Todd Jensen writes...

Recently I noticed that Brooklyn wears an eyepatch over his left eye when he's dressed up as a pirate in "Eye of the Beholder" - and wears one over his left eye for real when he returns from his Timedancing in "Clan-Building". When you worked with the artists on Brooklyn's post-Timedancer look, did you have the Halloween costume in mind? Or is it just a neat coincidence?

Gothic-Cowboy writes...

Hello Mr. Weisman. In a recent question (circa mid-November, so by that time you have time for this, it will probably not be so recent) you said that you don't "get" the Speed Force concept. At the risk of seeming presumptuous, I thought I'd try to explain it, at least as far as I get the concept.
The Speed Force is, at it's heart, an attempt to make the Flashes' powers make more sense, from the standpoint of traditional physics. A lot of superpowers are a lot more complex than they might seem at first glance. Superspeed is one of them. The most basic problem is the forces involved. Assume that a person can somehow run at the speed of sound. Now let's assume that they can instantly start and stop at at least that speed. The problem (apart from how they were able to run that fast in the first place) is that the sudden acceleration and decceleration, from the speed of sound to or from a complete stop, would subject the human body to more stress than it can handle. None of the Flashes, as far as I know, have ever been depicted as having superhuman strength and/or durability. The use of their powers, as frequently depicted, would kill them. Then there's the intense friction caused by moving at these speeds. That would also kill them. There are other problems, but these are probably the most outstanding, since they would quickly end any speedster's career.
Under the Speed Force model, the Flash's power is not the ability to move a great speeds. That is merely the most obvious side-effect of his powers. The Flash can access, or, if you prefer, shift himself to the Speed Force. This Speed Force, which is admittedly nebulously defined, is some sort of "additional dimension" where the laws of physics are not quite the same. The best analogy I can come up with is that it's kind of like the Warp Drive from Star Trek (or any similar Sci-Fi property). By shifting himself/accessing this extradimensional space, the Flash may perform superhuman feats by taking advantage of the different ways that physics works there and how it interacts with the "normal" world. He's not really "drawing his speed from an outside source." He's shifting himself along dimensions not normally observable and performing feats that would otherwise be impossible.
In another, behind the scenes, way, the Speed Force allows the creative team to justify increasing numbers of speedsters. Given that the comics were up to Jay, Barry, Wally, Bart, Max Mercury, Jessie Quick, and others, there needed to be a justification.
This is all the Speed Force really is, a new interpretation of the nature of the Flash's powers, in a manner that at least makes a show of addressing the real-life physics involved. Admittedly, it may be overthinking, but few superpowers are as easy as "he just runs really fast," or "he can shrink/grow (don't get me started on the many problems there)." It's what happens when kids who love comics get older and take physics classes, they create the Speed Force to explain why the Flash can survive his powers, or "tactile telekinesis" to explain how Superman can lift things that should collapse under their own weight (or fly without having any clear means of doing so).
Thank you for your time. I don't mean to instruct you or suggest that you take any course of action. It's your show (at least partially) and clearly not mine. I just felt compelled to submit this entry. As a disclaimer, a lot of what I've said was at least inspired by James Kakalios's The Physics of Superheroes, easily the definitive guide to physics in the comic book universe(s). It certainly changed the way I look at a lot of characters.

Dopey writes...

Is there any reason that the Young Justice comics are a few months behind than the show? And is it necessary to read the comics to absolutely understand all the dynamics of the show?

Thanks!

Richard Jackson writes...

In the series, Demona gave several phony explanations of how she managed to live so long. Such as, stone sleep (Awakening) and stealing minutes of life from humans (City of Stone). Of course, also in City of Stone we found out that her link to Macbeth is the secret of her immortality.

But that was revealed in season 2 before the introduction of Oberon's Children. Demona let it slip in "Temptation" that she had survived through the centuries, but didn't elaborate.

When in production on the first season, did you know what the secret to her immortality would be? And were there other explanations you thought of but ultimately didn't use?

Artemis writes...

Is the Teen Titans show coming back, or is that just a rumor?

TorTor writes...

First off, let me say Young Justice is just outstanding-it has a healthy continuity and keeps me eager for the ability to time-travel so I can watch the next episode. I would like to ask a few questions, though, about the great show.

1. First off, don't let the "Hello Megan" criticism take you down-I find it amusing and sweet on her part because she still needs to explore more of earth. But were you aware there was going to be issues over the catchphrase?

