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REVELATIONS 2012-11 (Nov)

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Masterdramon writes...

Hey Greg! Hope that you're doing well, and that the holiday season is treating/did treat (depending on when you read this) your family happily.

What follows is a paper I recently submitted to my Contemporary Political Theory class at Pomona College, interrelating several of the concepts from the book we discussed that week ("You Are Not a Gadget" by Jaron Lanier) with the notion of namelessness in traditional gargoyle culture.

My professor (unfamiliar with the show, but very intrigued when I explained it to her) really got a kick out of the piece, and I earned a more-or-less "A-" equivalent for it. But as long as I've got it sitting around, I figured you might enjoy giving it a read as well.

[NOTE: You may want to review this post you made on Ask Greg in 2004 beforehand, as it is cited frequently: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=387].

Now, without further ado, the essay. It has been edited from the submitted version only by rearranging paragraph breaks...

The 1994 animated television series Gargoyles posits a highly intelligent species which dominated the Earth prior to human genesis and ascendance.

These gargoyles possess a unique culture which predates humanity's by a significant period, but the first on-screen depiction of the gargoyle species takes place in the 10th century, after millions of years of convergent evolution between the two cultures.

Indeed, the pilot episodes depict the essential death of one lingering component of gargoyle culture, at least for the series protagonists: that gargoyles lack personal names. This idea is first discussed in a conversation between two gargoyles and a human boy:

TOM: I'm Tom. What's your name?
GARGOYLE #1: Except for Goliath, we don't have names.
TOM: How do you tell each other apart?
GARGOYLE #1: We look different.
TOM: But what do you call each other?
GARGOYLE #2: (shrugs) Friend.

For context, "Goliath" is the leader of the clan of gargoyles to which the protagonists belong, and their liaison to the humans with whom they share an uneasy alliance; those humans felt incapable of dealing with a nameless entity, and Goliath did not bother to reject the name they selected for him.

Still, he does not use the name in communicating with his own clan until a betrayal by their human allies and a magical curse cause the protagonists to sleep as statues and then reawaken in 20th century Manhattan.

Here they meet and befriend Elisa Maza, a police detective who is both confused by and - for reasons she has trouble articulating - uncomfortable with this traditional lack of names. The following exchange takes place between Elisa and the clan's elderly mentor:

ELISA: Are you coming on the tour…uh, what do I call you, anyway?
GARGOYLE: Must you humans name everything? Nothing's real to you till you've named it, given it limits!
ELISA: It's not like that! It's just that…well, uh…things need names.
GARGOYLE: Does the sky need a name? Does the river?
ELISA: The river's called the Hudson.
GARGOYLE: (sighs) Fine, lass…then I will be 'the Hudson' as well.
ELISA: Great! Hudson it is.

From that point onward, that particular gargoyle is known as Hudson, and only Hudson.

The younger gargoyles who survived the centuries follow suit; the two who conversed with Tom become Lexington and Brooklyn, for example. And Goliath more-or-less fully accepts the moniker afforded him by the Dark Age humans.

As Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman points out, "naming is clearly addictive," and once they are established the convenience they offer makes doing away with them virtually impossible. Thus, for the Manhattan Clan of gargoyles, namelessness largely remains a thing of the past for the remainder of the series.

In "You Are Not a Gadget," Jaron Lanier describes the phenomenon experienced by these gargoyles using the term "lock-in."

As Lanier puts it, "lock-in…removes design options based on what is easiest to program, what is politically feasible, what is fashionable, or what is created by chance." Furthermore, the process "also reduces or narrows the ideas it immortalizes, by cutting away the unfathomable penumbra of meaning."

Despite originally referring to programming language, this is a perfect description of the process that "Hudson" has been subjected to in the previous scene.

Names are a method of defining identity, which necessarily must involve "giving it limits." But in traditional gargoyle culture, identity has greater meaning than that; it is amorphous, and changes with the circumstances.

The gargoyle who first made a compact with the humans at Castle Wyvern is the same gargoyle who mated three times and produced three progeny; he is the same gargoyle who fought the evil Archmage and received a wound that blinded him in one eye; he is the same gargoyle who slept for centuries and once awakened, found himself fascinated with the television show "Celebrity Hockey."

Does one name - Hudson - really encapsulate all of these aspects of his identity?

In-and-of-itself, all it signifies is that the place Hudson awoke in was modern-day New York (a cut line from the episode's script even has Elisa commenting, "Good thing we weren't facing Queens," emphasizing with humor how off-hand and esoteric the choice was).

That name was "locked-in" as the full and entire representation of the character from that point onward, solely because it was politically feasible (it makes dealing with Elisa and later human allies far more expedient), it was fashionable (every other intelligent being in 1994 New York has a name, so why not the gargoyles?), and it was created by chance (quite literally in this case, as the "Queens" quote illustrates).

