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Spectacular Spider-Man, The
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Jim writes...
You may or may not have followed the hubbub earlier in the summer when Donald Glover (young and very charismatic black comedian/actor) was campaigning on Twitter for a chance to audition for the role of Peter Parker in the new Spidey movies. Nothing ever came of it, but it sparked a huge internet debate over whether a black Parker was true to the character.
I myself was very open to the idea. After all, nothing about Peter's character or circumstances dictates that he has to be white. Heck, May isn't even related to him by blood; the only characters that would need to be adjusted are his parents, Uncle Ben, and Ben Reilly-- assuming any of those even make it into the new film.
Given that SpecSpidey is my very favorite version of the mythos, and given that the show was notable for, among other things, mixing up the races of various (mostly minor) characters, I was curious as to your thoughts on the subject. Not to the point of any conclusion, but just a reasoned opinion. Are there some things about Spidey that are just TOO traditional, too sacred, that changing them dilutes people's perception of the character? Is his race one of them? You went with the classic white-with-brown-hair interpretation, and I don't think there are many arguments that you succeeded quite well at adapting Parker.
I'll admit I'm wary of making this post, as I don't mean for you to look like you're choosing sides or giving some definitive answer. After all, I've already made up my mind on the issue; I'm sure most people have. Or they sure seemed to have when this controversy was still fresh. But being that you are something of an expert at adapting this specific property, as well as someone who was willing to add diversity where it was appropriate, I'd really like to pick your brain and hear any thoughts you might have regarding this issue.
Greg responds...
I think of Peter Parker as Everyman, so I can see why Mr. Glover and others would identify with him and have no trouble changing his ethnicity.
I myself KNOW that Pete is (whether practicing or not) of the Christian persuasion, because I've seen him celebrate Christmas over and over, but it always struck me as window-dressing to make the character appeal to the widest possible American audience. Because he's ALWAYS seemed Jewish to me. Perhaps that's because Stan Lee was/is Jewish and wrote him that way. Or maybe it's just me, being Jewish, reading it in. I toyed with the idea of having Pete's late mother being Jewish on Spec Spidey. But really, what would be the point? (And that was without asking Marvel if they'd have an issue with it.)
So I don't in a theoretical sense have any problem with an African-American Peter Parker. If Nick Fury can look like Samuel L. Jackson, etc., etc., etc.
The question of course is one of ICONOGRAPHY. Is the caucasian, brunette Peter to iconic to change. I certainly felt that M.J.'s red hair and Gwen's blonde hair were too iconic too change (which at least suggests that they needed to both stay Caucasian). But what about Peter?
As you guessed, I don't have a definitive answer for you. Stan and Steve (and maybe Jack) designed the costume so that it would hide race and ethnicity completely. Then WROTE Spidey's dialogue as if he were a Borsht Belt comic. (See why I thought he was a Jew from Queens?) So maybe all that matters is the nebbish -- not the color of it.
But maybe not...
Alan Gavinchki writes...
Hey Greg
When you look at the Spectacular Spider-Man, you realize there are a lot of important villains. Which do you consider the main villain of the whole show. I thought of some possibilities.
1. Tombstone because he is a crimelord and was the first to want to kill Spidey.
2. Hammerhead because he is Tombstone's assistant and made the most appearances out of any villain.
3. Green Goblin because he is Harry's dad and he made supervillains for Tombstone and wanted to take over his enterprise. He did once and he made Spidey's life turn upside down.
4. Doc Ock because he was a victim of the Goblin and was the leader of the first Sinister Six and organized the second one. Him alone during the Master Planner and Gang War saga would make him the main bad guy.
5. Venom because he was once Pete's best friend and he possessed the same suit Spidey had. Afterall he was the one who pointed out that Peter loved Gwen. He also revealed his identity to Jameson!
I hope one of these villains I chosed are correct for their major role.
R.I.P. Spectacular Spidey
Greg responds...
