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Anonymous writes...

Which of these two would you rather do?

A Spectacular Spider-Man Season 3 or writing the next Spider-Man trilogy for the MCU?

(I mainly ask this because I think you'd be the best choice for writing the next Spider-Man films)

Greg responds...

The hypotheticals attached to these questions are so vast as to make it impossible to answer. I'd love to do additional seasons of Spectacular. And I certainly wouldn't say no to writing anything for the MCU, let alone three Spider-Man films.

Response recorded on September 01, 2022

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Verdragon writes...

Since you've written for the character before, what are your thoughts on the MCU version of Spiderman, and what do you think makes a good Spiderman adaptation as a whole?

Greg responds...

Generally speaking, I like the MCU Spider-Man. There's a lot to like. I like his youth and inexperience. I like his good intentions, not always backed up by his relatively inexperienced actions. I may have quibbles here and there, but they're relatively minor.

What "makes a good Spiderman adaptation as a whole?" Well, for starters, you definitely need a hyphen. It's Spider-Man, not Spiderman.

Beyond that, I think I've answered this question in great detail - over two seasons and twenty-six episodes: it's called THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN. That's my version of the best way to adapt the character. I'll let it speak for itself.

Response recorded on June 15, 2022

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Wei writes...

Thank you for your time and all the great series over the years.

Like other Spider-Man fans I feel it's unfortunate that it's unlikely for Spectacular Spider-Man to return due to legalities (would love to be proven wrong though).

However would you be willing to helm a new animated Spider-Man series for Marvel?

Greg responds...

In theory.

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Zero writes...

What do you think of Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Greg responds...

I generally like him quite a bit.

Response recorded on July 28, 2021

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Max writes...

Hey, Greg. If you could do your own personal take on the Spider-Man mythos as a TV series (not like Spectacular. I mean a wholly original concept built from scratch.), what would it be like? With new origins for the villains and all that...

Greg responds...

Sorry, but I've done that, and it IS Spectacular. I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel with an existing property. I'm looking to do the best version of that property that I can manage.

Response recorded on July 12, 2021

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Alark writes...

As another question , have you heard about the new Spider-Man PS4 video game coming out, what are your thoughts on it? Thank you very much for your time.

Greg responds...

I don't know anything about it.

Response recorded on July 09, 2021

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Luthor writes...

I remember reading your mini run with The Amazing Spider-man.

Would you be open to doing a one off comic. I'd love to see you do something with Superman and Batman in the comics, like a fun one off. Like Max Landis does

Greg responds...

"mini run"? I wrote half of one issue. That's VERY mini.

I'd love to do more comics work for the big two. I haven't been invited.

Response recorded on June 28, 2021

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Jack Carpenter writes...

1: Does Peter Parker ever grab fast food/something from a convenience store/food stand/whatever, while in costume?

2: What are the eyepieces of his suit made of? Are they lenses like in all the pre-MCU movies? Mechanical irises like the MCU? Just cloth?

Greg responds...

1. Rarely.

2. Spectacularum. Or is it Spectacularite? I always mix up those two.

Response recorded on October 22, 2019

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Webb writes...

Don't you think becoming Spider woman is a better fate for Gwen Stacy than dying?

Greg responds...

I would think so. But I guess you'd have to ask her for a definitive answer.

Response recorded on April 25, 2019

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Emeka Uzoh writes...

The Spectacular Spider-Man is my favourite TV series of all time because I liked how it focused on Spider-Man and Peter Parker's early years as a teenager trying to learn how to balance his dual life and also deal with the usual things that teenagers go though.

1. Have you seen Spider-Man:Homecoming?

2. I wanted to know when you were making TSSM did you want people to fall in love with the original Stan Lee/Ditko and John Romita Snr run?

3.What is your favourite run of Spider-Man comics?.

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. Yes.

3. Lee/Ditko and Lee/Romita Sr.

Response recorded on April 24, 2019

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Kit Walker writes...

I'm currently wrapping a rewatch of Gargoyles' canonical seasons and preparing to continue the Weisman-lovefest with a rewatch of Spectacular Spider-Man and a thought has occurred to me: Was Coyote's continued use of Xanatos' face, particularly in his 3.0 and 4.0 versions where that face is on a screen, consciously influence by the early Spider-Slayers? Specifically, the ones that usually had J. Jonah Jameson's mug projected on a screen as they fought.

My guess would be that it's a bit of happy coincidence, as the idea's not the most unique, but since you've proven no slouch on Spider-Man lore...

Greg responds...

I don't think it was. I think the Coyote thing evolved out of what we did with him in his first appearance.

Response recorded on August 08, 2017

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Sidharth writes...

Are you a/the writer for the upcoming TV shows Marvel's Spider-Man ?

Greg responds...

Nope.

Response recorded on August 03, 2017

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Anonymous writes...

1.As a Spider-Man fan, I love stories that push Spider-Man and Peter Parker emotionally.

