Paul writes...

Does the timeline of The Spectacular Spiderman follow this pattern?

Biology 101: September
Economics 101: October
Chemistry 101: October
Psychology 101: November
Engineering 101: December
Human Development 101: January
Criminology 101: February
Drama 101: March

I'm asking because it's hard to pin down which month some episodes take place in. "Market Forces" and "Competition", for instance, could be set in September or October, but it's unclear which, and "Accomplices" could be set in January or February, but it's unclear which. Likewise for episodes like "Subtext" as well.

David B. Jacobs writes...

Also, in a previous post, someone asked about your thoughts on the Crimemaster, and you responded, "I do not not like him." (or something like that - not verbatim.)
Was this a typo, meant as "I do not like him." or did you intentionally use the double-negative?

David B. Jacobs writes...

Hi, again, Greg!
Just wondering: Why is it that so many characters are all in the same bio class? Clearly Midtown doesn't separate its grades as much as mine does, but shouldn't Peter and Gwen and Sha Shan at least be in an advanced class, without Flash and Liz? And didn't they already Bio last year? 'Cause if so, shouldn't they be taking a different science now?
It probably doesn't matter (and I wonder if anyone else ever even noticed), but I was just wondering.
Thanks in advance!

Greg Bishansky writes...

*** SPECTACULAR SPOILERS ***
*** SERIOUSLY! ***
*** I WARNED YOU ***

So, I've recently been debating Norman's mental state. Specifically his sanity or lack thereof. Mostly because I've seen a couple of individuals saying that you gave Norman Osborn Roderick Kingsley's personality. Norman was insane, Roderick was stone cold sane.

Naturally, I disagree with them. Sure, Norman doesn't come out and say he's insane. He even says he's in control. But don't most of those suffering from insanity and megalomania feel that way?

Psychopaths lack empathy and guilt, are egocentric and impulsive, and do not conform to social, moral and legal norms. They may appear to be quite normal and often even charming, a state of adaptation that psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley named the "mask of sanity".

Or, as Gobby himself said, "We all wear masks, Spider-Man. But which is real? The one that hides your face or the one that IS your face?"

That's how I see Norman. Your Norman as well. And while we haven't seen much of Kingsley yet (and I'm not asking for spoilers on plans for him), I am sure that they're both very, very different people. Just as different as they were in the comic books.

*** END SPOILERS ***

Stephen writes...

In a question i asked about using tombstone you answered "Have you seen Tombstone?"
Yes, I have of course i have i seen every episode like 30 times, and i love him i was just wandering why, my only reson was fosswell couldn't fight spidey and tombstone has the kinda muscle and speed, agility, etc. so that's why you used him, but seriously don't get me wrong he's one of my favorite characters in your show...maybe 6 or 7 in the top ten

akif khan writes...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Spectacular_spider-man_animated_cha-1-.jpg
In this picture. Eddie has a case/prosthetic limb. Why was it like that and what made you change your mind to make him normal/perfect condition.

Jim writes...

At what point would you say Stacy deduced Spidey's identity?

I always figured his "I know who you are, Pete" at the end of the Master Planner arc as having a double meaning. I can't decide if he knew during Thanksgiving dinner, it seems like it could go either way. But while he had certainly been studying him prior to "Persona," I didn't get the vibe that he had figured it out at that point.

So is there a definitive moment or time period you can point to that says, "He has figured it out now, we just won't let the viewer know for sure until 'Identity Crisis?'"

friendlyneighborhoodspidey writes...

1. While Kraven was stalking Spidey I noticed his spider-sense didn't go off. Is that an OOPS or what?

2. Is Kraven turning into an animal supposed to be similar to Puma? (look him up if you don't know who I mean)

3. May I suggest asking Robert Englund to play Carnage? He'd do a great job because Freddy Krueger's personality is a lot like Carnage's.

Spidey#1fan writes...

1. If you can't borrow Kingpin what crime boss will you use? Owl?

2. I heard something about Beetle and Boomerang being in SSM is it true?

3. You think you will use Morbius and Manwolf?

4. How heavily "toned down" does Carnage have to be to be in the show?

Big Boy writes...

