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John Derrick writes...
I hate to say it, but I was extremely disappointed in the Young Justice premiere. Don't get me wrong--the animation was gorgeous, the dialogue entertaining, the story intriguing. But the gender imbalance was a huge turn-off for me.
Why was it that the women of the Justice League were only shown in the last five minutes of a two-part pilot? Why did the male sidekicks get to go on a rebellious adventure and force the League to accept them as a team of their own, while the first girl is only added to "Young Justice" at the very end, introduced by her uncle and guardian like some sort of token?
I expect that the women will have a lot more to do in the episodes to come, but I still find it profoundly problematic to introduce the characters in such an unequal manner. I believe there are too many men in the world as it is who see women as mere supporting players in their stories. Why reinforce this stereotype for a whole new generation of superhero cartoon fans?
Greg responds...
It's a legitimate gripe. And I doubt my answer will satisfy you, but it came down to a couple factors that we at least found important: (1) practicality and to a lesser extent - but intertwined with - (2) tradition.
Let's start with practicality.
You asked why there were no female Leaguers until the end. But where would they have fit? There are no female Leaguers with traditional first generation sidekicks. So Batman, Green Arrow, Aquaman and Flash could not be replaced by Wonder Woman, Black Canary or Hawkwoman. That leaves the four Leaguers introduced at the Hall of Justice. I needed Martian Manhunter to be there to set up Miss Martian. I needed Red Tornado there to set up his interest in the teens. I needed Superman there to set up Superboy. That leaves only Zatara. He was certainly replaceable. But then I would have had to hire another voice actress to read ONE LINE. I couldn't afford to do that. We have budgets. (And you'll notice that Red Tornado never speaks in the episode. Couldn't afford giving him a line either. None of which had anything to do with gender.)
There was NEVER any intent to introduce Artemis this early in the season for story reasons. Wouldn't make sense for her character. And I think the reasons why will become clear as the season progresses.
As for Miss Martian, yes, in theory, we could have introduced her sooner. Manhunter COULD have brought her along at the beginning. But then I'd have had FOUR characters running around the first half hour and FIVE in the second. That steals screen time and characterization from everyone. I think the entire production would have been weaker for adding another character -- ANY other character (gender notwithstanding).
Of course, that begs the obvious question - why not ditch one of the boys in favor of her to create a little balance.
But it seemed to us that would create balance at a cost.
There are FOUR TRADITIONAL sidekicks: Robin, Speedy, Aqualad and Kid Flash. To leave one out seemed wrong to us. Which brings in the Tradition argument, which I'll admit is somewhat feeble, but as an old comic book geek, I'll also admit it matters to me and to everyone else here.
The very first Teen Titans story ever in Brave and the Bold featured only THREE heroes: Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash. Wonder Girl did not join until their second adventure. So we felt there was a precedent for beginning with Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash and saving the real introduction of Miss Martian (beyond hellos) for OUR second adventure.
For what it's worth, if you give the series another chance, starting with episode three (i.e. the one immediately following the pilot "movie"), I think you'll see that female characters including Miss Martian, Black Canary, Artemis, Wonder Woman and MANY others will be playing ESSENTIAL roles in the show as we progress. I think the balance - and then some - is absolutely present in the first season when viewed in its entirety.
Yes, the pilot was very boy-centric, but that's not the rubric for the series. Personally, I love writing female characters, and if you're at all familiar with my past work, you'll know I have a history of doing them justice. (At least, I think so.) Gargoyles, for example, is FULL of strong female characters, including Elisa, Demona, Angela, Fox, etc. WITCH was nearly ALL female leads. Even Spider-Man had a strong female supporting cast, in my opinion at least.
If we did "reinforce a stereotype" (which I think is overstating it) then perhaps we've lured in kids that we will reeducate over the course of the season - organically without forcing it.
So I'd beg a little patience, a little indulgence... maybe even a little trust that we'll do right by this issue.
But judge for yourself.
Anonymous writes...
Who would you rather be trapped in an eight hour car ride with; Demona; Nerissa; or Green Goblin?
Greg responds...
Nerissa, I guess. She'd have less reason to kill me at random. She might even appreciate the company.
Andrea writes...
Hi Greg, i've heard about some unaired 15-minute pilot episode of W.I.T.C.H. with a different story on halloween and i know they wore made for some test or something like this. I've heard on a topic on a forum that they are on a tape and it was just one copy of that. Now i was wondering if you can tell me were can i find those 15 minutes, because i didn't find anything on internet or maybe you know were it is or you can find that copy and share it with me. I really want to see those 15 minutes.
Greg responds...
Sorry. I don't know where you can find it.
Algernon writes...
Hey Greg,
Long time fan, first time asker. I’ve actually been posting over on in the Comment Room on and off for the past couple of years. I would have posted something here on Ask Greg sooner but frankly I could never think of anything particularly interesting say other then various permutations of “YOU ROCK!â€
Anyway I’ve been a huge “Gargoyles†fan since I first saw “Awakenings Part One†waaay back in ‘94, and I loved “The Spectacular Spider-Man†throughout it’s glorious yet tragically brief run. Needless to say, I’m eagerly looking forward to “Young Justiceâ€.
