Evolution

"Evolution" is the seventh episode of the third season of Young Justice, and the 53th of the overall series. It debuted on January 18, 2019 on DC Universe, along with the eighth and ninth episodes, "Triptych" and "Home Fires".

Logline
Aliens once again threaten the Earth, but with the Justice League split and scattered, only Earth's first and greatest hero can save us!

Synopsis
Olympia Savage shares with Cassandra Savage writings about the backstory of her father, Vandal Savage. Olympia then locates Vandal, who is remembering the day centuries ago when he saw a meteorite fall to Earth. She tells him an armada is approaching the solar system. A fleet of warships enters the system. Connor Kent, Artemis Crock, Brion Markov, Violet and Forager are gathered at the beach, when Dick Grayson arrives with superhero outfits for Violet and Brion. He tells everyone they will soon begin training.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3" | Non-speaking roles
 * class="VA" rowspan="2" | Dee Bradley Baker
 * colspan="2" | Desaad
 * Kalibak
 * class="VA" | Troy Baker
 * colspan="2" | Brion Markov/Hot Lava/Geo-Force
 * class="VA" rowspan="2" | Zehra Fazal
 * colspan="2" | Violet/Halo
 * Cassandra Savage
 * class="VA" | Grey Griffin
 * colspan="2" | Helga Jace
 * class="VA" rowspan="2" | David Kaye
 * colspan="2" | Vandal Savage
 * Steve Lombard
 * class="VA" | Stephanie Lemelin
 * colspan="2" | Artemis Crock
 * class="VA" | Jenifer Lewis
 * Olympia Savage
 * class="VA" | Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2" | Dick Grayson/Nightwing
 * class="VA" | Nolan North
 * colspan="2" | Conner Kent
 * class="VA" | Khary Payton
 * colspan="2" | Jefferson Pierce
 * class="VA" | Mark Rolston
 * colspan="2" | Lex Luthor
 * class="VA" | Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2" | Forager
 * class="VA" | Michael Leon Wooley
 * Darkseid
 * Olympia Savage
 * class="VA" | Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2" | Dick Grayson/Nightwing
 * class="VA" | Nolan North
 * colspan="2" | Conner Kent
 * class="VA" | Khary Payton
 * colspan="2" | Jefferson Pierce
 * class="VA" | Mark Rolston
 * colspan="2" | Lex Luthor
 * class="VA" | Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2" | Forager
 * class="VA" | Michael Leon Wooley
 * Darkseid
 * colspan="2" | Lex Luthor
 * class="VA" | Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2" | Forager
 * class="VA" | Michael Leon Wooley
 * Darkseid
 * class="VA" | Michael Leon Wooley
 * Darkseid
 * colspan="3" | Despero
 * colspan="2" | Ishtar
 * colspan="3" | Mongul
 * colspan="3" | Nabu
 * colspan="3" | Starro
 * colspan="3" | Mongul
 * colspan="3" | Nabu
 * colspan="3" | Starro
 * colspan="3" | Nabu
 * colspan="3" | Starro
 * colspan="3" | Starro

Continuity

 * Vandal Savage has lived under multiple names in the past, including Marduk; the exploits of the hero Marduk played a large role in Young Justice: Legacy.
 * Following his banishment from Markovia in "Eminent Threat", Brion is keeping himself apprised of news from his country. He flips through news articles about his brother and uncle.
 * Dick gives Brion a fireproof super-suit so he don't burn through his clothes when using his powers, as he did in "Away Mission".
 * The Green Lantern Corps is still fighting the Reach following the events of season two.
 * Vandal Savage is still in command of the Warworld since "Summit".
 * When Conner scoffs Brion's suggestion of Superman and Batman fighting each other, Artemis suggests that it could happen if they were "controlled by the bad guys", but Dick mockingly dismisses that possibility. This is likely a nod to "Auld Acquaintance", in which the entire Justice League fell under the mental control of the Light.
 * Helga Jace is still struggling with being away from Brion since "Eminent Threat". Her relationship with Jefferson also goes to the next level, since it began in "Private Security".
 * Brion adopts the code name "Geo-Force" after the term Helga Jace used in "Rescue Op" to describe his lineage's meta-human abilities.
 * Starro resurfaces since his apparent obliteration in "Downtime". The flashbacks also explain why he was found frozen in the Artic sea.
 * Despero and Mongul are seen in the Warworld's stasis chambers. They have been there since "Cornered" and "War" respectively.

Trivia

 * Number 16:
 * Helga Jace is staying at room 1616.
 * End credits shot: Wolf sleeping on Conner and Megan's couch.
 * This episode is dedicated to the memory of Miguel Ferrer, the voice of Vandal Savage in seasons one and two. Ferrer passed away on January 19, 2017 at the age of 61. His role is taken over by David Kaye.
 * At the beach, Violet pets a starfish, foreshadowing the main antagonist of this episode.
 * The idea of Vandal Savage getting his scars from a cave bear came from Phil Bourassa, when he originally designed the character. This episode incorporates that idea into the character's story.
 * Savage's combined efforts with his daughter (Ishtar) to defeat Starro in the past is juxtaposed with his combined efforts with another daughter (Cassandra) to repeat the deed in the present.
 * Dick quotes Sun Tzu as a preamble to induce the new recruits to choose their code names. Greg Weisman gave this an ironic twist by revealing that Tzu was also one of Savage's many identities.
 * Olympia Savage is an original character conceived by Brandon Vietti and named by Greg Weisman. She was not included in the original story breakdown for "Evolution" and was added by Vietti, who felt something was missing from the episode. While her addition did not significantly affect the bulk of the story, where Cassandra Savage was to do some of what Olympia ended up doing, it dramatically altered the ending.
 * Greg Weisman has praised this episode as "not merely a great YJ episode. To my mind, "Evolution" transcends YJ. It is a phenomenal, even revolutionary twenty-plus minutes of television," and credits Brandon Vietti's decision to add Olympia, over Weisman's initial objections, for elevating the story.

Goofs

 * When Olympia informs Savage that there's a incoming problem coming from space, he asks if it's a meteorite. He actually meant to say "meteoroid", because a meteorite is piece of a meteoroid that survives the fall through the atmosphere and crashes on Earth.

Cultural references

 * Artemis jokes that Nightwing named himself after an 80s mullet rock band, a reference to the British band Nightwing.
 * Dick quotes Sun Tzu's the The Art of War.

Unanswered questions

 * How is Vandal Savage keeping Leaguers busy on Appellaxia?
 * What is Project Rutabaga?
 * What is the "Anti-Life Equation" that Desaad refers to?
 * Who is the meta-human Kalibak used as a bomb?