I have some questions considering the censorship of Spectacular Spider-Man. I don't think they will reveal any spoilers (I hope not). If they do, then you don't have to answer them.

1) Can you get away with Carnage being a serial killer in the show?
2) Can you get away with Morbius being a vampire that bites people and drinks blood in the show?
3) Can you get away with someone like Morlun in the show?
4) Can you get away with someone dying?
5) Did you keep Norman alive because you weren't allowed to keep him dead or did you keep him alive for the future?

Rinso writes...

Hi, Greg.
I must say that “The Spectacular Spider-Man” is the best superhero show I’ve ever seen. I totally love it. But I have two questions about it that has been sort of bugging me lately.

In Season 1 episode “Intervention”, after Peter rejects the symbiote, he returns it to Connors’ laboratory and tries to kill the alien by freezing the camera where it’s held. Eddie Brock sees him doing this and is enraged, because by killing the alien, Spider-Man destroyed his last chance to get back his job and thus his education in college. But less than a minute later, it turns out that the symbiote is unharmed and it’s actually fine. My question is â€" why did Brock had to free the alien and bond with it in order to pursue vengeance against Spider-Man? I mean, since it turned out that it was apparently alive and healthy, why couldn’t he just leave it in the camera? He would have gotten his job back and everything would have been fine with his life.

And my second question. Spoiler alert!

In “Final Curtain”, the final episode of Season 2, the identity of the Green Goblin was revealed for real. He was (of course) none other than Norman Osborn and it turned out that Harry’s unmasking in Season 1 was a red herring meant to throw Spider-Man (and the fans :P) off. Back in Season 1, during his last fight with Spider-Man, Norman faked a leg injury before escaping and later he found Harry unconscious, dressed him up in the Goblin costume and injured his leg, so he would limp in front of Spider-Man. My question is â€" why did he faked the injury in the first place? Did he knew before the fight with Spider-Man that Harry was laying unconscious back at home and planned to frame him as a back-up plan? Or did he found him when he came back after the fight? The latter doesn’t make much sense, because in such case there was no explicit need to fake an injury, but still, I wonder.

Sorry, these are probably annoying questions whose answers are “Just because!”, but still, they’re nagging me.

Fingers crossed for Season 3 happening. And 4, and 5, and…

Arthur Jr. writes...

Mr. Weisman, here are the following questions for you:

* I got your response for the Sinister Syndicate question. While Boomerang, Hydro-Man, Leila Davis (who became the second Beetle), Rhino, Scorpia, and Speed Demon are Spider-Man's enemies, you might be right about the other three. Outside of Beetle first appearing to fight the Fantastic Four and later fighting Spider-Man when getting revenge on Human Torch, Blacklash is an Iron Man villain who Spider-Man helped fight in Marvel Team-Up #72 and #149. Constrictor first appeared in Incredible Hulk #212 and fought Spider-Man and Moon Knight alongside Ringmaster in Marvel Team-Up Vol. 3 #7. Just giving any side info there in case you gain some inspiration for one of the possible future seasons.

* When it comes to other heroes appearing, the closest any series has got is when Peter Parker is a student at Empire University. If your show is successful, what season would have Peter attending attending that university?

* When it comes to your part on the show's characters, it would appear that you've amalgamated some of them to make the show interesting like when you had Montana become Shocker or making Walter Hardy the burglar that shot Uncle Ben (referred to as Dennis Carradine in the Spider-Man films). A similar thing occured in "Wolverine and the X-Men" where Nick Fury was an amalgam of the Earth-616 version and the Ultimate Marvel version (the latter version was also a supporting character in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics). If one of the other Marvel villains in the future season (the one I described in the note above) includes a certain Latverian monarch, would you do the same for Beetle (meaning combining the Earth-616 version and Ultimate Marvel version like you did with Doctor Octopus and Electro) and make him a mercenary to the Latverians? Of course we haven't heard anything in the development of that since the issue before the "Ultimatum" storyline.

Geoff writes...

I enjoy your work a lot, Greg. But, a few things have been bugging me about Spectacular Spiderman:

Why didn't anyone ask Peter why Spiderman supposedly makes time before fighting lethal supervillains to call a teenager to come take pictures of him like he said in "Identity Crisis"?

