The fans’ hard-fought victory that brought back Young Justice back after a five-year hiatus has been rewarded with a long-awaited third season. Entitled Young Justice: Outsiders, the creators have revealed significant changes to staple characters.
Producers Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman, alongside Lead Character Designer and Art Director Philip Bourassa discussed with ComicBook.com during SDCC as to what to expect from the new season. One significant change is the lack of symbols, most associated with the superhero genre. During their panel they revealed a screen shot of characters such as Dick Grayson/Nightwing, Artemis, Black Lightning, and Connor Kent/Superboy, all clad in black.
“There’s no telltale signs of this is Nightwing, this is Black Lightning, “ explains Bourassa. “Following the tradition of the covert ops aspects, the stealth missions that we always had in the show, and looking at Dick Grayson’s arc and where we left him, he’s like ‘I don’t want to do the superhero thing.’ You can see where that’s going.”
Batman originally formed “The Team” – its founding members being Robin (later Nightwing), Wally West/Kid Flash, Aqualad, Superboy, Artemis and M’Gann M’arzz/Miss Martian – to do covert operations for the Justice League to investigate the new faction known as The Light, albeit still under their guidance and supervision. The “Five Years Later” second season entitled Young Justice: Invasion delivered a finale with numerous cliffhangers. After their combined victory, the League decided that it was time to bring The Team into the spotlight alongside them, while Lex Luthor had been appointed their new government liaison. Moreover, it saw Bart Allen/Impulse take up the mantle of Kid Flash after Wally sacrificed himself to save the world (much in the same manner that mentor Barry Allen/The Flash did in the 1986 story Crisis on Infinite Earths), his lover Artemis adopt the role of Cheshire, and Grayson leave The Team in Batgirl’s and Aqualad’s care to gain distance.
These new designs are a radical departure from anything we’ve seen from these characters in any medium thus far and are a 180-degree turn from what Batman decided at the end of season two. Moreover, the subtitle instantly makes DC Comics fans assume that this will have some connection to the infamous Outsiders team that Batman, and later Nightwing, assembled to take on more clandestine, urban threats that are beneath the League’s need for attention.
Whatever their plans, the creators promise that fans will be satisfied and astonished when Young Justice: Outsiders premieres in 2018 on Warner Bros. new streaming service in addition to their live-action Titans series.