2. I feel that the Spectacular Spider-Man episodes managed to show that Spider-Man and Peter's choices were determined by whatever emotions he was feeling.

3. I want to know what are your favourite Spider-Man stories?

Greg responds...

1. Me too.

2. Hope so, at least to some extent.

3. I'm not big on ranking things. I love Spidey, and there have been a ton of stories I've loved, and a few that I haven't loved as much. A lot of the stories we adapted in Spectacular are stories I had a particular affinity for, like the Colonel Jupiter story and the Master Planner story, etc.

Response recorded on July 06, 2017

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Emeka Uzoh writes...

How did you manage to relate to Spider-Man/Peter Parker?

Greg responds...

He's everyman. He's easy to relate to. He has powers AND responsibilities. Doesn't everyone?

Response recorded on March 29, 2017

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RexBlazer1 writes...

Out of curiosity, are you aware that, in the original comics, the initial intent for the Venom symbiote was that, instead of going to Eddie Brock, it would go from Peter Parker to a WOMAN who had a grudge of her own against our friendly neighborhood web-slinger?

From what I've heard, the initial idea was that the woman would be pregnant and in labor. Then, her husband would try to wave down a taxi, and the taxi driver, who is paying more attention to Spider-Man in action instead of the road, accidentally hit and killed the woman's husband. The woman would then give birth on the spot, but the child would be a stillborn, and she'd lose her sanity because of the sudden loss of both her husband and her child, sending her to the Ravencroft Institute. She'd eventually regain her sanity and be released, but would still blame Spider-Man for the loss of her family. The symbiote would be nearby and sense her mutual hatred of the web-slinger, and bond with her to form Venom.

The reason Marvel didn't go this route, from what I hear, was that they felt their readers wouldn't consider a woman to be a physical-enough threat to Spidey. (Never mind the fact that a woman with the Venom symbiote would be, by definition, physically STRONGER than Spidey). Thus, they went with Eddie Brock, whose grudge was based on things that happened because of his own stupidity.

Here's the article describing it, just scroll down the page and you'll find it:
http://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-50/

Not to mention, as a result, it came to be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as Spidey doesn't have a lot of MEMORABLE female villains. In fact, the only one I can think of is Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat, who is very on/off when it comes to villainy, and is TECHNICALLY a clone of Catwoman when you think about it.

Still, imagine how things might've been had they gone with the female Venom route.

Greg responds...

It's interesting, but I'm not too enamored of the scenario you described. Again, her hatred of Spider-Man is largely irrational. She could hate the cab driver. God. Whatever. I prefer things being more personal. On the other hand, the goal of having more and more powerful female villains is one I'm whole-heartedly behind.

Response recorded on March 23, 2017

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Victor Valente writes...

Hi Greg,
So a new Spider-Man series was announced yesterday at the New York Comic Con. Are you taking part in this project in any way? If your not, is there any way you could get aboard it because that would be spectacular.
Thank you so much for your time.

Greg responds...

No. And no. I'm busy on Young Justice S3, and in any case, Marvel would have to want me on it. They certainly know how to find me. There's clearly no interest in putting me and the character back together at this time.

Response recorded on January 18, 2017

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Kellen O'Rourke writes...

Hello again Greg,
A couple of things, I read the archives and I got a couple of answers to my previous questions. I'd like to ask your opinions on the Spider-Man film franchise, specifically the two The Amazing Spider-Man films.
1. Do you agree with the general response on those films or not. As you know none of those films were really loved much.
2. What do you think of it ending prematurly and the franchise getting a third reboot? Are you excited for that?
3. Also wondering, how did the sales go for the complete series of The Spectacular Spider-man on blu-ray? I got it as soon as it was released and let me tell you, it's one of the best investments I ever made.

Hope you're doing well and thank you for your time.

Greg responds...

1. I didn't see the second one and thus can't comment on that at all. I thought there was a lot to like about the first one, but felt I didn't really need the origin again.

2. I have no opinion on that specifically. But I did like Spidey's appearance in Civil War. So that's promising. Not sure about hot Aunt May. Seems ageist.

3. I have no idea. They don't give me that information.

Response recorded on July 19, 2016

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Taha writes...

Would you be open to writing an episode of Ultimate Spider-Man?

Greg responds...

I would have been.

Response recorded on May 18, 2016

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Lexikon writes...

Hi Greg.

I saw you at Denver Comic Con on June 13-15 this year, and would like to thank you for answering the questions I asked you concerning Spectacular Spider-Man. I didn't go to your Gargoyles panel, since I hadn't seen the show for ages, but have recently gotten into it. Hopefully you and the crew will be back for the 21st anniversary ;).

Anyhow, after searching the archives, I saw you comment that you didn't want to give your opinion on Spider-Man 3, because you were working with Sony. However, since you are not working with Sony, would you be willing to let us know what you think of the Sam Raimi Spider-man films, both as Spider-Man adaptations and as films on their own? I noticed that in Spectacular Spider-Man there were many references and homages to Spider-man 1, 2, & 3.

