In 2010, thanks to creators Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman, comic and cartoon fans alike were given one of the greatest comic book inspired, animated shows ever, Young Justice. Following a group of young heroes on covert missions, Young Justice gave us an intense and engaging plot along with strong character development while diving deeply into DC lore.
The show initially followed Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Speedy, but it quickly expanded its cast to Superboy, Miss Martian, and in season 2 Beast Boy, Wonder Girl and a host of other side kicks. What made the show special was its fearless approach at long form story telling, relentless attention to detail and character development. Weisman and crew weren’t afraid to push the limits and make a superhero show that appealed to a more mature audience. Alas, like most shows we love, it ended to early and we only got 2 seasons of the show.
RT! #YoungJustice S1 AND S2 now on Netflix! Want YJ S3? One of best things u can do is watch ALL eps over & over on Netflix. Or buy BluRays!
— Greg Weisman (@Greg_Weisman) February 2, 2016
Recently thanks to Netflix, Young Justice is making a cult comeback and Weisman even encouraged fans to share their fandom if the want to see a season 3. So we thought it would be fun to come up with some plot-lines, characters and ideas we would like to see in a third season of Young Justice.
**SPOILER ALERT for Seasons 1 and 2 of Young Justice
1. Bring In The Multiversity
Season 2 of Young Justice ends with the team thwarting the Reach’s alien invasion while also freeing the Justice League from the grips of intergalactic imprisonment. But it all came at a great cost as Kid Flash was lost while trying to stop the Reach’s world ending bomb. So, how do you set up a bigger plot than alien invasion while also bringing back a beloved character? Enter the multiverse.
The multiverse will allow the creative team to take the story into literally infinite directions. Here is how we imagine it going down…
It’s been 2 years events of season 2 and Impulse, who is now Kid Flash, is getting visions of Wally uncontrollably falling through the multiverse. At the same time the Justice League observes that other universes are seemingly disappearing from the multiverse. Due to the disappearances of entire universes, and the visions Impulse is having about Wally, the League decide to send a small covert team of young heroes through the multiverse to find clues and their lost friend.
Sending the Young Justice team through the multiverse will allow creators to not only bring in new characters, villains, and team members with ease, but it will also allow them to play with an ever expanding DC universe. Just think… they could borrow from Ultimate Spider-Man and have an episode where they visit the Teen Titans Go world or mingle with CW’s Arrow and The Flash or even god willing they enter the LEGO universe. The possibilities and plot lines are endless; and we would love nothing more than for Weisman and Vietti to dive even deeper into DC lore.
2. Make Lex Luthor President
From the beginning, The Light, has always been the evil overlords of the Young Justice universe. At the end of season 2, while the Reach’s plans were seemingly put to bed by our heroes, it was actually Lex Luthor (and thus The Light) who received the credit for saving the world. So while Lex is collecting the glory on Earth, Vandal Savage has taken the War World to The Light’s mysterious benefactor, Darkseid. This seems to have been The Light’s plan all along, as they are planning the long game to take over the world.
With Lex getting credit for dismantling the Reach and saving the world, season 2 seemingly ends to set up his presidency. As we enter season 3 there has been a 2 year time jump, as mentioned earlier, in this period Luthor has become President of the United States. President Luthor could begin to enforce his command over the Justice League, eventually disbanding them and replacing them with his own chosen heroes (or shall we say villains). This plot line will once again get rid of the league making the younger heroes our focus. You could even have Lex disperse the team throughout the multiverse, giving the younger heroes yet another goal to accomplish while they are there. We also want to imagine that Lex becoming President is part of the Light’s and Darkseid’s grand plan to prepare the Earth for the inevitable Apokolips takeover.
3. Smaller Team, With New Members
The only complaint we would have about Season 2 is that too many characters were introduced too quickly to the Young Justice team with little background or development. While our main cast flourished, these secondary team members were shoved to the side and only featured in short bursts. If we are going to be diving into the multiverse, then a smaller team will be necessary merely for the fact that creators will want to introduce new characters each and every episode. Ideally four to five team members would be enough for the trip to the multiverse while the others can be back on Earth dealing with Lex, the league and the problems these to forces are imposing.
