WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for "Antisocial Pathologies," Episode 22 of Young Justice: Outsiders, streaming now on DC Universe.
Young Justice: Outsiders has provided fans with one of the most duplicitous seasons in the franchise's history, thanks to the Dark Knight deciding to break away and form his Batman Inc. shadow ops team early in the season to operate on their own after Lex Luthor and the United Nations began cracking down on the Justice League.
This led to Dick Grayson/Nightwing's covert-team working on its own as well, while Aquaman/Kaldur'ahm pretended to be at odds with the Batman as as he continued leading the League. Everyone was still in cahoots, though, simply faking this fallout so the others would have plausible deniability and the League would have squads to go behind enemy lines while still maintaining a pristine public image. However, thanks to Black Lightning, the truth has been exposed, giving the heroes their very first civil war.
When the League tends to Nightwing after he and Black Lightning escaped the X-Pit's mental conditioning, Pierce quickly pieces together the secrets his colleagues have withheld. Dick's been having headaches and the doctors request some private time as he recuperates, which leads to Bruce Wayne asking Kaldur and Miss Martian to have a private meeting. Jeff realizes something's amiss and when he starts thinking through how Nightwing was covering up certain missions and providing alibis, especially on their raid on Granny Goodness' home, he has an epiphany and decides to call everyone out.
Admittedly, Black Lightning putting everything together is a bit convenient, but it's done for dramatic effect and plot convenience. Plus, he's a smart, intuitive character, so it's not the biggest stretch. It's a turbulent chain of events, though, as he voices his concerns loudly in front of all the other team members, even figuring out Beast Boy's Outsiders were being used on fake ops just to create news to paint Lex in a bad light. Sure, some things he calls out are his suspicions but his allies have no poker face, and the other youngsters see through their lies. This immediately leads to full and complete admissions.
Beast Boy loses it on Miss Martian, whom he considers like a sister, while making it known Wonder Girl will likely break up with Tim Drake for lying like this. Batman keeps saying it's "all about the mission," further infuriating Jefferson, as it's not anywhere close to an apology. Black Lightning also lashes out at Aquaman for being insincere. The confrontation comes to a head when Oracle confronts Bruce in a one-on-one. She admits things have gotten out of hand with Wonder Woman off-planet, and everyone Bruce involved were proteges or yes-men. Basically, he didn't have anyone on board who'd oppose him, and she confesses they got it all wrong.
Things only get worse, as Dick recovers only for Jeff to chastise him for pulling him into an illegal mission that almost led to their deaths. Jeff quickly remembers the drone that saved them from Granny was Oracle's, and he no longer wants to be part of a team he can't trust. Despite outing so many folks, he still can't tell who his real allies are.
However, before Jeff can exit, Brion and Tara return from their meeting with Granny and Ultra-Humanite. They share insight into Helga Jace's betrayal, and the only thing keeping Black Lightning from officially quitting is that he'll have to protect these kids and partner with the League to get revenge on Helga for her part in metahuman trafficking As for what the League will be like after all this, that's anyone's guess but it's safe to say, nothing will ever be the same again.
New episodes of Young Justice: Outsiders premiere Tuesdays throughout the summer on DC Universe.