Five Young Justice Plot Threads Season 3 Needs To Resolve

In November, DC Animation and Warner Bros. made many fans’ dream come true when they announced that Young Justice would be returning for a third season.

Part of the relief and satisfaction that comes from hearing about Young Justice‘s renewal is that, beyond simply meaning that fans will get more episodes of a great animated television series, but that certain plot threads that didn’t come to a completely satisfying conclusion within the show’s first two seasons may finally be resolved.

With that in mind, ComicBook.com has looked back at Young Justice and chosen five particular subplots that we are eager to see explore further in Young Justice Season 3. Keep reading to see what they are and let us know how you think they should be moved forward in the comments.

In Young Justice, the teenage Super Heroes of the DC Universe come of age in a world of super powers, Super-Villains, and super secrets. Used strategically as the secret covert weapon of the Justice League, Nightwing, Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and a host of others strive to prove to their legendary mentors, as well as to themselves, that they have what it takes to be heroes.

Young Justice Season 3 is now in production. DC Animation has not yet revealed a release date or what network the series will air on.

NEXT: Young Justice Season 3 Officially Announced / Which Network Will Young Justice Season 3 Air On? / Twitter Reacts To Young Justice Season 3 / Young Justice Season 3: Who Will The Villain Be? / What Fans Want To See In Young Justice Season 3 / Young Justice Showrunners Thank Fans For Young Justice Season 3 / Listen To The Young Justice Soundtrack

The Light and Darkseid

The most obvious plot that needs to be returned to in Young Justice Season 3 is that of the Light’s relationship with Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips.

Apokolips’ presence was felt throughout Young Justice‘s initial run. Apokolips supplied arms to multiple factions on planet Earth, granting the Light the technology to travel via Boom Tube. Desaad also supplied arms to the international crime organization called Intergang.

While the Light seemingly found a pair of new partners in Young Justice: Invasion, Apokolips wasn’t completely out of the picture. G. Gordon Godfrey was on Earth sowing seeds of mistrust towards the Justice League among the populace via his position as a news pundit. Godfrey was confirmed as an agent of Darkseid when he appeared on Apokolips in the Invasion finale, “Endgame.”

That scene in “Endgame” is where the real kicker was. Having been defeated on Earth, Vandal Savage, one of the Light, took the Warworld and traveled to Apokolips, where he met with Darkseid as an old business partner.

What fans still don’t know is what the exact nature of the Light’s relationship with Darkseid is, or what their final plans for Earth are, though they likely involvement mass subjugation. 

Doctor Fate

Doctor Fate is the persona created when Nabu, one of the Lords of Order, possesses a human host. While Doctor Fate is a former member of the Justice Society of America and a current member of the Justice League, he’s been the cause of a lot of heartbreak for certain members of the Team.

In Doctor Fate’s first appearance in Young Justice, Kid Flash donned the Helmet of Fate and became Nabu’s host in order to defeat Klarion the Witch Boy, one of the Lords of Chaos. Kent Nelson, Doctor Fate’s host from his Justice Society Days who died during the conflict, managed to convince Nabu that Wally West wasn’t a great long-term host and so Kid Flash was allowed to remove the helmet.

When the Team took on the Injustice League, Aqualad donned the Helmet of Fate in order to defeat Wotan, but Nelson was again able to convince Nabu to release his host.

Things changed when Klarion returned again. Klarion used magic to separate adults and children onto two separate Earth dimensions. Zatanna needed the power of Doctor Fate to help merge the two worlds back together. However, once Klarion’s spell was undone, Nabu insisted that he needed a permanent host protect Earth from Klarion’s constant ploys. Zatanna’s father, Zatara, was unwilling to sacrifice his daughter and so offered himself up as Doctor Fate’s new host.

Zatara was still serving as Doctor Fate’s host when Young Justice was canceled, despite an attempt by Zatanna to free her father. this has caused a lot of angst for Zatanna, who has essentially lost her father. 

One possible resolution for this conflict would be to introduce Khalid Nassour to Young Justice Season 3. Nassour is the star of the just concluded Doctor Fate series that launched as part of DC Comics’ DC You initiative. While older than a teenager – Nassour is a medical student – he would be a new addition to the superhero community. Becoming Doctor Fate would mean freedom for Zatara, and possibly an exciting new member of the Team.