Did you ever feel the animation for Spectacular Spiderman was too simple and, for lack of a better term, goofy? I read that the animation style used was to make the fight scenes more fluid, which they were, don't get me wrong. Yet, a couple of moments in the fight scenes began to look very wacky. And, I mean the Donald Duck & Goofy in a boxing match kind of wacky.

Paul writes...

1) Did Tinkerer escape after Spidey interrogated him in "Shear Strength"? (Since he appeared again in "Probable Cause", I'm guessing he did.)

2) Is there a voice modulator in the Green Goblin's mask? (Surely there must be, since it's hard to believe that Norman puts on the Goblin's voice himself).

3) Would you say that the Norman Osborn in The Spectacular Spiderman is more influenced by the Norman of the 60s comics or the post-"resurrection" Norman of the 90s comics?

4) Would you say that the Green Goblin in The Spectacular Spiderman is more influenced by the Green Goblin of the 60s comics or the post-"resurrection" Green Goblin of the 90s comics?

Nick writes...

I love this Spidey series, the animation, fight scenes, character and story development, and the theme song is just, well, Spectacular.

Can't wait for a Season 3 and 4, 5, hope it gets as many as possible, and I do have a couple of questions...

1. In the DVD things you have planned after this series is over are they gonna be more mature and maybe show an older peter ya' know him going to college and everything like that?

2. would you still need permission to use kingpin in the dvd's?

3. would you consider your venom more ultimate or amazing.

MARVEL-FAN writes...

Greg, how come in the Spectacular Spider-Man it doesent use realistic gunshot sounds? But, Batman: The Brave and The Bold it uses realistic gunshot sounds, other Batman cartoon shows.

Pete writes...

forgot a few things...

1.) You said you couldnt think of anything u couldnt do beyond realistic gun shots, so can you say the word die, death, kill, killing, etc. (because the 90's series couldn't) and it seem you have been avoiding like electro saying i'll fry you for that freak, and Walter Hardy saying the night i ended ben parkers life.

2. Are you aloud to kill people, even if it is off screen.

3. Who is your favorite Goblin? (Green Goblin, Green Goblin II, Hobgoblin, Hobgoblin II, Demogoblin, I'll even count Mad Jack, etc.)

4. Who is your favorite symbiote?

5. In The Uncertainty Principle, was that a Man-Wolf cameo, and if it was, whos idea wass it.

6. In Destructiv Testing what did Calypso say to Kraven when he awoke in the car and said this change I...? All i got out of it wa "then I suit you love."

7. I love how these battle scenes are from the comics like Mysterio in the warehouse, Kraven in the park (when he trapped him in the webs in the trees), How he defeated Venom by tricking him, and others. Also love the other battle scenes, so my question is are you for making animated series and movies as close to the comic as possible?

this is all i can think of, hoping for a season 3, 4, 5, 6,....100, lol

Pete writes...

back again, just want to rephrase some of my questions and ask a few more, hope its not to much...

1.) If you could use any one else in the marvel universe for his or her own show who would it be?

2.) Same as question 1 but DC?

3.) Have you ever read Amazing Spiderman To Die a Hero, when F. Fosswell dies? I just want to know what you think of it, I personally think it's one of the better comics from the Lee/Romita stories right next to Spiderman No More.

4.) Which issue was the Kraven mutation I've read a few Ultimate comics. I just ordered Issues 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. I already have 1,2 and 6.

Big Boy writes...

Who's idea was to use the flashbacks with Uncle Ben and all that in "Intervention"? THAT EPISODE WAS PURE GENIUS!!!!!! I LOVED IT!!! BEST EPISODE EVER MADE!! That episode alone blows the whole Spider-Man: TAS right out of the water. Congratulations! I can't believe they didn't use that idea in Spider-Man 3 and in TAS.

Jim writes...

Is your version of Eddie Brock named for his father? Both the movie and Ultimate editions of the character were juniors, and yours obviously borrows a lot from the Ultimate line. I don't think his full name has ever been stated on the show, which of course doesn't confirm it either way.