2. Is there any reason why you picked Roy's Arrow identity and not Arsenal, which was his second following 'Speedy'?

3. You said you had mixed feelings of fanfiction, but what do you think of fanart?

4. Why use Artemis instead of Arrowette or the second Speedy?

5. How far do you plan to take the show? (i.e. in regards to death, sex, etc. We already saw a character die, but that was a first)

6. Which voice actors did you know before production?

7. What's the best comment about the show you've received?

8. What was with the 6-month hiatus?

9. Did you ever discuss heroes' children being born in the show?

10. Who came up with the idea to include the classmates in "Targets" and "Home Front"?

11. What do your children think of the show?

12. Was Black Canary often your idea of a fierce or gentle figure (she did show a motherly side with her therapy sessions)?

13. How fat do you want to take Conner/Megan's relationship, as relationships that start early often end early.

14. Which member of the team would you be most eager to meet?

Anonymous writes...

Wanted to tell you that Disordered is perhaps my favorite episode yet. Faux-apocalypse stories have been done before, even though I did really enjoy the previous episode, but I've NEVER seen anyone dedicate time to the emotional fallout from such traumatic experiences. I love that YJ keeps defying expectation. It made the previous episode seem meaningful too, rather than just an excuse for shock value, which is all I normally expect from similar stories.

The dialogue and deliveries in Canary's sessions were pure gold. I loved Wally's the most. Do you ever get impressions on scripts from the voice actors? Get any feedback on this one?

Anonymous writes...

Elisa sleeps in a t-shirt and panties in the comic, gargwiki says you said Dominique sleeps nude, so does Fox always wear that hideous yellow granny gown to bed or was that just for the benefit of her parents when Alex was born?

Tiger & Bunny writes...

Hello~

I was wondering if you've heard about the recent phenomena known as 'Tiger & Bunny'. Its a show about superheroes having their own tv show. Recently, there have been many 'cameo appearances' by some of those characters in other series. (Like just walking passed, or a poster, etc.)

Would you ever consider the addition of cameo appearances of heros from other shows? (Not necessarily heros from Tiger & Bunny either. Maybe even real-life people look-alikes.) Like Easter eggs for those of us on the web that nerd out over everything!

Comet writes...

Sorry if this has already been asked. I searched the archives but didn't find what I was looking for.
Gargoyles can dream in stone sleep, but what happens if they have a nightmare that would a human cause to wake up? Gargoyles can't normally wake up outside of their biological rhythm, as far as I know.

Jarrod writes...

Hi Greg! Thanks for all your great work.

just a question for you about Ra's Al-Ghoul....

How do YOU prefer to have his name pronounced?

as Ray-sh or Rahz?

Thanks!!

Anonymous writes...

I have a few questions...

1) How old is Killer Frost?

2) Is Captain Atom composed of living nuclear energy like in the comics or does he have a real flesh and blood body under his containment suit? I only ask because during the Failsafe episode he was depicted wearing an oxygen mask in space like the other JLA heavy hitters, suggesting he needs to breathe and thus must have a corporeal body on Earth 16 unlike in his other cartoon & comic appearances.

3) Is Miss Martian really Martian Manhunter's niece? I'm not curious about her Martian racial background etc (I know there's still some secrecy circulating around her yet to be revealed & I respect that), I'd just like to know if she's really related to the Martian Manhunter, i.e. that part of her origin is officially canon & not a mystery to be unraveled. My apologies in advance if this question counts as spoilers.

Sierra writes...

Hey Greg! First of all, I'd like to say that my brothers and friends and I all love Young Justice. Your team are doing a wonderful job, keep up the good work~

I had a question about the abilities of speedsters on Earth-16. It would seem from Wally's appetite that he has an accelerated metabolism. I thought that would mean he has accelerated healing, but he's had a broken arm for almost a month now (Broken in Revelation, Oct. 1, and and still has a cast in Disordered, Oct. 23). I expected it to heal much faster, so:
Do Kid Flash and the Flash have accelerated healing in this universe? If so, how much faster is it than a normal human's healing abilities?

Anonymous writes...

Why don't White Martians just shift green?

Fen writes...

Are You Planning to Get Tales from the Crypt star John Kassir in Young Justice?

You remember Tales from the Crypt right?

Jo writes...

Hey, greg,

1. the poster for the 2nd season looks great, but who's on it?

2. the current team is of course in the season, but blue beetle is obviously on the poster. Why choose those characters?

3. how many young heroes are we going to see help with the invasion?

Drewlan writes...

In the episode diordered, when black canary commented on M'gann turing white automatically, her reaction was surprising but more worrying. Does this mean she's actually a white martian passing off as green like the comics or is she a green maritan who is scared of turning white martian because of he she saw they way they have been treated?

Arthur Jr. writes...