Arsenal

Arsenal is the current codename of Roy Harper, the original Speedy who was captured by the Light prior to the events of Young Justice Season 1 and kept cryogenically frozen for eight years. His right arm was removed and used as genetic cloning material to create the new Speedy who go on to become Red Arrow.

When Red Arrow discovered he wasn’t the real Speedy he became obsessed with finding out what happened the real Roy. With the help of Cheshire, Red Arrow finally accomplished his mission and freed Speedy.

Proving that the clone apple didn’t fall too far from the genetic tree, the original Roy went rogue and tried to kill Lex Luthor, who was responsible for his the kidnapping and cloning. Instead, Luthor made Roy a deal and offered a cybernetic arm in exchange for his life.

Taking the new codename Arsenal, Roy joined forces with the Justice League and the team in order to stop “Endgame,” but chose to pursue a solo career after that.

Young Justice Season 3 will hopefully dive into what happened to Arsenal after the events of “Endgame.” One interesting possibility is that Young Justice Season 3 could team Arsenal up with the Red Hood, a.ka. Jason Todd.

Jason Todd became Robin during the five-year gap between Young Justice Season 1 and Young Justice: Invasion, after Dick Grayson took on the Nightwing persona, but also died in that role during that same period, opening it up for Tim Drake in Invasion.

The exact circumstances of Todd’s time as Robin the Young Justice universe haven’t been explored. Resurrected Todd as the hardline vigilante the Red Hood, as DC Comics did, could lead to revelations in that area, and introduce a version of Red Hood’s Outlaw squad, of which the Arsenal of the DC Comics Universe was a founding member. Operating independently of the Justice League’s supervision, the Outlaws could make an interesting foil for the Team.

Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor has been a recurring antagonist throughout Young Justice Season 1 and Young Justice: Invasion.

In addition to heading up LexCorp, Luthor had a hand in Cadmus and is a secret member of the Light.

In one of the most dramatic moments of the series, Luthor reveals that the Superman DNA that Cadmus used to clone Superboy was damaged and incomplete. In order to fill out Superboy’s DNA, Lex used his own DNA, meaning that Superboy is a partial clone of both Superman and Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor rubs this fact in for Superboy by positioning himself as Superboy’s father.

Luthor was also responsible for the abduction of Roy Harper and cloning of Red Arrow, which culminated with Red Arrow’s betrayal and Luthor offering Roy a cybernetic arm to become Arsenal.

But Luthor isn’t done yet. Like fellow Light member Vandal Savage, Luthor has maintained a relationship with Darkseid and Apokolips. Following the defeat of the Reach, G. Gordon Godfrey, a political pundit and an agent of Apokolips, reported on the resignation of the United Nations Secretary-General. He then suggested that Lex Luthor should take up the position.

Positioning Luthor in a seat of international power is similar to the President Lex Luthor storyline that ran through DC Comics in the early 2000s but on a more global scale. Luthor and the Light are clearly playing the long game here, and Young Justice Season 3 should reveal more about what that game is really about.

Kid Flash

Wally West was the original Kid Flash, sidekick to the Flash, Barry Allen, and a founding member of the team.

Wally decided to retire from the superhero game sometime during the five-year gap between Young Justice Season 1 and Young Justice: Invasion, along with his girlfriend and superhero partner, Artemis.

Wally and Artemis were dragged back into the Team’s missions during Invasion. The arrival of Bart Allen, Barry’s speedster descendant from the future, brought all of the speedsters out retirement for a day.

Nightwing and Aqualad then asked Artemis to go back into action by faking her death and joining Aqualad undercover as Tigress as part of Black Manta’s operation. As Artemis’s significant other, Wally West was the only other person who was aware that Artemis’s death was faked. Even so, he was still unhappy with the idea of Artemis being undercover for so long.

Wally Artemis wouldn’t get much a reunion. By the time Artemis was able to break cover as Tigress and reunite with Wally, Wally had returned as Kid Flash in order to help the Team and the Justice League stop the “Endgame” crisis. Kid Flash ran alongside the Flash and Impulse to save the day, but being the slowest of the three apparently cost Wally his life.

In honor of Wally’s sacrifice, Bart took on the Kid Fash mantle. Artemis also rejoined the Team but decided to do so in her Tigress persona.

There’s a feeling among Young Justice fans that Wally’s story isn’t over. Too many speedster stories involve members of the Flash family disappearing during a heroic run, only to reemerge – usually from the Speed Force or after doing some time traveling – down the road. Fans are eagerly anticipated such a return from Wally West.