Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Young Justice season 4 and Green Lantern: The Animated Series.
A cameo appearance by the character Razer in Green Lantern: The Animated Series. The sister series premiered on the same day in 2010 and ran for two seasons as part of Cartoon Network's DC Nation block. However, while Young Justice developed a cult following and was later revived for the DC Universe streaming service and HBO Max, Green Lantern: The Animated Series has remained relatively obscure by comparison.
The title of Young Justice season 4, episode 19, "Encounter Upon the Razor's Edge!" proved to be a prophetic pun. As the episode opens, the Green Lanterns Kilowog (Kevin Michael Richardson) and Tomar-Re (Dee Bradley Baker) are on their way to a peace conference on the good New Gods world of New Genesis, when they stumble across a comatose Blue Lantern. To Kilowog's surprise, the Blue Lantern is his old ally Razer (Jason Spisak), who he had not seen in four years.
Razer was an original character created for Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Born on the planet Volkreg within the Forgotten Zone, Razer was recruited into the rage-empowered Red Lantern Corps following the violent death of his wife. While originally an enemy of the Green Lanterns, Razer turned upon his comrades after learning that the Red Lantern leader Atrocitus was responsible for his wife's death. Afterward, he attempted to use the dark power of the Red Lanterns and his righteous fury to fight for good, studying with the hope-empowered Blue Lanterns to control his anger and finding love again with the artificial intelligence Aya. When the series ended, with Aya presumed dead, Razer parted ways with the Green Lantern Corps he had befriended to search the universe for her. The final episode showed a Blue Lantern ring flying after Razer, suggesting that his heart was now governed more by hope than hate.
Had Green Lantern: The Animated Series been renewed for season 3, Razer would have officially become a Blue Lantern. Young Justice makes reference to this, with Razer explaining to Kilowog that he took up the Blue Lantern ring after it caught up with him and spent the last four years searching for Anya with no success. This would seem to confirm that the events of Green Lantern: The Animated Series took place in the same continuity as Young Justice and that both series share the same reality. This idea is also encouraged by the fact that Jason Spisak and Kevin Michael Richardson returned to voice Razer and Kilowog in Young Justice, after originating the characters in Green Lantern: The Animated Series.
While the Young Justice episode "Encounter Upon the Razor's Edge!" does not bring closure to Razer's story, it does honor the Green Lantern: The Animated Series storyline and establish Razer as a force to be reckoned with. This is unsurprising given that the episode was written by Jim Krieg and Ginacarlo Volpe, who were both producers on Green Lantern: The Animated Series. It remains to be seen, however, if Razer will go on to play a major role in the story of Young Justice season 4.
New episodes of Young Justice release Thursdays on HBO Max.