Your opinion on the reboot series would also be appreciated, although I haven't seen Amazing Spider-Man 2 due to the bad reviews and being unimpressed by Amazing Spider-Man 1. Plus I'm disappointed that Sony is trying to copy Marvel by making an expanded universe with a Sinister Six and Black Cat movie instead of focusing on Spidey.

Thanks.

Greg responds...

There was tons to admire in Spider-Man 1 and 2. They got a lot right, as far as I'm concerned and even improved things here and there. I didn't love every single creative decision made, but they were both thumbs up movies to me.

I wasn't as enamored of Spider-Man 3.

I was okay with Amazing Spider-Man, but I thought it was a mistake to do his origin over yet again and so soon.

I haven't seen Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Response recorded on October 26, 2015

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Anonymous writes...

From where did you get the idea for Electro's origin in The Spectacular Spider-Man? Was it the story team's original idea?

I ask because in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Max Dillon turns into Electro almost the exact same way (gets electrocuted and falls into a vat of special electric eels). I'm interested if the movie blatantly ripped off from the show or if there is some comic book/other source material that you would have gotten this origin idea from.

Thanks - I'm a big fan of your shows, and Star Wars: Rebels seems like it will be pretty great.

Greg responds...

We came up with it - probably inspired to some degree from the origin of the mutates in Gargoyles - to fit our Biology 101 theme for that particular arc. But I don't consider what they did in the movie to be a rip-off. Marvel and Sony own everything that was done in The Spectacular Spider-Man, so they can't rip-off themselves. Frankly, I'm glad they liked it. Though I do wish that if they liked it that much, they would have hired me to write the movie. ;)

Response recorded on February 17, 2015

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Anonymous writes...

You've stated you used to be jealous of the MTV Spider-Man series. Why exactly were you jealous of it?

Greg responds...

Did I? Where and when did I say that? I'm not denying it, but I don't recall saying that, which makes answering your question without context somewhat difficult.

Response recorded on February 03, 2015

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Anonymous writes...

1) Would you be open to work on other new shows that focus on characters you've already worked on? For example, if you were approached by Disney to work on a new Spider-Man show that isn't in the same continuity as The Spectacular Spider-Man, would you accept? Or would you rather move on to different characters?

Greg responds...

Everything is situational. I'd love to do Spider-Man again in almost any form. (I wrote one issue of Amazing Spider-Man that wasn't in continuity with Spectacular, and would be happy to write more.) But the question's almost too hypothetical to answer. Readers familiar with this site know I'm not big on hypotheticals.

Response recorded on January 28, 2015

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Avi writes...

Hi Greg, How are you? You may know me from twitter as I tend to have converstations with you at times.
1. Spectacular Spider-man has gotten me into Spider-man. Other than Stan Lee's run, what Spider-man stories do you recommend? I have Kraven's Last Hunt, Death of Gwen Stacy, and all of Lee/Ditko, and will get the rest of Lee's run with Romita soon. Just wanted to get your thoughts on which Spidey stories to buy as you are a big Spidey fan.
2. Did you like the Peter/MJ relationship from the comics? I ask because some writers accuse that relationship as causing sales and quality of Spidey titles to drop, so I wanted to hear your opinion.
3. Since you said you are now working on the third book in the Rain series, did you get the green light for the third book or are you just working on it, in hopes it will be greenlit?
Thanks and hope everything is well!

Greg responds...

1. I can't pinpoint things for you. Might have been able to when I was in the thick of writing/producing SpecSpidey, but that was years ago. I always start at the beginning and work my way forward.

2. I like how some writers/artists/editors handled it. Didn't like how others did. It's all about execution.

3. I have not gotten a green light from St. Martin's Press on Masque of Bones (i.e. Rain of the Ghosts, Book Three). And I have NOT started writing it. I have begun doing some of the research.

Response recorded on October 14, 2014

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fan writes...

out of these 3 heroes Spiderman wolverine and batman who do
you find the most interesting.

Greg responds...

I find all three interesting. You'll find - as others have - that ranking things isn't big on my list of stuff to do. Just not the way my brain works.

Response recorded on September 30, 2014

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Kenny McCormick writes...

Thoughts about Black Spider-Man? Heard anything about him?

Greg responds...

It's all about execution, which I have not seen. So no, no thoughts.

Response recorded on March 13, 2014

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Avi writes...

1. You write strong female characters with skill(Demona, Gwen, MJ, Artemis, ETC). Since women can be portrayed weak sometimes, how do you do it?
2. Other than Stan Lee's run with Romita and Ditko, what era of Spider-man comics did you enjoyed reading the most?
3. What is your opinion on Spider-man: Kraven's Last Hunt, by JM Dematteis? Most people generally like it but others think it may have been too dark for Spider-man (Dematteis was actually going to have the story be a Batman and Joker story at first)

Thanks for the amazing shows! Spectacular Spider-man (I was looking forward to Season 3-5 and DTV's) was absolutely amazing along with Young Justice (I was so looking forward to the next season). I am only up to Avalon part 1, but Gargoyles has been tremendously fun to watch so far. I don't love Star Wars, but Rebels seems great so far and I can't wait. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you.

