Young Justice: Phantoms Just Outdid Wally West's Big Sacrifice - CBR

The following contains spoilers for Young Justice: Phantoms, Episode 21, "Odyssey of Death!" now streaming on HBO Max.

In Young Justice, one of the show's most heartbreaking moments came when Wally West sacrificed himself against the Light and the Reach. He ended up disarming bombs and absorbing energy from a chrysalis, which erased his essence from the face of the Earth. Whether he went into the Speed Force, the show moved past him, handing off his Kid Flash mantle to Bart Allen/Impulse to reiterate that he was well and truly dead.

To this day, Artemis remains grief-stricken over her beloved, while Kaldur got depressed, not to mention this sacrifice also weighed on Beast Boy's traumatized shoulders. Now, in Young Justice: Phantoms, the show once more proved that no hero's safe, outdoing Wally's sacrifice to save New Genesis from a fiery extinction.

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It occurred in the battle with Lor-Zor and his sinister crew as they tried to open a Phantom Zone portal using the projector Mantis stole recently. The Bug used a time-heist in order to bring General Dru-Zod back, leaving New Genesis and the Justice League scrambling to retaliate. Tomar-Re attacked, along with Kilowog, who went from hating conversations on love back in Supertown into war mode, knowing Lor was up to no good. Tomar-Re was equally feisty, though, because he regretted how he failed to protect Krypton years ago. As a result, he couldn't let this Zod cult (which now included Superboy) come over as they'd want to erase the House of El for good.

Sadly, in the melee, a Promethean arose from the New Genesis forest as a self-defense mechanism, spewing fire that'd engulf the planet in what was essentially cosmic self-destruction. Tomar-Re, however, was most astute, creating a funnel using his ring, knowing this construct would allow the flames to dissipate into orbit. It was a brilliant strategy because no harm would be done, but unfortunately, he left his back vulnerable. He couldn't keep shields up, while focusing on the funnel, which allowed Lor to fire his heat vision.

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It went straight through Tomar-Re's back, piercing his heart. But the thing is, as his eyes closed, and he fell to the ground, Tomar-Re kept the construct up. This was a most powerful show of willpower, love and heart, which even Lor was surprised at. It wasn't revealed if it was instinct or his connection to the ring, but while Tomar-Re was basically dead, his reflex kept the funnel going. It's only when the Promethean disappeared and the threat was extinguished that the funnel dropped.

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This proved how attuned he was to the heartbeat of the planet, saving it while his life was gone. Sure, Wally running at top speed to absorb the energy was spectacular in his sacrifice, but seeing what Tomar-Re did while he was dead really felt like an even more miraculous feat. Nonetheless, both were stark reminders of how Young Justice's heroes go above and beyond, leaving the replacement Lantern in Female Forager with tall boots to fill.

New episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms debut every Thursday on HBO Max.