smartaxe writes...

Which of the DC Nation shorts are you enjoying the most?

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

For the moment I'm commenting on the current episode!
Insecurity
1- Mmmm Black Spider moves like Spiderman and in voiced by Josh Keaton...cute. When Spectacular Spiderman came out there were some complaints about the design being cartoony. It really grew on me and it worked wonderfully with the incredibly fluid animation. If ever there were a superhero that fluidity suited it it would be Spidy. Black Spider has the more traditional silhouette and movement. Was this seen as a chance to show that as well as an in joke?
2- I see other posters are calling the little blond girl being Arrowette. Clever...age is right judging by Logan...though it would be a significantly different back story (IIRC). I don’t recall her father living long enough for her to really remember him. I haven’t been able to successfully google if “Bowstring Jones” was a real character or not. In the comic book he really seemed a bit of a joke. He was the guy who choked on calamari. That was pretty much it. And all fans know that Peter David wrote her as another illegitimate child of Oliver’s.
3-Another case of addressing questions that have been swirling- Artimas’s mother point blank explains why she allows, even encourages, her daughter’s activities. Of course the irony follows- she is trying to be honest and ends up angering Artimas and shaking her confidence. (I chuckled at Paula’s “Well, I am your mother!” line. Great delivery.)
4-More irony- Artimas mulls over it and reaches the mature decision not to let it bother her because regardless of how she started, she has certainly earned her unique spot on the team... and then Red Arrow is there. Murphy rules.
5- Wally is mature and sweet at the beginning. Then he is mature in his anger and disappointment. Also, it never once occurs to him to question her loyalty. The first explanation that jumps to mind that she was seeking glory, not being a mole.
6- Is it my imagination, or does Cheshire have an accent? If so, why? It has been my observation, excluding isolated communities, children of immigrants don’t pick up the parents’ accents in the local language, only in the ones they don’t hear all around them all the time. I can see her speaking Vietnamese and French with her mom’s accent, but English?
7- Cheshire kissed Roy...lucky it seems she hasn’t started with poison yet.
8- Did Conner rub his arm where the shield patch had been and fly?
9- Loved Wolf’s inconvenient nap time :)
10- I may be wrong, but I still don’t read Artimas as a potential mole. Of course her father and sister are messing with her head, but I don’t think even they think she’ll really turn on her team as much as screw up by being off her game.

Wow! I'm caught up...er nope. I still have the comic books ahead.

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Another day another comment :)

Agendas
1- How annoying! The station ran an ad showing the team with Rocket. Talk about spoilers...
2- I love the Watchtower design- looking at it it just fits with it not being weaponized.
3- I really like Wonder Woman’s voice.., and her ‘more females’ comment.
4- I really loved the JLA’s considerations
a-they openly wonder if more members stoke enemies.
b-Icon and Rocket show up, and Superman wondering if he’s Kryptonian. I always thought Icon makes a fascinating comparison to Superman. Going on his Milestone origin- Both are powerful aliens who grew up on Earth, but Icon was an adult first and deaged to blend in. He was genetically linked to his human family, and most important, he’s been here since the 1850s, and spent the first 15 of those years as a slave. Superman has no real memory of his life before Earth. He may be near immortal, but as of now he’s only lived a normal 30 or so years. He hasn’t outlived his family, his wife, innumerable friends. And obviously, he never experienced anything like slavery first hand. They are both alien and native sons in different ways. They are both profoundly different and yet part of Earth in different ways.
c-Green Lanterns on Guy...bwahaha!
d-They know now Captain Marvel is a boy, and it is an issue. Bruce always knew, (maybe). Actually, that reminds me of a theory I have on Batman. He lost his parents and made his oath at around 8 years old. Consciously or not, for him childhood ends at 8. Maybe not as in an adult who’ll be on his own, but more like a Bar Mitzvah- Old enough to be responsible for ones own actions, to make momentous decisions. Billy is 10, Dick was 9. In his mind both are old enough to choose to put their lives in danger.
e- Not telling us the decision?? Mean!
5- As I mentioned on Image, you’ve really been hitting the questions of late
-last time is was M’gann and being a White Martian (It seems she somehow has kept it from J’onn...or that it isn’t a big deal to him so he doesn’t realize how it effects her.)
-Guardian and Roy are confirmed relations
-Conner and Lex are indeed connected
-Wonder Woman gets a speaking role...
-...and calls Batman on training a 9 yr old. (Loved her interactions with Bats and Supes.)
-Fate is confirmed to be staying on and have noticeable input from Zatara.
6- In the room the Match was in, what was in the other tubes? Their contents seemed to disappear when they were trashed.
7- Is that ‘Red Sun’ or ‘Red Son’? Wait, never mind, it’s been asked.
Another great episode.

ILikeSpiderMan writes...

Hi Greg!

Obviously I'm a huge fan of your work, since I'm, y'know, posting on your site. I've just been sitting and listening to your Spectacular Spider-Man podcast interviews, which are offering some "spectacular" insight (haha, ha).