Here is the team we would like to see. Some characters are new, some are old and some were just getting started as season 2 ended. First let’s get Static Shock in there as a proper team member. As season 2 ended, Static was the only remaining hero to stick around from Lex’s Star Lab team. Starfire would be another good addition as we have yet to see her in the YJ universe. She brings a fresh optimistic view to the team, and a charming humor. Continuing with the Teen Titans trend I would love to see Raven join the team to bring some magic to the Young Justice squad.
If the show wants to get really crazy they can dip into the Legion of Superheroes and pull characters like Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Matter-Eater Lad or Cosmic Boy. These would be inspired choices and once again fit into our multiverse narrative. Maybe they aren’t members right off the bat, but join our heroes as they move through the multiverse. Of course we can’t forget about the Bat family, who features prominently in the Young Justice lore. Although only two years have passed, I would love to see Damien Wayne inhabit the Robin role with Stephanie Brown becoming Batgirl. This would allow us the switch of the character dynamics without losing the presence of Robin and Batgirl. Thanks to DC’s diverse and deep line up Young Justice season 3 has endless options for team expansion.
4. Someone Has Got To Die…
One thing Young Justice was great at was creating stakes and putting our heroes in actual danger. The creators weren’t afraid to shock viewers and seemingly kill beloved characters. This was especially true in season 2 as Artemis faked her death while Kid Flash made the ultimate sacrifice to save the world. Now, our current scenario would negate Kid Flash’s death, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find another hero to take his place. In fact, season 3 should start will a death of a major character to really set the stakes high and continue YJ’s dramatic storytelling trend.
If we had to pick right now (which is kind of the point of this whole thing), it would be Nightwing. The reason Dick Grayson would make a great sacrifice is becomes he is: 1. a crucial part of the YJ saga, 2. He holds a connection to our chosen villain (we will get to that in a bit), 3. It would cause the team to unite under a new leader, Arsenal, who is motivated by Nightwing’s death to turn from the team wild card to their fearless leader.
Some other possible choices would be Miss Martian, Superboy, or even a member of the Justice League. We want to pick someone who was their from the beginning and really deepen the emotional distress on the viewer. Also, if Miss Martian or Superboy gets it, this will severely de-power the team making them that much more vulnerable.
5. Now For Our Villain
When coming up with this list it was easy to decide who we wanted to see torment the team in season 3 of Young Justice. There was only one man who could challenge the team, both mentally and physically, while adding to the show’s signature intrigue. The Red Hood seems to be the villain pick to face off against the Young Justice team. While he would obviously be a puppet of The Light, as they have always been our main threat, Red Hood would be a great foil for our heroes as they traverse the multiverse. In fact, the Red Hood could even be the cause of them being trapped there.
Picture this… The Light manipulates Impulse into thinking he is seeing visions of Wally in the multiverse, thus giving the team a reason to leave Earth in search of their friend (remember at the end of season 2 Vandal Savage says he will never underestimate the teen heroes again). As our young heroes enter the multiverse, their base is attacked by The Red Hood, who takes down the remaining members and destroys the base, trapping the squad in the multiverse. Now remember how we made Lex Luthor President? Well, he then forcibly disbands the Justice League, leaving Earth wide-open for the taking with no heroes of any kind to protect it. To ensure our young heroes stay trapped in the multiverse, The Light sends the Red Hood as insurance. And so our adventure begins….
The Red Hood is the perfect villain choice for season 3 because he allows for a redeeming character arc and enough twists and turns to keep even the Red Tornado guessing. Being a former Robin, Jason Todd’s Red Hood adds a certain emotional hook and deep connection to the team that no other DC villain inhabits. It would be great to see his origin play out through a season of Young Justice with the mid-season finally culminating in his reveal and eventual turn to becoming the good guy.
The End… Or Is It?
Well that’s it! This is what we would love to see from Weisman and his team if we ever do get a Young Justice season 3. All we can do for now is hope, dream and let DC and WB know there are a ton of fans out there dying to see the teenage super heroes return to the small screen. As always let us know what you think of our choices and of course we want to see what you would do if given the chance to write Young Justice season 3. Comment Below!!
*This Post Was Co-Authored by: Danny Benavides