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Yjboy writes...
What are garth's, tula's and mera's magical specialties? And how is that different from zatanna's magic?
Greg responds...
Garth's specialty is summoning the Tempest, i.e storm magic.
Tula's abilities are more or less the same as Kaldur's except she's more advanced so doesn't require the Water-Bearers that he uses.
Mera is a master sorceress, who doesn't need to specialize as much. But she can create solid forms out of water like the others, but has more flexibility, imbuing her creations with something akin to a life of their own.
Zatanna's abilities are even less specific. She can accomplish many, many things with enough preparation and energy.
Anonymous writes...
How exactly was Wally shown to be insecure in Infiltrator? I've rewatched the episode multiple times, and I just don't see it. Aside from his good-natured "Kid Flash; never heard of you" line to Artemis, he was entirely civil with her after he fell and she made fun of him until Roy showed up. It wasn't until Roy started to get upset about Oliver replacing him with Artemis (and subsequently leaving because of her) that Wally showed any signs of hostility towards her.
And going by what was established about Wally's character, it makes much more sense that his hostility was in support of his friend (Roy) than due to some sort of insecurity. Everything even seemed to play out that way. Wally finally accepts her "taking Roy's spot" after he begrudgingly shakes her hand at the end, and by the next episode, he appears to be completely over it as he's trying to joke around with Artemis about magic. It didn't appear to have anything to do with him being insecure at all from what I can see.
Greg responds...
Well, you may have watched it multiple times, but so have I. In fact, I lived with it for months and months before and after the episode was completed. And I think from the moment he tripped and she made a little joke about it, he reacted badly. For example, asking over and over WHO ARE YOU?
There are other little clues too. I think the Roy thing was just an excuse, frankly, which is why he's so easily OVER that, as you point out. It was never about that. But it doesn't change how he feels a bit off his game with Artemis, which had more to do with her making fun of him (out of her own insecurities) and with his very real attraction to her exacerbating that embarrassment. I'm not saying it's not subtle. It was supposed to be subtle. But it's absolutely there - because those of us who made it put it there - whether you chose to believe or acknowledge or see or whatever it or not.
But I am done arguing over this. CAN WE PLEASE AGREE TO DISAGREE?! Neither of us is convincing the other. You will NEVER convince me that the things I intentionally put in the show aren't there nor will you convince me that things we didn't intend to put in motivated our choices. NEVER.
And it seems equally clear that I'm not going to convince you either. That makes this discussion a somewhat frustrating endeavor, at least for me.
Anonymous writes...
When I try to picture how Troia might have looked in YJ, the image in my head is close to how Zatanna looked in this show. Do you think Donna would have looked quite different to Zatanna, had she appeared in the show?
Greg responds...
Well, other than the dark hair, I don't see that Zatanna and Donna have much in common. But I wouldn't want to second guess the amazing Phil Bourassa. Brandon Vietti, Phil and I would always talk about a character before he sat down to design him or her. And Phil would always do everything we asked for. But then Phil would always surprise us, as well.
Harry Potter writes...
In the episode ''schooled'' from young justice how did Artimis know to save Kid Flash
Greg responds...
Check out issues #7-8 of our companion in continuity comic book series for the answer.
Jorlem writes...
A few questions regarding Martians and fire:
1. Is the Martian weakness to fire a part of/based in their physiology, or is it entirely mental?
2. Does the level of vulnerability vary from Martian to Martian (2b. Or from color to color), or is it the same across all Martians?
3. Does Beast Boy share the Martian vulnerability to fire?
Greg responds...
1. It's really about heat, not fire. But both are a legit threat to them physically.
2. I suppose.
2b. There's no significant biological difference between the various races of Martians in ANY respect.
3. Well, we're all vulnerable to fire, aren't we? I mean, I Superboy isn't. But it's not like Robin, Artemis, Aqualad and Kid Flash are somehow immune from the threat of fire. Beast Boy's no different. But he's not as vulnerable to heat as Miss Martian is.
Yukiko writes...
My question is just this: worst-case-scenario, let's say five years or so from now, YJ still hasn't come back for a third season in cartoon or comic form. After all that time has passed and there's still no way to let us viewers continue the show, would you consider giving us fans some closure about certain character's deaths/revivals?
