Young Justice: Outsiders could be setting up a major Teen Titans conflict in the second half of Young Justice season 3. In addition to continuing the story that ended Young Justice's original run on television several years ago, Young Justice has been developing a plot about metahuman trafficking that's been the primary concern of the series' six new superhero teams in season 3.
In 2013, Young Justice season 2 had concluded with Vandal Savage taking the War World to Apokolips in order to meet with the supervillain Darkseid. Since Young Justice had been canceled at the time, fans were forced to wait six years to find out just what Vandal Savage and Darkseid were plotting together. And while some light has been shed on their history in Young Justice, the new season has primarily been focused on a plot that's seemingly separate from all of that - but that may not necessarily be the case. Vandal Savage, Darkseid, and now potentially another major supervillain may be at the heart of Young Justice: Outsiders' second half, which could adapt an iconic Teen Titans story.
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With Young Justice: Outsiders midseason finale having aired, it's clear that certain plot points for the season's second half have started to take shape. One of the most surprising of these was the sudden introduction of Victor Stone, aka Cyborg. Until now, despite being largely focused upon the younger heroes of the DC Comics universe, Young Justice has avoided utilizing characters and storylines created for the New Teen Titans comics. Young Justice: Outsiders' midseason finale, "True Heroes," went one step further, with Tara Markov infiltrating the Teen Titans in order to spy on them for Deathstroke suggesting that the series is preparing to adapt The Judas Contract, which is perhaps the most famous Teen Titans story arc of all-time. But that's not all that's being set up.
Another major revelation revealed by the first half of Young Justice: Outsiders is that the partnership that has been forged between the New Gods' tyrant Darkseid and Vandal Savage has existed far longer than anticipated, spanning back to the days of Genghis Khan. The first half of Young Justice: Outsiders revealed just how long Darkseid's followers and Savage's team, The Light, have been working together and how they are now utilizing the Goode Goggles, created by Granny Goodness, to locate and entrap potential metahuman slaves. This team-up has proven profitable for both groups of villains, with The Light gaining access to the advanced weapons and technology of the New Gods, and Darkseid apparently one step closer to discovering the Anti-Life Equation that will allow him to enslave all sentient life in the universe.
Darkseid's goal was revealed by an Easter Egg, literally spelled out within the titles of Young Justice: Outsiders' episodes. Taking the first letter from each title spells out the phrase "PREPARE THE ANTI-LIFE EQUATION." This suggests that Darkseid's quest will lie at the center of the season finale or may play a part in Young Justice season 4. The list of episode titles also suggests that another galactic tyrant may be coming into play to challenge Darkseid's dominion over the Earth. The final episode of Young Justice season 3 is titled "Nevermore" - a word that is repeated through Edgar Allan Poe's classic poem, "The Raven." This may be a reference to the magical heroine, Raven, and her father, the world-conquering demon Trigon (who appeared in the Titans season 1 finale.)
With Cyborg having joined the cast of Young Justice: Outsiders and the show preparing to adapt Judas Contract, many Titans fans are wondering how this can be done without Raven and Starfire - two of the more prominent members of the Titans and two characters who played major roles in the original Judas Contract comics. Given that Cyborg was introduced into the show within the span of two episodes, it would be easy enough to bring Starfire and Raven (and her infamous father) into the series within the 13 episodes making up the second half of Young Justice season 3. If this theory is correct, then the only question remaining is, how will Earth survive a battle between the forces of Trigon and Darkseid?