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Anonymous writes...

I have to admit I'm a little confused about the explanation as to why Wally wasn't helping out for most of the alien invasion during the second season of Young Justice. You say it was because Dick told him what to do, but didn't Dick take a shot at him for not helping out in "Darkest" when he told Wally that all he cared about was his 'stupid souvenirs'? I mean, it was clear that Wally didn't want anything to do with the hero life anymore. He did nothing but complain when he helped out in "Bloodlines". He was adamant about leaving 'the life' behind in "Depths". He told Bart that he and Artemis were planning to go right back into retirement in "Summit" without even talking it over with Artemis. If it didn't have to do with Artemis or his family, he appeared to want no part of it.

Of course there's nothing wrong with wanting to retire. But I thought it was clear that Dick resented Wally on some level for doing so based on that comment. But if Dick was the reason Wally wasn't helping out with the invasion, then Dick telling Wally that he only cares about his souvenirs makes absolutely no sense to me. Dick interrupted Wally's life knowing that he and Artemis were trying to leave the hero business behind. He just allowed Wally's little cousin to be kidnapped for torture. And he nearly got Conner killed in the process. So how can he have the nerve to tell Wally that he only cares about his souvenirs after all that if he's responsible for Wally not helping out in the first place? And for that matter, how does Dick continue to have complete authority over what Wally can and can't do with his life after that?

Also, I don't see why Wally had to play the part of the "mourning boyfriend" for months to make Artemis' death believable during an alien invasion when Artemis was shown to have moved on with her life and rejoined the team two weeks after Wally died. Were we supposed to believe that Wally was incapable of doing that? Even during a time when the fate of the world literally hung in the balance?

Really, I don't see any believable explanation for Wally not helping out besides him simply not wanting to do that. But you've mentioned multiple times that that was not the case. So it seems like you guys just didn't want to use Wally (or couldn't find a way to fit him in) as it didn't make any sense from either a story or character standpoint that he wouldn't help out.

Greg responds...

In "Darkest," Dick takes a "shot" at Wally out of defensiveness and insecurity. He KNOWS Wally doesn't give a damn (in this context) about his souvenirs. He KNOWS this. And Dick doesn't resent Wally. Dick's simply unsure of his own position, of his own plans with Kaldur, so he lashes out at the person who's confronting him with fears he already has.

Dick doesn't have complete authority over Wally. Never did. But Dick is in charge of the Team, and Wally respects that. If Dick felt (rightly or wrongly) that Wally needs to hang back for now, maintaining the notion that he's out of the game - and maintaining his distance from Artemis/Tigress, then Wally will respect that, especially since there's not much he can do to help otherwise, beyond simply being another hero, something they have no shortage of. Dick is intentionally holding Wally in reserve for when he's needed and when his appearance will catch the bad guys off guard. See "Summit." (And, yes, Dick is also somewhat nervous about Wally coming into contact with an undercover Tigress, as he's not sure how either would deal with that situation. You can argue that Dick worries too much. But not that Dick doesn't respect his BEST FRIEND.)

As for Wally, in my mind, he's hardly adamant about staying in retirement, he's simply trying very hard to stick with a resolution that BOTH he and Artemis made. He knows - as Artemis knows - how seductive the hero life is. So he's trying very hard to be strong. Sure, in "Bloodlines" he has some attitude about Impulse, certainly, but he absolutely is NOT complaining through the whole episode. And he doesn't bitch about being called in by Nightwing AT ALL. NOT ONCE.

In "Summit," he does tell Bart that he and Artemis will retire again, because he's assuming that's what they both want. It had been a long, hard decision for both to decide to retire. He's simply trying to abide by that decision. But one look at how he behaves when he's back in costume in "Bloodlines," "Summit" or "Endgame" shows that he's far from absolute over the issue. And a conversation with her could have swayed him, as is fairly obvious in "Endgame" even without the dialogue we trimmed out where he flat out states that maybe they could both start being heroes again. (NOTE: We cut that dialogue both for time and because it seemed to big a clue that one of them was going to die.)

This notion that he only cares about Artemis and his family is given the lie in "Darkest" when his concern isn't simply for Artemis, but for everyone who was either captured or nearly died in the cave.

And just to be clear: we DID want to use Wally. And I think we've proven over and over that we know how to "fit" Wally in. We used him and fit him in exactly the way we wanted to use him and fit him in. You may not like it, but please do NOT subscribe your interpretations to our motivations. That's just presumptuous.

I have to say, it seems to me that you're interpreting events (and qualifying them) to suit your already existing interpretation instead of the other way around. Certainly, nothing you've argued has brought me over to your way of thinking. I just don't agree with you at all. You may not buy my explanations. Fine. But I don't buy your arguments either. They seem to lack any nuance whatsoever, taking everything presented at mere surface value and as an absolute. That was never our intent. We wanted the audience to read between the lines. Many members of our audience did. Though, of course, at least a few did not.

In any case, I am WAY tired of this topic. I keep addressing it here at ASK GREG over and over to the same two or three individuals. So let's just agree to disagree. You didn't like how we handled certain aspects of the show. I can accept that. But there's no point in continuing this discussion. Neither of us seem likely to convince the other.

Response recorded on September 18, 2014