Rogue Operatives
Let’s start with the least outrageous of the options. Though Phantoms could be a direct reference to the comics–we’ll get into those potential routes a little later–it seems more likely that the title will be referencing a new status quo. The establishment of the Outsiders already touched on the need for different teams for different purposes, and the world of Young Justice is filled with some of DC’s biggest teams from the Justice League to the Doom Patrol all the way to the Suicide Squad. And speaking of that black ops team, they could be a framework for what comes next, especially when we look at who would need Young Justice to work in secret (as the word Phantoms would seem to imply).
After taking down a Meta-Human trafficking ring, the Young Justice team has built up an impressive army of enemies. And now, with Brion, a.k.a. Geo-Force, under the control of supervillain team The Light, it would be easy for Young Justice to be compromised. Being framed for a crime you didn’t commit is an age-old comic book trope, and it would set the team up for a conflict as they clear their own names and work as ghosts in the system.
There’s also another option, which is that Amanda Waller needs their help and pushes them underground in order to gain it. Tonally, either plot works in favor of Young Justice’s grounded and complex approach to superhero storytelling.
Ghosts From the Past
Young Justice has long been lauded for its complex narrative arcs and emotional heart, so the other most obvious choice for what Phantoms could mean would be a threat from the past. The roster of heroes is so huge in Young Justice that there are plenty of backstories to draw from to find enemies hiding in the shadows. And with Artemis (Stephanie Lemelin) inviting Arsenal to rejoin the team during the virtual table read that took place at FanDome (of a new “episode”), there’s at least one other person from the past whose shadow looms large over Dick Grayson and co. that jumps straight to mind.
During the second season of Young Justice it was revealed that Jason Todd had died under unknown circumstances at some point in the past. As any DC fan knows, that is never truly the case when it comes to Jason. During the first half of Outsiders when the team was infiltrating Infinity Island, they came across a red-hooded ninja who moaned, “Grayson.” The implication was, of course, that the ninja was actually Jason Todd, his garments a nod to his post-Robin mantle (in the comics) of Red Hood. Though we didn’t discover his fate last season, it would make sense he might come into play in Phantoms.
Jason’s death has always weighed heavily on Dick. Seeing as the ex-Robin was thought to be dead, he would be a very literal representation of the new subtitle. And if Red Hood does become a threat, it seems like it won’t be as a new criminal mastermind but as some kind of Ra’s al Ghul reanimated version of himself. Could that mean the Phantoms in question might be an army of the heroes’ late loved ones revived to hunt them down and terrorize them? It would be a dark route to take but would play into one of DC Comics’ favorite plotlines and recurring characters.
Phantom Girl
The final moments of Young Justice: Outsiders saw one of the most interesting and fun DC Easter eggs an old school fan could hope for. As the crew relaxes in a diner eating, laughing, and recuperating, they’re served by a blonde waitress wearing a Legion Flight Ring. The gold emblem is worn by the iconic DC team from the future known as the Legion of Superheroes. While that’s very exciting going into Season 4, no matter how it ultimately plays out, it’s of particular significance for our purposes here because one of the Legion team members is a Silver Age hero who goes by the moniker of… Phantom Girl!
Her first appearance in a 1961 issue of Action Comics leaned into the youthful team adventures that are usually connected with Young Justice. She headed to Earth along with other young cosmic heroines Triplicate Girl and Saturn Girl to befriend Supergirl. That’s not to say we’ll see that scenario exactly–though it would be fun–but more to highlight that she’s already got a history of hanging out with other young heroes. Seeing as the Legion is almost certainly going to play into Phantoms based on that ring reveal, it seems unlikely that Phantom Girl won’t be a part of that in some way. This could also possibly connect to the next entry as some say her home planet is a part of…
The Legion Flight Ring seen at the end of Young Justice Season 3.
The Phantom Zone
In Outsiders, the subtitle represented a new team which was well established in the wider DC Universe. There’s no team called Phantoms in DC, but there is of course the famed Phantom Zone, and the criminals who’ve lived within it who are known as the Phantom Zoners. Canonically, the intergalactic prison does exist within the world of Young Justice as it was part of how some Kryptonians survived after the destruction of Krypton, so it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to imagine it could come into play here.
From that online table read, which was set between Seasons 3 and 4, we know that Conner/Superboy (Nolan North) and M’gann/Miss Martian (Danica McKellar) are heading out on their own. Perhaps the partially-Kryptonian clone will come up against some inhabitants of the Phantom Zone? Both those alien characters have a history of dealing with the cosmic, so it would be an easy connection to make, especially as Conner has such a complex past. Maybe the Phantom Zoners are out for Superman’s blood and don’t realize his clone is just that, a clone? Or could M’gann and Conner end up in the Phantom Zone themselves? It would be a really interesting and exciting twist to see the Young Justice team have to head into the notoriously strange dimension to save their former teammates.
There’s precedent for this potential angle in the comics too. In the Injustice: Year Three series, a corrupted Superman tricks Conner and the Titans into the Phantom Zone in order to keep them from stopping his nefarious plans. Although we’re not likely to see a full exploration of the alternate Injustice timeline, DC Comics is really invested in that successful alt-universe franchise. This arc also featured some other core Young Justice characters like Bart and Gar, though both met a gnarly fate as they were killed by a nuclear blast that Conner couldn’t save them from.
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The Phantom Stranger
This particular entry would make a lot of Young Justice fans happy as it’s connected to a character that many viewers want to see join the show. During DC’s line-wide New 52 relaunch, the Phantom Stranger debuted in an ongoing series with a story connected to one of the publisher’s most powerful and brilliant young heroes: Rachel Roth, a.k.a. Raven.
In classic Phantom Stranger fashion, the enigmatic turncoat secures Raven’s trust before betraying her to her father Trigon. DC loves to explore that demonic daddy, and neither he nor his daughter have appeared in Young Justice yet. We know that the series isn’t afraid of getting supernatural and strange, which opens the door to the Stranger. His stories often center around changing time, space, or fate, and with the Fourth World and Darkseid back in play there’s plenty at stake as we head into Season 4. Maybe Phantoms references this pulpy entry into DC canon and it could be a way of introducing one of the company’s most popular young heroes too.
The Phantom Stranger and Raven.
What would you like to see in Young Justice’s fourth season? What do you think Phantoms means? Let’s discuss in the comments!
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