Greg Bishansky writes...

*** BIG BAD SPOILERS ***

Another great issue of "Bad Guys," it ups the ante even more from the last issue. Action packed, and a villain you want to see get beaten up. And great to see Karine Charlebois return after her absence last issue.

Sevarius is, as he's always been, a hammy bastard. But, what a hammy bastard. He destroys peoples' lives, and he has fun while doing it.

The new mutates, I didn't think it was possible, but this is even worse than the first four Mutates. Two of them are just children. Now, they're almost literally insects. It is very strongly implied that this is all being done on Thailog's behalf, which probably makes the clone the perfect employer for Sevarius. Yes, you could really feel Hunter's rage here.

And, when Tasha hung herself... damn. This is an advantage to not having the series on television. Wow.

The scheme to mutate the people at Times Square was just, well, if this is indeed Thailog behind it, he's really stepping up his game. Those poor tourists, because only tourists go to New Year's Eve in Times Square, us natives are at private parties getting plastered (I guess no one invited Brendan and Margot to a party).

We also get more hints as to what Thailog is planning with the DNA he stole from the gargoyles in #5 of the main book. It's not exactly what we thought it was, and knowing Greg, should that surprise us? He keeps throwing us more and more curve balls.

The action was intense, the story was good. It was fun seeing Fang announced as their newest recruit... and everyone looks so happy about it. #3 of "Bad Guys" alluded to Hunter having a superior that she reports to. #4 finally confirmed it. If it was her call, I doubt Fang would be on board.

Now that the team is together, I hope that in #5, ten years after seeing the "Bad Guys" leica reel for the first time, we finally find out what is on that island being protected by those giant robots.

A little comment, of course. I could easily hear Tim Curry and Jim Belushi's voices in my head as I read Fang and Sevarius. Those two are just so over the top, this dialogue is just natural for them. I loved it.

And, cameos, cameos, cameos.

Erin and Benny... Greg mutated his two kids. Cute. ;)

Quite a few at Times Square. Long time fans:
Jennifer L. Anderson... she's the one laughing, and the guy looking back with the "God woman, what is that noise" look amuses me. Funny if you've ever heard her laugh. ;)
Stephanie Lostimolo, the former cover colorist (and colorist for #5 of "Gargoyles") giving Eric "Gorebash" Tribou of Station Eight a noogie. Yup, witnessed that in person too.
Cindy Kinnard making her second cameo in the series, she briefly appeared in #5 at Xanatos's party.
Seth Jackson all the way on the right.

None of them native New Yorkers, because, as I said, only tourists go to Times Square for New Years. Come on people, why? You're not allowed to bring booze, and you'll be freezing your butts off for hours on end. Oh, and you never know when some creepy Rocky Horror Picture Show fan and his Furry thug of a buddy might decide to drop a virus on you!

Great issue, I loved it.

*** END SPOILERS ***

anonymous writes...

Hello, sir,
1.) What storyarc do we see Rhino return in for season two? Is he in the first storyarc (the first four episodes of season two) or in a later storyarc?
2.) Will Tinkerer and Rhino appear in more than one episode in season two?
3.) Is it possible we will see a Spider-Man/Hammerhead fight in season two?
Thanks.

James Lipton writes...

I would like to thank Greg Weisman for being here today and to share with us. Many of us know Greg's work as a writer in the comic medium and his endeavours into animation. I myself am particularliy fond of his forays into the world of self expression through the form of facial hair combined with hawaiin shirts. And now the questionnaire used by Bernard Pivot:

What is your favorite word?

What is your least favorite word?

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

What sound or noise do you love?

What sound or noise do you hate?

What is your favorite curse word?

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

What profession would you not like to do?

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive?

Chip writes...

Wow...

This issue was really heavy. I knew Sevarius was slime...but now I believe that he is an evil man. I really kinda wish Yama could have shown him the business end of his Katana.

The man is twisted...really twisted. And I have to wonder...who is the client who asked about an army of mutates? Thailog? Demona? Xanatos? Taro? Or someone we haven't seen yet.

Robyn's prejudice (Which I've suspected/noted before) shows through when Sevarius threatens her with gargoyle mutation...and it hints at what Thailog has in store for those 8 DNA samples. Also, Yama notes her prejudice with an...unreadable expression.

God, I feel for those four mutates...especially Benny and Erin; I don't think the gravity of what has happened to them has hit them yet. (Of course Greg keeps it light-hearted by having his own kids be the mutates.)

Robyn is as infuriated with Anton as I was...and rightly so. Still, Dingo and Matrix show up before the worst happens...but were clearly to preoccupied to notice that Sevarius had goaded them into putting him in the cell.

That Terry...always noticing the flying anthropomorphic creatures...I do believe he may fall for one one day.