Greg responds...

1. I like to think I've portrayed some female characters as strong and others as weak. Some who stay strong, some who weaken. Some who stay weak, some who gain in strength. As to the 'how'… I don't have a magic formula. I'm sure it helps that I've always known, loved, admired and respected strong women all my life, starting with my mom. But really, I don't know any other way to do it.

2. There was some fun stuff for me in the 80s.

3. I haven't read it.

Response recorded on January 08, 2014

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Whedonite writes...

I loved your Spectacular Spider-Man TV series. It was far by the BEST interpretation I've seen of Spdier-Man in any of the movies/Televison

1. have you seen The Amazing Spider-Man? Did you notice the little elements they used from SpecSpidey? Like the satchel and the blue shirt? What are your thoughts on that?

2. Would you work on a Spider-Man or a MARVEL show in general again?

Greg responds...

1. I don't know if it's fair to cite the blue shirt. I mean, it's a blue shirt. You might as well say "shirt". Even the satchel is pushing it. I did notice little things that seemed to come from our series, but the operative word is SEEMED. Everyone is working off the same source material, so the notion that two groups of creators might independently come up with similar approaches makes a lot of sense.

2. I'd love to. I love those characters. All Marvel has to do is ask.

Response recorded on May 16, 2013

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

No question, just wanted to say I noticed your name on the Spiderman 700 cover. (Well, on the Comic News Insider with the full size image of the cover.) It's a nice acknowledgement.

I meant to tack this on to another post but kept forgetting. Since the last time I saw a similar nice reference I took so long to remember I totally forgot I realized I should just post it on it's own. (The last had something to do with either Love & Capes or Lions & Tigers & Bears, but for the life of me I can't remember which or what it was.)

Greg responds...

I'm guessing it was something to do with Love and Capes, which I'm a HUGE fan of, as opposed to Lions & Tigers & Bears, which I'm completely unaware of. (The latter's not a value judgement. I just don't know anything about it.)

The Spidey 700 thing was nice. I feel honored to be included, particularly since I've only ever written half of an issue.

Response recorded on March 20, 2013

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Abigail writes...

Is the character Sha Shan Nguyen based on any pre-existing character in the Spiderman comics?

Greg responds...

Yes. She's based on the character Sha Shan, who was Flash's girlfriend for awhile - and then wanted to kill him - and then didn't, and then dumped him cold when he cheated on her - and then pretty much disappeared until I brought her back in an issue of Amazing Spider-Man as his physical therapist. And then... um, I don't think she's appeared since.

Anyway, she was always a favorite of mine. And I always thought that she was THE ONE for Flash.

Response recorded on February 28, 2013

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Codeman1992 writes...

Hi Mr. Weisman, I just wanted to give you props on developing one of the most interesting and creative superhero series on television. Young Justice is one of the greatest superhero series I've watched. I put it up there with the great Batman The Animated Series and all the Timmverse Shows. So, like I said before, I give you props and you are a extremely well versed writer and it's proof in your work. With the new Spider Man movie coming out soon, I've noticed it's very reminiscent of The Spectacular Spider man. At least in the case of turning Gwen into a potential love interest in High School, who both her and Pete intern somewhere. That's my first question, have you noticed that? My second question is regarding The Spectacular Spider Man. I'm in my Spidey Obsession phase and always turn to your show whenever I'm in that phase. Since there's not gonna be a Season 3 of the show, can you drop any potential storylines or where the show was gonna go after the finale of Season 2? I know this is really long, but I'm a huge fan and hope I can be as great of a writer as you are one day. Thank You Mr. Weisman for your time.

Greg responds...

1. I did notice similarities, but we're all working off the same source material, so there are bound to be similarities.

2. ASKED AND ANSWERED.

Response recorded on August 23, 2012

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Greg Bishansky writes...

Another Spidey question. This one is both Spectacular related, and about your Amazing Spider-Man back-up story.

When you wrote and produced "Spectacular Spider-Man," you tried to get to the core truths of who each and every character was. Well, I need to ask you about who Betty Brant was in your series. We've never seen much of her besides Peter trying to ask her to the Fall Formal, and Ned asking her out on a date. She didn't even have a single line of dialogue in the entire second season.

I ask, because in the comics, and this is something that often seems forgotten by most people, Betty Brant is a pretty horrible human being. It's not something I was even really conscious of until my friend, Josh Bertone, started writing a series of articles documenting the history of this character.

She was pretty bipolar when she dated Peter. Constantly flipping out at him if he so much as glanced at Liz Allan, or another human being who lacked a penis. And then, turning around and playing around with both him and Ned Leeds.

