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WEISMANSWERS 2009-03 (Mar)

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Jesse B. writes...

As I've been following the second season on Teletoon for the past few months, "The Spectacular Spider-Man" has been the first thing to come along in my entire life that has actually made me look forward to waking up Sunday mornings. That alone is no small accomplishment. What is an even greater accomplishment is that the first two seasons of this phenomenal show have established a new definitive interpretation for the character. While the series hasn't quite finished here in Canada, I will still highlight the fact that the event that ends the second season has effectively made these twenty-six episodes equivalent of the original Lee-Ditko run of The Amazing Spider-Man. For decades those issues have been the central foundation upon which all interpretations of Spider-Man have drawn from. These first two seasons, however, have shattered that foundation and created a new standard for the character. Even if SSM is not continued (heaven forbid), I sincerely hope that all future incarnations use the first two seasons of your series as their basis. I simply can't accept anything less at this point.

I have a few comments and questions from season two which I had hoped to share with you, but I'm sure that you'd rather keep your column free from major spoilers as the series airs in the States. As such, I'll submit more questions as each arc airs on Disney XD. For now, here are a couple of more general things:

1) I realize that this series has an enormous cast to juggle, but what on earth happened to Robbie Robertson? I don't think any major character has gotten the shaft as badly as he has! He has some interplay with Jonah, but we don't see any scenes of him interacting with Captain Stacy or even his own son! Is this going to be rectified soon?

1)Is it just me, or are Jean DeWolff and Stan Carter the only two cops in the Midtown area? I understand the need to to build familiarity with those characters for future stories, but their overexposure has been a bit silly. I also noticed in one episode that Jean referred to Stan as “Sarge”, which got me thinking: what are the current police rankings for these two characters? Jean would have to be a lieutenant by now if there's any hope of her becoming a captain within the span of this series, but her comment gives me the impression that this isn't the case.

That's all for now! Here's hoping that season 3 has a pick-up by the time you reply to this message!

Greg responds...

Thank you for the kind words. They are very gratifying, truly. But I can't agree that we've SUPPLANTED the original Lee-Ditko run. In fact, that seems patently preposterous. I'd hope any future incarnation of Spidey would return to the source material, as we did on this show. A copy of a copy quickly loses any sense of true definition. No matter how good we may think the original copy was.

SPIDEY SPOILERS!!!!!!!

1. Uh... look... I don't think Robbie got short shrift if one views the series with any sense of proportion. Granted we have a LARGE and quite wonderful ensemble. But this is NOT an ensemble show. This is a show about Peter Parker. Period. Keep in mind we have less than 20 minutes of new content per episode. With that as a given, the storylines we choose to deal with and depict on screen must effect Peter, either directly or indirectly OR they must be about us laying pipe for things that will eventually effect Peter down the road. I like to think in our limited screen time, we find moments to characterize a TON of characters in small ways that are independent of our lead. But that's gravy. At this point, Robbie's life isn't intersecting much with Peter's life. And I can't spare screen time for a conversation between Rand and Robbie that's ONLY about Rand and Robbie. And of course, this doesn't just apply to Robbie. I'm sure everyone's got his or her favorites, and in some ways there isn't a single character that hasn't gotten short shrift. In fact, there isn't a single character that I wouldn't like to spend more time on. If these were one hour episodes, we'd have a lot more breathing room. But they're not. And, yes, I can already here someone out there saying, "Hey, I could have done with less of [fill in the blank] in order to afford more time with [fill in the blank]." But the obvious problem there is that one man's [fill in the blank] is another man's [fill in the blank]. All I can do as head of story is try to keep my eyes focused on the main goal: THE EDUCATION OF PETER PARKER, and then try to do as much justice to everyone else as I can.

