Young Justice: Outsiders episode 19, "Elder Wisdom", sees the Outsiders facing an old enemy and a new challenge, as Lex Luthor takes on a more aggressive role in the public relations battle between the teen heroes and The Light. Ironically, given Luthor's adversarial role with the Justice League as Secretary General of the United Nations and his efforts to render them ineffective with increased bureaucracy, Lex's plan involves pitting the Outsiders and the Justice League against each other publicly, with Lex promoting the Justice League as more efficient than the rebellious team of teenagers. This culminates in an assassination plot, which Luthor engineers to leave the Outsiders looking incompetent.
This has an unintended consequence, with the legal guardians of Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and El Dorado suddenly objecting to their kids being part of the Outsiders, leaving the team short-handed when they are summoned to Ireland on a rescue mission. To make matters worse, Halo, after several months of keeping secrets from the team, decides to open up regarding some of those secrets. The results lead to a schism between Halo and love-interest Geo-Force.
In the end, Luthor's schemes come to nothing as he out-maneuvered by another master manipulator. Yet even then there is another manipulation in play, which may lead to a real conflict between the Outsiders and the Justice League in the future. Here are the biggest questions following the conclusion of Young Justice season 3 episode 19, "Elder Wisdom".
5. Where Is Victor Stone?
As the Outsiders are gathering for a training session at their skyscraper base, Wonder Girl asks about the absence of Halo and Forager. Geo-Force replies that Halo is upstairs in her room and that Forager is out looking for Victor "Vic" Stone. Wonder Girl comments that she completely forgot about Vic and that she hardly ever sees him when she's at the Outsiders' base. Beast Boy agrees, replying that he lives in the base along with Vic and that he barely sees him.
Neither Forager nor Victor Stone appear later in the episode, so the question of where Vic is and where he has been remains left unanswered. What is curious is that Wonder Girl's comment almost seems to be a metatextual observation regarding the series rather than an honest inquiry into Cyborg's whereabouts. Victor hasn't had a speaking role in the show since episode 16, "Illusion of Control", and only a brief visual cameo in episode 17, "First Impression", as he was moving into the Outsiders' base.
Presumably an answer as to where Vic has been will arrive in an upcoming episode. While Victor has been reluctant so far to consider the possibility of becoming a superhero or even socializing with his fellow metahuman teens, it seems clear that the series is paving the road to his adopting the identity of Cyborg at some point in the not too distant future. The only question is if it will be in Young Justice: Outsiders or season 4..
4. When Did The USA Try Registering Superheroes?
After Kid Flash is injured while thwarting an assassination attempt in the rogue nation of Bwunda, Lex Luthor seizes upon the opportunity to paint the Outsiders and the Justice League as wholly irresponsible and dangerous. This leads to his proposing, during an interview on the G. Gordon Godfrey show, that the United Nations adopt a global superhero registry that will "catalog, unmask, and regulate all vigilantes, cracking down on them and holding them accountable, even for the actions of their wayward proteges." Luthor notes that this same idea had implemented before in the United States of America in the 1950s and, according to Luthor, been quite successful.
Young Justice has drawn upon many classic comic book series in building its universe and it does so again here, paying tribute to the 1993 miniseries The Golden Age. Written by James Robinson with art by Paul Smith, The Golden Age detailed the lives of various World War II era superheroes during the McCarthy Era and one of the subplots did indeed involve an effort to force superheroes to unmask in the name of public safety. While originally written as an Elseworlds story, parts of The Golden Age did find their way into the actual history of the post-Crisis DC Universe, including most of the Justice Society of America choosing to retire from vigilantism rather than be forced to unmask. Apparently, something similar happened in the world of Young Justice.
3. Who Is Professor Ivo?
Static, Beast Boy, and Blue Beetle leave the rest of the team behind to answer a call for help from a fan of the Outsiders on social media. The three heroes head to Dublin, Ireland, where the fan reported that robot monkeys were stealing from her father, who ran a small electronics shop. Beast Boy quickly identifies the robot monkeys as Mobile Optimal Neural Quotient Infiltrators or MONKQIs - the preferred minions of mad scientist Professor Anthony Ivo.
First appearing in the Young Justice season 1 episode "Schooled", Professor Ivo is one of the Justice League's most dangerous enemies. Despite having no powers of his own, Ivo has a genius-level intellect and is a master of robotics. His proudest achievement was his creation of Amazo - a robot that had the power to replicate the abilities of any being with superpowers within its immediate vicinity. Professor Ivo's appearance in this episode is notable, as he hasn't appeared on Young Justice since season 1, episode 23, "Insecurity". Technically, the professor still doesn't really appear in this episode, as the Professor Ivo the Outsiders confront is ultimately exposed as a robot duplicate.
2. Who Supports The Outsiders?
Luthor's scheme to make the Outsiders and the Justice League look bad in the media is surprisingly shot down by pundit G. Gordon Godfrey, who has hardly been a fan of either group in earlier episodes. Godfrey notes that Luthor's claims that the parents of the underage Outsiders not approving of their activities is inaccurate, pointing to a post on Wonder Girl's social media showing her and her teammate El Dorado with their smiling parents. He then informs Luthor (and the audience) that the original Flash, Jay Garrick, had specifically started his own social media account to post a video of himself, the current Flash and Kid Flash saying "We Are All Outsiders" together. Garrick also sends out a Tweet, in response to Luthor's claims minutes earlier regarding the 1950s superhero registry working wonderfully, saying "Fascist Hero Registry didn't work in 1950's. Won't work now. #WeAreAllOutsiders"
The conga line of humiliation continues for Luthor, as Godfrey plays a selection of videos posted to the EyeSpasm media site, of various people voicing their support for the Outsiders, while continuing to share the #WeAreAllOutsiders hashtag. The videos feature some familiar faces, including Dr. Helga Jace, Wendy "Windfall" Jones, Amazon ambassador Troia, Gabby from The Newsgirl Legion, and the girl the Outsiders rescued from the Professor Ivo robot. There is also a red-haired young woman in a purple outfit, whom the credits identify as Lia Briggs - the secret identity, in the comics, of the Outsiders' member Looker and one of the few classic Outsiders members not to appear in Young Justice: Outsiders before now.
1. What Is In Halo's Letter?
After several episodes of angst - because of the news of their approaching death, their kissing Harper Row in "Early Warning", and the revelation that the young woman whose body they possessed was responsible for the deaths of Geo-Force and Terra's parents, things finally came to a head for Halo in "Elder Wisdom." Halo told Geo-Force and Terra the truth about this final point and neither of them responded well. The episode ends with a clearly distraught Halo starting to write a letter, while looking at the picture of themselves, Vic, Forager and Geo-Force at Halloween.
To whom is Halo writing? Geo-Force to apologize for being a bad significant other? Geo-Force and Terra for hiding the truth about Halo's role in their parents' deaths? The rest of the team to reveal that Halo is dying and that their life may be measured in months, at most? The only certainty is that this is bound to be a major plot point in the next episode of Young Justice: Outsiders.