In Season 3, chief architects Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman will be shaping Young Justice: Outsiders as the next chapter in the story of our favorite teen heroes as they take on their greatest challenge yet: fighting off meta-human trafficking. They dabbled in this last season with the likes of Static Shock and other runaways as Lex Luthor and The Light appeared to be harnessing metas for a secret army.
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Outsiders, however, expands this trafficking arc with the, "terrifying threat it creates for a society caught in the crossfire of a genetic arms race spanning the globe and the galaxy," which points to the new partnership between Vandal Savage and Darkseid. It caught fans off-guard as the hunger of The Light and The Reach to control Earth never even hinted towards an alliance of this magnitude. A lot of other threads have to be picked up as well, such as how the team will cope with death of Wally West, how The Light will chart forward without Vandal Savage, and also, Luthor's future plans. With so much ground to cover, CBR decided to look at some faces we need to see, and others we don't, when Season 3 rolls around.
SPOILER WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for the Young Justice cartoon
15 NEED: TEMPEST
Garth was caught in a love triangle with Aqualad (when he was Kaldur'ahm of Atlantis) and Tula (Aquagirl). As Aqualad went off to the surface to train for the Justice League, Garth and Tula embarked on a relationship, with his eventual blessing. However, it turned tragic when she died on a mission in between seasons 1 and 2, which was captured in the Young Justice: Legacy video game.
Her death hit the duo hard, with it also being exploited by Aqualad to trick his way into the heart of The Light as Black Manta's son. It's time to shift the lens, garnering insight into Garth's mindset, and how he wants to continue his quest for justice. This provides him the chance to evolve and step up into the Young Justice ranks as a senior, now moving forward under his Tempest moniker.
14 DON'T NEED: SUPERGIRL
With Kon-El (Conner Kent) finally coming into his own, and seen more on a senior level as opposed to his younger days as Superboy, it wouldn't make sense to add another Kryptonian to the mix. Well, not right now at least. We're still waiting to see more of his dynamic fleshed out with Kal-El so until that's done, let's keep the House of El dramatics to a bare minimum.
Kara Zor-El would be a great power player to add to the roster, but we've already got so many, including Superman and the Justice League. Plus, she's already been given her fair due in the WB's cartoons and animated movies, not to mention the success that her Supergirl television show is garnering as part of the CW superhero lineup. Let's not take it into overkill with the character now.
13 NEED: GRAIL
It looks like Darkseid and Vandal Savage are amassing an army to go with the threat of Apokolips and the Death Star-esque planet destroyer known as Warworld. However, what if our superhero resistance gets aid from an unlikely source, one that's tied directly to Darkseid? We're talking about his daughter, Grail!
As a half-Amazonian, she would also add a pretty interesting dynamic to the likes of Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl and Donna Troy if the showrunners wanted to go in that direction. Fans were introduced to Grail in the Darkseid War comic event, as she tried to manipulate the Justice League and Anti-Monitor in order to gain control of her father. She's as ruthless as they come and is the perfect wildcard to toss into the mix, and could well prove to be Darkseid's main nemesis.
12 DON'T NEED: CASSANDRA CAIN
We've gotten our fill of Batman's sidekicks in this series. Dick graduated to a senior position as Nightwing and Tim is carving a path out as Robin, whose detective skills will surely be needed in the metahuman trafficking schemes to come. Damian's been plastered with the Titans on the DC animated feature front, so we're hoping that the writers don't think we need another trainee for Outsiders.
Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) are also present in this universe so let's not up the ante with Cassandra Cain. Her version of Batgirl fits this dark, gritty setting of Young Justice, but it would certainly saturate us with the Bat-family. If Barbara wasn't there, we would have loved this former assassin to take her place, but right now, Bruce's young charges are represented well in terms of numbers.
11 NEED: DOCTOR FATE (KHALID NASSOUR)
Giovanni Zatara (Zatanna's father) is currently wearing the mystical Helmet of Nabu, and established as the new Doctor Fate with the Justice League. After former hosts such as Wally West, Aqualad and Zatanna, it would be a breath of fresh air if another mystical trip conjures a new host, one modern comics readers are familiar with.
Khalid Nassour, an Egyptian-American medical student, is the most ideal candidate as his inclusion also expands the diversity of the show. He's the grandnephew of Kent Nelson, one of the earliest hosts for the Fate entity, so that alone would explain the legacy angle of him being linked to the mantle as a potential host. This also allows a younger warrior to take over, fumbling around while learning how magic really works.
10 DON'T NEED: ANIMAL MAN
Young Justice threw us for a loop with the wildcard inclusion of Adam Strange for the off-planet trial of the Justice League last season. Clearly, the writers are all for new faces, but one that wouldn't fit the current narrative is Animal Man. We all love how Buddy Baker draws his powers from animals, and is just a class-act and family man outside of being a superhero, but truth be told, we're already covered with Beast Boy.
Adding Animal Man would feel so repetitive in terms of his power-set, and it wouldn't do the character justice as he has a story that should be given ample time to be fleshed out. Buddy would just end up being peripheral here and we don't want that for him because when he's done, the character should be done right.
9 NEED: THE ATOM (RYAN CHOI)
Ray Palmer helped the League immensely against the threat of The Reach. Batman has always vouched for him and his shrinking ability as The Atom because he knows that Palmer is a bonafide genius. However, a lot more stealth and infiltration will be needed against Darkseid and Vandal Savage, so we want to see Ryan Choi join him as his sidekick.
This also continues the legacy schtick on the series and allows the passing of the baton, in case Palmer expires or retires. Choi has already appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Justice League: Gods and Monsters, so fans are already exposed to him. He would also fit into the young roster aspiring to make the Justice League's senior ranks someday, and add diversity to top things off!
