example. In the end, Conner, like Carton, proved himself to be a hero, whose final moments lived up to the lines “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
The final lines of A Tale of Two Cities may also foretell the future of Young Justice and Conner Kent’s legacy. As Carton mused upon his life and death, he also had a vision of “a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss” and foresaw that he had created “a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence.” This could be a reference to the Legion of Superheroes, whose formation was inspired by different versions of Superboy in other realities. It might also be a hint that Superboy is not as dead as everyone believes him to be.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/young-justice-superboy-funeral-tale-two-cities-meaning-explained/