She later married Ned and then abandoned him on their honeymoon. Had a one-night stand with Peter, and was later on having an affair with Flash Thompson that lasted for months and months. Which was driving Ned nuts, although, his brainwashing at the hands of the Hobgoblin arguably made things worse. But the affair started well before this Hobgoblin business. Hell, she had the nerve to ask him if their marriage meant anything to him as he was walking out on her, and he replied with "more than it means to you" and he was right.

Of course, Betty now blames the Hobgoblin for all of her marriage's problems and never once really acknowledged any wrongdoing on her part. It's almost Demona-esque how neatly she's able to deflect any feelings of guilt.

And finally, there was Betty's appearance in the back-up story for Flash Thompson that you wrote (loved that story), and when Betty first sees Sha Shan, she is mad. I think I'll quote my friend Bertone, who said it better than I could:

"The icicle speech balloons are a cool callback to the Ditko days but take a look at that scene again. Betty isn’t responding to Sha Shan…Betty starts it! Betty doesn’t greet Sha Shan with an apology or any remorse. No! She’s mad at Sha Shan! Why? What did Sha Shan do to her? It’s not like they had a Betty/Veronica relationship. Betty stole Sha Shan’s man! Sha Shan has a right to be mad! Betty doesn’t!

"Betty Brant is the only woman who will have an affair with your boyfriend and then somehow be mad at you as if she was the victim. What a horrible person."

The above isn't a criticism of the story, or how you used Betty. It's a criticism of Betty as a person.

So, I have to ask. Would your interpretation of Betty, had the series gotten more in depth with her have been this terrible, awful individual? In the comics, she makes Sally Avril look as cool and fun to be with as Mary Jane by comparison! If so, I'd say Peter dodged a major bullet there, when Aunt May put a stop to this in "The Invisible Hand." Come to think of it, May never liked Betty in the Lee/Ditko run either. Betty is definitely not the girl you bring home to meet mom.

Greg responds...

I think the thing to keep in mind about ANY character in a shared corporate universe is that multiple writers, editors and artists have had at him or her, with different agendas - often agendas that had little to do with the character him or herself - and more to do with how that character plays with, in this case, Spider-Man/Peter Parker.

Me, I'm fond of Betty. Probably originates with her being THE girl in the 1960s Spider-Man cartoon. I clearly like her more than either you or Bertone, but I haven't tracked each and every appearance. I just try to get to the heart of who I think she is. To me, in the Lee/Ditko era, she was a high school age girl who dropped out to work, because she had to. So she wasn't mature, but she was extremely competent. One of the few human beings who could handle J. Jonah Jameson. That to me is the fundamental TRUTH of her character. Anyone who can hold her own with Jameson and put up with his... crap, has to have something solid in her. The fact that Lee/Ditko occasionally played her as a jealous harridan ... seems more indicative of the tropes of romance comics of the day than with anything inherent in who she was. And what other writers did with her in the post Lee/Romita era (after she had already been reduced to the fourth or fifth most important non-Aunt May girl in Peter's life) carries even less weight with me.

Is that selective on my part? Damn straight! But we were always selective on SpecSpidey. Had to be. Too much inconsistencies in the canon for us to do otherwise.

So, what did we decide?

Well, first of all, we wanted a sixteen year old Peter, as he was in the early days of Lee/Ditko. But no one's going to buy - in a modern context - a sixteen year old Betty working full-time for Jonah. So we made her nineteen or twenty (can't remember, but something like that). So we gave a nod to the original Betty/Pete relationship, but as you saw made it awkward because of an age gap that would be insignificant in ten years (at age 26 and 29) but is just too wide at 16 and 19. We had fun with that. But we also started to build the Betty/Ned relationship too. We did have a couple Betty/Ned scenes written and recorded for Season Two, but they wound up getting cut for time before being animated... mostly because (a) we were long and (b) they were scenes we could sacrifice. Ned and Ned's relationship to Betty would have been important in season three, and we wanted to set it up, lay some pipe, etc. But there were always things we needed for Season TWO that were more important. So we figured we'd worry about Season Three if and when we got there. And of course we never did.

As for that one Betty and Sha Shan scene in the comic, I think you're overthinking it. The two are both cold to each other. They have an unpleasant history. No one's apologizing. No one's asking for an apology at this point. Neither "started it". Looks must have come before words. And looks said it all. The words were simply the "icing" (pun intended) on the cake.

Personally, I can't see Betty with Flash long term... though I guess that's the longest relationship she's ever had - mostly by default. Now, I see them as good friends. Maybe occasionally friends with benefits, but these two are never going to be much more than that in my mind.

Of course, to me the perfect girl for Flash was always Sha Shan. (Someone who could kick his ass - at least figuratively, if not literally.) So what do I know...

Response recorded on September 29, 2011

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Baron Ultron writes...