1. (You used the number 1 twice...). Stan is a sergeant. Jean is an officer. And, yes, I'm aware of the repercussions of that statement. As for your objection, I don't know what you expect me to say. Rather than agreeing that how we're executing this is silly, I think your objection is, well, silly. We've seen other cops. Alan O'Neil, Vin Gonzalez to name two that I actually CAN name. But of course, we're always going to start with Captain Stacy, Jean and Stan. Again, with limited screen time, why would I want to split the very, very few moments of characterization that I have for cops among so many that in effect no one gets any real screen time. And frankly how unrealistic is it that when 90% of our adventures are set in the Midtown area of Manhattan, that we have our two cops on the Midtown beat show up? We've tried NOT to use them when the adventure was clearly happening outside of Midtown. Have they been in the background in some of those cases? Maybe. We only have the budget to design so many characters, so if we needed to fill out a scene with cops, they may have been included even if they didn't belong. But they certainly didn't have any lines in that case.

I just reread the above, and it reads harsh - and given your praise of the show, vaguely churlish, even -- which isn't my intention. But the simple fact is the show can't do EVERYTHING. It has to pick its shots. I remember reading that Joss Whedon always felt bad about how little he used Buffy's dad. And he had 22 hour-long episodes per season. If it's any consolation, when we start any new season, we have index cards on the board for EVERY member of our large and growing cast as a reminder to track what is going on each of their lives. When those moments intersect with Peter (again directly or indirectly or with a view toward the future) I promise, we'll find some way to fit it in. That's the best I can offer.

Response recorded on March 27, 2009

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Jack-Pumpkinhead writes...

Dear Greg,
First off, le me say that I am ecstatic to see you back answering fan questions. This kind of connection with fans is why you and Bill Willingham are two of my favorite writers. Now then, on to a question or two;

What kind of cases did Bluestone and Hacker work in the FBI? From what I've seen on TV and what my mom has told me (she's a forensic scientist), the FBI has numerous smaller bureaus for fraud, kidnapping, behavoir analysis, etc.

Greg responds...

I'm not answering that at this time.

Response recorded on March 26, 2009

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Marjorie writes...

Hi Greg,

Just finished season two of Spider-Man, and it was amazing. My question is, how do things look for season three? Do you have the green light yet? And more importantly, is there anything the fans can do to help the show out? I plan to buy the DVD sets when they're released and I tell all my comic book friends about it. Anything more we can do?

Greg responds...

If you have a Nielson Box (and even if you don't, but especially if you do), watch the show on Disney XD, so that our ratings soar. Buy SpecSpidey DVDs and Hasbro toys. We're all hoping for a third season pick-up, but it hasn't happened yet. (The ratings for Monday's airings should be out today. Hopefully, they'll help not hurt our cause.)

Response recorded on March 26, 2009

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Landon Thomas writes...

In 'The Mirror', I appreciate the real-world reason why the human-form Manhattan Clan gargoyles look the way they do, namely that they more or less represent their respective voice actors. But I also like the cohesiveness it gives the Gargverse when you give a canon/in-show reason for something. In that spirit, when Goliath turns into a human analogue, why does he have darker skin--or appear to be of a different racial group--than the others who appear to be more Scottish?

Greg responds...

Elisa.

Response recorded on March 26, 2009

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Greg Bishansky writes...

"Blueprints"
Okay, so the second season of "The Spectacular Spider-Man" will be airing hear in the U.S. in March. However, Canada premiered it today. I saw it, and now I'm reviewing it. How did I see it? ::shifty eyes::

Okay, it's snowing, and I am reminded of why I'm glad I live in Los Angeles and not New York City anymore. I hate that weather. Spidey is pondering what to do about Gwen, when all of a sudden he's attacked by Venom. But wait, wasn't Eddie Brock separated from the symbiote at the end of season one? Yes. This was a nightmare. But a really cool one.

And this week's villain is both one of the cheesiest, and a personal favorite of mine. Mysterio, and I love this take on him as a faux sorceror, complete with "Gargoyles" style Latin incantations. I just love the way he's talking in this. Summoning tiny little gargoyles and holographic wyverns.

"It seems Mysterio is the master of talking about himself in the third person." -Spidey. Yeah... that's Dr. Doom's job.

Spidey jumped into the freezing East River, and I'm getting chills just thinking about it.