You talk about Gwen Stacy being the first (one?) true love of Peter's life, and her incredible importance to him. You've also discussed your desire to adapt the feel and general story of the original comics as faithfully as possible. Given that Gwen is most famous for being killed by the Green Goblin, what does that mean for Gwen's future in the series? I'm not asking what your plans for the show were (I don't want spoilers, as some small part of me still hopes that somehow this show will have a future), but I'm wondering if you and the other writers were even considering including Gwen's death in the series. Would it warp the show's tone irreparably? Would it still be possible to write a fun-loving, wise-cracking Spider-Man after this? Would the CW/Disney allow this on a children's program?

Or did you and the other writers/producers decide upfront to veto the idea?

I understand how this could easily be seen as a spoiler request. I'm less curious about the potential plotline of future SSM episodes, and more wondering about the considerations you and your writing team take when adapting material from the comics, especially grittier, less-child-friendly stuff.

Thanks profusely!

B writes...

In "Misplaced", was Roanoke Island chosen as the location of Klarion's spell because people (the whole Roanoke Colony) had disappeared there before? And if so, was it necessary for the spellcasters, or just a fun reference on your part?

Tia writes...

Was the little girl in the episode Insecurities of Young Justice Cissie Jones or Arrowette?
By the way, amazing show.

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

I think the deluge has slowed, I'm still managing to keep up and post questions!

Image:
1- Young Justice really excels at showing people being people- the roleplaying, the humor in the reaction, the awkwardness talking with M'gann. Similarly the later line “He’s 8, he doesn’t do orders.”
2- So Kid Flash knows Bruce is Batman... This is the beginning of a string of hitting the questions that were being asked all the time on this site. (Asked over and over...) This episode answers that and the White Martian question. Wonder Woman gets a significant role ~and~ the dearth of female roles both get hit in the next ep, along with if the JLA knew Billy Batson was a kid. Other stuff I’ll mention in my comments on Agenda. Did you get a good chuckle knowing it was coming up?
3- Is it just me, or does Queen Bee looks like Marina Stirtis?
4- Loved the Hello Megan clips. But who are these Greg Vietti & Brandon Weisman folks..? Seriously, I googled everyone, that show is like a nexus of DC happenings.
5- White Martians are even uglier than in the comics. Nice design! I’ve wondered for a while if M’gann was her real name or not. She says she was attracted to the similarity in the names and some coincidences do happen. On the other hand....
6- Beast Boy... green eyes... Interesting how Martians can change on a molecular level. It seems that that transfusion plays a role in him becoming Beast Boy and green, yet she’s a White a Martian. Has she so internalized her role that she held on to the Green cells more than the White ones? Similarly, the ‘real form’ she showed was still more human than J’onn’s. She really is still in deep denile. (Nice little twist of the knife when Robin apologizes for making her lie and impersonate Queen Bee.)
7- The mole didn’t know it when the charge was first made. Brilliant. Everyone was looking for something that didn’t exist yet, so know they think it was a ruse to begin with and miss the threat, I know folks are saying the mole could still be Conner or Artimas, but I’m really reading it as M’Gann since she is actually being blackmailed, while the others are being emotionally manipulated. They haven’t done anything particularly egregious yet. Letting your sister go, even using the drug is not the same as brain blasting a bad guy to vegetable status simply to keep a secret-blasting your friends too. Of course I could be wrong.
8- Why do I feel the urge to say, "And the plot thickens..."?

Justin F. writes...

Hey Greg. I wanted to let you know that I, and a large portion of the internet community, absolutely loved Spectacular Spider-Man. The show accurately portrayed who Peter Parker was, his troubles, his difficult choices, and his life as Spider-Man. Me, being a teen in high school, thought Peter was someone I could relate to, even though he had these extraordinary powers. Being able to relate to Peter Parker is something that should be constant (and for the most part, has been constant) in every Spider-Man story. I know I'm not the only one who thinks that the series should have went on for much longer. However, I know that the series' ending had to do with Disney/Marvel purchasing the animated series rights from Sony. Since this was pretty much out of your hands, I'm here to propose an idea.
Since the rights to the theme song, character designs, etc. for The Spectacular Spider-Man are locked by Sony, and you couldn't possibly resume the show even if you wanted to at Disney/Marvel, I suggest making, if you'd be fine with doing so, an INDEPENDENT episode (about 45 min. or an hour long)of The Spectacular Spider-Man and release it online. Sean Galloway could come back to do the designs, and you could get the voice actors who would agree to it back if the scheduling works in the favor of both parties. This is more than a scheduling thing than anything, when you're not busy with Young Justice and they're not busy with anything, but it may be able to work. And since it wouldn't be
released under the Sony or Marvel banner, and if you make it perfectly clear that it's a "fan film", no breach-in-contract would occur at all.
I'm sorry if I'm sounding selfish, but the show had a HUGE, HUGE fan base, and most of this HUGE fan base, when tuned in to watch Ultimate Spider-Man on Sunday, all cringed in unison (no offense to Marvel or anyone who likes the show). It just doesn't match the charm that your interpretation of Spider-Man had. So I would definitely like for you to take this into consideration. Would you be able to make an independent "final" episode of Spectacular Spider-Man exclusively for online, one that is a "fan film" of sorts? Thank you for your time.

-Justin

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Hi again,

Please pretend I spelled Klarion correctly at least once on my Missing questions. Not the worst mistake I've mistyped, but I kept repeating it. In case there is any doubt a mean "...the Witch Boy" and not a trumpet. :}