An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"*Issue #20 hits the stands this week. It's the start of a six-part story that is BIG. REALLY BIG. It updates the book, bringing in our Season Two cast, and is set one month prior to the start of Season Two with flashbacks to a couple untold - or only hinted at - tales from the Season One era, plus, by the end of the six-parter, a little story from immediately after Season One. Christopher Jones is just doing some stellar work on the book. And I'm pretty proud of the story and script, if I do say so myself."

[Response recorded on September 18, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"Why WOULD they know?! <sigh> I think many folks have been brought up to think of their heroes as all-knowing and infallible. It makes me, I'll admit, a little crazy.

Okay, let's start here: the galaxy is HUGE.

The Green Lantern Corps attempts to cover it all, but their membership numbers in the thousands for a galaxy that is HUGE.

Rimbor is a planet largely inhabited by criminals, smugglers, etc. And the government of Rimbor isn't simply corrupt, it's INSTITUTIONALLY CORRUPT. In fact, it's CONSTITUTIONALLY CORRUPT. The Green Lantern Corps is NOT welcome on Rimbor. It's treaty with the GLC states that the Corps can only show up on diplomatic missions or when requested. No one on Rimbor would request the GLC to come - even with a rogue Lantern (plus five other Earthlings) wreaking havoc, because they don't want to give the Corps an excuse to look into Rimborian activities.

So, yes, over a five year period, word of the attack leaked out to the larger sector - and the six Leaguers were labeled as bad guys - but the significance of that may not have registered to the local Lantern, who (a) would be used to the Rimborians vilifying other Lanterns and (b) not understand the significance of Superman, Batman, Hawkwoman, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman being labelled as criminals.

Do you really think that every time a criminal is put on a watch list somewhere in the galaxy that every Lantern tells EVERY OTHER Lantern about it? That just makes no sense to me.

And that's assuming there's a Lantern in that sector AT ALL. Again, big galaxy, relatively small GLC."

[Response recorded on September 19, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"To begin with, I think you need to go back to Artemis' introduction in 'Infiltrator'. She saw a cute boy enter and that made her insecure, so she cracked a joke. He reacted VERY badly to being embarrassed, and that put them at odds, but I think that both were attracted to each other from moment one. We tried to show that without telling it - or at least without being on the head about telling it.

Then they challenged each other. Not just her challenging him, but him challenging her. And I think she came to admire his intellect - even when it was misdirected, as in 'Denial'. There has to be a reason that she kept at him. If he was of no interest to her, why would she bother? Then you have Kent Nelson. Both Wally and Artemis HEARD what Kent had to say, and it wasn't lost on them. But they didn't want to cop to it, because both felt the other didn't like him or her. So that insecurity pushed them both further into denial.

Then you have 'Bereft'. Here, as I've discussed before, they meet again for the first time without the negative first impression. They genuinely like each other, trust each other and are attracted to each other. When their memories return, so do their insecurities - neither will risk being the first to admit they like the other. But it's not like they forgot that (positive) time spent together. And it's not like their deaf to Robin's 'Get a room' line either.

And so on. Artemis saved the day in 'Homefront'. But she couldn't have done it if Wally hadn't provided the science. (And given her interest in science, revealed in "Denial", I think that would mean something to her.)

Plus, let's not forget the double-whammy of 'Failsafe' and 'Disordered'. Here we reveal just how intensely Wally feels for Artemis, and just how much interest each has in the other. The trick is neither is prepared to take a risk. Rejection from Superboy (such as it was) is nothing compared to the fear Artemis has over being rejected by Wally.

Wally meanwhile is afraid to admit his strong feelings for Artemis, so maintains focus on the safer Miss Martian. Artemis does the same toward Superboy. Both then have to be disabused of the notion that their crushes are viable. I tend to think that deep down, the revelation about Conner and M'gann's relationship was less of a shock to each then it seemed. They didn't want to admit to themselves what they were probably sensing deep down. One reason for Artemis' extreme reaction to the knowledge, I think, is that she was trying SO hard to think that Superboy was a possibility BECAUSE Wally clearly seemed NOT to be, and so she wanted to have something she could use to push Wally out of her mind.

So in 'Coldhearted', Wally learns some big lessons. Miss Martian is out of the picture - and that helps clear his mind. But mostly, he matures solidly in the episode. Now he's ready to behave differently. And in 'Insecurity', he's willing to take a risk. And Artemis rewards that risk taken, by meeting him part way. But she has other bigger insecurities in the way, and they REALLY get in the way, so that by the time we get to the beginning of 'Usual Suspects' - they're still at odds. But one of the reason they are SO at odds, is because for them, the stakes seem very high.

So when the truth finally comes out, it's a HUGE relief. She sees that he accepts her. He doesn't even have to say it. She can see that he does. And he sees that the reason she's been a pain have little to do with him. The deck is cleared.

Then they partner up in 'Auld Acquaintance', and they're a good team. All of which leads really easily into the kiss on New Year's Eve. (Another excuse to do something that they otherwise might have been scared about.)

From there, it's fairly clear sailing. I'm not saying there weren't any ups and downs during the five year gap, because there were. But they both know they have a good thing now. And they stick with it.

The irony is that a lot of fans seemed to think this was about opposites attracting. But we never saw it that way. In fact, we saw it as quite the reverse. Artemis and Kid Flash had so MUCH in common, it was nearly impossible for them to get together. But once they did, it felt very right."

[Response recorded on August 29, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"It's not a bad idea, but the POINT I'm constantly trying to make is that I have no more insight into Disney's mindset than you guys do. I can keep you updated, but I have no idea whether or not they'd be interested in an iTunes set-up. Personally, I'd way prefer a DVD release."

[Response recorded on January 15, 2008.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"I have no control or influence over this. Believe me, no one's more frustrated than myself."

[Response recorded on March 11, 2011.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"The mutated Kraven idea was borrowed/adapted from Ultimate Spider-Man. The short answer is that we thought it was a pretty cool idea and visual. Plus we have long term plans for Kraven that I won't get into now."

[Response recorded on August 4, 2009.]

"I had many specific ideas, some of which would undoubtedly have changed over the course of production. But I'm just not too inclined to reveal them. It's not that I'm trying to torture you, it's just that there's no way I can do them justice in this format. I write 'X' would have happened, and that one statement will get dissected across the internet. And any idea is only as good as its execution - which you'll now never get to see. It may sound stupid here, but I might have been able (with the help of Vic Cook and all my other many collaborators) to pull it off on the series and have everyone think I'm a genius. Or not. But at least it would have had a shot. I just don't feel like opening myself up to potential second-guessing based on raw notions as opposed to executed episodes."

[Response recorded on August 5, 2010.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"They range from thirteen (Beast Boy) to twenty (Bumblebee)."

[Response recorded on September 18, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"As of Season Two, yes."

[Response recorded on September 24, 2012.]

"He was formally elected."

[Response recorded on February 2, 2011.]

"The leadership rotates."

[Response recorded on October 26, 2011.]

"Length of service is generally a year. Though there are exceptions."

[Response recorded on February 22, 2012.]

An Ask Greg Helper responds...

Greg Weisman says:

"That's not a consistent prospect.

I don't know.

I don't know this either. We occasionally get ratings reports from our bosses or from CN. But that's inconsistent too."

[Response recorded on September 26, 2012.]