Is that Miles Warren? Keep the lecherous old creep away from Gwen, please. We all know what that will lead too.

And Peter gets reinstated in the Conners' lab. Money talks, all Norman Osborn needs to do is speak. I love how he's now playing mentor to a reluctant Peter Parker. This is going to be interesting.

I loved the battle sequences between Spidey and Mysterio. He's so cheesy, he's great. That's what's great about Mysterio, you can just go crazy and have fun with him.

Mysterio shouted "Fulminos venite!" and lightning struck. That made me happy.

The climax, when Spidey unmasks Mysterio, and has no idea who he is had me in stitches. Quentin Beck is more of a ham than Anton Sevarius. Like Mason said, "actors..."

"As the waaaaiiiiiter..." Beck needs to go back to acting school.

Liz is all over Pete, and he hasn't spoken to Gwen yet. Uh oh.

"I figured Jonah would never unclench enough to..." Was there an edit here? Feels like it.

And why is Norman peeling an egg so creepy?

Spot the voice actor: Stan Lee as... himself. Well, Stan the Dock Worker. Loved that.

Greg Weisman as, I assume, Donald Menken... he was Norman Osborn's bespectacled assistant in the comics for a time, and a Hobgoblin suspect. Nice Owen Burnett impression, Greg.

The Tinkerer finally speaks, and he's Thom Adcox. I love Thom, and I'm glad to hear him here. But if the Tinkerer drops his pants and kisses Electro, I'm going home. ;)

Nice cliffhanger with the Master Planner. Either he's Doc Ock like in the comics, or he's the Chameleon. We'll see. I'm hoping for Ock.

A good beginning for the new season.

Greg responds...

SPIDER-SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was no edit. Pete was simply interrupted.

Response recorded on March 26, 2009

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Arthur Jr. writes...

Hey Greg, the second season had aired in Canada in January and I was able to see it on YouTube. You even did a good job when you joined the cast as Donald Menken.

Cletus Kasady and Morris Bench were featured in Season Two. While Cletus was featured as an inmate at Ravencroft in "Reinforcement," Morris Bench (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) was Norman Osborn's demolition expert as seen in "Shear Strength."

If you get the okay to have Season Three made, I'd be interested in your plans for Scorpion and Hobgoblin. Courtney B. Vance was casted as Roderick Kingsley. If you plan Scorpion, I'm guessing Farley Stillwell (the one who created Scorpion on request of J. Jonah Jameson) will also be included.

The spores John Jameson was infected with in "Growing Pains" did occur in the comics. Sometime after that, he found the Godstone (an other-dimensional ruby) on the moon which caused him to turn into Man-Wolf when it grafted onto his throat. When I asked a Man-Wolf-related question which you answered "no comment" to, I was hoping that you might be able to get Frank Welker to provide Man-Wolf's vocal effects since Dee Bradley Baker is already doing Lizard if the Man-Wolf is used in your proposed Season Three.

Greg responds...

Was there a question in there?

Response recorded on March 26, 2009

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Demonskrye writes...

Approaching an old question from a different angle.

If you were to tell us right now what Titania whispered to Fox, would we understand what she meant? Or is it something that requires some background information, without which only the two of them would understand it?

Greg responds...

A casual viewer might not immediately get it, but I think a longtime fan would... and would at this point be thoroughly disappointed.

Response recorded on March 25, 2009

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Anthony Tini writes...

************* SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN SEASON 2 QUESTION *************

Greg,

If it's not too much trouble, and you have the script handy, for fun it would be cool to see Mysterio's Latin dialogue and its English translation if you wouldn't mind typing that up for us fans of the Latin language. Thanks.

Greg responds...

SPIDEY SPOILERS!!!!!!!

ACT ONE
Dormite! = Sleep!

Denique diatem efficacem inveni! = I have finally found an effective diet!

Credo Elvem ipsum etiam vivere! = I believe Elvis is alive!

ACT TWO
Dormi! = Sleep!

Fulmina venite! = Come lightning!

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas! = Thank you for not smoking!

Chelicerata. = Spiders (etc.).

