Derek writes...

1) So Martian Manhunter knows that Miss Martian was a white martian right? So is she really "legally" his niece via adoption or was that just a cover story?
2) Where did the idea of Miss Martian basing her personality on a sitcom come from? I thought it was very clever.

Andre writes...

Hey man, been a big fan of Gargoyles since my early childhood days, and have been following your work from Spectacular Spider-Man to Young Justice.

My question refers to the primary antagonist of the Gargoyle universe, David Xanatos. What was the inspiration for you to create such a complex gray villain? Also, where'd the name come from for Xanatos too?

Jason R. Carter writes...

1. Any particular reason why Luthor is pronounced like Luther as opposed to "Lu-thor"?

2. Is Earth-16 Atom stuck at that size or can he grow to human size?

Paul writes...

1) Is Lex Luthor immune to Queen Bee's control?

2) When Cheshire retreated at the end of "Usual Suspects", was she feeling some respect for Artemis at bringing down Sportsmaster?

3) Is Zatanna a cougar?

The spider writes...

Not that i have a problem with it but why is batman so much younger than everyone else(including flash)?
Love the young justice show!

Thomas Allen Dreyfuss writes...

Hi Greg. I've been a long time reader of your responses and I figured after reading through 100's of responses (for my own purposes), I'd find the courage in me to ask you a question. When it comes to planning for a show like "Young Justice" that's episodic in nature (like many of your other works) yet geared for all ages (see previous statement in parenthesis), how do you and your collaborators approach something as daunting like weaving together multiple plot threads, showing character growth, and create story arcs? What are some of the advantages and constraints to writing in the way that you do? I'm currently studying television production as my major in college (a career path I've been told that is faced with rejection, hard work, and passion) and I'm asking this question (well, now it's questions) because I've been fascinated with well organized/structured series. Being the well accomplished writer that you are, I thought I'd ask you on the subject since you have a lot of experience writing/creating/producing shows like "Gargoyles", "The Spectacular Spider-Man", and "Young Justice". If you don't feel like answering this question, I understand that you're a very busy person (you don't need to tell me how busy, I've read the rambles) who takes the time from work to answer the many questions people send to you and I for one certainly appreciate all the hard work you (and of course, the many people you've worked with) put into your each of your projects. Anyways, thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to ramble and I look forward to whatever stories you have planned next (INVASION! WOOT!).

LupusLover writes...

Was Paula Crock put in a wheel chair before she went to prison or during?

Adam writes...

Hello!

As I'm writing this, "Usual Suspects" aired yesterday. Before I get to my question, I'd just like to thank you for a few things. First, that for "Young Justice," which has more or less replaced "Justice League Unlimited" for me as my favorite DC adaptation of all time, and I didn't think that was going to happen. Second, thanks for "Spectacular Spider-Man", which is tied with YJ as my favorite comic adaptation ever. And finally, thank you SO much for including Icon and Rocket in "Usual Suspects". I'm not sure Rocket will stay with the Team, but as a Milestone fan from way back, it meant a lot to me to see these characters get some screen time.

Now for my question, since I don't recall having seen it asked before: in "Misplaced," did Zatanna understand, before she put it on, that she might never be able to take off the helmet of Fate? It was a powerful moment (I loved the reversal my expectations given Zatara's fate in the comics), but I'm not clear on whether Zatanna had a sense of the potential jeopardy she was in.

"Usual Suspects" was immensely satisfying for me, and I'm looking forward to next week's season finale. I hope you and your fellow creators are proud; I think the work you've done on YJ has been a high watermark for cartoons based on comics.

The black guy writes...

As a kid, I grew up watching superhero cartoons. I watched Spider-man(loved him), Superman(hated him), Batman, and etc. I thought to myself, "There is not a fly in the milk." It wasn't until Justice League Unlimited(Jon Stewart was awesome) and Static Shock where I could see Superheroes who looked liked me. The same culture as me. Green Lantern was raised in the projects and regularly got his haircut in Barbershop just like mine. Static had that same parent who acted just like mine did. What I am trying to say is thank you. Thank you for being so open minded with established characters and having the foresight to think that not all kids in America or the world have to have that "Great White Hero." Adding Icon and Rocket to the Young Justice was a great homage to Dwayne McDuffie, the man who made those characters or pushed for the inclusion of those characters in the mainstream. I'm glad that my little girl can have that same cathartic feeling about Rocket as I did for Static and Jon Stewart.

Anonymous writes...

