Masterdramon writes...

Aloha Greg! Finally caught up with the queue again, and figured I'd "celebrate" my asking my own question for the first time in a while.

First off, absolutely loving just about everything about PHANTOMS so far. The maturity of the storytelling, worldbuilding, and character exploration on display in just the first arc has been stupendous.

I particularly appreciated your acknowledgment in a recent answer of racial blindspots you and the creative team could see in hindsight with the way Mars-16's society was set up, and the genuine effort put into course-correcting here, resulting in a far more nuanced and topical take on racial prejudice and hierarchy than most contemporary shows would even dare TOUCH.

Meanwhile the animation, sound design, and voice talent remain top-notch as ever (particular props to Greg Cipes...people who have only heard him do Beast Boy in the VERY broad take from "Teen Titans Go!" have to have been thrown for a loop by his performance here). The dialogue, both dramatic and humorous, carries a sharpness that few other shows of its type can match. And that heart of mystery and black-ops intrigue, which always gave YJ its own strong, unique identity to set itself apart from other versions of the DCU, remains as strong as ever (though I totally called the king's murderer right off the bat, LOL).

All this combines to create what is shaping up to possibly be the best season of this show yet, and the reason why Thursdays are the day of the week I'll be most looking forward to for the foreseeable future. ;)

Now, to the actual question...

One element introduced in OUTSIDERS that really interested me were the Control Chips used by the Light and their associates. While they seem like garden-variety fictional mind control devices in terms of their utility and effects, their actual origin and functionality are never brought up on-screen, as they are clearly a well-known feature of the criminal underworld by Team Year Eight.

So these are a few of the questions that I've been mulling over since my last rewatch of OUTSIDERS. If any of these are considered to be spoiler requests or touch on unseen elements of PHANTOMS, feel free to skip over, but I figured I'd give it a shot!

1) Who first invented the Control Chips?

2) In "Auld Acquaintance" Vandal mentions that one of the Light's goals was cornering the market, as it were, on "every conceivable method of mind control." As he says this, we get a quick montage of examples from Season 1, including Starro-Tech, G-Gnome telepathy, the Joker's plant-controlling gloves, Queen Bee's pheromone abilities, and Psimon's psychic powers. Were any of these precursors or bases for the Control Chip tech?

3) Anything you're willing to share about how the Control Chip's level of...well, control, compares to the above-mentioned methods? For example, Starro-Tech explicitly only allows an external user remote control of the mind, without actually altering the victim's thoughts. If not neutralized by a Cure Chip, do Control Chips have this same limitation, or do they work along an entirely different vector?

4) Is there a "standard" Control Chip model used by the various meta-traffickers around the world, or is this the sort of case where once the technology exists, unsavory characters of all sorts reverse-engineered their own "flavors"?

5) How does the Control Chip imprint who the victim is supposed to be obeying? Clearly in Jace's case, for example, she had primed the chips she used on Brion and Tara so they would obey her, but is that done by a voiceprint sample, DNA, or some other method?

I'm probably overthinking this one little part of the worldbuilding, but hey, that's what this sight is for! That, and asking for the age of every character who has ever been mentioned for a single femtosecond, LOL...

Regardless, wishing you, the rest of the cast and crew, and all of your loved ones the absolute best! Cannot wait for the next chapter of PHANTOMS to enter my eyeballs.

Mahalo nui loa! :D

Anonymous writes...

In the aftermath of "Dark Nights: Death Metal," has the Young Justice animated universe been officially designated as Earth-16 again in the DC Multiverse, or is Earth-16 still that version that was seen in "The Multiversity: The Just?"

Anonymous writes...

Young Justice Questions in regards to Batwoman:

1. Is her full name Katherine "Kate" Rebecca Kane?

2. Are she and Bruce Wayne maternal cousins?

3. When did she join the Justice League and what was her designation number during her time as a member?

4. Within the animated series, does her immediate family consists of Jacob Kane (father), Gabrielle "Gabi" Kane (mother), Elizabeth "Beth" Kane (twin sister), and Catherine Hamilton-Kane (stepmother)?

5. Within the animated series, when and why did Kate Kane become Batwoman?

Suzie writes...

Hello got a few more Young Justice questions.

1. To confirm are Bart and Eduardo a couple?
2. What are the names of Tula's parents?
3. When and how did Superboy make his engagement ring to Miss Martian?

Anonymous writes...

Young Justice Questions in regards to Superman:

#1. Are the names of Kal-El's birth parents Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van?