8 DON'T NEED: SCANDAL SAVAGE
Vandal Savage has proven to be quite a fitting villain in this series but he already has his hands full with this Darkseid partnership. We don't need to see his assassin daughter, Scandal, coming to the fore to mix things up. That's another unnecessary family dynamic that would probably bore us as she doesn't have that big a power-set to bring to the table.
Her powers include durability and immortality, but unless the show plans on introducing the Secret Six covert-ops team, she would just end up being a filler character. This was the case with the Sportsmaster relationship with Chesire and Artemis, and it's one that would feel regurgitated here. When lesser known characters are brought to life, they should be given enough room to develop and that wouldn't be the case with Scandal.
7 NEED: GREEN LANTERN (JESSICA CRUZ)
This series needs a Green Lantern on the roster, especially on the front-lines with the juniors, and Jessica Cruz would tick a lot of boxes. She too adds diversity to the show as a Hispanic minority, she's a badass female and also, her story is really interesting! Plus, we'd get a fresh face in terms of a Green Lantern, which would surely please readers of the modern comics.
Cruz was powered up by the mysterious Power Ring entity, and she factored in big time in the Darkseid War. This could tie in with the alliance between the ruler of Apokolips and Vandal Savage, but also, it expands the Corps and allows one of their own to cut their teeth on Earth. This separates us from the usual male members we see all the time protecting Sector 2814.
6 DON'T NEED: VIXEN
Vixen has made waves recently on the CW television shows and she also got an animated stint on the CW Seed. The character has proven to be a hit since her Justice League Unlimited days, where she also romanced the Green Lantern, John Stewart. This time around, rather than have her come in as a potential mentor similar to Black Canary, she should be left out as that could also be overkill.
Vixen's animal-based powers also eliminate her for the same reasons as Animal Man. We're already getting our animal fill through Beast Boy, thus there isn't anything she can reallybring to the table. Having characters with repetitive traits is a quick way of seeing them lose steam on-screen, so it's better to be proactive about it in the first place.
5 NEED: ORION
When it comes to Darkseid, you know his son, Orion, won't be too far behind. Orion was swapped with High Father as part of a truce with New Genesis, in which High Father sent his son, Mister Miracle (a.k.a. Scot Free) over to Darkseid in exchange. Despite this, Apokolips continued in its despotic orbit, with Orion eventually rising up to constantly battle the threat his father poses.
We're eager to see this soldier continue his assault, which could also pave the way for other New Gods such as Miracle and his wife, Big Barda, who both grew up as warriors in Apokolips' fiery pits. What makes Orion the more outstanding figure is his battle-hardened and rugged attitude about things. He's a general that takes orders from no one, not even the Justice League, which could add spice to a potential alliance with Earth.
4 DON'T NEED: MAX LORD
Max Lord recently popped up on the Supergirl series, following up on appearances in Justice League Unlimited and Smallville. However, we've yet to really see his mental abilities fully unleashed on the animated front and the overall tyranny that saw him build Checkmate as a threat in the comics, which eventually pushed him into brutal murder of Ted Kord (Blue Beetle). Fans would be intrigued to see him given the air time like Lex Luthor usually garners.
That said, with The Light in disarray, let's hope the writers don't shoehorn him in because there are so many players on the board already. Apart from Luthor, Ra's al Ghul is involved, and we have to account for the other members of The Light who may be a tad bitter. When Max arrives, it should be in an arc dedicated to him alone, maybe even with the Brother Eye fiasco from the books.
3 NEED: BRAINIAC
With such a galactic conquest underway, it's unlikely that Brainiac will let it slide gently; not unless he gets a piece of the pie. If Warworld is in play and Apokolips is gearing for big moves, this could mean a cosmic stranglehold that Brainiac may well want in on. To top it off, he'll get a crack at Superman and Kon-El to add to his desire to own everything Kryptonian.
What would make him such a great entry is that he would help facilitate a clash of egos and surely, an eventual power struggle with Darkseid and Vandal Savage. Combined, they do pose a massive threat, but it's unlikely that peace will be kept because that's what makes them criminal. They're selfish and often plot to use each other until the convenience runs out.
2 DON'T NEED: DOOMSDAY
Given the uneasy alliance that Darkseid and Vandal Savage will undoubtedly have, we believe they'll both have aces up their sleeves, as insurance cards and contingency in case of betrayal. Let's hope that neither of them has that card called Doomsday hidden because it would feel like such a cop out. He's already gotten a lot of mileage on the DC animated front and it's such a no-brainer to yank him out when you want someone who could destroy Superman's team.
Not to mention, we got Doomsday in Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman, so it makes sense to steer clear of him. They've explored other powerhouses, such as Mongol and Lobo previously, which means that other threats can be used. The Anti-Monitor, Atrocitus' Red Lanterns and Sinestro's Yellow Corps come to mind, reiterating that the universe is much bigger than Superman's deadliest foes.
1 NEED: ZOOM
Fans were heartbroken when Wally West perished at the end of last season while helping break the hold of The Reach on Earth. It left Artemis without her significant other and also, the entire Flash family -- from Barry Allen to Jay Garrick -- in a state of disbelief. Bart Allen took over his mantle afterwards in order to honor the Kid Flash legacy.
However, wouldn't it be quite a twist if Wally was trapped somewhere in the Speed Force? When exploring this dynamic, though, one name needs to be mentioned and that's Professor Zoom. He can also pose a threat to all Leaguers and Young Justice members, which makes him the perfect villain. If the writers explore this route, it's best to follow the lead from the comics, similar to the Flashpoint depiction of the character, as opposed to the one from The Flash television series.
Let us know in the comments which DC characters you need... and don't need to see in Young Justice: Outsiders!