Fang's lightning attacks have a very...unusual effect on Dingo, due--I presume--to his linkage with Matrix. It was funny to see Dingo smack his face on the wall.

And then came the heavy part...poor Tasha...poor Benny and Erin. God...it's what Maggie would have done if Talon hadn't been there for her.

And Fang has no tact...what the hell was he thinking? Frankly...I'm with Yama...take his head off. But unlike when Titania whispered in Fox's ear, or when Angela whispered in Broadway's...I have a pretty good idea what Robyn said to Yama.

Something along the lines of "Everyone deserves to get a second chance...if you deprive him of that, how will you restore you honor?" only, put more eloquently.

Speaking of which, Dingo overhears Robyn's comminque to the Director...but doesn't really get time to chew on it before the newest member of the Squad joins them...and Yama looks absolutely thrilled.

Elisa's fan writes...

Dear Greg,
I discovered the Gargoyles on Toon Disney and this web site when I was 16 in 2000 and became a HUGE fan. I went out of the country for a few years and am just now getting back into my Gargoyles stuff. I just bought all the comics and I LOVE them. I'm depressed they won't continue. I also just bought the available DVD collection and am getting my friend to do the same. I don't have cable right now, so does that mean I really won't be seeing the second half of season 2 ever again? Do you have any idea how long Toon Disney will continue running the reruns?
Please continue the fight, as we faithful fans do the same, and thank you for all you have done. (The comics; I never would have thouht of that.)

Tim writes...

Is there a squel for gargoyles or not? What is gargoyles 2198? I cant tell by the FAQ weather 2198 is just talking about an episode or a squel idea.

Wesley Nichols writes...

I read on one of youre answers that you are a huge batman fan. Did you see the Dark Knight and what did you think of the Joker? I feel that the Joker blew all the other characters away, but apparently some people don't like the interpretation. One person said that the Dark Knights's Joker is the best film version to date, but didn't approve of the interpreation, because of how sloppy he was and he considered Joker to be a neat freak.

Lemmy Pierce writes...

So I unexpectedly came off work early today and found myself with a bit of free time-- not much, mind you, but enough. I don't know what it says for my intelligence or creativity that my thoughts immediately wandered to television, but eh . . . free time is supposed to make you feel good, not benefit humanity as a whole. And it felt like it'd been awhile since I'd gotten to actually sit down and watch anything (as opposed to, say, piping up the volume and listening from another room while I do this, that or the other thing). I wasn't sure what, if anything, I was in the mood for, and cast a casual eye onto my DVD shelf.

Gargoyles.

Well, why not Gargoyles? The quality ratio and fun factor with that show is so high that the only difficult part there is choosing which episode to run. So I pulled down Season One.

Initially I thought to watch Awakenings, but that's a lot of time to commit for one sitting when I had other things to be doing later on. I decided I'd watch "Enter Macbeth" instead.

It is, of course, one of my all-time favorites. mainly because of its titular character.

I actually watched it two times through for the hell of it. When I was finished, I ended up thinking and rethinking through a lot of it . . . and then somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered ASK GREG.

So, I thought I'd ramble. That *is* allowed, isn't it?

ENTER MACBETH

Yeah, we'll tell the truth on this one: The episode does kinda look like . . . well, crap. I have a much more affectionate eye for the episode than I did upon first viewing and look past a lot of it now, but there are still moments of "Enter Macbeth" that I can't get out of my head as something to say, "God, that's some [your negative adjective goes here] animation." I can't quite put my finger on what it is-- the whole episode just feels so off from a visual standpoint.

This would, in fact, become the start of one of the things I disliked most about this particular studio. When gargoyle wings fold over cloak-like, you should not see the three "limbs" as you do when seeing their interior. Or at least, you don't in the better animation studios. Drive me nuts; don't know why.

And of course, there was that one shot of Macbeth with the most yellow friggin' teeth. WTF?!

Greg, it's been many years since I've checked the archives in any great detail, but I think I remember you saying something like, "I was sure that the bad animation would make it so that almost no one would be interested in seeing Macbeth again." Well, this is one of those instances where the characters and plot shine through to make up for an episode's lackluster animation. (I call them "Korean Incidents".) It never detracted from the story. Not for me, anyways.

Let's start with Macbeth himself. This is an interesting character. At first glance, he appears to come out of nowhere. His motivations are unclear, so for now he's just "the bad guy". So how do you sell him without the cool backstory that will be developed later?

You have him kick copious amounts of ass, both literally and figuratively.

The scene with him posing as a prison guard is a highlight. So much of the credit for this episode should go to John Rhys-Davies, who from what I can tell just leapt into the role. Although, is it my failing memory or is this practically the only time that Xanatos and Macbeth have any real interaction with one another? If this is true, then that's a shame because they play well off of one another. But why would Macbeth introduce himself as . .. well, *himself*, rather than Lennox MacDuff (presuming that this is the identity he's gone by for many hundreds of years as a cover)?