And the result is that the very meaning of his identity is narrowed. He is no longer capable of being someone at a particular moment, and someone else in the next.

He is always Hudson.

There is an even greater story here, however, which Weisman's later musings have helped to illuminate. As he once observed, "Gargoyles don't seem to have a native language. They acquire human language, perhaps much the same way that they acquire names…And language, in many ways, is just sophisticated naming."

This is a compelling point. As he later notes, a different and arguably much more persuasive response that Elisa could have offered is that the river is called "the river."

Languages are systems for describing objects, concepts, actions, etc. using strict and uniform definitions, confining them to names that society calls words.

But does a name like "the sky" really fully encapsulate the meaning inherent within the depths that humans observe from below? Does it even begin to provoke a holistic understanding of its astronomical, religious, chemical, or poetic contexts?

And even more to the point, what of metaphysical concepts like "justice"? Can a single clear definition even exist for such a weighty and nebulous notion - and if not, does sticking the name "justice" to it not necessarily limit it?

Lanier certainly appears to believe so. As he conceives it, the system of symbology under which all current human languages operate is itself a lock-in; at best, a "middleman" between intent and "directly creating shared experience" that he wants to work to cut out.

His method for doing so is improvements on virtual reality, until researchers develop "the ability to morph at will, as fast as we can think."

Lanier envisions a world where the rather simplistic words "I'm hungry" will not be the only way to communicate the sensation which has brought them on - instead, he sees potential in the power of virtual reality technology to place us in the bodies of others, as a way to intimate the sensation itself.

Humanity would no longer have to be limited to extracting some piece of the concept it calls "hunger," giving it that name, and using it as code so that others who know the symbology of the English language will understand some approximation of that concept.

The concept would simply be understood, and communication would be a straightforward matter of imparting that understanding.

But perhaps there is an even better solution than this - although one that is, unfortunately, largely forgotten.

Presented with the puzzle that gargoyles are highly gregarious and intelligent by nature and yet appear to lack any notion of their own language, Weisman has mused that perhaps, long before human language evolved and became the locked-in method for communication, the gargoyle species possessed "mild psychic abilities that left them with no need to create language."

While emphasizing that he was only asserting a possibility, the communication he imagines - where it was not "words that they intuited (or transmitted or read or whatever) but emotions, maybe images or sensations" - sounds exceedingly similar to what Lanier hopes to achieve through virtual reality.

Such communication would be consistent with what audience knows about pre-human gargoyle culture, where definition and identity are situational as opposed to consistently codified.

But if that is the case, it leads to a rather lamentable conclusion. As Weisman puts it, "perhaps the very language skills that gargoyles learned from the human race dampened their psychic intuitiveness;" in other words, lock-in of a very particular method of communication (symbology) "locked-out" another method that presented communicative possibilities human technology can currently only dream of.

The initial insistence on not using personal names, then, can be considered a lingering hold-out of a bygone era where every concept was considered unlimited, and every sensation intimated in their full depth.

In dealing with nascent human cultures, gargoyles must have gradually accepted the limiting of concepts like "sky" or "river" because this made interspecies congress significantly more efficient, but they resisted the longest on the limiting of the very depths of the self.

But with the permanent instatement of "Hudson" and the rest, there does not appear to be room to return to the possibilities an unlimited identity presents. Human language has killed them.

Of course, both the gargoyle race and their culture are fantastical constructions, but that does not necessarily mean that humans cannot learn from their fictional example.

While humans do not seem to share these "mild psychic abilities" (although there are some who would vehemently disagree with that statement) that Weisman hypothesizes, that there are methods of sensation and communication which precede language skills is clearly documented.

As with gargoyles, members of the species Homo sapiens did exist well before the development of the earliest known language, and while current understanding of those early cultures is limited at best, there is also a much more immediate example to turn to.

Newborns spend a few years before they learn to define the world around them in the code of words - the sun is an experience to them long before the strictly defined, limiting name of "the sun" is ever applied to it.

The depths of what could be learned from observing children raised without learning language skills, interpreting sensations and intimating them to others via methods of their own device, are boundless; of course, the enormous ethical travesty presented by such experiments means they are not a viable avenue for inquiry.

So instead, humans turn to fiction - attempting to realize through others what that they have long since lost, and yearn to find again.

Greg Weisman has often described gargoyle culture, and pre-human gargoyle culture specifically, as something of a wish fulfillment for him. "I'm such a human," he laments with a written-out sigh, "But I aspire to gargoylosity."

