Joseph B. writes...

Well, I'm solidly impressed. A friend just managed to drag me into watching "Independence Day"; if he had mentioned who was behind it, I would have acquiesced alot faster.

Others have already brought up most of the excellently done pieces, such as the group dynamic, the strong characterization, and so forth. In particular, having read the response to the "why no female sidekicks in the initial ep?" and having fond memories of Gargoyles' and Spectacular Spiderman's female characters, I am looking forward to seeing the heroines of Young Justice teach the boys a few things.

However, there is one point that I was particularly impressed by, although I shall have to be a bit delicate in this. At the end: Superman's reaction to Superboy. It was a superbly well executed sequence that managed to communicate Superman's shock and horror at having been cloned without consent--a violation of the highest order--and his struggle to not associate the boy in front of him with that violation. I'll admit, my reaction to his reaction was "Okay, first, we get you to a bar. Then, a psychiatrist." Superbly well done, and I'm curious to see where that dynamic goes. Superman has already more or less dumped the responsibility for his clone onto others, which, while understandable, doesn't bode well for their future relationship. But, still, the scene was superbly executed, and I'm looking forward to where it's going from here.

And on a final note, a question: Level 42? Seriously? Where they find Life, a whole 'nother Universe, and just about Everything on the computer? That was cute, but now I'm racking my brains on what reference/significance 57 has!

Thanks for going the extra mile with this, and I'm looking forward to more.
Joseph B.

Anonymous writes...

1.I notice you have the street level characters like Batman and Black Canary taking charge of the youngsters, with fighting and so on. So what role do the metas play in their mentoring?

2.Will we see more of the Superboy and Aqualad friendship? They seem to have a bond already. It would be more refreshing to see than the same old same super/bat thing...ie Superboy/Robin.

3.I did not really like the Miss Martian intro. She seems a little too sugary and one dimensional batting her eyes off the mark at Superboy. What challenge does she really present to Kon? Or he to her? It felt like you guys telling us. Right. That's your ship. Deal with it. No build up whatsoever. I almost hope the clown Kid Flash wins this one. But then I guess you could surprise me.

4.What's up with Roy and the bitching? That was really unfair to play him off like that. I hope you guys have one episode to make him look less of a little girl.

5.Any clue as to which Wondergirl we will see? Can you tell me Wonder Woman's age in this?

6.Will we see Kyle Rayner?

7.I'm kinda hoping Zatanna will be around Robin's age.

8.I am also looking forward to see Kon develop his relationship with Superman. That's interesting you went with "dad"...than say "brother". Any reason for that? Cause it would make things really different in how they see each other. But I must say Superman's reaction was spot on. It's kinda weird to be the last of your race and then this clone crops up.

Logan writes...

Big fan of the idea to ground the show in realism. After watching your previous work I've always left your show's feeling that I've gotten much more than your typical cartoon experience. I was pleased to have similar feelings after watching young justice.

In spirit of the covert and behind the scene missions that batman will assign the young league, and given the show has the appropriate rating, will we be seeing REAL guns and bullets, and not your typical random super villain technology laser gun every other episode?

I love the covert angle and being that the young league is going to be in the shade for now, we'd love to see some realistic shady characters and some shady gat's...

kon-el writes...

1.Is Superboy going to learn to fly?
2.Does Superboy have super speed?
3.What can you tell me about the love triangle between Superboy, Miss Martian and Kid Flash?

Robin writes...

First of all, the Young Justice premier was exquisite, I can't wait for more. However, I do have one question. When the Young Justice team is led by the Justice League members into the decoy base, lounge is show to be in full view of reporters (who are behind a glass window. A few minutes later, the warning happens. Are the reporters still viewing that room when this warning comes? Or was there some sort of off-screen blocking of the windows? Thanks

Anonymous writes...

Hi! First off, great work on the YJ pilot. A few things bugged me (like the faintly ridiculous lack of female characters and the way they were handled) but overall it was excellent and I can't wait for the series to start!

I have absolutely no idea if you can answer this, but was Guardian being called 'brother' at the end of the Young Justice pilot supposed to imply anything?

Lucas writes...

Hi Greg - loved Young Justice! I was curious about Cadmus, though. Are there only saw three humans actually working in the sub-levels? (Guardian, Mark Desmond and the female scientist) Or were there more that we just didn't see?

