April writes...

Hi Greg,

I've never asked a question here before and I searched the site for a while to see if the question I have has already been asked (apparently it hasn't?) Anyway, I was just wondering, does Kid Flash actually know Robin's secret identity? I've seen a lot of fan speculation on it and it got me really curious.

Hope you can answer and thanks for such a great series so far. It's fantastic. :)

H13 writes...

Just want to make some comments on what seems to be one of the major things in the last few episodes. Superman/Superboy dynamic.
I think it's good to see Superman is not Mr Perfect/Infallible and can't handle a situation that for once does not call for super speed or heat vision. But it's clear his side is not being shown and maybe that is unfortunate. I expect fear is a major factor here and imagine being last of your race and knowing you can't have kids with humans and suddenly you're faced with Batman telling you have be a father to a clone who could very well be someone bred to take you down. Fear that you can't or will fail Conner. Must bring up so much emotion regarding his own biological father and dead planet. It's a bit much for anyone. Shame you couldn't show some of his reasons.Might have made it more balanced. Batman is not the one to convince Clark in my mind anyway. I think this is where Pa Kent comes in big time. Maybe to some extent Diana and J'onn who seem from the start Clark's sounding boards/close friends. But kudos to you for bringing up an issue that I am sure many youngsters do have to face and we feel empathy for Conner.

My other thing is I hope we see Artemis very soon. Miss Martian is getting on my nerves. There needs to be some more girls to balance off her and soon.

Greg Bishansky writes...

I've written a lot in the past about why Demona is my favorite character, what it is about her that speaks to me and fascinates me. I've always been interested in why some characters are favorites for other people.

I've read a while back that you said that Black Canary is probably your all time favorite comic book character. So, I'm curious, what is it about Black Canary that interested and fascinated you to put her at the top of a list like that, with so many other characters potentially fighting for a top spot like that?

John writes...

I know Black Canary and Batman are two of the best at hand to hand combat in the field and Superboy and Flash are inexperienced I get that but how come not one of the stronger heroes are not even involved in 'schooling' the kids? It makes no sense it is only Canary. In my mind she cannot truly teach that very mixed group which includes Flash and Superboy what they really need to know. So are we going to see a meta take them on the mats?

Albert writes...

Hello, Greg!

Alas, another inquiry about Young Justice...

You revealed on an earlier question-and-answer that the mysterious Artemis character, which I think have a vague idea on her identity, is half-Caucasian and half-Vietnamese. Since that the show (by proxy, Earth-16) is all about realism, it got me concerned about biological genetics. It would seem that if Artemis were to be Eurasian, her Asian traits would be more accented given the fact that generally Asians have darker hair and eye color, thus becoming more dominant than her European traits. Artemis having blonde hair and blue eyes would be implausible unless she was three-fourths Caucasian and one-fourth Vietnamese. Will there be an adequate explanation for said incoherence? Either way, I don't care. It's fiction and can do away without one.

Keep up with the good work on the show!

Greg Bishansky writes...

Schooled
The fifth episode of "Young Justice" airs, and the series continues its upward climb in quality. This week's episode was penned by Nicole Dubuc, who previously worked with Greg Weisman on "W.I.T.C.H." and "The Spectacular Spider-Man."

Also making a return from "The Spectacular Spider-Man" are Vanessa Marshall as Black Canary, and Peter MacNicol as Professor Ivo. Marshall brings a cool, confident, and collected sexiness to Black Canary that perfectly fits the character. Honestly, I think she's my favorite actress to voice the character, and this is following the incredibly talented Morena Baccarin ("Firefly") and Grey DeLisle ("Avatar the Last Airbender"). I'll admit, I know very little about the character, but I have read that she is Weisman's favorite comic book character of all time, and as such, I am eager to learn more about her. Her character model is great, very sexy (even if I normally don't go for blondes), but it looks like her famous fishnet stockings have been stolen by the Flaming C.

Then there is Professor Ivo, a character I know nothing about except that dead guy in "Justice League" who constructed the android that was occasionally called AMAZO... but almost under protest from the writing team on that show. I liked Peter MacNicol's performance, but listening to him made me wish I was watching more of Dr. Octopus. I'll admit, I am still not quite over the cancellation of "The Spectacular Spider-Man." At this point, I'm willing to bet he's working for the Light.

And finally, rounding out the introductions, we have AMAZO. I mostly know AMAZO from "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited" and while he was an intriguing character in those shows, they kind of wrote themselves into a corner with him by turning him into a veritable god. The last time we saw him, he teleported himself to the other end of the universe to figure out a way to defeat Solomon Grundy... and they left him there. Probably Forever. Obviously, I don't think we want someone THAT powerful in "Young Justice." But I enjoyed what we got here.

Now, the emotional core of the episode: Superboy. The hotheaded, Kryptonian clone is beginning to grow on me. I understand him, I understand where he's coming from and why he is the way he is. But he's growing and learning. He's got a long way to go, but he's definitely getting better. I enjoyed seeing him use his head, and turn his anger into a strength when he outwitted AMAZO.

Robin continues to butcher the English language, and even I have to admit it's getting a little old. I understand that this is his quirk. But if I were doing that, most of my friends would have told me to shut up by now. Still, I like him.

I am continuing to really like Kid Flash. My favorite moment had to be him hitting on Black Canary before being royally schooled. On that note, I loved it when she royally schooled Superboy.

Now, as for Superman, I'll admit this upfront, I have never been a fan of Superman and I doubt I will ever be a fan of Superman. The character has always been presented as way too perfect for me. Yes, he is "super" but he is also a man, first and foremost. Men aren't perfect and never will be. Which is why I am one of the few I have conversed with who isn't annoyed about his treatment of Superboy. Well, I am annoyed in the sense that Clark is being a jerk, but I like seeing Clark being portrayed with an understandable character flaw. There is a tendency among many Superman fans, that I've noticed, where if Clark isn't portrayed as being better than Jesus Christ, they go ballistic. I think this is a far more realistic take on the character in this situtation, and it works for me. But then, I'm not a Superman fan, so what do I know?

Overall, a pretty great episode. I look forward to next week's, and the introduction of whomever it was that fired that arrow.

Oh yeah, and my favorite moment in the entire episode, when Clark ordered an Apple Pie and Bruce Wayne ordered a Devil's Food.

Anonymous writes...

What are those three dots on Kid flash's arms?

Anonymous writes...

I know character development is important here and at times we all seem impatient but why is Superman ...SUPERMAN...of all people being unable to extend even a few words to Superboy? While I expect it to be awkward and a little creepy for him, we are only subjected to seeing Clark come off like a bit of a jerk. And it is so unfair to the character when he is not like that at all! You have people going on that Superman is a d**k and I am like, he's not! You didn't even put a scene showing Clark's internal struggle as if to show well yes we can see ambivalence but show there is something more. That he can show some innate compassion even for a clone. And of course Batman as usual is the best at everything...best leader, best mentor, best father, has the best protege who will leader...the Batworship in Timmverse was so blatant it got pretty aggravating for me as a fan of Superman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, even Wonder Woman,...as if these heroes were just stupid and usually OOC. I mean I like Batman too but not at the expense of the rest of the League.

I am hoping this show would try to be more balanced and treat every hero with respect and be true to their character. I am hoping the Superman/Superboy thing is resolved with some dignity and not dragged on and on cause we must have someone act like a jerk and let it be Superman. sigh