DC Universe is prepared to launch on September 15, bringing comic book fans a rich library of titles from Warner Brothers’ vault including the Christopher Reeve ‘Superman’ movies, the 1970s ‘Wonder Woman’ TV show starring Lynda Carter and both the late ’80s-early ’90s ‘Batman’ movies and the Christopher Nolan trilogy (at least the first two, to start with). But perhaps the offering that has most fans excited is the brand new third season of animated series ‘Young Justice’. This modernized take on the ‘Teen Titans’ aired on Cartoon Network from 2010 until 2012, ending on multiple cliffhangers. But because the Mattel ‘Young Justice’ toy line didn’t sell well, the plug was pulled, leaving fans dangling… until now.
DC Universe will roll the third season, entitled ‘Young Justice: Outsiders’, on Friday, January 4, 2019. What a great way to kick off the New Year! Like the first episode of Season Two, ‘Invasion’, the series jumps ahead a few years. The new storyline revolves around metahuman trafficking, which is slightly similar to ‘Invasion”s plot. After the climax of Season Two, the core members of The Team, Nightwing, Aqualad, Artemis/Tigress, Superboy and Miss Martian were fractured. When the new season kicks off, Nightwing is flying solo… well, not entirely, as he has a certain familiar voice in his ear, helping him track down those exploiting young metas. The dialogue between him and his ally also introduces a new villain that will play into the whole ‘Outsiders’ storyline.
Check out this first clip from ‘Young Justice: Outsiders’
Yes, it appears that during the time gap, Batgirl has become Oracle. And Nightwing mentions “Bedlam,” a reference to the villain Baron Bedlam, a neo-Nazi that tormented The Outsiders in the comics. Nightwing’s clues lead him to the small European nation of Markovia. We’ve already seen that some of the action in the new episodes revolves around that nation and its Prince and Princess. In keeping with the comics, Prince Brion is transformed by Doctor Helga Jace into the seismic-powered Geo-Force. In the comics, Brion’s half-sister Tara becomes the traitorous Teen Titan, Terra. Tara appeared in a previously released preview, but it remains to be seen if she will walk the same dark path as her comic book source.
On ‘Young Justice’, Geo-Force will also be joined by his comic book allies Halo (reinterpreted as a dark-skinned Muslim), Katana and Metamorpho. In the comics, Black Lightning was also a member, but on ‘Young Justice’ he is a member of the Justice League. However, in previously released artwork, he was prominently featured, so it looks as though the show’s creators are emphasizing him, in honor of his comic role.
And then there is that massive cliffhanger. At the end of Season Two, Vandal Savage and his criminal cohorts travel to the dismal planet of Apokolips, revealing that they were in league with Darkseid and the evil New Gods. The younger, heroic New Gods, the Forever People popped up on ‘YJ’ in Season One. They will return with some of their older allies.
DC Universe is available to pre-order before it launches for $74.99/year or $7.99/month.