#2. Since Kal-El was born in 1977 and his ship landed in Kansas in 1978, how exactly is it possible for his ship to travel to Earth so quickly in the span of only one year?

#3. In the years prior to starting his crime-fighting career in 1998, who else besides Clark's parents was aware that Clark had powers?

#4. When exactly did Clark Kent learn the truth about his own origins?

#5. When exactly did Superman become aware of his weakness to kryptonite?

Anonymous writes...

Hi Greg, hope your doing well.
1.Has Zatanna ever dated someone else after breaking up with Dick ?
2. Has Dick dated someone else after breaking up with Zatanna and before dating Barbara ?
3. Had Dick and Zatanna ever wondered to set back together after breaking up ?
4. Had they ever regret they break up ?
Thanks for your time !

Anonymous writes...

Mr. Weisman,

What other animated DC films are also considered "Young Justice-adjacent" besides "Catwoman: Hunted" and "DC Showcase: Green Arrow"?

Marvelman writes...

Was the Legion part of your plans for Young Justice from when you and Brandon first developed the show and season one? Or, were they a later addition?

Anonymous writes...

Who created those speakers that Gar uses when he is in beast form? How do they work? What is their name?

Anonymous writes...

Dear Mr Weisman i have some Young justice related questions for you 1. Does Mrs M'orzz watch hallmark movies on a frequent basis as she was more familiar with the purpose a wedding ring then Mr M'orzz was? 2 Are any of Miss Martian sibling's (Em'ree and M'comm aside) members of the yellow Martian order? 3. what does Black canary do for a living?

Ali writes...

I have 2 questions about Doctor Fate.

1: Do people have to consent to let Nabu possess their body? For Example would it have been possible for the Team or Kent Nelson to just have him possess some evil magic user such as Wotan or Orm by placing the helm on their head against heir will?

2: Does Doctor Fate have access to any non-mystical powers of their human host? He didn't seem to have super speed when possessing Wally, but I am not sure if he just didnt try to(which would be understandable as mid-battle isn't the best place to try out new powers).

Hello, Gargoyles writes...

Does the Gargoyles show exist on Earth-16? Was it made by Greg Vietti or Brandon Weisman? Did any of our favorite superheroes watch it? Who was their favorite character? ;)

Shivang Parikh writes...

Was Count Vertigo the younger brother of Perdita father?

NoOneSpecial writes...

Maybe this is a strange question, but from a production point of view, are you only allowed to use existing characters from the DC comics or you be able to create an original character for the YJ? I get that their could be a lot of factors in this and alternatives, e.g, like using a relative minor or unheard of character over a more mainstream one. But would you say you have enough creative freedom to create a purely original character for your show that has no DC counterpart that you are adapting? And not just being original, but also having an unmistakable presence in the series, equivalent to one of the mainstream heroes like Nightwing or Artemis. Is a lot of emphasis, from an executive pov, to keep focus on the heroes that are most recognisable to the audience, throughout any of the 4 seasons of YJ? I can think of couple of examples of this occurring in other shows such as Harley Quinn who was created for the Batman TAS, or X-23 who was created for X-Men Evolution. Of course those are two examples of characters that were such a huge hit that they became part of the comics. Now I'm not asking about anything that could be potentially upcoming, I'm just curious if creating original characters is something you could do if you so choose.

Crossoverparinglover writes...

I was curious if you ever broke down in what galaxies various planets are. DC's done that a few times: For example Thanagar Daxom and Tamaran are in the Milky Way while Krypton is in the Andromeda Galaxy. Is that the case in YJ as well?

IF that's too spoilery, think you can give some non-spoiler labels to join Earth and Mars in stellar geography. I'm always fond when creators do that.

Zergrinch writes...

Hi Greg!

I have some questions about alien reproduction. For my edification, and as far as you care to enlighten, in your mind:
1. Do Martians bear live young, reproduce asexually, or lay eggs that hatch?
2. How about the Reach, with their insect-like motifs?
3. How about the gremlin-like Kroloteans?
4. How about the hawk-like Thanagarians?
5. And finally, what about the bugs on New Genesis?

Thanks 😁

Nick writes...

Hi, Greg! I was very happy to see the promo art update for the next arc today, and I am incredibly excited to see what PHANTOMS has in store. I saw that you recently answered some questions on when certain members from the S1/S2 gap joined the Team (https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=25193) and I was wondering if you’d be willing to do the same for Jason Todd/Robin. Not asking for debut info since that was marked as spoilers for the Marvels, but seeing as how these recent answers confirm that Jason joined in either Team Year Two (after Troia) or in Team Year Three (before the Marvels), would you be willing to reveal which year it was?