Few thing have bugged me since cancelation of Spectacular Spider-Man.

1)Does Marvel hate Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon or not.I ask this because they are making new Ultimate Spider-Man Cartoon and Spectacular Spider-Man was canceled and there was lack of promotion in Marvel.Com(While Avengers or Super Hero Squad have many promotions).Also in one of your answers you said that Marvel are not planning to make comic book based on your show or something like that.So does Marvel hate your show or not?

2)This might be stupid question but worth a shot.Will you ever work for Marvel or Disney again due to cancelation of your show and Disney retooling Gargoyles into Gargoyles Goliath Chronicles.

3)What do you think about Avengers:Earth's Mightiest Heroes Cartoon.Do you think it is as great as Spectacular Spider-Man or bad.Also in your opinion which show is better:Young Justice or Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

4)Will you watch Ultimate Spider-Man Cartoon?And also is there a chance that you will work on Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes or some Marvel Comic Book?

Good Luck

Greg responds...

1. I hope not. Ask Marvel.

2. I'm perfectly willing.

3. I haven't seen Avengers, but Frank Paur is producing it, so I take it for granted that it's great. But in any case, I don't see YJ as being in competition with Avengers. There's room for both.

4a. No. There's no upside in me watching Ultimate. If it's great, I'll be jealous. If it sucks, I'll be frustrated.

4b. No. I'm plenty busy on YJ.

4c. I hope so. Ask Marvel.

Response recorded on January 21, 2011

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Clark Cradic writes...

What comic universe would you say you're more knowledgeable about: DC or Marvel?

Greg responds...

I'm pretty equal on both companies.

Fairly knowledgeable (all things considered) on pre-1970s stuff.

More knowledgeable on the 70s.

Extremely knowledgeable on the 80s.

Less knowledgeable on the early and mid 90s.

Almost completely ignorant of the mid 90s through 2006.

Somewhat knowledgeable but with huge gaps on 2006 through the present...

Of course, I worked at DC as a freelancer from 1983-1991, and on staff from 1985-1987, so I have more INSIDE knowledge of that company, but during that period I was reading ALL the Marvel books too, so if we're talking CONTINUITY and CHARACTERS, I know both companies pretty darn well. I certainly grew up reading both. And when I was a little kid, I didn't even get that there were different companies that made comics. I'd see Green Lantern team up with Superman in one book. And Spider-Man team up with the Fantastic Four in another. And I didn't know that next month I might not see Captain America team with Batman. It took me a while to get the whole competing companies idea.

Response recorded on September 21, 2010

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Matt writes...

Greg,
I noticed that almost every single villain gets an episode or two (sometimes more) to be introduced to the audience before taking on Spider-Man in Spectacular Spider-Man. Rhino, Sandman, and the Enforcers were thugs, and Hammerhead has had a few bits of his past revealed as well. So why did you choose the opposite course of action for Tombstone?

Also, excellent issue of Amazing Spider-Man. Flash Thompson seems to be a hard character to really understand, but you truly understand Flash. Thank you.

Greg responds...

I didn't. Tombstone appears in episode one.

Thanks. I'm glad you liked the Flash story.

Response recorded on June 24, 2010

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Mo writes...

Hi. No questions this time, just had some quick comments:

1) I read your issue of ASM. Fun stuff. I liked the use of the framing device; it was a nice story to go along with the Morbius feature. I hope you write some more issues in the future.
2) I read on Wikipedia that Boomerang will appear in the 4th season of Spidey as a new member of the Enforcers. I'm not asking if it's true, I just thought you might find it funny.
3) If the show's renewed by the time you get this, congrats. If not, i'm pulling for ya.

Thanks again!

Greg responds...

1. Me too.

2. Well, that was certainly not based on anything I ever said. But it's all moot now.

3. Thanks, but...

Response recorded on June 10, 2010

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Anonymous writes...

Spider-Man editor Steve Wacker was doing a 24-hour live Twitter-cast today on Newsarama.com and he mentioned that you had written a "very emotional" Flash Thompson story for Marvel, though he didn't mention if it was for Amazing or Web. Either way, I was glad to see that they were at least acknowledging how good Spectacular Spidey is, and just wanted to say congrats, can't wait to read it, and I hope it leads to more (especially if the show doesn't come back).

Greg responds...

The issue is out (Amazing #622) and I'm pretty proud of the story. I hope you check (checked) it out.

Response recorded on April 30, 2010

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AJC writes...

What issues of amazing spider-man have you read? Do you follow the current comics and if not, why do they not interest you?

Greg responds...

I've read a lot over the years, but I couldn't give you specific issue numbers. All the early stuff of course, and pretty much everything in the 80s and the early to mid-90s. And, yes, I've read Brand New Day (or most of it).

