Greg responds...

Let's start by saying that the word 'tattoo' is convenient, but not technically correct. These are mystic cryptograms or whatever, and they're only permanent until they are replaced. And, as I think I've said before, a more experienced sorcerer can sublimate the markings so that they're only visible when in use.

Kaldur reached a certain level within a certain specialty. Tula advanced beyond him but in basically the same specialty. Garth has a different specialty, but is more advanced than either of them. Mera, is more advanced than any of her students - at least in Season One.

Certain markings are totemic. Others relate more specifically to the powers.

Greg responds...

It was not the first time they'd heard about it, so, yes, they had a uniform prepped. It wasn't a replica of Superman's, but it wasn't the <ahem> casual wear that our Superboy favors either. (And don't ask me what it looked like exactly. I don't know. Since we never showed it, it was never designed.) And it had stealth-tech.

Greg responds...

I'm sorry, I do not understand this question.

Greg responds...

Yes.

Greg responds...

No, if he hadn't been rescued, he would have been fully programmed and used in potentially the same way the Roy clone was.

Greg responds...

I'm not sure what speculations you're referring to. But...

ANYWAY, I suppose this is as good an excuse as any to go through a bit of a chronology.

We finished the scripts for Invasion in January of 2012. So that's when I stopped getting paid, because although I'm a producer on the series, that title and even the responsibilities that go with it were, in essence, a courtesy, based on my experience, I guess. With a guy as talented and competent as Brandon on the job, Warners didn't feel any need to pay me to do the post-production on YJ. They had no problem with me participating, but they also had no problem with me walking away. (Same with Season One, by the way.) (And it was the same at Sony vis-a-vis The Spectacular Spider-Man. In animation, writers often aren't valued all that much once the script process is completed. From the point of view of these companies, I was really just a story editor with a glorified title, who was willing to do what he had to do in order to make the title real and NOT glorified.)

On one level, I probably should have walked away. But instead, I worked for free, helping to post the episodes with Brandon from January to October of 2012. Simultaneously - because I do need to earn a living - I did a number of freelance scripts for various series, including one for Warners' Beware the Batman, plus a Transformers Prime, a couple of Kaijudos, a couple Rescue Bots and a couple of Octonauts. Plus, there was the YJ comic, a few miscellaneous things, and I was also working on revising my first novel, Rain of the Ghosts. Oh, and Brandon and I were also giving free input on Legacy, as well. So I was plenty busy.

In October of 2012, we finished posting episode 220, "Endgame", and on Halloween I moved out of my office on the Warner Bros. Ranch and moved back to my old office in Beverly Hills. By that time, I was done with the comic as well.

During that period, Brandon and I (both separately and together) pitched all sorts of further Earth-16 properties, including (but not limited to) a third season (of course), animated spin-offs featuring Arsenal and/or the Arrow Family, a comic book entitled Earth-16, the Black Manta Celebrity Hot Tub shorts, a direct to DVD movie, etc. Brandon even pitched a YJ meets Scooby movie. Unfortunately, none of these were in the cards.

I'd love to say differently. I'd even love to say I've moved on, but I haven't really. Like many of the fans, I'm still mourning the whole thing, quite a bit. Perhaps even quite a bit more than is healthy. And - because I do need to earn a living - I'm still looking for both freelance work and my next solid gig. (It's been fourteen months without a real job, and it's starting to get a bit nerve-wracking, to be perfectly honest.) But Rain is coming out in December, and I'm hard at work on its sequel. They've both been very rewarding to work on, at least emotionally. (We'll have to wait and see if they turn out to be rewarding financially - but at least the potential upside is there.)

I'd happily do a YJ Novel, but like anything YJ related, it's just not up to me. It's just not a property I control AT ALL.

Greg responds...

SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

Greg responds...

1. Not really, mostly because it was SO long ago, I don't remember very much. But it was the basic Rocket/Icon dynamic.

2. Geez. Um. I wanna say Denys probably brought the notion to me, but I was already a fan of both characters. But, again, it was a LONG time ago.

3. See above.

4. Don't know. I remember we pitched it to Nickolodeon in New York, along with about ten other ideas or so. Nick bought two of my pitches, Rain of the Ghosts and Madison & M.O.N.-Ro (neither of which ended up getting made for various reasons). But they passed on Rocket. I have no idea why.

5. Me too.

6. Brandon and Kevin and I came up with a ton of story ideas right off the bat. More than we could ever get to, frankly, even with five seasons. Then the task is to organize our thoughts, figure out what would happen when. We begin to come up with a throughline for an entire season and organize stuff around that. Of course, every time we introduce a new character or event that triggers multiple additional story ideas. It's kinda unending.

Greg responds...

It depends WHEN you're asking about...?

Greg responds...

I can't speak for any decisions made in the comics, current or otherwise. You'll have to ask them.