Chris Krause writes...

Hey Greg.

First off, Kudos for finally making a media incarnation of Spider-man that really captures the essence of the character. I haven't enjoyed any of the other cartoons, nor the movies as much as your show.

Moving on, I had a question concerning both the Stacy's. I've really enjoyed the relationship you've set up with Peter and Captain Stacy. It reminds me very much of a Gordon/Batman-esque relationship, with Stacy all but saying he knows who Spidey is (much like Gordon has done throughout the years with Bats.) Now, I think we all know the future of Captain Stacy in the comics, but I was wondering if you were toying around with the idea of sparing this particular Stacy that fate.

Being a comic fan, I naturally shy away from changing big events like that, but I can't imagine Batman without Gordon, and after seeing the relationship you've established between Stacy and Pete, I'm not sure I want to see a Spider-man without a Captain Stacy.

Leading into that, we all also know the fate of Gwen in the comics. I've read that you were toying around with doing this in a direct to dvd format, after you get to do a full run of the series, which I think would be a great idea, because I personally think The Death of Gwen Stacy story could be great material to rival other great animated superhero movies like "Mask Of The Phantasm."

Going off the first question, I was wondering, if you do decide to do a Gwen's Death movie, if you've considered leaving Captain Stacy alive for that as well. Watching how Stacy has (apparently) deduced Spidey's identity, it made me wonder how he would react to Peter since Peter's involvement in his daughter's life lead to her death.

Any who, thanks again! I really hope you get picked up for a third season. Watching Spectacular Spidey makes me wish they had picked up you to write the movies. When they reboot the Spidey series (probably 20 years down the road) you should jump on that!

adham writes...

When will the spectacular spider-man season 3 come?

Greg Bishansky writes...

You know, normally I don't do this, but this recent answer about Xanatos and Norman Osborn tickled me on a fanboy level:

"I think he would have been appalled at Norman's parental approach. He'd of course have to admire his business acumen and respect his machiavellian bent. But I find it hard to imagine the two has friends. "

The comparisons between Xanatos and Osborn are obviously easy. But comparing and contrasting Demona and Osborn seems to intrigue me a little more... especially on a parental level.

Now, I don't think it's a stretch to say that both of them love their children... albeit in a twisted, almost possessive way.

This is almost tough since we've gotten really only one episode of Demona and Angela ("The Reckoning") and several episodes of Norman and Harry... not to mention forty three years of comic books delving into them. But, for now, I think I'll stick to "Spectacular" in this topic.

Up front, one key difference is that Demona never got to be a parent. She met Angela for the first time when Angela was already an adult. Contrary to Norman, who raised Harry since birth but was never a good father to him.

Both Norman and Demona are willing to commit unspeakably horrible acts and rationalize them by saying they're in their children's best interests. In Demona's case, she cited protecting Angela in "Hunter's Moon Part Three" and Norman justified framing Harry because if he'd been sent to prison, who'd have made a man out of Harry.

Would Demona risk herself to protect Angela? We know she would. We've seen her do it. Would Norman risk his life to protect Harry? In the current comics, the answer is definitely no. In SSM, I'm... not sure. I'm really not.

I tend to think that both of them see their respective children as property. There are several instances of Norman treating Harry like property. And Demona did use the phrase "she belongs to me" when Thailog threatened Angela.

I definitely think Demona loves Angela more than Norman loves Harry (Hell, Norman doesn't even like his own kid). But even there, Demona was more than willing to risk Angela's life at the end of "Hunter's Moon Part Three" to escape... there was no guarantee Goliath would have been able to catch that vial.

Now, I realize I'm answering a lot of my own questions and I have my own interpretations here, but I'd be curious to read your thoughts here?

Aldrius writes...

Just to clear one thing up before writing my little ramble on Criminology.

You said in response to my ramble on Engineering 101:

"We were absolutely NOT going for the idea that his arms were the Master Planner. What we were going for was the idea that Otto was a big, fat faker in "Reinforcement". And I would think that his conversation with Electro in "Shear Strength" made that pretty clear."