Dormite! = Sleep!

Credo Elvem ipsum etiam vivere! = I believe Elvis is alive!

Elvem! = Elvis!

Dorm-- = Slee--

Nullae satisfactionis potiri non possum! = I can't get no satisfaction!

ACT THREE
Denique diatem efficacem inveni! = I have finally found an effective diet!

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas! = Thank you for not smoking!

Fulmina venite! = Come lightning!

Fulmina veni-- = Lightning co--

In toto ancto es! = You're in for a world of hurt!

Dormi! = Sleep!

I won't pretend I personally know for a fact that all of the above is 100% accurate, but we did consult multiple sources on both translation and pronunciation. It's as accurate as we could make it.

Response recorded on March 25, 2009

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Martin writes...

Hi, Greg. Since I'm from Bulgaria I've already watched season 2 of Spectacular Spider-Man - and I must say that you and the whole Spidey crew did AMAZING job. This show actualy got me up every Saturday and Sunday morning, and that pretty hard, believe me. Officialy the best Spidey series ever. Anyway, the finale rocked, and now I have so many questions I dont know where to start. First of all, I'm a lil bit worried about season 3. Does Sony need the ratings for the second season to pick up third or the rating for the first few weeks? Second, can you use Beetle and The Rose in the series? I think Beetle is Spider-Man foe. Third, if the show doesnt get 3rd season will you release the designs for Hobgoblin and Scorpion? Regarding Hobgoblin (personal favourite) I really hope that you will take as source material Stern/Romita Jr.'s run on Amazing Spider-Man. (ASM #238-251). Any plans about this (the Hobgoblin thing).

Thats for now. Again, AMAZING SHOW. Thank you all for doing it.

Greg responds...

I don't have any sort of specific threshold that Disney XD, Sony and Marvel need to renew the show. Obviously, it needs to do well. And I think it will. But in this economy, I don't know what qualifies as "well".

Simply put, I have every reason to think they'll pick the show up, but (a) there are no guarantees and (b) I have no idea when this will happen. But I'll keep you posted here.

I'm fairly certain that the Beetle is not a part of the Spider-Man license. I think the Rose is. But I'm not 100% sure of either statement.

There are, to my knowledge, no designs yet for Hobgoblin or Scorpion. Things were busy enough on the first two seasons, that I doubt Sean ever got around to designing characters that weren't slated to appear yet.

I have a lot of plans for Hobgoblin, but I'm not spoiling them now.

Response recorded on March 24, 2009

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Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Hello Greg,

Thank you for taking questions again!
I have been waiting a while to continue this conversation about the Third Race. Honestly I have so many questions that I've been waiting to ask for the longest time, but I have generally held back so I wouldn't flood the queue.

A while ago, I asked you <<"Are Children of Oberon vulnerable to steel, since it contains iron?">>
You responded:
<<"I think pure iron is what they're MOST vulnerable, but who wants to take chances?">>

I think it makes sense that they're _most_ vulnerable to pure iron (wrought iron). However, it doesn't make sense to me that steel has no effect _at all_, yet this appears to be the case, judging from the ineffective-ness of Hudson's sword in The Gathering, and that spear in Mark of the Panther. Steel is stronger than wrought iron and holds a sharper edge, but chemically there is very little difference between steel and pure iron.

I did some research, and steel (including ancient steel and most modern steel) is 98%-99.5% elemental iron -- almost as pure as wrought iron. Cast iron is actually less pure than steel, it contains less elemental iron. Modern stainless steel is even less pure than cast iron.
It also turns out that all of what is marketed as "wrought iron" today is actually steel.

1. I have a question. Children of Oberon can be seriously harmed by being cut or stabbed with pure iron, but does it harm them just to touch it? Was Puck harmed (even just getting a rash or a minor burn) by having those chains on all night (in the Mirror)? They were touching his skin, but he didn't seem physically uncomfortable, just annoyed at Demona.

Greg responds...

I don't think it causes hives, but I suppose it varies from individual to individual.

Response recorded on March 24, 2009


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