I'm not sure I understand why I'd need to pick just one?
Emily writes...
I imagine that you had to read alot of comics when making shows like Young Justice or Spiderman. So did you get those comics for free from the Marvel and DC saying you needed them to help with the shows or did you have to go out and buy?
Greg responds...
Mostly, I went out and bought. Alan Burnette had a backlog of Young Justice comics he lent me, i.e. a bunch of individual issues, not always consecutive. Maybe a couple other things here and there. But mostly, I'm outlaying on my dime to do the research.
ALL CAUGHT UP
Hey gang,
I'm finally all caught up on the ASK GREG queue. Gonna take a short break, but we'll open the queue again on September 27th, 2010 in preparation for the release of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse which also contains the DC Showcase Green Arrow short that I wrote.
As always, I urge you guys NOT to flood ASK GREG with questions. Check the archives. Check the FAQs. Ask questions of the loyal fans in the Station 8 comment room.
AND, please, THINK BEFORE YOU POST. I am NOT, for example, going to SPOIL "Young Justice" before it airs. I'm not going to SPOIL "Gargoyles" either since I still have hopes of bringing that back. I'm not even going to "SPOIL" Spectacular Spider-Man, because I don't see any real point in revealing future plans and ideas independent of their execution.
Happy to talk process. Happy to talk about what's ALREADY aired or been published. Happy to talk about Mecha-Nation and many other things. But. NOT. GONNA. SPOIL.
Thanks,
gdw
Clark Cradic writes...
What comic universe would you say you're more knowledgeable about: DC or Marvel?
Greg responds...
I'm pretty equal on both companies.
Fairly knowledgeable (all things considered) on pre-1970s stuff.
More knowledgeable on the 70s.
Extremely knowledgeable on the 80s.
Less knowledgeable on the early and mid 90s.
Almost completely ignorant of the mid 90s through 2006.
Somewhat knowledgeable but with huge gaps on 2006 through the present...
Of course, I worked at DC as a freelancer from 1983-1991, and on staff from 1985-1987, so I have more INSIDE knowledge of that company, but during that period I was reading ALL the Marvel books too, so if we're talking CONTINUITY and CHARACTERS, I know both companies pretty darn well. I certainly grew up reading both. And when I was a little kid, I didn't even get that there were different companies that made comics. I'd see Green Lantern team up with Superman in one book. And Spider-Man team up with the Fantastic Four in another. And I didn't know that next month I might not see Captain America team with Batman. It took me a while to get the whole competing companies idea.
Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...
I'm sorry to hear you are feeling some vitriol coming your way for the differences between the Young Justice comic book and coming cartoon. As a huge fan of YJ I was hoping for a Spec Spidey type treatment of the original source material and I bet others were too. That said, I just keep repeating to myself that that is not to be so I should just look forward to a different great cartoon.
I did have the thought of, 'then why not use a different name?' If I can come up with a couple more ridiculously bad ones to balance the numerous "Blah" ones I may post some names that came to mind...
Greg responds...
It IS a very Spec Spidey treatment of the source material. It's just that our definition of the source material is BIGGER and more EXPANSIVE than yours seem to be. Just as on Spec Spidey, we developed YJ to combine characters from different eras to create a cohesive, coherent yet contemporary whole, without losing what's classic and iconic about these teen characters. That meant borrowing from classic Teen Titans as well as Young Justice and other arenas as well. Just as we borrowed from Spidey's high school years, his college years and more recent arenas as well. On Spec Spidey, we said it was early days in the Marvel Universe (recast as 2008). On YJ, it's early days in the DC Universe (recast as 2010).
It's the exact same thing -- from my point of view at least. It's adaptation with a starting point. Where it goes from that starting point...? Time will tell.
Oscar writes...
Hi i am a big fan of spider-man and i have a few questions
1)Will the new show for spider-man be starting all over or continue where you left off on the spectacular spider-man?