Look at this guy, though. Not only does he wait for the gargoyles to awaken, he takes them all on single-handedly and wins. Not only that, but he takes prisoners. All on their home turf, and without so much as breaking a SWEAT. His knowledge in these "creatures" is so expert that he knows precisely what to do and how to do it with cold and calculated precision.

Check that attack. He throws (an admittedly off-guard) Broadway into Hudson and over the castle edge with ease. Then before anyone else can react, he tosses the smoke pellets and gains the upper hand over everyone else. Confusion ensues. The gargoyles who can't see and don't move end up blindsighted by gargoyles who can't see and DO move in very wrong directions. Or by Macbeth himself, who most assuredly can see and makes short work of Brooklyn before he can do a damned thing.

From there, it's just zap zap zap and it's finished. "Captured me three gargs in under 20 seconds, EL-OH-EL."

I always found this battle to be interesting in and of itself. Macbeth, for as much as we know this far in the game, is ordinarily human. He doesn't have biological enhancements or special powers or even henchmen; he's as human as you or me. And he takes them ALL down. Hell, Goliath himself probably gets the worst of it-- the outcome is so nakedly humiliating that I'm blushing. Oh, and that body slam into the fusebox didn't help either.

And is it me, or was Elisa WAY too close when Goliath came swooshing down after being electrified by the hull of Macbeth's ship? I say that she was damned lucky: If he had actually COLLIDED with her at that speed, I say that she might've been crushed to death.

So now Goliath leaves to track them down. Hudson and Broadway are left to defend the castle, but of course that's another subplot all its own.

Elisa warns Goliath that it's not safe to stay at the castle. Hell, she says it three times in a row. And his best reaction is to shrug her off-- something he won't be so apt to do in later episodes. He took off awful fast to rescue the other gargoyles at that point, almost as though he couldn't avoid the conversation fast enough.

Something else we don't see a lot of in later episodes tends to show in abundance with regards to Season One and particularly "Enter Macbeth", and that's Goliath Pissed Off. It was only juuuuuuust last episode that he was in a rage over what he thought was Elisa getting shot by Dracon. Goliath holding Dracon over the railing was a powerful dramatic moment. (Although in hindsight, he does that a LOT. Twice in "Awakening" with Hakon and Xanatos, Dracon in "Deadly Force" and I think at least once more somewhere down the line, although I can't remember when.) But in "Enter Macbeth", it's kinda flipped around. Goliath caught Dracon with relative ease, and it was clear what he would have done had Broadway not fessed up in time. Goliath never catches Macbeth, though. And he spends so much time chasing mirrors and shadows that I think Goliath might have been pissed enough to do worse than simply drop him. So we get to see a lot of vicious anger on his part in this ep. Roaring. Tearing through walls. Getting into a slugfest. Goliath isn't just another species, he's a dangerous one when it comes to the defense of his clan.

But that just makes Macbeth even cooler. Now it's Goliath who's handled with ease. Think about that for a moment. GOLIATH. A gargoyle warrior who is more than a match for just about any human out there. But against Macbeth, and especially on his turf, that same gargoyle finds himself at a disadvantage. And what makes that so interesting is that Macbeth isn't this ZOMG "genetically-engineered gargoyle sorceress hybrid mutant clone" superior foe. He's a human being. A human being with technology up the wazoo, but still human.

Look at the way he handles himself in their duel, after the chase is over. It's completely even. It was smart of Goliath to grab for a weapon when he got the chance, because even if weaponry isn't his habit I think he knew that against a sword-swinging Macbeth it was his only real chance. Even so, Macbeth doesn't relent. Goes on and on. Fights until the mansion is about to go up in flames . . . and he never gets too angry or panicked even when forced to escape. Is he pissed because the plan went to rot and his house burned down? Sure, why not? But he still takes it all with a certain amount of stride. No loud threats for vengeance, no personal grudge against Goliath, no real "villainous" actions taken at all (except, maybe, leaving the other gargoyles to burn alive). He just leaves when the gettin's good, and knows a little more for next time.

Love that little slip-out-of-the-jacket thing, by the way.

No, Macbeth doesn't have extra emotions to waste on Goliath and company. He wants Demona, Demona, Demona. The other gargoyles are just pawns (albeit useless ones as it turns out). I think it was a wise decision for her to not show up in this episode at all; it would have been too convenient, not to mention that it would also have detracted from Macbeth's character study. This is his episode.

Back at the castle, the remaining Gargoyles decide to take the Grimorum off Xanatos' hands. Now Owen gets his moment, too.

Hudson: Who's going to stop us? You?
Owen: Indeed.