It seems like there should have been more, since there was a large men's washroom, with a number of stalls in it... I'm assuming they wouldn;t have built that just for Desomnd and the Guardian. If there are more people working there, why didn't they respond to all the craziness going on?

FinalAvalanche writes...

1) Did you expect the fans to react so strongly in response to you not revealing the identity of Artemis in Young Justice?

2) In past interviews you've said who Artemis isn't and that has led to people grasping at straws for who's left. The two most popular theories at the moment are Olivia Queen, and Artemis Crock. Would you be surprised to know that I've even heard Stephanie Brown's name be mentioned?

Logan writes...

I saw a Jan 7th return date online ...

was not expecting it that early. early young justice makes me one happy fanboy.
good looks.

Greg Weisguy writes...

Do you feel like DC's Fifth Dimension characters (such as Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite, Qwsp, Jakeem Thunder's Thunderbolt, etc.) would be tonally appropriate for Young Justice? I'm not asking if you have any plans to use them, just whether you think those characters would be able to fit in with your show's relatively serious take on the DCU.

Along the same lines, how do you feel about red kryptonite (the variety that causes random changes in Kryptonians for a roughly 24 hour period)? Would it be too silly for a show like this?

tomi writes...

I saw premiere of Young Justice, and once agains, brilliant job well done!

I was just wondering, who,s voice director on that series?
My two guesses would be either Andrea Romano( since She has directed almost all existing animation adaptations of DC)or Jamie Thomason( since you have together history).
Once again, nice work, and keep it up!

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

FinalAvalanche writes...

I read on a Cartoon Network page that Artemis from Young Justice is Green Arrow's niece. Is that info. correct or a misprint?

Anonymous writes...

Do you have a scheduled day for YOung Justice to come back on in January? If you do, when?

Xander writes...

Back in 2005, during the run of Justice League Unlimited, DC Comics imposed an embargo on the creative team of the show â€" the most infamous of which being the Bat-Embargo â€" that disallowed the use of most prominent Batman-related characters. And later Aquaman's. Is there any possibility of that happening to Young Justice? If so, do you have any contingency plan for that? Or does Young Justice have precedence over other DC shows in regards of the use of its characters?

Logan writes...

Loved the pilot, I had EXTREMELY high hopes for Independence day and my expectations were defiantly exceed. Seeing Connor animated for the first time was beyond incredible.

Please do me the favor of confirming weather or not we will see any of the following justice league members out of costume assuming their civilian identies. clark? bruce? barry?

tomi writes...

Neither borrower nor a lender be: For loan loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge og husbandry
-William Shakespere.

Being original is never too easy: as amateur writer myself, and as misunderstood loner, i spend often much of my time crafting my own stories and developing characters of my own, and as certain perfektionist, it is long process.

Of course, i dont think it is a bad thing to be influenced by others and perhaps occasionally paying certain hidden tributes to them, but as any at least somewhat intelligent knows, too much borrowing is bad thing too: it only makes final product to look and feel predictable, facile and empty.

Many writers these days seems to be struggling between two choices:
When maing something original, how to make it to feel on its own and as much unpredictable and enjoyable as possible...
Or, whenever taking upon him/herself to craft from something that,s already been done in some form at least, to make sure not to repeat too much on the past, but still maintaining certain loyalty to its history.

Although i can certainly see many influences which must,ve been crafting on makers minds when gargoyles was crafted, it still manages to maintain it,s own fresh sense and certainly stand on its own. You and your fellows managed to make intresting world which was filled with intresting characters, deep themes and surprising plot-twists, something what is only very rarely seen in tv these days.

Then, you were showrunner on Spectacular Spiderman and have done work in The Batman for example. In The Gargoyles, you were given freedom to make your own characters, places and objects to use, and to use them in almost anyway possible, as long as it would seem to fit in. But whenever working on Spiderman, some things that fans of the franchise had grown to love in the past had to be maintained: Peter Parker/Spider-Man has to be portrayed as outcast whom fights against both city,s evildoers as well his own problems in his personal adolescence, or in Batman,s case, Btsie has to be this dark and tormented warrior of justice, Alfred loyal(and cynically sharp) butler, and Joker to be sick psychopath. And yet, repeating too much on the past, and you get scratched.

