The following contains spoilers for Young Justice: Phantoms, Episode 19, “Encounter Upon the Razor’s Edge!,” now streaming on HBO Max.
In Young Justice, Superman has been one of the most under-utilized characters. In fact, this has been the case for most of the Justice League members, allowing the youngsters to come into their own. It’s helped Nightwing and Co. move up from the Outsiders to the League, and most of all, allowed Conner Kent/Superboy to carve out his own story away from the Man of Steel.
Unfortunately, Phantoms dealt Conner a grave blow by throwing him into the Phantom Zone after a terrorist attack on Mars orchestrated by Lor-Zod. It’s part of the villain’s deal with Darkseid and Grayven to reshape the galaxy, while ensuring the Legion of Super Heroes got written out of history too. However, the Legion contacted Superman in the aftermath, giving him a new purpose — but it could end up killing him.
The Legion spoke to Kid Flash while he built a Cosmic Treadmill for them, confessing they needed an inspirational figure after arriving from the 31st century. They were meant to stop Lor-Zod from killing Conner, all so Superboy could inspire the birth of the Legion in some mysterious incident. But with Conner gone, that moment wouldn’t happen, and the Legion would never have started.
As such, the heroes asked Kal-El to step in and be there at that very same moment in time, creating their group and allowing them to go back home. It’s a Hail Mary play, and while Kal agreed, it’s going to be a massive risk for him. Firstly, Lor-Zod is seeking out a projector on New Genesis to bring Dru-Zod and his cult back. Thus, if his dad discovers Superman is trying to replace Superboy, they’d go after him immediately. After all, the Legion and United Planets freed the cult, then banished them again after they turned evil once more upon powering up on Daxam. This would kill two birds with one stone as the House of Zod would get to eliminate the House of El, and ensure the Legion stays dead.
Secondly, if Superman does inspire the Legion, there’s no telling how history would have changed and what this Legion, or the United Planets, could have evolved into. This might have created more cults like Team Zod, putting an even bigger marker on Superman, his descendants and also, the League.
The advantage of Superboy creating the Legion was that he wasn’t as iconic, so it took villains some time to understand what the Legion was becoming. This allowed the heroes to strengthen their ranks smartly and under the radar, but if enemies realize Superman’s now motivating a new Justice League to form, villains such as Mongol, Imperiex and such could become more aggressive.
They may ramp up their lust for blood and Kryptonite, proactively striking to end what they’ll perceive as a cult belonging to the cosmos’ strongest hero. For certain, if Team Zod does exist in that future, they’d be first in line, reaffirming Superman as a replacement might not have been the best decision. All because it may invite more trouble than the Legion could handle, well before they became a strong movement.
See if Superman and the Legion’s plan works in Young Justice: Phantoms. New episodes become available every Thursday on HBO Max.
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