I completely understand and respect you not wanting to spoil your own show at the present, but I also don't want to be thinking "what if they're NOT really dead, what if they ARE really dead" ten years from now.
I'm not asking for spoilers, just asking whether you'll consider giving them in the future, if there's ever a long period of time with no hope of a continuation of the show.
Sorry if this question is awkward or irksome. I've tried to keep within the guidelines, and I'd just really like to know. Thank you for your time, and of course, Young Justice.
Greg responds...
The short answer is no.
First off, five years? It's been twenty on Gargoyles and I haven't given up on that.
Second off, ideas minus their execution are subject to horrendous second guessing. I don't know why I'd open myself up to that.
Besides, at that point - if it's not an authorized revival of SOME kind - I'm just writing (well-informed) fan fiction. You guys can do that yourselves and each come up with the "ending" you like the best. You don't need me for that.
Anonymous writes...
I love Young Justice so much. Thanks so much to everyone part of the team who helped create such a beautiful show. I just have one question that I'm uncertain about but is pretty trivial. I was recently re-watching the first season and I noticed that Wally was wearing a jacket that was similar to Artemis's in Season Two. Was it Wally's jacket she was wearing? Thank you.
Greg responds...
I honestly don't recall. Might be a question for Brandon Vietti and/or Phil Bourassa.
Anonymous writes...
Ah, I just thought of another Marvel Family question! Sorry for not including it in the submission I made a few minutes ago.
This one's just a general Marvel Family question: was Mary Bromfield active as Sergeant Marvel in July of Team Year Zero, when the Team was formed?
Greg responds...
No.
Heath writes...
Why did you guys decide to use Wally West as one of the members of the original team on Young Justice? Was it because he was a vastly popular character in the comics (and therefore would be popular on the show)? Was it simply because he was one of the original sidekicks? Or was he just a placeholder speedster until Bart could be brought in?
I ask because it certainly seemed like the show never put as much effort and thought into his character and story that it did any of the other lead characters throughout the two seasons. You guys completely skipped over important parts of his story and never established things that were supposedly vital to the character on the show. Having to come here to find out that he was insecure about his speed relative to Barry (pretty important since he died because of that), or what Artemis might like about him, or why he wasn't helping out with the alien invasion after his confrontation with Dick during the second season isn't something that should be necessary. Which meant that both he and the stories he was a part of on the show suffered greatly. Also, you even mentioned that Wally was never a priority for the show like the other five members of the original team were.
So why use a valuable roster spot and screen-time on a character that you guys obviously weren't all that invested in? It's not like he was ever relevant to the plot aside from being Artemis' love interest, which any other character could have been, and being the character that died. The fact that he disappeared for a long stretch and was ultimately killed off during season two shows he wasn't important to the show like the others. That he was the one "main" character you guys felt the show could do without. And I got the feeling from how the show treated the character that you guys didn't care all that much about him, either.
And it's not that I didn't like Wally as I liked him well enough. Though I'm honestly not sure if I would have liked YJ's Wally if I didn't feel a pre-established connection to the character (thanks to the comics and Justice League/Unlimited) that allowed me to excuse his behavior/faults that the show never bothered explaining. I ask simply because he didn't bring much to the overall plot of the show in either season as he was just a support character (his relationships with Artemis, Dick, and Bart were portrayed as one-sided too) and the show never bothered examining the important aspects of his character and story like the others. It just seems strange to have a roster of six, and then treat five characters one way and Wally another. I mean, there was probably another character out there that you guys could have made relevant to the plot and/or been interested in exploring their character, right?
Greg responds...
Wow, I'm getting tired of this.
I've said this before, ad nauseum at this point, but I'll say it again. Wally West is my all-time favorite speedster. The fact that he was one of the original sidekicks didn't hurt. But he certainly was NOT just a placeholder for Bart. And I don't particularly care who is popular or not. Brandon and I chose him for a variety of reasons, that included powers, power-level, personality, background, history, dynamics with other characters - and, yes, nostalgia.
