very devoted fan writes...

hey Greg, can you spoil the plot of every episode of Young Justice for me?
thanks.

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Not so much a question as a realization-
Now that Artimes's civilian identity is revealed I realized the one and only story I've read with her was a recent hero/villain team up- she with Icicle teamed with Jessie Quick (as Liberty Bell) and her husband Hourman. She and Icicle are either married or common-law and it is revealed are desperately trying to get their hands on a magical artifact because she is pregnant and Icicle's birth killed his mother. Excluding that last big reveal, it was a fun light hearted romp of two couples on opposite sides finding themselves teamed up but not trusting each other.

I have no idea if their relationship is long standing or a One Year Later thing, but it is a fun little irony that the show has she and Wally set up as the couple with romantic heat, while she is paired with part of his Rogues Gallery in the comics.

Christopher writes...

Hello Greg!

First of all, I would just like to say that my family and I are really enjoying Young Justice. In particular, I like how the show is introducing old characters to new viewers. Dr. Fate never interested me in the slightest before, but now I am willing to give the character another look, just because of this show. Also, your artists deserve extra praise for the variation in character body types in the show. Kid Flash looks like a runner, and Aqualad is built like Michael Phelps. Keep up the good work!

Now for my questions...

1. We have been shown the world where Aqualad lives in Downtime (my favorite episode). With whom does he live? I know that Kaldur'ahm has a close relationship with Aquaman, but is it close enough for him to live with the king and queen of Atlantis?

2. I really loved your introduction of Dr. Fate and the concept of the Lords of Order and Chaos. It was an interesting change to see Klarion as a Lord of Chaos, it fits well. Is there even the slightest possibility that Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld will appear in this show?

3. Is there any way that fans can obtain the promotional posters of the different characters, or just the pics of the posters from Young Justice? The designs were awesome.

I will be grateful for any information that you can provide, thank you.

RedBeardJim writes...

Hi Greg, just a question about the beginning of "Downtime" --

Was the fight against Clayface real, or some sort of holodeck-like training simulation? The scene transition made it hard for me to figure out.

conner writes...

1.Wan you talk about the relationship beween Superboy and Miss Martian?
2.Does Kid Flash know Miss Martian has a crush on Superboy?
3.Why does Miss Martian like Superboy?

Zach writes...

You answered that most of the time Superboy sleeps in a bed, but in Young Justice #0 he was shown to prefer Wally's closet over a bed. Is that going to be explained or was that a goof your end?

FinalAvalanche writes...

1) There's been a wiki debate over what color Artemis' eyes are, would you be so kind as to tell us what her eye color is supposed to be?

2) In earlier promotional clips, Artemis clearly had blue eyes, but in the show her eyes are darker, which makes her look more Asian. When was the decision made to change the color, who made the decision, and why?

Terence writes...

Will Wonder Girl ever be introduced in Young Justice

Zac writes...

Crap, my internet got interrupted and I accidentally cut my question in half. Sorry. Here's the first half:

Hi Greg,
I'm really enjoying YJ so far

1. You mentioned before that episodes 103-108 would focus on individual team members. By my reckoning:
103 - Miss Martian
104 - Robin
105 - Superboy
106 - Artemis
107 - Kid Flash
108 - Aqualad
I feel like Robin and Artemis got jipped. It could be that they had less character development because they're some of the most secretive members of the team, but I hope they get extra coverage later. By the way, as of 108, episodes 105 and 107 have been my favorites.

Todd Jensen writes...

I haven't asked many "Young Justice" questions before now (probably none), largely because I don't have cable and thus wasn't able to see the show. But I wanted to thank you for answering one question in the course of the two-part opener - though I learned it second-hand in the Station 8 comment room.

While I'm not a DC Comics expert, I've heard from various sources about Cadmus Labs - and when I heard of it, I began wondering almost at once if its bearing the same name as the mythical Greek hero who was Europa's brother, slew a dragon and planted its teeth to produce a crop of armed warriors, and founded Thebes, was intentional or coincidence.

Then, during the discussion in the S8 comment room of "Independence Day", in which Cadmus Labs featured, I learned from one of the other posters (who'd seen the episode, as I hadn't) that the characters in that episode of "Young Justice" pointed out in the story that the name of the labs was indeed intentional, comparing its secret experiments with Cadmus sowing the dragon's teeth.

Now I don't know if that line was your idea, or someone else's; I don't even know if it originated with the "Young Justice" production team or if DC Comics had already come up with it. But I'm glad that that question was answered, and want to thank you for that.

Mugabi writes...

Hey Greg!
1) When you said there would be major character deaths, does that include JLA members too?
2) Will there be any other members joining Young Justice?
3) If #2 is correct what will be the first episode to include a new member?
4) In the comics Martian's have super strength. Do M'gann and J'onn have super strength in YJ?
5) Does Aqualad know Black Manta is his father?
6) How old is Wonder Woman?

-XX writes...

If Artemis is Artemis Crock does that mean Sportsmaster is Lawrence Crock?