Just to be clear, I was speaking about when the arms show up during Reinforcement. *Prior* to watching Shear Strength, I didn't believe that the arms themselves were responsible for what was going on, which is what other people I spoke to seemed to believe, I wasn't even sure what the show was trying to imply with that scene. It was just to confuse us, wasn't it? All I was saying was that, that didn't particularly confuse me. I mostly just thought it was a big red herring.

Anyway, hope that didn't sound harsh, not my intention. Trying to spread clarity not disparity!

Now, on to what is arguably my favourite arc of this season.

**Spider-man spoilers**

Criminology!

Love Captain George Stacy. Everything he says is cool, everything he does is cool. My only real complaint (and this is barely a complaint, it's certainly not legitimate) is that we're not seeing enough of Norman Osborn to see the contrast between Peter's two father figures, but I guess there just wasn't room.

Speaking of people not appearing, I personally thought Tombstone took a little too long to show up, and his limited role in his grand return, as well as his sudden disappearance an episode later were both a bit disappointing. I know that there's just so much stuff to cram into 13 episodes, but as someone who's only mildly interested in Peter's love life, and who's very interested in the shenanigans of the mob bosses, I didn't particularly appreciate this.

Anyway, now that I've got my very minor complaints out of the way! Time for the praise. I really did enjoy Tombstone's lines and demeanor as usual. And Jeff Bennett's Shocker is as always a real treat. (Josh Keaton's reaction and mockery of "Squash the Bug" had me howling with laughter.)

Also really liked Silvermane. Loved his voice, made me think of an old tough, street thug. Also really liked Silver Sable. Nothing in particular, but the design, voice and personality really added up to a pretty cool character. Also loved the history involved in the gangs. I wonder what Tombstone's story is. Probably something to explore in season 3.

All the fights were good, and I loved the opera music and the Black Cat cameo. Though when I originally watched this I wondered if that was all we were going to get of her this season. I figured we'd see her again, though.

George Stacy and Foswell made nice narrators for this arc. And I liked that we got to see a bit more into Foswell's history here too. Just as it's nice to see Stacy behaving like a real detective, it's nice to see Foswell as a real investigative reporter. And I love Stacy's 'something wrong, Son?' to Peter. Also the muscial theme that plays whenever Stacy implies he knows Spider-man's secret is unintentionally hilarious, but I love it anyway.

Oh, and though it's unlikely, I'd love to see an OST of the series. The Green Goblin's theme, the theme that played through out Accomplices and George Stacy's theme are all awesome.

Overall, by far my favourite arc so far (that I've reviewed) of this season, and nothing but good episodes therein.

Couple of questions this time.

1) Would you say that Venom is something of a bastard? I initially thought of him as more of a trickster (especially when he was posing as Spider-man) but then it struck me that maybe he was more of a failed trickster (i.e. attempting a tactic that somebody else has already tried, and doing a not very good job at it.) so I've come to the conclusion that he's actually just a bastard.

2) Why the fusion between Silvermane's daughter and Silver Sable? As I said I enjoyed the character, so this isn't a complaint. (Though I was a fan of the Silver Sable in the Ultimate Spider-man video game as well)And I'm not actually familiar with the 616 version of the character, so was this a large change for Sable? Was it a large change for for Silvermane's daughter? Was it a case of needing an identity for Silvermane's child, or was it a way to make Silver Sable more relevant to the events of the arc? (Or more likely, was it both?)

3)Was there a specific reason for Tombstone's absence during most of the season? Or was he just occupying his usual role of manipulating things from the shadows?

I had more questions, but I can't remember them right now, so look forward to those in future rambles!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond, Greg.

Paul writes...

1) Will the deal between Tombstone and Venom in "Nature vs. Nurture" be brought up again in future seasons? I was surprised that it wasn't referenced in season 2.

2) When the gang war arc for season 2 was being scripted, was it originally intended for the Fisks to be used as the crime family attempting to reclaim their power, instead of the Manfredis? The way Silvermane was written in season 2 strikes me as though his role was originally intended for Kingpin, just as Tombstone's role was originally intended for Kingpin. So were you hoping to use Kingpin in the gang war arc, only to find that you couldn't? (I guess this is 2 questions, rather than 1.)