#because let's be honest Spoiler makes more sense for Barbara than Steph

[horsechestnut]

Reverse Robins Tim changing his name from Oracle to Spoiler after Stephanie's death.

[sebeth]

Young Justice: The Return (Animation)

In an earlier post, I wrote my thoughts on the upcoming return of the Young Justice comic book. Now it’s time for the cartoon series.

I’ve tried to avoid most interviews but I have seen the promo images and watched the two trailers repeatedly.  I like to go in as spoiler-free as possible when watching/reading media but I only have so much self-control.

Let’s start with the main plot –

There will be a time jump between season 2 and 3 – we’re just not sure of the exact length.  

The formation of the Outsiders, along with the rescue of Terra, will be the main arc of season three.

Dick reunites with Conner and Artemis in the beginning of the season for “one last mission”.  Black Lightning accompanies the trio to Markovia to shut down the metahuman trafficking ring.  Why?  Besides the fact that human trafficking is bad.  Black Lightning has no previous connection to Young Justice but he has long-standing connections to Batman.

Has Batman already formed the Outsiders minus Geo-Force and Halo?  We briefly see Batman, Katana, and Metamorpho jump from a plane and later brawl with Deathstroke.  Batman formed the group in the comics - it would make sense for him to be behind the group’s organization in the cartoons.  A covert group for more adult missions he wouldn’t want the Young Justice children to participate in.

I’m guessing the Markovia mission reveals the metahuman trafficking ring is way more extensive than previously thought – leading Dick to reunite with - and resume leadership – of Young Justice.

The Light and the Reach experimenting with metahuman activation began in season two.  Per Wonder Woman, the Justice League “have confirmation that on multiple worlds, earth’s metahumans are being deployed by the enemy as weapons of mass destruction.”

Wonder Woman’s comment suggests the abducted metahumans are being subjected to brainwashing along with experimentation.  I highly doubt the newly activated metahumans would rampage across the universe without mind control directing their actions.

The “multiple worlds” comment ties together Bart’s “we have a mission in space” with the glimpses of the New Gods, Superboy’s brawl with Lobo, and Dick and Conner fighting Sensei/Silver Monkey on a foreign world.

New Genesis might be one of the world’s affected by the “metahumans of mass destruction”, Lobo could have been hired by the Light, and Sensei/Silver Monkey is guarding one of Ra’s Al Ghul’s headquarters.

On to the characters:

First up, the Outsiders –

Geo-Force, Katana, Halo, Metamorpho, Black Lightning

Terra

The Markov Royal Family

As I said above, I’m fairly confident Batman has already formed the Outsiders before the beginning of the season.  Possibly as a true “covert” group – as in without the Justice League’s knowledge or permission.

Young Justice was told they were a “covert” group by the Justice League but mostly it was a “training wheels” type group – smaller missions while being trained by the more experienced heroes.  They did covert missions but were still in the press and public’s eyes.

The Outsiders will be the true covert group – sticking to the shadows, away from the press, down and dirty missions, etc.

As for the individual Outsiders:

Geo-Force - Brion is an adorable big brother.  Noble, protective, eager to find his sister and stop the bad guys.  Visually his powers should be awesome – they are similar to Terra’s.

Terra – Not a member of the Outsiders but I wanted to include her with Brion.  The big question: will Terra be a villain?  I’m guessing “yes”.  Comic cannon dooms her to this fate.  I do believe it will be the result of the Light’s brainwashing instead of the general “evil” nature.  Possibly making her a tragic villain.  Will Deathstroke be involved with Terra’s brainwashing?  Comic cannon says “yes”.  Could Batman, Metamorpho, and Katana storm the island looking for Terra?  Is that why the Outsiders end up fighting Deathstroke?

Black Lightning – Jeff appears serious and mature.  Love his visual design.  Can’t wait to see him in costume.

Metamorpho – We only have a visual impression.  Very nice. I wonder if we’ll see Sapphire or Simon Stagg?  Rex will be the one who gives Deathstroke the most trouble in the upcoming fight.

Katana – Not much to go on yet except visually.  Katana’s design reminds me of a more adult version of her DC Girls attire.  Excited to see her in action.

