WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first nine episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms, streaming now on HBO Max.
One of Young Justice: Phantoms' most shocking arcs has been Superboy's death on Mars amid racial unrest in the aliens' territory. More so, it's dovetailed into Beast Boy's trauma and Gar's depression over losing yet another friend. In this case, it's a mentor as Conner really looked out for him. However, as the latest episode, "Odnu!" reveals, Gar may have found a cure for his troubles via an unlikely shoulder to lean on.
This is none other than the youngsters' new den mother, Blue Devil, aka Dan Cassidy. Created in the '80s by Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and Paris Cullins, the character has been a magical hero in the comics, working with Constantine and the likes of Shadowpact, coming off as an intelligent strategist against dark mystical forces. He's been stable and truly helped keep monsters at bay, which is why even the various incarnations of the Justice League Dark teams hold so much respect for him.
In Young Justice, though, Blue Devil takes an interest in a more grounded case as he becomes concerned with Gar's antisocial behavior. In Outsiders, Beast Boy was distressed after seeing Geo-Force betray them and take the Markovian throne by force, murdering along the way, and now, with Conner's death, he's in even more of a downward spiral. Blue Devil ends up meeting him in an amicable session at the elevator, querying if the kid's alright as he quickly realizes Gar's stopped doing chores.
Along with Gar not going out for missions, not training and just sleeping in, the signs are all there, so Dan wants to investigate more as it seems time isn't healing these wounds. The other teens aren't mature enough to worry or spot what's really wrong with Gar's denial but Dan is, making it clear Beast Boy can confide in him as a senior.
He knows Gar's words and smiles are all faked, so it'll be intriguing to see their dynamic moving forward as Gar promises he'll speak to Dan if things get bad. It makes sense as Dan can relate to Gar, who got a blood transfusion and shape-shifting abilities from Miss Martian. Blue Devil's an outsider too as Dan had his Hollywood costume fused to him in a supernatural incident.
Thus, they can both connect to Hollywood as Gar's quite a celebrity as an actor, which gives Blue Devil an opening to fight a different kind of demon. Ultimately, it'll add a more human approach to the show and provide Blue Devil a nuanced role, especially as DC's cartoons usually just has him in cameos, with this narrative making Dan more of a father figure to a teen who desperately needs guidance on his mental health.
See how Blue Devil offers to help Beast Boy on Young Justice: Phantoms, with new episodes airing Thursdays on HBO Max.