Why is Superboy in every episode so far? Is he supposed to be the character with more focused, or no real reason?

Foxwolf writes...

Hi Greg

As someone who is interested in writing episodic stories, I was wondering if you could tell me your approach on how you write a season for a series like YJ? I remember seeing an image on Brandon Vietti's blog where he had post-it's on a board mapping out all of season 1. Do you start with the season's overall story first, eg. The Light wants to take control of the Justice League and Red Arrow is the mole who will help them?

Then do you just come up with events that move the story forward and scatter them across episodes? Do you come up with plot points and character development separately or in tandum, eg. Superboy's growth would work well with this event? I ask because in my own writing I have season arc's and checkpoints on where I want some character's to grow but have struggled with "filling in the blanks".

Just off the top of your head, would you be able to share a few of the post-it's from a particular YJ episode?

And what are your thoughts on "filler story episodes". My interpretation was "Secrets" and "Performance" were filler in that they didn't drive the overall season story forward, but did have character development. Do you think it's important in writing for a series to give the audience a break from the story arc at regular intervals?

Thanks for your time Greg on sharing your writing process.

I was also wondering if you could please identify which voice actors voiced the following uncredited characters? Thanks.

120 - Coldhearted
Boston Police Officer
Chicago Police Officer #1
Chicago Police Officer #2
South Dakota State Trooper

121 - Image
Biaylan General

124 - Performance
Dragon's Breath
Carlo
Carlo's Brother

jjj writes...

Hi Greg,

Thanks for a great show! I have a question about "The Mole". I believe that in Targets, Sportsmaster implied that the mission in Bialya was one of the things his inside source told him about. If that's the case, how did Roy know about Bialya?

Thanks!

Evan writes...

Hi, Greg!
I just wanted to know: is there a death penalty in Atlantis? No real reason, I'm just curious.

Thanks!

Colleen writes...

Did you consider making Lois Lane a TV reporter or presenter, and having her do all the journalistic narration, instead of Cat Grant?

The Greenman writes...

Excellent, excellent show, ref: YJ.

Just watched "Usual Suspects" and this one was great.

I most especially loved the aspect of mixing science and sorcery to use the Starro chips. I kept thinking to myself, how is it possible to influence the will of Starro if it's incapcitated? You solved it.

For this episode specifically:

What are the names of the t.v. stations 7, 11, and 5?

Effie writes...

Wow, "Usual Suspects" was incredible. My favorite episode to date! Can't wait for the finale!

Just one question: how did you and Brandon (and whoever else) decide who the mole would be? Was it a long process, or did the idea just come naturally?

IBGame writes...

I just watched Usual Suspects today- great episode, I might add- and I have one major question.

Artemis is reveals the identity of her mother as "Huntress". Was she not the Tigress in this universe or is she an amalgamation of both (kind of how Earth 16 Robin has many Tim Drake traits)?

Jack-Pumpkinhead writes...

Dear Greg,
Watched Usual Suspects today, and I gotta say Thank you for an awesome episode! I've been arguing with a friend over the mole, and I'm happy to see I was right; I knew Artemis wouldn't betray the team. But as for the reveal of the mole-WHAAAA??!! I did not see that coming! Very nicely done! Also, I like the expansion of the League, nice additions. Keep it up, I can't wait for next week's episode!

Jonathon Sparks writes...

Before I begin, I want to say thanks for taking the time to read all of our crazy questions, I know it can sometimes be taxing dealing with the hive mind that is the internet.

1- Since Episode 25's "Usual Suspects" just aired, I was wondering... Since Red Arrow is now a member of the Justice League, has his designation number changed from B-06 to a JL designation number (I'd guess 21 based on his position in line)? If so... do the designation numbers after him (Artemis for instance) get reduced, is the designation number permanently voided, or does the newest member (Rocket) take over that slot? Or something else entirely that I haven't thought of?

... Yeah, I know that one's probably asking for a Spoiler, but I just saw the episode and my inner "OCD comic nerd" is going nuts over it.

2- Hopefully this one is a bit less crazy. I've been a big fan of the Young Justice tie-in comic as well as the show, and I've been more then happy to recommend it to other YJ fans. In particular, several story arcs from the comic tie into the show's continuity, and I was just curious how the whole process of writing those stories works... are the gaps in the show added intentionally to allow for the comics, or are they stories that you just didn't have the space for in the show?

J writes...