Response recorded on April 28, 2010

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Reopening Ask Greg/Amazing Spider-Man 622

Hey gang,

It caught me off guard, but it seems my issue of The Amazing Spider-Man (i.e. #622) is out. So I've asked Gorebash to open Ask Greg to allow comments and questions about it. Normally, we wouldn't reopen this soon, given that I still am about 200 questions behind -- so don't assume it'll stay open long -- but I figured I should give you all the opportunity.


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the ice writes...

is there going to be a spider man 4 if so please i beg to know 4 rumors that have been going on #1 is there going to be a spider man four if not dont bother to awnser the rest of the Qs. if so is venom alive and going to be in upcoming movies? is the peters professer going to turn into reptile and is carnage the red sembiote going to be in any upcoming moveis if so this messeage gave you any ideas of a new spider man movie and you tell the world what expired you to make this movie my name is David (Lawhorn) please oh please write back!!!!!

Greg responds...

I assume there will be eventually, but I have no inside information. I work on the cartoon series, not the live action movies.

Response recorded on November 05, 2007

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THE BIG BAD GOOD NEWS...

Hey gang,

JUST got back from WONDERCON. Made a few announcements there, that I want to repeat here...

GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS

SLG will be releasing a new spin-off of Gargoyles. GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS. This will be a six issue bi-monthly limited series in black and white. I'm writing the title, with art by Karine Charlebois and tones by Stephanie Lostimolo. Covers (as always) by Greg Guler, colored (yes, colored) by Stephanie.

Gargoyles will remain a bi-monthly book (in color). (More on this in a second.) And Bad Guys will come out bi-monthly on the main title's dark months, so for a year you'll have SOME Garg Universe product coming out every month.

Now, I'm sure you have questions... So I'm going to TRY to preempt some of them here:

1. HOW CAN YOU START A SPIN-OFF WHEN YOU'RE BEHIND SCHEDULE ON THE REGULAR BOOK?

Fair question. But I personally am NOT behind schedule on the regular book. In fact, I'm way ahead of schedule. Here's where things stand.

Issue #3 is done and has been for weeks. We're simply waiting on Disney to "approve" the issue. There's no mystery or conspiracy here. There's just, I'm guessing, a guy in an office who is swamped with things to approve and isn't making the SLG properties (Gargoyles, Tron, Wonderland, Haunted Mansion) a priority.

Issue #4 is being colored and lettered and should be done within a couple of weeks. Since it doesn't need to go out for two months, that should give Disney plenty of time to approve it.

Issue #5 is being inked.

Issues #6 and #7 have both been scripted and pencilling has started on each.

Issue #1 of Bad Guys has also been scripted.

I will start on issue #8 of Gargoyles next, then #2 of Bad Guys, #9 of Gargoyles and etc.

I'll stay ahead, and hopefully so will everyone else and what that means generally is that barring something totally unforseen, we should be on schedule from here on out.

And, yes, David Hedgecock had delivery issues Gargoyles #2. But this was due to him having to split his time between a day job to pay the bills and his gig on the book. David has now taken the EXTRAORDINARY step of quitting his day job to dedicate his time to Gargoyles. Since we also have fill-in artists on issues #4-6, David is getting right to work on issue #7 and he will no longer be the cause of any delays.

On top of this, Dan Vado has stated that he has every intention of picking up the Gargoyles' license when it comes up for renewal.

I don't want to get complacent, but really this is all good news. It looks like we should be around for a while.

And I actually think that Bad Guys will help us out. We will in essence become a monthly title (at least sort of), which will get readers in the habit of picking up something Gargesque every month. That HABIT should help. At least that's the theory.

2. WHY BAD GUYS? I WANTED TIMEDANCER*! (*Feel free to substitute NEW OLYMPIANS, DARK AGES, PENDRAGON, 2198.)

The main answer is chronology. I have this timeline. And the Bad Guys story I'll be telling in this six issue mini-series is happening in late '96, early '97. This is the story that NEEDS to be told now. I hope you like it. AND I hope you'll support it. Because if this limited series does well, then GARGOYLES: PENDRAGON is next in line. And after that GARGOYLES: TIMEDANCER. (That's as far out as I've allowed myself to think up to this point.) If the limited series doesn't do well, then it'll be the last one... and I'll eventually incorporate events from Pendragon, etc. into the main Gargoyles book. But I'm hopeful that that won't be necessary. And I hope that those of you who've seen the Gargoyles reel at a Gathering can tell those who have never attended one of our great (www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com) conventions just how cool Bad Guys really is.

3. WHEN WILL GARGOYLES: BAD GUYS PREMIERE?

Karine is inking Gargoyles #5 now -- which shows what a trooper she is, since she JUST gave birth a few days ago! As soon as she's done with G#5, she'll start on BG#1. Our hope is that Bad Guys #1 can come out in the dark month between either Gargoyles #6 & #7 or -- at the latest -- between #7 and #8. We certainly plan to tease and pimp Bad Guys at the 2007 Gathering in Pigeon Forge!

So, if all goes well...

