Why The Original Young Justice Team Has A New Look

Young Justice is back, but the original members of the team are sporting a new and different look for a good reason.

The new designs for original Young Justice team members like Nightwing, Superboy, and Artemis/Tigress show new and simplified, all-black costumes for Young Justice: Outsiders. Speaking to ComicBook.com, lead character designer Phillip Bourassa hinted at the reason for the new outfits.

“Well, we can’t talk too much getting about plot stuff,” Bourassa said, “but if you look at the art that we showed you’ll notice there’s no hero insignias. There’s no telltale signs of, ‘This is Nightwing. This is Black Lightning,’ that sort of thing. Following the tradition of the sort of covert ops aspect, the stealth missions that we’ve always had in the show, and looking at Dick Grayson’s arc and where we left him, where he’s like, ‘I don’t want to do this superhero thing,’ so then you can kind of see where that’s going.”

Could Nightwing’s team be the Outsiders? Fans will have to wait until Young Justice: Outsiders debuts in 2018 to find out.

Young Justice: Outsider was announced in November 2016 following a long fan-campaign to revive the animated series for a third season. According to Warner Bros. Animation, the new season of Young Justice, “promises new twists, turns and dangerous new threats for the team, but most importantly, the opportunity for fans to finally continue the adventures of some of their favorite Super Heroes.”

Young Justice was a critically-acclaimed and fan-favorite animated series featuring a large roster of characters from the DC Comics Universe. The series coupled attractive animation and character design with rich, textured, long-form storytelling. Young Justice was watched by 25 million unique viewers in each of its two seasons on Cartoon Network.

“The affection that fans have had for Young Justice, and their rallying cry for more episodes, has always resonated with us,” said Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series, in a statement when the new season was announced. “We are excited to bring the show back for this loyal fanbase and to provide an opportunity for new viewers to discover this excellent series.”

Producers Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood, Superman: Doomsday) and Greg Weisman (Star Wars Rebels, Gargoyles) will be returning to the series.

The returning voice cast includes Khari Payton as Kaldur’ahm (Aqualad), Jesse McCartney as Dick Grayson (Robin/Nightwing), Jason Spisak as Wally West (Kid Flash), Nolan North as Superboy, Danica McKellar as M’gann M’orzz/Megan Morse (Miss Martian), and Stephanie Lemelin as Artemis.

More Young Justice News: Where Is Aqualad In Outsiders? / That Wasn’t Aqualad In The Outsiders Art From Comic-Con / The Fate Of The Original Team Revealed / Outsiders Adds New Characters