Having worked on something original and taking upon something you had been fond of in the past, which one do you consider to be easier/pleasent to do and how often, as a writer, you struggle between all these choices?

Alex writes...

If Superboy is 16 weeks old but is equivalant to a sixteen year old does this mean he will age quicker then the others?

In Teen Titans there was a major issue that you never got to see Robins eyes. Will we in Young Justice?

Is there any discussion about Robin being the most expierenced yet youngest in the show?

Gothic-Cowboy writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman. Congratulations on Independence Day, it was all I had hoped for and more. I have a few questions about Earth-16 that I hoped you would be willing to answer.
1. As of Independence Day, roughly how long has the Justice League been operating?
2. If I were to assume that the seven (bronze?) statues at the Hall of Justice were the seven founding members of the Justice League, would I be in error?
3. A)Do the League members' numerical designators represent their order of induction (except for the founders, obviously)? If so, do they also represent the order in which these characters debuted as superheroes?
B)Numbers 02, 04, 06, 07, 08, and 16 were shown in the pilot. Superman is undoubtedly 01. Wonder Woman and Hal Jordan are likely 03 and 05, respectively. That leaves 09-15, for the Hawkfolk, the two Captains, the two Johns (Zatara and Stewart), and Black Canary. In all likelihood, the Thanagarians joined jointly, thus their numerical designators are probably sequential. Could you reveal any of these yet, or will we just have to wait and see?
4. I've always been curious about the DC Martian life cycle, which has, to the best of my knowlede, never really been set before. Then I read your answer to an earlier question where you said that there's a rough 3:1 ratio for Human to Martian years (biologically speaking). Was this something that you and the creative team for Young Justice developed, or was it previously established somewhere?
5. I realize I'm probably asking too much, but does Project Atom exist on Earth-16?
6. Is Mount Justice/the Secret Sanctuary located in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island on Earth-16?
7. Jim Harper (the Guardian/Golden Guardian) and Roy Harper (Speedy/Arsenal/Red Arrow) were related in the comics. Did this influence the decision to cast Crispin Freeman in both roles, or is he just that good?
8. Is Kaldur'ahm the only person to act as Aqualad (thus far), or was Garth previously Aqualad?
9. Is naming him Kaldur'ahm a nod to Cal Durham from the comics?
10. Why is it that no one is ever just whelmed?
Thank you for everything that you do and for making yourself available to answer all of our often repetetive questions. A lot of people (myself not the least of them) appreciate it.

Filip writes...

Hey, Greg.

Are you writing any of the episodes to Young Justice?

Ian Whitcombe writes...

I'm curious about the philosophy behind recieving episode premise approval for a show from DC (and I'm assuming Marvel too for SSM?). I wonder which would describe it better:

1. You submit the episode premise as a checks and balances procedure working in good faith that the episode will be approved provided there aren't any legal or logistical oversights that would make the episode impossible to produce. What I think I'm asking is if they recognize your desire as producer to make the episode, and they would only veto a premise if there was some sort of hassle.

2. You submit the episode premise in the hope that DC likes it and sees value in the episode's production. This would imply that the episode could be approved or vetoed based on the creative "whims" of DC.

Algernon writes...

Hey again Greg,
When Superboy speaks for the first time in "Independence Day", a surprised Kid Flash responds by blurting out "He can talk?", was this a deliberate nod to Elisa's similar line in "Awakening Part Three" or just a coincidence?

Anne writes...

First off, I just want to say how much I loved the Young Justice pilot. (I haven't been this excited about an animated show since JLU went off the air back in 2006!)

My question, though, is whether you find it frustrating to work on a series based on DC comics, because of their very long and complicated histories. I ask this as a big fan of the comics, and an even bigger fan of Bruce Timm's superb DC Animated Universe. Do you ever feel bogged down by over 70 years of comic history, not to mention countless adaptations? How much difficulty did you and the production team have in pulling out what elements you thought would work for the new series?

On a similar note, have you found it difficult to try to distinguish your work from other adaptations of the comic (most notably Mr. Timm's DCAU)?

Once again, I can't wait for the new series to air in January! Between your work on Gargoyles and the fantastic YJ pilot, you've set some pretty high expectations. :-)

kon-el writes...

1.Where does Superboy live?
2.Are we going to see Cadmus again?
3.If we see Zatanna in Young Justice will she be a teenager?