Wishing you all much luck on the last batch of episodes! Us fans are doing all we can to campaign for Season 5, and hope it amounts to good news soon!

Anonymous writes...

Why did Dick and Zatanna break up ?

Izzy writes...

Hello! I've seen the last three episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms and I'm eagerly awaiting the fourth. The relationship dynamic between M'gann and her family (especially M'comm) is rivaling Artemis's in terms of pure curiosity and intrigue. I love it and I want to know everything! And given what was shown in the trailer, it looks like even more of Artemis's family dynamics are going to be explored, which is fantastic. I think this is going to be something they'll bond over this season. But who knows! Anyways, on to the questions:

01. You mentioned in a recent Tweet that ‘Catwoman: Hunted’ is, like your Green Arrow short, a story that also occurs similarly on Earth-16. Given that information, is it safe to assume Catwoman exists on Earth-16?
02. Are Lucas Carr and Bethany Lee alumni of Happy Harbor High School, or did they graduate elsewhere? Given that Snapper was at least living in Happy Harbor as a teenager, I assume he attended the public high school. The same can be said for Bethany, if her backstory from the comics as the daughter of Happy Harbor’s police chief before becoming one herself is largely unchanged.
03. Given you are a Stanford alumni and have thought about what dorms Wally and Artemis spent their Freshman years in, did you give any thought into who their respective roommates were? Not asking for spoilers about who they were, just merely if you guys ever bothered to come up with them.
04. Is Batwoman Jewish on Earth-16 like she is in the comics? If so, wouldn’t that make Batman (by proxy, if not in practice) Jewish as well, at least on his mother’s side?
05. This is a long one! I know birthdays aren't something you come up with unless the story needs it, but do you have the same line of thinking with babies born during the story? Artur, for example, was born on February 1st, 2011 (according to the YJ wiki, which got the date from Legacy). For Lian, however, we only know she was born in September 2015. Do you have a birthdate in mind for her, or just the month? For Don and Dawn Allen, you answered in an ask that their due date was sometime in the September following Invasion. I’m not asking if that due date was accurate or when, if you know it, their actual birthday(s) are, but merely the concept as a whole. Was Artur the only one assigned a birthdate in-story because the diary entry needed a timestamp? Since then, a whole bunch of other super-kids (Anissa and Jennifer, Jonny, Traya, Amistad, and most recently Rhea) have been introduced, with Rhea being (according to Unknown Factors) born on January 21, 2019. While Rhea’s birthday is obviously a byproduct of the story and thus laying credence to your stance on only assigning birthdays when needed, she was also the only one explicitly shown. I guess this whole question can be summed up to: do children (emphasis on children somehow connected to the main cast) born DURING the story get assigned birthdays even if the story doesn’t necessarily showcase/reference their birth outright? If not birthdays, then just birth-months? Or is that only come up with when needed as well?

Paul writes...

1) When (in terms of which Team Year) did Lieutenant Marvel leave the Team?

2) When (in terms of which Team Year) did Sergeant Marvel leave the Team?

Anonymous writes...

Congrats on a 4th season can't wait to see it, now I have browsed the archive many times and since these questions weren't there, so I am assuming they haven't been asked
1. How big is the Timeline currently.
2. You said Earth-16 has some significanct relation with the number 16, I am assuming that means there's more to that then you all dropping 16 in every episode. If so how long do we have to wait is the answer only going to come when we reach season 16.
3. How concrete is the timeline like are their things in it which you thing can be subject to change or is it already vague aside from the necessary stuff i.e have you gone back and changed something thinking this has to better why didn't I think of this before.

Peter writes...

In what year did garfield logan's skin turn green in young justice timeline ?

Jack writes...

Before miss martian and superboy the logans on december 1 2010 miss martian promise she would come back to see garfied . my question is how long a time did m'gann planned to pass before m'gann came back to see the garfield and marie ?

Marvelman writes...

As a Canadian, the only way I can support season 4 right now is to binge seasons one and two on Netflix over and over again. Does this actually do any good in regards to getting a season 5?

Anonymous writes...

The current host of Dr Fate will die eventually and then he will require a new host, but it is unlikely that anyone will ever want to wear a helmet that robs them of their life unless they are in an extremely desperate situation. My question is has nabu considered this. Has he thought about this future situation for him at all?