After almost half a year, Young Justice: Outsiders is finally returning to DC Universe. The second half of the animated superhero show's third season is set to begin on July 2. But in case you've forgotten where things stand in the series, here are all the characters, plot lines and unanswered questions you need to know for Season 3.
Justice Forever
Young Justice centers around a team of young heroes in the DC Universe. Serving as the secret arm of the Justice League, the group is comprised of former sidekicks and legacy heroes. The original team featured Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Aqualad, Miss Martian and Artemis. The first season of the series focused on those six teens being introduced to the greater DC Universe and working to help uncover a villainous conspiracy called the Light, which was led by Vandal Savage. Even as following seasons have shaken up the status quo, these six have always remained at the forefront of the series.
Each season also includes a major time-skip, allowing new heroes to assume roles on the team. The second season featured a five-year time skip. Robin was now Nightwing, Superboy and Miss Martian were in a serious relationship and Aqualad had seemingly betrayed the team. The six young heroes -- along with the new members of the team who'd joined in those five years -- were able to stop the alliance between the Light and the alien armada known as the Reach. Although the world was saved from the Reach technology that threatened the planet, it came at the apparent cost of Kid Flash's life.
The Outsiders
Two years have passed by the events of Young Justice: Outsiders. Aqualad has assumed the title of Aquaman, and has officially joined the Justice League. Superboy and Miss Martian live a quiet life on a farm near Happy Harbor, the original base of the team. Nightwing and Artemis (now going by Tigress) still operate as superheroes and are tracking a meta-Human trafficking ring to the European nation of Markovia. There, they discover two new potential recruits. The first is the crown prince of Markov, Brion, who is revealed to have the meta-gene. He's capable of earth manipulation, allowing him to superheat the ground into lava. They also meet an amnesiac young woman Artemis calls Halo, who has a plethora of powers based on the light spectrum.
The team takes in both of them and gives them a home alongside Superboy and Miss Martian. Meanwhile, a native of New Genesis known as Forager is brought back to Earth after he is exiled from his clan. He's quickly accepted into their team. A fourth person soon ends up living at the house as well: Vic Stone, aka Cyborg. Transformed by his father's experiments with the alien device known as a Father Box, he's become half human/half robotic. Initially unable to control himself and the malevolent presence in the Father Box, he is eventually cured by Halo.
What's Happened So Far
The first half of Young Justice: Outsiders is divided into a number of subplots. One of the more significant ones focuses on the newest members of the team. Halo and Brion (who receives the superhero moniker Geo-Force) slowly fall in love while they train to use their powers. However, Brion is also committed to his search for his sister, Tara. She was taken away due to her meta-gene, and Brion spends most of the first half of the season trying to force the team to rescue her. Halo also uncovers the source of her powers: She's actually the soul of a Mother Box, inhabiting a human body. This explains the wide range of powers and hints at her massive potential.
Meanwhile, the Justice League is facing crises both internally and externally. The League is stretched thin, helping planets around the galaxy in their assorted wars. Many of the kidnapped teenagers from the meta-gene trafficking ring have been used as child soldiers in these battles across the cosmos. Consistently hindered at home by Lex Luthor (who has managed to become the UN General Secretary), Batman leads many members from both the League and the team to officially resign. This gives the group the ability to return to full vigilante status. They won't answer to the law, but will likewise have none of the protections that come with it.
What the heroes don't know is how far the Light are willing to go to complete their conquest. They've even begun working with Apokolips, leading to many agents of Darkseid making their presence known on Earth. Glorious Godfrey has been present for almost the entire series, appearing as a cable news personality who's critical of superheroes. The earlier half of the season also introduced Granny Goodness, who has been posing as a kindly children's entertainment CEO. Her Goode Glasses, low-price VR headsets, have been proven to be attempts to take over minds across the world. Beast Boy and his power's connection to the mystical plane kept him from being brainwashed by the goggles. The team is now aware of the conspiracy against the planet, and the League knows what kind of war they have on their hands.
What Needs To Happen Next
The final mission of the previously released episodes saw the League target all the meta-gene trafficking bases. In the process, the team managed to save Tara. Every single operation taken by the League is successful and the meta-gene teen trafficking ring is stopped. Nightwing even believes the new recruits might be ready to officially join the team. The rift between Batman's Outsiders and the Justice League is also revealed to be manufactured. In reality, the League and Batman's group are merely staging the in-fighting so as to appear weaker to their enemies.
However, threats still lie in wait for Earth. The full extent of Darkseid's plans with Vandal Savage are still unknown. Granny Goodness is not captured and G. Gordon Godfrey is still active, meaning the Gods of Apokolips are still very much moving against the planet. The Light is likewise still scheming against the heroes. They've even been revealed to be keenly aware of the secret identities of the heroes and, more notably, the identities of their families. Ocean Master even almost assassinated them all before Shiva kept him from setting off an outright war with the Justice League.
The final moments of the season reveal that the League of Shadows (led by Deathstroke and Lady Shiva) now have a spy within the heroes ranks: Tara. Referencing her most famous storyline, The Judas Contract, Tara seems to be a spy working for Deathstroke to infiltrate the team.
The first 13 episodes from Young Justice: Outsiders are available to stream on DC Universe. The series will return for the second half of Season 3 on Tuesday, July 2. New episodes will continue to premiere on Tuesdays throughout the summer.