Young Justice: Phantoms Kills Off Fan-Favorite DC Comics Hero in "Involuntary"

The latest episode of Young Justice seems to have killed one of the team members, a story beat that will likely fuel a ton of speculation about what upcoming stories can be told in the show's universe. With much more than half the season left before the Phantoms story wraps up, it seems unlikely that the death in question is the last we'll see of the fallen hero -- someone whose death in the comics was tied to a number of huge events, and haunted his friends for quite some time before it was finally reversed.

If you aren't caught up on the series, the episode is very plot-heavy, so be prepared. ComicBook's Joe Schmidt put together a quick synopsis of the episode for those who want to try and puzzle out what step comes next (the most likely scenario seems to be that it's Crisis-related one way or another).

Spoilers ahead for the latest episode of Young Justice, now airing on HBO Max.

"Miss Martian, Superboy, and Beast Boy have been on Mars since the beginning of the season, meeting with Miss Martian's family ahead of their impending wedding ceremonies. The group also gets caught up investigating the murder of Mars' previous leader, aiding the prince red martian in trying to bring the killer to justice. However, Miss Martian's brother returns - he is a white martian terrorist who has made a deal with Desaad of Apokolips, and he plants a bomb in the coliseum on Mars during the prince's birthday celebration.

"The Legion of Super-Heroes, including Saturn Girl, are also nearby in secret, keeping watch over the Team from the shadows for some mysterious purpose. They are apparently attempting to prevent a tragedy from occurring. Another mysterious entity (who almost appears like the Monitor Nix Uotan from Final Crisis) is keeping watch as well, and he appears to aid in detonating the Apokolips bomb.

"The Team discovers the bomb just before it goes off and Superboy makes the heroic sacrifice, punching his way to the planet's lava core to dispose of the bomb that is genetically engineered to kill green martians. Superboy is already week from living in Mars' subterranean habitats for the last few weeks, not seeing the sun. When the bomb goes off, it is also laced with Kryptonite. Miss Martian, Beast Boy, Superman, and the Martian Manhunter cannot find Superboy after the explosion, but they do see a silhouette of ash embedded onto the wall.

"The episode ends with Miss Martian in tears, mourning her fiance as the credits role. However, there could be a chance that the Legion of Super-Heroes intervened and saved Superboy. But as of now, it looks like one of Young Justice's most popular heroes has died in a noble sacrifice."

Young Justice: Phantoms will air its first 13 episodes on Thursdays, until December 30, when it will go into hiatus mode and return for its back half in the spring of 2022. There is no official word yet on a new season, and executive producer