Well, if the virtual reality morphing that so excites Jaron Lanier can indeed allow humans to experience sensation as a pre-human gargoyle (or a pre-language human, or a baby, or even a cephalopod) did/does - if it has the potential to turn the clock back as well as forward, and show what it is like for things simply to be, without the cumbersome and restrictive middleman of naming them - then perhaps that is an aspiration that more humans should share.

Greg responds...

At first, when you mentioned 'You Are Not a Gadget', I couldn't help thinking the follow-up statement would be 'You Are a Chip, a Dale or a Monterey Jack'. Talk about lock-in.

Anyway, is it immodest to say that your essay warmed my heart? I enjoyed reading it. And I found it quite insightful. I do believe my own thinking has evolved since I wrote that ramble on gargoyles' latent psychic abilities. My thinking now is less psychic and more intuitive based on sensory clues.

But it doesn't change my positive response to your thesis. And it also speaks to one of my goals - perhaps even needs (NEEDS) - as a writer. Using words, multiple, multiple words, in an attempt to reach beyond the lock-in that comes with words like river or sun or Hudson or, most especially, Greg. The original version of Hudson's line was something like: 'Nothing is real to you until you've named it, defined it, given it limits.' More words to more fully illustrate the concept. And often in my writing I find myself trying to paint pictures with more and more words in an almost poetic sense. That verbosity is often counterproductive when writing dialogue. But I LIKE to think it lends - even when cut back and cut down - a certain depth to the dialogue. But it's a constant push and pull in my writing between trying to find just the one right word and using many, many to paint that fuller picture.

Response recorded on December 30, 2012

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Malini writes...

Hello, Mr Weisman,
This isn't so much of a question as it is a mini-review:
Holy cow. "Darkest" was so intense that I was an emotional wreck by he end of the episode. I was feeling sorry for every character (well, every character who isn't a flat out villan) who appeared in the episode. The supreme irony I noticed? For someone who said that he didn't want to be like Batman, Nightwing is sure shaping out to be a lot like his mentor. I have to give especial props to Jesse McCartney and Jason Spisak for their excellent acting during Dick and Wally's confrontation. Just... wow.

Greg responds...

Agreed. Jesse and Jason just rocked that. (Props to Voice Director Jamie Thomason too!)

Response recorded on December 01, 2012

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YJ Fan For Life! writes...

Wow...talk about kicking things up a notch! "Satisfaction" and "Darkest" have been stellar...just when I thought the show couldn't get more twisted, the knife cuts a little deeper. It hurts -- but in a good way!

Anyway, question about the way in which episodes have been organized in Season 2. Unless, I'm reading too much into it, the first 10 episodes feel very clearly divided into 3 arcs.

Ep. 1-3 - The Krolotean threat, the 5-day timespan, the mystery of the 16 hours culminating in the League leaving for Rimbor. That last one especially felt like a dramatic endpoint.

Ep. 4-6 - Red Arrow's recovery, the re-introduction of Wally, Blue Beetle's spotlight. And the ending of "Bloodlines" being a super-dramatic endpoint.

Ep. 7-10 - The short timespan, the Aqualad/Artemis undercover plot.

If this was intentional, would you mind elaborating on your thought process behind this method of organization?

Also, if there was a similar organizational method in Season 1, I'd love to hear about that as well!

Greg responds...

201-203 definitely and intentionally portrayed the Krolotean threat, but I'm not sure it was us creating a "clearly divided arc". And after that I think you're off target. Ending your second section at episode 206 seems a bit arbitrary. You could just as easily end at 207, where things REALLY changed. Or create four "arcs" or whatever suits you.

So, basically, no. We broke Season Two down into two sections: 201-210 and 211-220. Anything else is just, well, the ebb and flow of events. Some episodes flow more directly into others, but I'm not sure I'd use the term "arc" to define that.

As for Season One, you could break it down as follows:
101-102 - Pilot.
103-108 - Intentionally designed to feature one character per episode (without losing complete track of the rest of the Team in the process).
109-113 - Finishing out the first half of the season.
114-126 - The second half of the season.

I think that's as intentional as we got.

Response recorded on December 01, 2012

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Bridge writes...

hi greg its me again, i made an error on the comment about spectacular spiderman, what i meant to say was conceal dr conners's identity as the lizard instead of using disclosed.

Sorry

Greg responds...

Um... okay. Thanks for the correction.

Response recorded on December 01, 2012

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Divine writes...

I am doing a college project and wanted to know your own opinion on Young Justice becoming its own live action movie. Do you think it would be a success and if you have any comments or suggestions I will be glad. Also is it aimed at young children or teenagers? Thank you

Greg responds...

What class is THIS project for?

Anyway, I'd love for YJ to be remade as a live-action movie. I'd hope it would be successful. And, like the show, I assume it would be aimed at ALL ages.