Daniel writes...

Hello Greg. Just wanted to thank you for the interesting depiction of Aquaman's world in Downtime. I've never found it terribly exciting in other shows, but it looked gorgeous and seemed to be more than a generic monarchy culture like I'm used to seeing.

Also, the switch to English was clever. Thanks for the laugh!

Greg Bishansky writes...

Downtime
This is a hard episode for me to review. I've always been much more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy; and as far as Marvel goes, Prince Namor has always been a character who hasn't interested me one iota. So, while I'm pretty ignorant of DC, I'm especially ignorant of Aquaman's corner of the DC Universe. I felt like I'd be having major geekgasms if I knew who any of these people were. But, with that out of the way, I did enjoy the episode quite a bit.

I loved the cold opening with Clayface. The design made him look positively terrifying, made worse by the shot of the entire team unconscious at his feet. Of course, Batman shows up and quickly puts an end to that. I've always loved Batman, and while we don't see him in action often in this show, when we do, it's always sweet.

I loved Aqualad's story in this episode, but I felt like there should have been a little more build up to him being unfocused, with his head in Atlantis. Because in just about every prior episode where he took charge, he was nothing but focused. Yes, I understood that the team's defeat at the hands of Clayface, who they should be able to defeat on a good day was that build up. But I feel like just a little something in the previous episode or two, before it leads to this defeat would have been nice.

That all said, this episode finally gave Aqualad the fleshing out he needed, and revealed many more facets of the character beyond being the straight man on the team. I enjoyed his friendship with Garth and Tula. I always enjoy his relationship with his king... and I enjoyed seeing him battle Black Manta.

Speaking of Black Manta, I thought he was really cool. I loved his look, he came off as a real threat. And I loved his... "fatherly" concern over Aqualad. Although, I kind of wish Greg and Brandon didn't reveal at various conventions that he is Aqualad's father. On the other hand, it's cool being in on a secret that no one else knows. Given that connection, I am sure we'll see Black Manta again. I had also previously theorized that Black Manta was a member of the Light, and I was proven wrong, he works for them like Sportsmaster does. And he was answering to, as Weisman revealed in his credits, the mysterious L-5.

On that note, I think L-5 may be the first member of the Light we've seen in the flesh. He does share a voice actor with Prince Orm, who I am told in the comics was Ocean Master. And now that Queen Mera is with child, hmm... shades of Uncle Scar, anyone? I hope we start seeing more members in the flesh pretty soon.

I have a feeling I should know what that giant starfish thing is, but I don't. Aw well, I know that the Light wants it, and that's an intriguing enough hook.

Artemis looks like she's finally been confirmed as Artemis Crock. But in a series that is all about secrets and lies, and with all the trouble the creators have gone to to keep her identity a secret, I think that might be as true as her being Green Arrow's niece. Batman going through all the trouble of getting her into a fancy prep school tells me he wants to keep an eye on her. And I'm sure there is a reason her mother is in a wheelchair... considering how well Cheshire seems to know her, maybe her mother was involved with the League of Shadows.

The Superboy and Miss Martian scene came off as pretty creepy. I mean, why was he just sitting there staring at snow on television? And then it almost seems like he's in a trance after that, and what happens when he gets covered in food, he sits back down and continues watching. Something is up here, I don't think this was just an innocent little scene. He was seeing something on TV that non-Kryptonians can't.

Speaking of TV, did someone say "Hello Megan" on TV at Artemis' apartment? Looks like an explanation for Miss Martian's really annoying catch-phrase. I'll admit it, I'm one of the people who can't stand it, but if she learned all about interacting with humans from watching sitcoms, I guess I can buy how she would come to think that's normal behavior on Earth to emulate.

And finally, I loved Dick's moment with Bruce playing Basketball. Nice to see that despite being Robin's general, Bruce Wayne is still, for all intents and purposes, Dick Grayson's father.

Good episode. Looking forward to the next one.

Jack-Pumpkinhead writes...

Dear Greg,
Down time was one of my top favorite episiodes. I mean, you manged to make every single Atlantean awesome, even Lagoon Boy was cool for his 5 seconds on screen. I loved the way you handled Garth, Kaldur, and Tula, very cool. I hope we see more Garth in the future. And that member of the Light Black Manta was talking to intrigues me; his head almost looks like he's wearing a crown. Please send my appreciation to the cast and crew!

W.C.Reaf writes...

Hey Greg

I just wanted to say that I loved the subtle little change to the voice credits in "Downtime" with almost the entire cast listed with their real names instead of codenames. I thought it was great and added to the theme of the episode showing the team's time off.

Are you planning on doing more stuff like that?

Anonymous writes...

Can the members of the Light be discerned by their voice actors? Especially if one known character has the same voice actor as one of the members?

Without getting into too many details, can you say anything about the selection of characters to be part of the Light? Were you looking for a broad overview of the different corners of the DC universe?

Thank you for the entertaining show!

