Biggest Unanswered Questions From Season 4 Of Young Justice
"Young Justice" has always been willing to leave each season with fairly significant lingering questions. The show also loves jumping ahead in time and aging up its characters. As a result, the members of the Team who start out as teenagers in 2010's Season 1 are full-fledged adults and leaders by 2021's Season 4 where they're ushering in a new generation of superheroes.
The longest-running subplot of "Young Justice" is how the heroes oppose the villain organization known as the Light, led by Vandal Savage and others. This cabal is out for world domination, but it's also looking to establish world order. To this end, the Light have struck up an uneasy alliance with Apokolips and its ruler, Darkseid. There's no question that Vandal Savage views Darkseid as a powerful opponent who will need to be dealt with, but this season reveals that he's willing to keep his enemies close as he formulates his schemes. For example, Vandal has been working with the Atlantis-destroying chaos lord Klarion the Witch Boy for millennia.
Each hero has their share of triumphs and tragedies. At the end of "Young Justice" Season 4, also called "Young Justice: Phantoms," Superboy and Miss Martian get married, overcoming Conner's near-death experience in the Phantom Zone; Earth, New Genesis, and the Green Lantern Corps form an official alliance against Darkseid, and Artemis and her sister Cheshire have a breakthrough in their sometimes-icy relationship. While the threat of General Zod and his son is eliminated, many questions from Season 4 remain. Let's explore them.
How did Kara Zor-El get corrupted?
Kara Zor-El, also known as Supergirl, is Superman's cousin. Though technically older than Kal-El, she spends a handful of additional years in suspended animation following the destruction of Krypton. By the time she's revived, Superman is already an adult. On Earth, Kara keeps her identity secret as Superman wants her to have something resembling a normal life, but she is nevertheless as brave and heroic as he is. Eventually, Kara becomes Supergirl and has many adventures, including a long stint in the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes.
At least, that's more or less how most versions of Kara's story pan out. But the iteration of Supergirl we see on "Young Justice" makes a chilling break with tradition. After the heroes defeat the Kryptonian super-criminals from the Phantom Zone, they plan to transfer them to a world with a red sun where they won't gain superpowers. However, the Light is one step ahead; Klarion hunts down every Kryptonian in the Phantom Zone and delivers them to his nefarious allies.
Darkseid demands a single Kryptonian in tribute: Kara Zor-El. How and why Kara winds up in the Phantom Zone to begin with is a huge unanswered question. How she's corrupted by Granny Goodness is another lingering question, but it's clear that she's been brainwashed into becoming a loyal servant of Darkseid. She's certainly a formidable opponent for the Team, who will no doubt try to break her out of her programming.
Can Black Mary be redeemed?
Mary Bromfield is Billy Batson's twin sister. After they are separated at birth, Mary gets adopted while Billy spends years in the foster system. They become friends before they realize they are related and at one point, Billy decides to share one third of his power as Captain Marvel with Mary and their best friend Freddy Freeman. Eleven-year-old Mary becomes Sergeant Marvel who, like Billy, is an adult in her superpowered form.
For Billy, this normal child-super adult dichotomy leads to some awkwardness, but he still always returns to his child form. However, Mary becomes obsessed with her powers and prefers to remain an adult, abandoning her human life. Her friends intervene but she frequently relapses. Finally, Freddy and Billy convince her to quit. Years later, Zatanna recruits her to become a Sentinel of Magic, as Mary taps into her power in her human state thanks to her magical aptitude. Mary has the power to absorb the life force from others and is chided for using it, especially without consent. When Zatanna opts to exclude Mary from the duty of becoming Doctor Fate, Mary is furious and demands to go home.
There, Apokolips' Granny Goodness whispers to a despondent and betrayed-feeling Mary. Granny tempts her until Mary finally utters, "Shazam." In the season finale, Mary's revealed as a new Fury dubbed Black Mary. Her obsession with power corrupts her twice; is she a lost cause or can her family bring her to her senses?
How will Sanctuary play out?