There definitely seems to be a vocal minority who seems to think we didn't do the character justice. (At least they're pretty darn vocal here at ASK GREG.) But they are the minority. The vast majority of our audience seems to have loved Wally, which suggests they loved how we handled him - except maybe his ceasing to exist at the end, which BROKE THEIR HEARTS. And you can't break a fan's heart if they don't care about the character in the first place. (I suppose you'll attribute that to the love of the character they brought with them TO the show. But I don't believe that's true for most of our audience, who loved Wally - and in particular, Jason Spisak's performance as Wally.)
And I've never said that Wally was any less of a priority in Season One than the others. All six of the original teammates had equal priority and near-equal screen time. (What I said was that his story was more straight-forward and required less explanation - something that was equally true about Dick and Kaldur.) And what I said about Wally relative to Season Two is that ALL the characters (in terms of screen time) were subservient to the arc of the story. So, yes, some got more priority because of the story. But that wasn't a knock on Wally. Anymore than Superboy's near total absence in the second half of the season was a knock against him.
I will say that if you didn't get some of the nuances of the character until you came here to ASK GREG, then I'm sorry. In that sense, we failed you. Some of it was revealed with more clarity in our companion comic, but I'll grant that you shouldn't have had to pick that up in order to appreciate what was going on in the show. But we took no different approach to Wally than to Dick or Kaldur or Artemis or anyone. If we failed, we failed. But please STOP trying to ascribe some odd motivation to it. You don't like it, fine. But stop trying to tell us how WE feel. It's reductive, presumptuous and insulting.
(And by the way, I don't agree that we failed. The truth of all those things you "discovered" here is IN THE EPISODES themselves. It may not be stated verbally, but I think all of it is there, spelled out in behavior, action and words between words. If we weren't on the head with it enough for you, fine. But it worked for us. We were happy with it. And again, I think most of our audience got it, even if some of our audience did not. And I'm okay with that.)
We were VERY invested in Wally, from his first appearance to his last. Sorry if it didn't work for you, but that's all it is. Us doing something that didn't work for you. Not us crapping it out. We worked very hard, and I believe overall we did justice to the character, as seems obvious by fan response to his death.
Now, can we please put this topic to rest? Those of you who feel this way have had your say, over and over. And I've responded, over and over. Neither side is going to convince each other. It's enough.
Catherine B writes...
I just wanted to write and just give you some thanks for some of the great shows you have helped create, Greg.
Young Justice I enjoyed thoroughly, though I am more a fan of the first season than the second; I like fewer characters and more characterization as opposed to detailed plots just as a personal preference. I will also say I was not a fan of how Wally West was handled but I am sure you have heard your share of them. I will just say that the Wally of the comics and the Wally of Young Justice seemed to be entirely different characters which seemed a shame to me, given all that could have been done with him. He had such a rich comic book history that I really do not understand why more was not done with it but that is your creative decision. Just not my cup of tea.
I adored your version of Dick Grayson however. He was competent without being overly skilled; he suffered under pressure but learned from what he was exposed to. His relationship with Wally in Season 1 was one of my all time favorites. Thanks for the great run!
Secondly, I could not write you without mentioning Gargoyles. I mean, wow. I think I was in fifth or sixth grade when I first caught it on the air. I just remember being deeply enthralled with it. I thought Elisa was an awesome character, as I did not see a whole lot of strong female leads back then and she was definitely that. I also adored the interesting family background you gave her. So often, characters fall into the stereotypical white, black, etc and she brilliantly avoided those.
I also firmly owe you thanks for igniting my interest in Shakespeare. I remember that I saw "City of Stone" when we were having to pick plays and such to read/analyze for school and after seeing that awesome four parter, I went right to my English teacher and asked if I could read MacBeth. It is still my favorite of the Bard's works.
The characterization of Demona was incredible. Most villains are so one dimensional but all the villains of Gargoyles were so well fleshed out. I am a creative writer myself and working on my first work to aim towards publication and I definitely count Gargoyles among my top inspiration for how to do characterization. To this day, I will tell people if they want to see a well fleshed out villain, go watch Demona from Gargoyles. I honestly would rank her about equal to Gollum from "Lord of the Rings." She can be diabolical, sneaky, cruel and yet you can totally see why she would have turned out that way and I can switch very easily from feeling such anger at her to feeling overwhelming pity. Bravo, my good Sir!
Greg responds...
Thanks. Always nice to have the work thoughtfully appreciated.
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