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Silly little question- Do you ever feel the urge, (or give into the urge), to slip something into a script purely because you know something about the actor? Like writing a song into a scene because you know the actor sings, (but maybe not telling them that they're going to be doing Sondheim or Gilbert & Sullivan till after they agree to sing 'some ditty'), or make them speak a foreign language because someone is fluent (but perhaps has a horrid accent)? Someone has a great cackle? Find a reason to have it come up. Someone is afraid of canaries? Put on on the character's shoulder for the whole episode. etc The only example I can think of now would be to have M'gan spout a long series of made up equations to see if Danica McKellar's head explodes in the face of nonsensical math. (Or replace of a series of made up equations with her own theorem at the last moment and wait for her to notice.)

Or does "Jalapeno!" qualify as such evil?

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Oops- one other comment on Downtime- The "Hello Megan" was not annoying in this one. It seems to have shifted from a conscious verbal tic to an unconscious one.

Anonymous writes...

Why does it seem that Aqualad is the only Atlantean with gills?

Becky writes...

Will we be seeing any more of that hit tv show series "Hello Meg-" in YJ?

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

{Apologies if this is a double post}
Downtime: reactions/questions:
I enjoyed the recent episode. I can't say it was one of my favorites so far, but by definintion not every ep can be...

Main story-
1-I applaud the use of an Atlantian language, but Kal and Aquaman's speach seemed oddly stiff, almost robotic. Was this intentional to show the formalities of royalty?
2-The switch to English was nearly seemless. I didn't even notice it at first and then almost thought it was that Atlantian was used for formal situations like talking to royalty and spells. I jumped back and caught the flash in the pot switch over. (Added little meta moment of her asking if it worked and how would she know.)
3-I also liked the reverse of expectation that it seems the king's brother is loyal.
4-I did feel That Black Manta reporting to The Light was anticlimactic. All his taunting to Kal about it being lesser to serve seems hypocritical, and it wastes having a voice with the acting chops to pull a "If I can't have it no one can!" scream without sounding like a petulant child. Ironically I could have happily accepted all this as a great reversal of expectation, but after The Light being in just about every episode as the big bad behind the curtain I've got a little fatigue on them. I need to see the cast dealing with unrelated crimes too.

The rest of the story-
5-the animation continues to impress, I'd almost say it is a clear gemlike quality to it. Very expressive, very detailed (for animation) and still very clean. The interaction between Conner and Megan especially showcase it. {And also brings up a few questions; Did they kiss? How much does Red Toranado get? (I'd wager more than they'd guess if his wife and daughter come over from the print version) Why does Conner watch static? etc.}
6-Bruce continues to seem very intuned to people, including the ones closest to him. It takes me a while to get used to that, but I'm liking it. When it came to the basketball game, complete with smile, a thought had occured to me- is this an intentional reference to early Batman? I have not read the early Teen Titan stories, but I know the increasingly strained relationship beteen Dick and Bruce was an issue. But I also (again largely without reading) know that in the days before dark 'realism' took hold in comics they had a much easier relationship. Given how young Dick is in this series, it this an intentional connection to that stage of the relationship in the orignal form? And if so, (probably heading into No Comment territory), is the breakdown of that relationship the future in store?
7-Flash family was a hoot. I love seeing functional families getting equal playtime in fiction, and it reinforces they sense that we are in a fully functioning universe with history.
8-Artimas and her mom was intriging as well- Everytime you see a parent aware of that sort of extra-caricular activity you get curious, but the love is clear. Add to that that we know she has a past with the League of Assasins - seeing her actually having a home with a parent and a school life caught me by surprise.

Looking fwd to the next installment!

Matthew writes...

I just watched Downtime. I take it that the scene with subtitles was to show that the Atlanteans do not speak English and the English dialoge was "translated."

1) How did you create the Atlantean dialoge?

2) When Aqualad and Garth stole the uniforms of Black Manta's men, what did they do with the men themselves? Did they take them someplace with air or did they just let them drown?

Pumpkin Bomb writes...

Hi Greg,

Loved "Downtime." One thing I've noticed about other episodes is how dark they are visually, as in some cases it's pretty hard for me to make out some of the actions of characters in whatever warehouse or jungle they're fighting in. But there were lots of great undersea colors that made this episode gorgeous to look at.

Had a quick question about the Atlantian language used in the episode--we get that segment of Aquaman greeting Kaldur in it, but then it's pretty much all English after, albeit in that very formal tone. I know the practical side is that doing an entire episode in a made up language with subtitles would be just plain weird, but to your mind were all characters speaking Atlantian to each other during the underwater sequences? Or is English somehow a fallback language, that friends use with each other after formal greetings?

Javier writes...

Hi Greg, im greatly enjoying Young Justice. The character design departament surprise me every episode, Black Manta never looked more menacing and bad ass. Atlantis looked beautiful and the magic spells looked great, but im really dissapointed becouse compared to other characters like Mera and Aqualad, the king Aquaman seems to be a little weak if he only has his classic powers. Is Aquaman capable of using magic like the other Atlanteans ? thanks a lot for a such a great series, keep it up