One of the running themes of Season 4 is the importance of mental health. The heroes are people who constantly put themselves in high-stress situations and frequently have to face a great deal of trauma, including the deaths of loved ones. Yet they're frequently expected to go on as if nothing has happened to them. For Garfield "Beast Boy" Logan, a lifetime of dealing with the deaths of his mother and several close friends finally catches up with him after the ostensible demise of Superboy. Garfield withdraws from his friends and starts taking sleeping pills until a therapy check-in with Black Canary gets him to admit he needs help.
In the season finale, Black Canary tells the other Justice League members that this is a serious issue and heroes need a place to heal — a Sanctuary. In the comics, Sanctuary is the primary setting of the polarizing "Heroes in Crisis" event story by Tom King and artist Clay Mann. A therapeutic retreat for heroes who need a mental health break, Sanctuary is kept secret so as not to alarm the public and also to protect the privacy and secret identities of its patients. However, its calm and regenerative atmosphere is basically ruined when someone murders several of its patients. Considering "Heroes in Crisis" prominently features Harley Quinn and Booster Gold, neither of whom have appeared in "Young Justice" as of Season 4, how much of the story will be directly adapted remains in question. But we can infer that superhero mental health will continue to be a significant factor on the show.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
What is the endgame for Vandal Savage?
At over 50,000 years old, Vandal Savage is the world's oldest metahuman. As the leader of homo sapiens, he starts the world's first great civilization in Atlantis. He's also found and killed multiple times by immortal chaos lord Klarion, but then they strike up a deal that bears fruit later on. Vandal is convinced of the greatness of humanity but sees it as his responsibility to make sure the strongest survive and the weak perish. It's why he has Klarion destroy Atlantis — he thinks the survivors can adapt to live underwater ... and they do.
About a thousand years prior to the events of "Young Justice," Darkseid invades the Earth and Vandal puts up a spirited defense in defeat. Darkseid is impressed, and they come to an understanding; Vandal and Darkseid will work together to conquer the universe, then fight each other at the end. Over the years, Vandal forms various incarnations of the Light, with the most recent consisting of various supervillain rulers, businessmen, and scientists. Vandal constantly tries to find new ways to gain new advantages, like stealing the despotic War World ruler Mongul's ship and putting a small army of Kryptonians in cryogenic suspension. He is contemptuous of the Justice League because they protect the weak and interfere with his plans.
What we don't know is when is Vandal Savage going to determine when it's time to take on Darkseid? How is he going to defeat an unbeatable foe with a world of superpowered slaves? Does Vandal already have a plan, or is he waiting for a new factor to emerge?
Where will Cheshire go on her road to redemption?
Artemis Crock and her older sister Jade are the daughters of the supervillain Sportsmaster. He's a cruel and heartless mercenary who trains his daughters to be assassins. Jade tries to protect her sister, but she lacks the physical strength to overcome her father. Jade leaves home as a teen, abandoning Artemis to fend for herself. Artemis grows up to be a hero and joins the Team. Cheshire grows up to be an assassin, but also marries Will Harper, fka Roy Harper, and they have a child named Lian. Cheshire also abandons them, ostensibly because she feels like they're better off without her. Artemis moves in with Will and helps raise Lian and repeatedly tries to get Cheshire to come back, but she refuses.
When Lady Shiva kidnaps Artemis' protege Orphan, Cheshire agrees to help her sibling. After they free Orphan, Artemis almost convinces Cheshire to come home. But when Cheshire is horrified by the sight of Lian making a mask that looks like hers, Cheshire flees to take on her former boss in the League of Shadows, Ra's al Ghul. Artemis finds her and Cheshire breaks down, saying that she's afraid that if she's around Lian, her daughter will end up just like her. At that moment, Cheshire's former Sensei invites her to stay on the island and heal, and Cheshire accepts. Do the Shadows really plan on helping Cheshire, or do they have a more sinister agenda? Will Cheshire ever be able to truly heal and became a mother to Lian?
Do we finally meet Mister Miracle?
