1st appearance of the oft-returning "16" theme in the show. The Superboy clone was force-grown in 16 weeks.
The show's producers really wanted to start with the traditional sidekicks, which are, historically, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Robin, and Speedy. At the same time they wanted to shake things up, so they started out to create a new Aqualad, and Speedy sort of walks out pretty early on. But the intent of the teaser was to illustrate the difference between these four teens, so on the one hand we see them fighting four different ice villains, but also thematically it served to illustrate their battle techniques and the stylistic sensibilities when it came to fighting. The producers also wanted to show how these guys work with their mentors and contrast that later on to how they work together without the adults.
Project Kr is on the 52nd Floor. This could be a reference to DC New 52, the 2011 revamp and relaunch of DC Comics.
Phil La'Marr (Aquaman) and Khary Payton (Aqualad) both had major voice acting roles in the 2008 video game "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots."
This episode takes place on July 4.