Gargoyles #3 - March
Gargoyles #4 - May
Gargoyles #5 - July
Gargoyles #6 - September
Bad Guys #1 - October
Gargoyles #7 - November
Bad Guys #2 - December
Gargoyles #8 - January, 2008
Bad Guys #3 - February, 2008
Gargoyles #9 - March, 2008
Bad Guys #4 - April, 2008
Gargoyles #10 - May, 2008
Bad Guys #5 - June, 2008
Gargoyles #11 - July, 2008
Bad Guys #6 - August, 2008
Gargoyles #12 - September, 2008
Pendragon #1 - October, 2008
etc.

Is there an element of wishful thinking here? Well... duh. But it's not unrealistic either. This is the plan. I mean to do everything in my power to stick to it, and everyone else involved feels the same way. Can't make ABSOLUTE guarantees of course. But I can promise you that I'm passionate about this project, about making it the best it can be both creatively and financially.

4. WHY BLACK AND WHITE?

This is largely an economic decision. Printing in multi-color costs WAY more than printing in B&W, and that reduces greatly SLG's profit margin and ability to put out the titles without over-extending their resources.

Creatively, however, I was completely behind the decision. Though I feel strongly that the main GARGOYLES title should be in color, I think the subject matter of Bad Guys can work terrifically in b&w. Again, if you've seen the Bad Guys reel at the Gathering, you'll have some idea of what this book can be -- even without full color. Plus we will have color covers, so you will get a sense of what our characters look like in color.

5. UH... I CAN'T THINK OF A #5 AT THE MOMENT.

BUT I'M SURE YOU GUYS WILL. The good news is that I'm getting through the ASK GREG back log at a pretty steady pace. I'm hoping to have the site open for questions shortly. And we'll definitely open it up (at least briefly) when issue #3 hits the stores.

NEXT TOPIC...

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

The following press release came out late last week...

KIDS' WB! ON THE CW NETS NEW SPIDER-MAN
ANIMATED SERIES FOR EARLY 2008 PREMIERE

Culver Entertainment Widens Renowned Marvel Hero's Web from Blockbuster Films
to No. 1 Rated Saturday Morning Broadcast Kids Network

BURBANK, CA (MARCH 1, 2007) - Spider-Man swings back into television action in early 2008 as an animated series from Culver Entertainment to air on Kids' WB! on The CW, it was announced today by Kids' WB! Senior Vice President and General Manager Betsy McGowen and Sony Pictures Television Co-President Zack Van Amburg.

Tentatively titled "The Amazing Spider-Man," the new series is being produced by Culver Entertainment. Greg Weisman ("Gargoyles", "The Batman") is supervising producer, Victor Cook ("Hellboy: Blood and Iron" and "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command") is producer/supervising director. The series will premiere on Kids' WB! on The CW, the No.1 rated Saturday morning kids broadcast slate.

"The addition of 'Spider-Man' bolsters a lineup that has proved to be the Saturday morning destination for kids seeking action and adventure in the most amped-up ways," McGowen said. "We're ecstatic to welcome 'Spider-Man' to our popular cavalcade of super heroes."

"Spider-Man is such an important brand for Sony Pictures and we're thrilled to keep the momentum going by taking it back to television with an animated series on Kids' WB!," Van Amburg said. "It's also an excellent way to launch Culver Entertainment, our newest television company."

Riding the crest of Sony's anticipated summer blockbuster "Spider-Man 3," the new animated series picks up the original web-slinger's mythology at the beginning of his hero's journey - as a not-so-typical 16-year-old entering his junior year of high school. Having spent the summer engaging common criminals with his new-found powers, Peter Parker must conceal his secret identity while engaging a new level of terror - the multi-leveled pressures of teenage life at home and school while combating bigger, badder super-villains in the real world.

"Our goal is to reinterpret these great characters and concepts for our millennium," Weisman said. "We'll have plenty of resonant material for the Spider-Man fan, while engaging the Spider-Man novice with the same thrills we experienced when we were first exposed to the character. Our stories will appeal on multiple levels with plenty of eye-candy, action, humor and colorful characters for the youngest demographic balanced with extensive character development for 'tweens, teens and adults."

Culver Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Television company. Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment for network and cable television, as well as first-run and off-network series for syndication. With more than 25 programs on the air, SPT boasts a program slate that includes the top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

A leader in children's programming, Kids' WB! continues to be a unique destination for kids. Kids' WB!, now airing on The CW Network, has been the broadcast home for such cornerstone hits as the blockbusters "Pokémon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!," Emmy® Award-winners "Xiaolin Showdown" and "The Batman," culturally diverse series "Jackie Chan Adventures" and "¡Mucha Lucha! Gigante," and breakout hits "Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue!" and "Legion of Super Heroes," among other favorites. Kids and their parents can find more information about Kids' WB! programming online at www.KidsWB.com.

We're still in very early days on Spidey, but I'm tremendously excited about the project. I hope you're looking forward to it, as much as I am.

That's it for now,

gdw