In the comics, there is a treaty between Highfather of the New Gods and Darkseid, which halts a long war between New Genesis and Apokolips. As a way of sealing the peace treaty, the two leaders strike a horrible bargain; they exchange sons and agree to raise them on their worlds. In "Young Justice," Orion is introduced as Highfather's adopted son and a stalwart hero of the New Gods. He's also Darkseid's biological son, and Orion struggles to contain the evil within him. With the help of a mother box, the love of his family, and his own burning desire to be a hero, Orion even impresses a skeptical Rocket, who initially thinks he must be a monster.
But if Orion exists in the universe of "Young Justice," doesn't that mean that Scott Free must be somewhere on Apokolips trying to escape? Also known as Mister Miracle the super escape artist, Scott spends his childhood in Darkseid's slave pits. Darkseid doesn't outright kill him, because that would violate the terms of the treaty; he merely makes Highfather's biological son as miserable as possible. Scott eventually escapes Apokolips, makes it to Earth, and marries former Fury and fellow slave pit survivor Big Barda. Will we finally see Mister Miracle in "Young Justice," especially as a war between Earth and Apokolips seems to be on the horizon? Will he join the Team?
What challenges will Mera face as high king?
In "Young Justice: Phantoms," high king of Atlantis Orin, aka Aquaman, faces political upheaval as various Atlantean cities face unrest. His wife, Queen Mera, urges him to resist being voted out of office, but Orin says he's not going to retain the role by force. Right at that time, several crises beset Atlantis, and it is saved by an impossible figure — Arion, the original high king presumed to be long dead. Just as sentiment grows to have Arion rule again, a suspicious Aquaman sends Kaldur'ahm on a mission to find the crown of Arion. When Arion puts it on, the Lords of Order strike him dead, revealing him to be a clone. Orin quickly moves to place the crown on Mera's head, making her the new high king. A powerful sorceress and a descendent of significant figures in Atlantean political history, Mera happens to fulfill all the tenets of a royal prophecy.
The plot to install "Arion" on the throne is originally concocted by Vandal Savage, who is dealt a rare and bitter defeat. But considering how willing he is to create all sorts of mayhem for Atlantis, is Vandal truly done trying to gain control of the throne? Mera takes the crown and earns universal approval, but how long will this last when Atlantis faces its first major crisis? Will the resentment toward her city of Poseidonis ebb? What about prejudice against non-humanoid members of Atlantis? Mera takes the office on a high note, but trouble still lurks.
Will Geo-Force realize he's being manipulated?
One of the great unresolved tragedies in "Young Justice" is the case of Brion "Geo-Force" Markov, heir to the throne of Markovia. When his parents are killed, he's taken in by the Team and becomes one of Beast Boy's Outsiders. When his criminal uncle Baron Bedlam tries to take over Markovia, the Outsiders stop him. Geo-Force captures and contains Bedlam, who goads Geo-Force into killing him. The Outsiders are horrified, and their lack of support stings Brion, who tells them to leave as he becomes king.
Brion resists all attempts at reconciliation with his friends, even as he tries to make Markovia a haven for metahumans. Unbeknownst to him, he's being subtly manipulated by government advisor Zviad Baazovi, who initially urged Brion to kill Bedlam and then justified the murder to Brion and the onlookers. Later, Zviad becomes instrumental in the meta-haven program in Markovia, working with demented scientist Helga Jace. Zviad is secretly an agent of the Light, meaning that Vandal Savage's group is using Markovia to recruit its own superhero army and to pull recruits away from the Justice League.
At the end of Season 4, a member of the government-controlled superhero team known as the Infinitors named Fury tells Brion she has serious reservations about what's happening. Will he listen to her concerns about Zviad, or will Brion slip further under the Light's control?
Will G. Gordon Godfrey ever be exposed?
One of the most infuriating characters in "Young Justice" is TV pundit G. Gordon Godfrey. He's a smarmy rabble-rouser, the kind that likes to get the public riled up about issues with no regard for truth or nuance. He's especially critical of superheroes, particularly the Justice League. He's also hostile to the presence of aliens on Earth. Every mistake the Justice League makes is highlighted by this smug, zero-integrity cable news shill.
