Justice is served - Young Justice, that is. Five years ago, after Nightwing, Kid Flash, and the rest of the gang saved Earth from a n alien invasion, the series ended its run on Cartoon Network, much to the dismay of its fans. Now the team is back to face new mysteries and threats, with more teen heroes, on the upcoming digital service DC Universe. Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman, the showâs tight-lipped creators, are keeping more of the details under wraps, but hereâs what we know.
Thereâs a big time jump⊠Because the series focuses on generations of super heroes inspired by those before them, Vietti used the passage of time to help with storytelling. âThe interplay, the mentor-mentee relationships and the growth of characters - these kinds of stories can only be played out over long periods,â he says. The flash-forward serves another purpose. âWe create mysteries,â says Vietti. âWhat happened in the years that we did not see?â
âŠso the original team is older now. âWhatâs cool and different about our show is that you see our characters aging,â Weisman notes. For instance, Dick Grayson (aka Nightwing) was 13 at the start of the series. âNow,â says Weisman, âHeâs entering his twenties.â
There will be 26 new episodes. âIt helps us with character development,â Vietti says of the expanded season, featuring six more episodes than the previous installment. â[We have time] to keep the forward motion in our larger stories but take breaks to do a side story that focuses more on characters. The relationships are important to the show.â
Great heroes will emerge. The creators wonât tell us who all the new faces are yet, but they did drop some names (which may be familiar to diehard DC fans):
Spoiler In Season 2, Batgirl, Robin, Bumblebee, Superboy, and others saved a young girl named Stephanie Brown from the Reach - a species of villainous alien invaders. Stephanieâs saviors have since inspired her to don a costume and become Spoiler. Though she doesnât have special powers, sheâs a skilled martial artist.
Thirteen âSheâs a fun character who has inherited some natural [mystic] ability,â notes Vietti. Thirteen is also training with magician Zatanna as her mentor.
Forager Based on legendary comics creator Jack Kirbyâs superstrong New Gods character, Forager is slightly unusual for Young Justice. âWe generally have a very serious tone; itâs about secrets, lies, and double-crosses. So itâs fun to be able to introduce a character with a certain charm,â says Phil Bourassa, the showâs lead character designer. Bourassa adds that Forager is âpretty cute, and we donât do cute a lot.â
This season is subtitled Outsiders for a reason. Though the name is a nod to DCâs history (see box at right), it also perfectly describes the new generation of butt-kickers. âWe wanted to explore this world we built over the first two seasons through the eyes of characters who arenât sidekicks and arenât born to be heroes,â Vietti says. âItâs about a different group of kids who were developing powers and didnât know what they wanted to do in life, and how they see the world. It gives our first- and second-season characters the opportunity to step into the lives of these outsiders and help guide them to a better future.â
The plot will focus on metahuman trafficking. Various types of bad guys, including aliens, evil corporations, and corrupt governments all over Earth, are harvesting metas (aka super heroes) âfor terrible purposes,â Vietti says. âThis is very much in the public eye, and itâs a scary world to grow up in, especially if you have the meta gene.â Itâs not just a problem at home, either. Weisman explains: âItâs going on throughout the rest of the galaxy, as alien races have learned that Earth is a source of weaponized individuals.â
The show is going back to its spy and mystery roots. âThat was heavily featured in Season 1,â Weisman says, âbut not Season 2, which was about an alien invasion. We always considered this a show about young people first, spies second, and superheroes third.â The return to the espionage theme gave Bourassa a chance to go dark, literally: âThe charactersâ costumes have a stealth look,â he explains. âThe team members are sacrificing their identities by being all in black uniforms. At [the beginning] theyâre trying to not be recognized as super heroes at all.â
Lex Luthor will return. Supermanâs arch enemy is now the UN Secretary. âAt the end of our second season, he was able to help, in his way, all our heroes with the Reach invasion,â Vietti says. âHe did this in a very public way to put himself in a politically advantageous position.â
There may be more Justice in the world. âWe have a bunch more storeis we want to tell,â Weisman says, âso we hope we get a fourth season.â
Since the revival was announced in 2016, fans have been wondering about that Outsiders subtitle. Turns out it has a dual meaning: not only are the characters outsiders in the super hero game, but some storylines got their inspiration from previous DC comic books. While Young Justiceâs new season doesnât completely echo the classic Batman team from the â60s, âthere are definitely elements we are adapting from the Mike Barr and Jim Aparo Outsiders comic,â Weisman says. âWe borrow from throughout DCâs 80-year history. Itâs a little New Teen Titans, a little Outsiders, and all sorts of other stuff. Weâre very eclectic.â
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The team will continue to operate out of the Watchtower alongside the older and more established heroes of the Justice League. Weisman says weâll see an expanded League this season but adds, âTheyâre stretched very thin. That forces the young heroes to take up the slack.â
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