You can tell by Hudson's attitude that he didn't expect Owen to knock his ass onto the floor. I don't think any of us did! Then, before Broadway can intervene, he's got a loaded gun pointed at his head. (I don't think that S&P would let that slide nowadays.) Owen is capable and reasonably prepared, no matter the circumstances. I think it's great that it's Elisa throwing a crutch at him that effectively turns the tables-- for all their strength, the gargoyles ended up pretty helpless otherwise.

Ah, well. All part of the job for Owen Burnett. However, I wonder if he faced some sort of penalty or reprimand for failing to prevent the theft of the Grimorum.

I despise when recurring characters are introduced via Korean outsourcing. I would say, introduce them some other way, and then give them crap animation somewhere down the line. Macbeth has a great character design; it should have been introduced through one of the better studios, perhaps the best one. (Not that I'm implying fault. You can give only so many episodes to Japan's Tokyo outlet; you make your choices and you live with 'em.) This is one of those episodes that I say to myself, "Damn, I'd love to see what this would'a looked like with kickass animation."

The "City of Stone" four-parter becomes interesting for this reason, given that we see how many changes Macbeth has gone through throughout the centuries . . . again, both figuratively and literally. It's not done by the Tokyo studio, but we're given so many designs for Macbeth. It's wonderful.

I've gotta start dinner now, so I guess that about does it for me. Later!

~Da Lemmy

Masterdramon writes...

Good day to you. I'm a long-time lurker, though a first-time poster.

First of all, I'm quite glad that "The Spectacular Spider-Man" Season 2 finally has a concrete air-month. I was extremely impressed by the series as a whole, and it is without a doubt the greatest adaptation of Spider-Man outside of the original comics. Its character development, multi-layered storylines, and sheer coolness are nearly unparalleled in the realm of animation, with the notable exceptions of the DC Animated Universe, "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and of course "Gargoyles." Now it's time for us fans to cross our fingers for Season 3...

Anyway, a long while back you made a very insteresting post discussing how a good villain invariably acts as a foil for some aspect of the hero. To demonstrate this point, you gave a list of who you considered Batman's greatest villains:

a) The Joker, who represents the chaos that opposes Batman's order...
b) Two-Face, who personifies Bruce Wayne/Batman's duality...
c) Catwoman, who symbolizes the darkness that continually seduces Batman's soul...
d) The Scarecrow, who, like Batman, exists to inspire fear...
e) And Ra`s al Ghul, who takes Batman's pursuit of order to fascistic extremes...

This sort of thread simply fascinates me. So I was just wondering - could you do the same with Spider-Man's rogues gallery? Who, in your mind, are the greatest of Spider-Man's many great villains? And how do they speak to Peter Parker's soul? I have some ideas in my head as to the answers, but I'm very interested in hearing what your take on the subject is.

Thanks a lot, and good luck with "The Spectacular Spider-Man"! May it live long enough to introduce the greatest Spidey villain of all time: A Guy Named Joe!

(Well, let's hope it lives long, anyway...)

skeeJay writes...

A lot's been said about how great season 1 of SSM is. I'll try to be quick about it.

Background: I wasn't old enough to follow the source material the first time around, but my dad was. He likes to tell how his favorite issue was ASM #6, notable for the return of the Vulture and some classic Spidey quippage. We were both watching SSM.

SSM really made me sit forward for the first time with the introduction of Mary Jane, who nails her first line ("Invisible Hand"). Was great to see the continuity lead this right into Spidey's first Green Goblin encounter on the very same night for Peter in the following episode; handoffs like this make it feel like you're "watching" a comic book on the screen, and it's a fun effect.

I love to see a Saturday morning cartoon using in medias res ("Catalysts").

Really appreciated the way the Sinister Six are used. By pairing up their introduction with Spider-Man's "black period," you implicitly suggest he needed the black suit to defeat them ("Group Therapy"). Thus, the threat is greater when they (inevitably) return.

It's clear "Intervention" was crafted with care; the times Peter uses "I" versus "we," the way the symbiote moves from an "evil" version of Peter's voice to its own, the decision to wait until the end of the season to retell the origin story.....arguably after the biggest battle of the season against the Sinister Six. It's an impressive move that reminds me of something the excellent Farscape used to do; the climactic, balls-to-the-wall, stuff-blowing-up spectacle wouldn't be the last episode, but an episode or two before the end of the season. The final episode would be low-key, much more personal, and it opens the door to a different kind of cliffhanger, a more emotional one.

Season 1 ended how I hoped it would, and it emboldens me to make a prediction to myself about how far season 2 will go.

Some classy animation that cought my eye: Spidey firing his webbing at the camera during freefall (Nature vs. Nurture).

In general, high marks from both a twenty-somthing Gargoyles fan and a fifty-something Spider-Man fan. Looking forward to season 2.