Young Justice fans who have been waiting since way back in 2013 to find out what happens next for the young superheroes after the devastating Season 2 finale will finally get some answers in the not-too-distant future with the premiere of Season 3, a.k.a. Young Justice: Outsiders. The first trailer for Outsiders was packed with all manner of heroes and villains, but there was one notable absence: Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. Barbara appeared in the first season and then later donned a cape and cowl, even ending the second season poised to take on a potential leadership position. Well, fans don't need to worry that Barbara will be absent, although she'll be part of the team in a brand new capacity: Oracle. Take a look!
Nightwing and Oracle are both in action in their respective elements in this clip, even if Oracle is working her crime-fighting magic from afar while Nightwing does the physical work. She's clearly back in a base somewhere, likely with the latest and greatest technology Bat-money can buy at her disposal to help the heroes out. She and Nightwing team up to figure out what's going on in a Russian warehouse, and they aren't altogether surprised to discover some unfortunate kids locked in crates as victims of meta trafficking. Together, they figure out how a tar sample connects to "Bedlam" in Markovia, but not without Nightwing blowing up the warehouse in true Young Justice style.
The banter between Oracle and Nightwing indicates that this dynamite duo works together on a regular basis. The two were friends as kids and were once based out of Gotham, although Dick Grayson had relocated to Bludhaven by Season 2. Various incarnations of Dick and Barbara have been romantically connected throughout their long history in DC. Does the banter point toward a Dick and Babs love connection in Season 3?
A bigger question is what exactly happened that motivated Barbara to trade her cape and cowl in for a computer screen. She was clearly skilled with technology in Season 2, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that she simply decided she'd be more use with her tech wizardry than by fighting crime on the streets. If Young Justice follows the traditional origin story for Oracle, however, we may learn that Young Justice's Barbara didn't really have a choice about changing how she operates as a superhero.
The now-infamous Killing Joke comic saw the Joker shoot Barbara through the abdomen, damaging her spine and paralyzing her. In the comics, she decided she wasn't done fighting the good fight and adopted the persona of Oracle that she would use to help everybody from the Bat-family to the Justice League.
Young Justice is aimed at a younger audience than the Killing Joke comic and the R-rated animated adaptation, but it could still introduce Barbara's paralysis without actually showing the terrible injury. This is a show that revealed a Robin had died between Dick becoming Nightwing and Tim Drake becoming the third Robin via hologram. I wouldn't be surprised if Babs gets the traditional tragic backstory for becoming Oracle.
Only time will tell. Young Justice: Outsiders won't premiere on DC Universe until 2019, but the streaming service itself will premiere a lot sooner than we expected. A whole lot of exciting new details about DC Universe were just released, and there's a lot to look forward to. For some viewing options that don't involve superheroes, check out our fall TV premiere schedule.