Halo – Will be entirely different from the comics.  She is a person of color and possibly Muslim?  Let’s skip all the drama and hatred over the race change.  Please?!  She’s seems to be a new character.  I highly doubt her name is going to be “Violet Harper”.  For those unfamiliar with Halo, she wasn’t a great character.  Apologies to Halo fans.  Violet was a sociopath who was murdered by the 100, a criminal organization.  Aurakle, an alien entity, merged with Violet’s deceased body.  The “resurrection” caused amnesia.  It gets more complicated from there.  Let’s agree to start fresh and give the new Halo a chance.  Halo’s powers are light-based – different colors have different effects.  Halo’s colors were the same ones used by every color Lantern corps.  However, Halo predated the emotional spectrum Lantern corps by twenty years.  I’m betting Halo receives her powers in the cartoon due to the Light’s genetic manipulation. The one thing I would like to see carry over from the comic books is the maternal/big sister role Katana has in Halo’s life.

On to the Young Justice newbies:

Spoiler – I’m excited – I love Stephanie.  She had a brief cameo in Season Two.  How and why did she join the team? Is she involved with Tim?  Will this cause friction with Cassie?  I hope not as I would love to see Steph and Cassie bond. Cassie is very exuberant in the cartoon and Steph has the same approach to life – I would love to see the two become close friends.

Arrowette – A surprise choice since we already have Artemis, Roy, and clone Roy in the series.  Glad to see her as she was a prominent member/supporting character in the comic book series.  Will she develop a close friendship with Cassie and Bart?  Those were her two besties in the comics.

Thirteen/Traci 13 – Another surprise choice. Traci can easily step into the void Zatana left when she joined the Justice League.  Will Traci have a romance with Blue Beetle?  They were a cute couple in the pre-New 52 era.

Oracle – Not a true new character but Barbara has clearly been through some changes since season two. Will we see a Killing Joke flashback? Or did Babs become Oracle in a different way?

Static – Like Oracle, Static is a returning character but with an upgrade.  The writers seem to love electricity this season – we have Static, Black Lighting, and Live Wire also makes an appearance in the trailer.

Notable absences:

Miss Martian – I won’t miss M’gann if she’s absent this season.  She started out cute in season one, became creepy with the Conner-molding, and became worse in season two with the unrepentant mind-frying and toying with Lagoon Boy.  So no thank you unless Miss Martian has learned from her mistakes and expresses honest regret over her actions. Feeling bad for mind-frying Kaldur does not count as honest regret.  M’ganns the easiest case for a “hero goes bad” if the show writers wanted to go that route.

Aqualad, Lagoon Boy, Aquaman, etc – Atlantis has had zero representation in either trailer.  Did something happen to Atlantis during the time jump?  Will that be one of the mysteries during the season?

Miscellaneous thoughts on the upcoming season:

We are all but guaranteed a fourth and fifth season of Young Justice.  We know it’s going to be one of the heavyweights of the DC Universe streaming service so I don’t want various plotlines rushed.

Season Three will have 26 episodes.  The majority will focus on the Outsiders and the metahuman trafficking ring alongside a “mission in space”.    That leaves room for some “done in one” episodes or time for the development of various subplots.

The two big questions on fan’s minds: Will we see the return of Wally West or the debut of the Red Hood?

I would bet Wally’s return will be near the end of the season.  The writers will want a “wow” ending for the season finale and that would be it.

As for Red Hood…I feel it’s a strong possibility.  I don’t think the writers would have had Jason’s memorial hologram if they didn’t have any intention of using the Red Hood.

The writers could have Red Hood’s debut be similar to Jason’s appearance in the Teen Titans comics:  Jason attacks Tim, and leaves the “Jason Todd/Red Hood Was Here” message on the walls.  I’m not sure if the writers want to redo the entire “Under The Red Hood” storyline.  At this point, it’s been done in the comic books, an animated movie, and a video game – most fans are familiar with the details by this point.  Jason’s attack on Tim would allow Dick to fill in the rest of the team on the details of Jason’s resurrection.  Dick has been keeping his distance from the team as indicated by his “one last mission” line.  Dick’s distance would easily explain why the rest of the team is unaware of Jason’s return. Tim wouldn’t explain “Gotham business” to his teammates – he’s much more introverted and was way more intent on respecting Batman-imposed boundaries than Dick.

A developing friendship between Arsenal-Roy and Jason is a must.  Not only because of the “Outlaws” comic book but because it’s a natural development between two traumatized boys prone to lashing out.

What I Don’t Want:

A Conner-M’gann relationship – The pairing started cute but is now toxic.  Creepy molding combined with mind manipulation = abuse.

No Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Starfire, Cyborg, or Raven.  At least not this season.  We have multiple new characters debuting this season, new characters who didn’t receive much focus last season, and a possibly debuting Red Hood. The seating capacity is full – no new debuts until season four.

I’ve rambled enough for now – so excited for January!