2)Do you think the new spider man show will better?
3)Are y'all going to use the same characters?
4)Why did the Spectacular spider-man show get canceled?
5)Do you think y'all could have gone far with the spectacular spider-man more than the 1994 series?
6)Last question Do you think there will be ever a chance that they could bring back the Spectacular spider-man if the the new one won't receive good ratings or it crashes like other shows that lasted 13 episodes or less?
Thank you for your time
Greg responds...
1. Ask the new creators. I have no idea, but I can't imagine they'll be picking up where we left off.
2. Not for me to say.
3. I did Spectacular. Ask the new guys about the new show.
4. See the archives.
5. If given the opportunity, we could have kept SpecSpidey going pretty much indefiinitely. But I'm not in competition with any other series.
6. It seems highly unlikely.
Algernon writes...
Hey again Greg,
I've recently started rewatching "The Spectacular Spider-Man", and I thought I'd test the waters with a question you probably would never have answered while the show was on the air. If every character from the show was taken from the comics, then who was Hammerhead's female chauffeur?
Greg responds...
We did have some thoughts on that subject, but I'm not too inclined to go into them...
Alan Gavinchki writes...
Dear Greg,
I forgot to ask, when will season 2 of TSSM be released on DVD? I am not patient as you can see. Would the DVD feature any plans you had for a possible season 3? Sorry I forgot to ask you that question in my previous question.
Your fan,
Alan
Greg responds...
I have no idea about the release schedule, but I don't see how it could have any "plans for a possible season 3" since I wasn't involved in the extras (if any) at all.
Alan Gavinchki writes...
Dear Greg,
I was really looking forward to a season 3 of TSSM, but due to recent news, I am a little disappointed that we won't see that show again. I have a few things I want to say. Firstly, I want to thank you for this great show. The two year run was my favorite two years yet. I have a few questions.
1. Would we have seen the Punisher? I'm a huge Punisher fan and I would've loved to see him.
2. I already know Scorpion and Hobgoblin would appear, but what other villains would we have seen?
3. Would Sandman become a good guy?
4. In the episode "Accomplices", Roderick Kingsley got away from the fight with Spidey, Silver Sable, and Hammerhead and ended up running away without a coat. But at the parking garage, Kingsley is seen in a different car (his limo was destroyed and appeared to have no other form of transportation) and had his coat back. When he saw Rhino, he seemed less surpirsed rather when he was attacked by Silver Sable. Was this Roderick's identical twin brother Daniel?
5. Speaking of Rhino, I loved seeing him and Spidey team-up. Would Spidey team-up with any other villains?
6. When the symbiote went into the sewer, was it possible that it reproduced and would create the Carnage symbiote?
7. Final question, would Miles Warren become the Jackal? If so, would he do something like the clone saga and make Ben Reilly? I'm a huge Scarlet Spider fan and I was really hoping we'd see him.
That's all I have, thanks again for a great 26 episodes.
Your fan,
Alan Gavinchki
Greg responds...
Alan, I appreciate your obvious enjoyment of the series. But I've pretty much made the decision that there's nothing in it for me to just spit out ideas I had for future seasons. Absent the execution of said ideas, they just become fodder for debate on whether or not they were good ideas. A debate that has little to do with whether they MIGHT have been good ideas if we had had the chance to execute them. So...
1. As I've stated MANY times before, we weren't given access to characters like Punisher. And at this point, it's a little moot to theorize what we might have done had Punisher become available. It was never considered.
2. Some are obvious, given the fact that we had already introduced them in their civilian identities or other hints we dropped. Beyond that, I'm not saying.
3. Things aren't black and white.
4. Again, I'll leave that to everyone's interpretation.
5. I wouldn't rule it out, but that's so specific. We never got into detail breaking down Season Three.
6. And STILL, I'm not interested in using this forum to reveal unexecuted ideas.
7. Ditto.
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