Yet up until recently, I’d been grossly negligent of the forgotten middle child of your career. A few weeks ago I got the chance to watch season two of “W.I.T.C.H.†and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even going back to watch season one and then re-watching season two all the way through again, just so I had all the back story.
Season two was a wonderfully crafted epic that managed to be true to the established continuity of season one yet at the same time managed to elevate and expand it into something truly astounding. I was especially impressed with the characterisation of Nerissa, she seemed to combined some of the most dangerous qualities of Demona and Xanatos, obsessive and vengeful yet at the same time very cool and calculating.
It really is a tragedy that this show isn’t better remembered, I’ve actually spoken to hardcore “Gargoyles†and “Spectacular Spider-Man†fans who’ve never seen it. Personally, I’d heartily recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of your better known toons.
Greg responds...
Thank you.
We were VERY proud of the work we did on W.I.T.C.H. There was some great story craft there by a diverse group of writers, some of whom would be very familiar to Gargoyles and Spidey fans, including Cary Bates, Andrew Robinson, Kevin Hopps, Greg Weisman, Jon Weisman and Nicole Dubuc. Also involved were Sam Bernstein (writer of the movie Bobby's Girl) and Steve Peterman (one of the show-runners on Hannah Montana). And our great boss Justine Cheynet.
Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...
I’ve heard you mention several times that you have had very good luck with S&P over several series, praising people who really understood the series and were more interested in showing consequence than keeping any violence off screen. When they put their foot down it was generally to avoid what a child can copy, even willing to have a different violent action in place they couldn’t. Did you ever have bad experiences? (Either on a series you were running, or one you freelanced on.)
Greg responds...
Yes, I've had many. Some completely inexplicable. Others explicable, but still wrong-headed.
Taranee on W.I.T.C.H. was a constant problem, as her power was fire and the S&P executive was very uncomfortable with... I'm not quite sure... the notion that we were encouraging child pyromania? The possibility that kids would use magic to generate flames?
I can't think of a really funny example just this second, though God knows I have more than a handful.
sanya writes...
Hi Greg,
i am wondering do you know which singers sang the song The will to love and The demon in me.
both of the songs have been sang in Witch episode s is for self part.
Greg responds...
Jason Marsden, who played Matt Olsen.
Jessica Walker writes...
Greetings Greg!
First off I wanted to say what a huge fan I am of your series. Gargoyles was by far one of the greatest cartoons back in the day. Now that I'm done fangirling, on to my question. I've read up on various sources saying that the comics may no longer be published due to Disney's iron grip on the Gargoyles franchise. I understand that there will no longer be any comics returning any time soon. My real question to you is WITCH related. Is there going to be a season 3 or any continuation of the series? I'm a huge fan of the original comic's and it seems like shame Disney would cancel it.
Greg responds...
I don't know anything about the status of the WITCH comics. The t.v. series was not picked up for a third season.
maritza writes...
hi, mr. weisman if many people sign on sds.org to save witch will it have a chance to go back on tv or witch will be gone forever.
Greg responds...
It's a bit late, I think, to save W.I.T.C.H. (Although I don't know what sds.org is.)
philip writes...
hi greg,did you wrote lyrics "will to love"? ...when i searched the lyrics i found
the the full version...wich is a lot more than it was sang on tv...why? heres the rest of the song:I figured I’d stay on the shelf.
Truth be told, didn’t trust myself:
Always fade, don’t make the grade, too afraid
Of rejection. Oh…
I didn’t think I had the strength
To find a girl on my wavelength.
Just a runt, always punt. No will to hunt
For perfection.
Then everything changes.
She’s there. Life rearranges.
Winged angel from above…
Helped me find the Will… the Will to love…
The Will to love… The Will to love…
Game’s full of surprises.
Live our share of compromises.
Still when push comes to shove…
She’s just the Will to love.
She’s just the Will to love.
I found the Will to love.
And everything changes.
She’s here. Life rearranges.
Winged angel from above…
She is just the Will… the Will to love.
The Will to love… The Will to love… Oh…
The Wïll to love…
Greg responds...
We put as much of the song in the episode as there was time for. And, yes, I wrote the lyrics. The full version can be found in, of all place, the Gargoyles: Bad Guys trade paperback, available now from Amazon.
Ivan Terehin writes...
Hey, Mr. Weisman, I have a question.
You spoke that you still had scenario of 3 parts "W.i.t.c.h.". If the project have closed. You could not give us the scenario? It would be desirable it to study. And fans would be very glad.
I am sorry for the bad English language.
Greg responds...
I did have plans for a third season of W.I.T.C.H., but I'm afraid that was years ago, and I've forgotten most of it.
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