Of course, the irony is that he's really Glorious Godfrey, a servant of Darkseid and native of Apokolips. He's on Earth to foment dissension and weaken the Justice League as a master of propaganda, and Godfrey is excellent at his job. As an agent of Darkseid, he sometimes acts on behalf of his allies in the Light, but he's not afraid to publicly criticize Lex Luthor when he feels Lex's anger at the Outsiders is interfering in the Light's larger mission.
Will the connection between Godfrey and Darkseid ever be revealed? If it is, will Godfrey ever be punished for his deliberate lies to the public, or will he simply leave television, become a podcaster, and start writing a subscribers-only newsletter?
Why is Superboy so important to the future?
One of the biggest mysteries of Season 4 is why the survival of Superboy is so important to the future. Lor-Zod knows about Superboy's significance and tries to kill him on Mars, prompting the Legion of Super-Heroes to come to the 21st century in order to protect Superboy and stop Lor-Zod. The Legion seem understandably despondent when not only does it appear that Superboy dies, but their teammate Phantom Girl gets taken out with him.
Even worse, the remaining members of the Legion dispatched to the 21st century — namely Saturn Girl and Chameleon Boy — are stranded on Earth. They eventually turn to Superman for help, telling him that they saved Superboy from being killed by Lor-Zod years earlier, but they couldn't save him on Mars. They beg him to go to Happy Harbor in 10 years to take Superboy's place in doing something ... but they don't reveal what it is.
When Superboy turns up alive, it means he'll be around to do whatever it is he needs to do in order to inspire the Legion's formation. But what is that? Saturn Girl simply tells him, "You'll know" without revealing any more details. In the comics, a few different Superboys travel to the future and become part of the Legion. Is this Conner's fate in the "Young Justice" timeline? Does he win a battle recorded for all of history? Given the show's proclivity for time jumps, this could take place in Season 5.
How does being Doctor Fate affect Thirteen, Zatanna, and Khalid?
One of the problems that Doctor Fate faces when Zatara is his host is that the magician superhero is aging. He lacks the ability to give Doctor Fate the vitality he needs, and being Doctor Fate clearly takes a toll on its hosts. Zatanna trains her Sentinels of Magic into being worthy of taking on the mantle of Doctor Fate in large part because she wants to be able to see her father for more than the 60 minutes per year allotted to her by the lord of order, Doctor Fate.
Zatanna cooks up a scheme to find multiple worthy subjects to share the responsibility of physically housing the essence of Dr. Fate, including herself. To this end, a luck-based magical character named Thirteen and a medical student who is part homo magi (that's a race of Atlanteans who developed a natural affinity for sorcery) named Khalid Nassour join Zatanna in forming a platoon system for Doctor Fate. Each takes a week-long turn as Fate's host, so no one person has to shoulder the burden for long.
How does this play out? How do the various human personas affect Fate's personality and actions? Will the power burn them out over time, or will having more hosts make Doctor Fate even more powerful?
What is the fate of the new Lor-Zod born in the 21st century?
When he is introduced, Lor-Zod is a 31st century supervillain who wreaks havoc when he changes the timeline in order to free his parents from the Phantom Zone. The Legion of Super-Heroes travel through time to stop him from preventing their formation. Lor-Zod allies himself with Darkseid, and he comes close to conquering Earth in the 21st century after he frees his parents from the Phantom Zone. However, he's tricked into going back in time to where he once planted a bomb to kill Superboy. He exits his craft and realizes he's been tricked, but the bomb explodes and kills him instead.
So much for Lor-Zod, right? Not exactly. Lor-Zod steals an artifact from Metron's vault called the Eye of Ekron. The Eye chooses Lor-Zod's mother Ursa-Zod to be its host, making her a powerful sorceress called the Emerald Empress, just as it does in the original 31st century timeline. Just like in the original timeline, Ursa is pregnant with the baby who will become Lor-Zod, as the Phantom Zone prevents any growth. Back in reality, she travels to Daxam, the same world she's exiled to in the 31st century. She vows vengeance on the heroes. Will this Lor-Zod, raised by a vengeful mother, grow up to be like his mother? How will growing up in the 21st century change him? Will they make it to a world with a yellow sun?