Hey Greg, I have seen the recent episodes of "Young Justice" and that I have seen who the members of "The Light" (Project Cadmus' Board of Directors) are. L-1 is Vandal Savage, L-2 is Ra's al Ghul, L-3 is Lex Luthor, L-4 is one of the Bialyan Queen Bees, L-5 is Ocean Master (there hasn't been a mentioning if he and Orm are the same thing yet), L-6 is Brain, and L-7 is Klarion the Witch Boy. The episode "Revelations" had them using the Injustice League as their proxies where you and Jamie Thomason had casted Alyssa Milano as Poison Ivy and Brent Spiner as Joker. Brent did a good job with his rendition of Joker.

Back with the Bialyan Queen Bee that Marina Sirtis voices, there were two Bialyan Queen Bees in DC Comics. The first one was an enemy of Justice League International until she was assassinated by Colonel Rumaan Harjavti's brother Sumaan. The second one is the sister of the previous Bialyan Queen Bee named Beatriz who status is unknown after Captain Marvel's Extreme Justice team brought an end to her activities. So which of these Bialyan Queen Bees did you place as L-4?

I was pleased with how you shown the Forever People, Desaad, and Intergang in "Disordered." When it came to Intergang, the only members identified were Bruno Mannheim (the son of Moxie "Boss" Mannheim) and Whisper A'Daire (who used to work for Ra's al Ghul's League of Assassins) while the rest seemed to be Intergang foot soldiers. When it came to Desaad, there was a reference about Desaad's master probably indicating that Darkseid and the other New Gods of Apokolips might appear at some point.

Richard Jackson writes...

Was Matt Bluestone's departure from the FBI a forced resignation or was he just fired?

And while on the subject of Bluestone, do you know what years he joined and left the FBI and what year he joined the NYPD?

Mikayla writes...

Hey, Greg. Loved "Disclosure" last Friday. I've never seen or read anything with the Forever People in it, so this was my first experience with them, and I'm happy to report that it was a good one.

I found the therapy sessions to be interesting, as well. I actually do have a question about some of the things Robin said. Obviously, this was a very crucial moment in his development as a character. 1. Were his concerns about taking over the Batman mantle supposed to be an allusion to the kind of Batman Dick became in the comics? Or was it more of a Nightwing reference? 2. Was Black Canary the only one Dick felt comfortable opening up to? If given the chance, would he have confided in Alfred and Bruce?

LupusLover writes...

1)I love the missions they have as a team but to be honest my favorite parts are of them during their free time(And when they're in their civilian clothes). Is there going to be an episode entirely focused on them as civilians in a town or city?
2)I assume Artemis lives in a run down part of Gotham. Am I correct?

Anonymous writes...

Will the DC reboot effect YJ in any way?

Um writes...

1. How aware is the general public of the individual members of the team, besides the original four (Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Speedy)?

2. Is Captain Marvel supposed to be a secret-even-to-him member of the team?

... writes...

1) How close are Green Arrow and Artemis? Because in Homefront, when everyone is waking up from Red Tornado's attack, Superman is waking Artemis up and Green Arrow's off to the side somewhere. Is she even really his sidekick, or is she just given the costume by the JLA so she can be on the team?

2) Is nobody at all concerned that this team of relatively untrained teenagers is being put on missions the JLA can't handle?

Todd Jensen writes...

Recently, somebody asked you if you were familiar with C. S. Lewis' work, and you said "No", apart from seeing a couple of adaptations of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". I thought that you might like to know that Lewis and Roger Lancelyn Green were friends, and that it's thanks to Green that "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" was finished and published.

When Lewis was writing "Lion", he read some of it to J. R. R. Tolkien; Tolkien had done the same to him with "The Lord of the Rings" when he was writing it, and Lewis wanted to return the favor. Tolkien thought that "Lion" was dreadful, however, and made that clear. Lewis was so saddened by Tolkien's critique that he considered abandoning the story, but first read it to Roger Lancelyn Green. Green told him, "No, this is a great story, you mustn't drop it," and his words encouraged Lewis to complete the story and get it published.

Green also included a tribute to Lewis in his King Arthur book. One of Lewis's fantasy novels for adults, "That Hideous Strength" had Merlin awakening in the modern world to help the main characters defeat an Illuminati-type organization; Lewis had Merlin sleeping beneath a forest called Bragdon Wood. In Green's "King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table", one of the places where Merlin is said to be sleeping is "beneath the Wood of Bragdon". Since you especially liked Green's book on King Arthur (and even drew on it for Blanchefleur, and Percival's parentage), I thought you might enjoy hearing about that (and I hope the Wood of Bragdon wasn't on your list of places for King Arthur and Griff to visit during their search for Merlin, since it was Lewis' invention!).