As Kent Nelson is officially dead (his soul no longer residing in the helmaet) and unlikly to ever appear again can you confirm if he has found Inza?
and since Wally promised to help find a new host for the helmet but Zatanna summoned it to fight Klarion and Zatara agreed to switch places with her as Nabu's host does that mean Wally technically lied?

Maggie writes...

Dear Greg,

Thank you for making a really fantastic show! I have enjoyed it so much over the last year and then some. I also enjoyed Usual Suspects - I especially loved that Conner knew about M'gann's true form since Bialya! So. Cool!

I was just wondering if I could ask about some of your thoughts on Artemis and Wally's relationship, because I was a little surprised at how quickly and easily it was resolved (?) in the last episode.

Certainly, I've expected them to get together since Infiltrator, since they played on the "love at first fight" trope. I can definitely see Artemis's appeal to Wally. She challenges him, and we know he appreciates that because Robin does it, too. Being super kick-ass and pretty doesn't hurt either!

But I'm not really sure I understand where Artemis's feelings for Wally eventually came from. He's not really her standard type - since Superboy seems about as opposite as you can get from Wally to me! :)

Her feelings for Superboy make a lot of sense: he was the one who inspired her to get over her both her initial fears and join the team, and he was the one who made her feel secure enough to finally share her background in Usual Suspects, since they shared the "bad DNA" bond.

Wally has done a couple of nice things, too: the handhold in Bereft and pep talk in Insecurity were great, but by that math I'd expect her to feel the same way for Robin, since his support for her in Homefront was actually enough to help her get over her fears and save the team instead of running. In Insecurity, Wally's pep talk ultimately didn't matter because she still decided to lie to them anyway.

I also do like that Wally challenged her and called her out on her insecurities and fears in Insecurity - but wasn't he also the one that made them so bad she didn't want to share her secret with the team in the first place? He really was the only person on the team who ever made her feel like she didn't belong.

And it seems like he hasn't really done much to counteract that - not that there should necessarily be a one-to-one correlation between sniping at someone and being nice to them in a relationship. I like the bantering.

It's just odd that Robin and Superboy have had more influence in making her feel welcome and accepted, but for some reason she's paired with Wally. As far as I can tell, Wally and Artemis didn't even talk for a month between their fight, since he was still scolding her at the beginning of Usual Suspects for her mistakes in Insecurity.

This is especially in light of the fact that she harbored feelings for Superboy for so long. Did she decide that she liked Wally after she found out about Conner and Megan? It seemed like that was the first time she acted jealous - when she told Wally about M'gann and Conner in the, ah, pretty "coldhearted" way that she did (at his birthday party, in public, where everyone could see, and well ... she knew she would hurt him and seemed kind of pleased and smug to do that to him on his birthday...)

So that feels like she's maybe settling? :(

I think the show has set their relationship up to be really complicated and interesting, and I was just really surprised everything seemed suddenly 100% okay in Usual Suspects, in what amounted to about a sentence and a half (and Robin talked more about how he accepted her no matter what). M'gann and Conner had more of a to-do around them, and they were already getting along.

(Maybe it's not as resolved as it seems?)

At any rate! Thank you for making characters that are so interesting and complicated and deep that I'd even be able to think about them this much and in this way.

Wally and Artemis are two of my very, very favorite characters of all time.

I really look forward to hearing what your take on them is. :)

Eagle-Owl writes...

What are Zatanna's spells in Insecurity and Usual Suspects?

Miten dama writes...

Have you seen batman year 1 and if you
have what did you think of the movie

Mirage ( I had hippie parents) writes...

Hey Greg. Thanks for using your creative genius to create another hit Young Justice.

My question is. What inspired the writers to put the Casablanca reference in the dialogue between Chesire, Roy and Wally, "A kiss is just a kiss, A sai is just a sai"
They all fans of Ingrid Bergman? It made me laugh!

Matthew writes...

I have two questions about sexual attraction in the Young Justice universe. So these questions may be more adult than is normal. I don't think they are particularly vulgar, but if they get removed I'd understand why.

1. It was mentioned that Queen Bee could control "most men" and "some women." I took this to mean she could control anyone who is sexually attracted to women (i.e. heterosexual men, homosexual women, bisexuals of both genders.) Is this correct?

2. This is probably the weirder one. How does Superboy feel about Ms. Martian's true form sexually? Does it bother him at all? So is he okay with it but not particularly attracted to it? Or since he's a clone would he have different standards of sexual attraction and since he obviously cares about who she is inside first and foremost, could he attracted to it.