But I'm not sure what comments or suggestions you're looking for. How can I comment on something that doesn't exist?

Response recorded on December 01, 2012

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Tupka writes...

I have a couple of questions about the Cave.
1. To what extent did the League use the Cave? Was it just a base and meeting room, or did people live there? Or were the living quarters and gym added when the Team moved in?
2. Did you (or rather, someone on the design crew) map out the Cave, or are storyboard artists given free reign? For example, in Homefront, they follow a specific path. To what degree was their route mapped out?
3. Also in Homefront, they run past what appears to be old generators (that promptly overload). What are those?

Greg responds...

1. No one lived there back when the League used the Cave as their full-time headquarters, but it was built with enough forethought to include living quarters and various amenities.

2. Brandon has the basics of the Cave mapped out (at least in his head). I'll admit, I at times get confused, and he's had to - more than once - sketch it out on a napkin for me (or somesuch).

3. I'm not sure which scene you're referring to. Was it the Boiler Room scene?

Response recorded on December 01, 2012

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Kitty writes...

Hi! I would just like to say that you are doing an awesome job. When the beginning of season 2 aired I freaked out because of the time skip and the "loss" of some of our heroes. But I forced myself to be patient and wait it out... and then you brought Artemis and Wally (my fave characters!) back into the mix in such an awesome way! So kudos for the great plot twists!

Here's my question: How old is Zat---- Just kidding!!
No questions, just praise! Keep up the good work :]

Greg responds...

Thanks for having patience. It really is appreciated.

Response recorded on December 01, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Greg, did you and Brandon team up with David Karp in order to maximize on our feels tomorrow?

Greg responds...

I'm sorry, but I don't know who David Karp is, which I suppose makes it clear that we didn't team up with him. I'm sure he's probably a really nice guy though.

Also, I'm not sure I would know how "to maximize on [your] feels" if I tried.

But, congrats! You succeeded in maximizing how OLD I feel.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Jon writes...

1) Okay, so the League definitely knows that Lex Luthor is a member of the Light at this point. So how's he getting away with openly running a major corporation?

2) Was Project Cadmus a US government program in this continuity? Or a privately-run corporation?

Greg responds...

1. How do they stop him?

2. Privately run.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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JSA Fan writes...

Hi Greg.
I just wanted to compliment you and your colleagues for Satisfaction. Your follow-up of the Artemis and Roy storylines made this one of my favorite episodes.
Not only do we get emotional impact, we get the Roy/Mercy battle....one of the most bad-ass sequences in the whole series.
There are certain moments and scenes from the previous DC animated series and earlier YJ episodes that stand out for me. The battle joins that list. Kudos to everyone involved in the episode.

Greg responds...

Thanks!

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Batboy writes...

1. Assuming Nightwing's acrobatic abilities are the same in this as they are in the comics, is he capable of the Quadruple sommersault?
2. Has Superboy developed anymore Kryptonian powers, or is he still limited by his human DNA?
3. Who is faster, Impulse or Kid Flash?

Greg responds...

1. I don't know. But I wouldn't assume anything of the sort.

2. What you see is what you get.

3. Impulse. (Haven't we CLEARLY established this - even back when you posted this question?)

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Does Wonder Woman's Lasso have its truth powers in your version? I'm guessing Wonder Girl's doesn't have its Zeus' lightning powers or she would have used it by now...?

Greg responds...

1. Honestly, I haven't decided. I'm leaning toward a version of it. You can't lie when tied up by it, but you can't be compelled to tell the truth either - or compelled to do anything. And, of course, lying isn't the same as being wrong. So untruths can be told, if the teller believes them.

2. No lightning powers.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Toasthider writes...

Hi Greg,
I was wondering if you read Hellboy at all? It just occurred to me recently that the use of folklore and mythology in the series is kind of in the same vein as Gargoyles!

Greg responds...

I've read some Hellboy and seen both movies. I see some overlap, though we did Gargoyles long before I read any Hellboy.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Roy writes...

If you were given the opportunity to write a comic based on one of the young heroes that you have used, who would it be?

Greg responds...

I'm writing a comic. It's called Young Justice. Check it our.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Teukros writes...

To start, I want to let you know that YJ is currently my favorite show, and I can't wait to see it each week.

My question is about Kyle Rayner. I remember hearing that in the past on multiple DC shows, certain characters (notably Nightwing in JLU and Donna Troy/Wonder Girl in almost ANYTHING) were off limits due to licensing issues (or something to that effect, I was never great at the legalese). I also noted that Kyle Rayner's only appearances as a Green Lantern were in Superman: TAS (where they made him into Hal Jordan with a different name) and briefly in JLU (where he had very little characterization). In many other shows and movies based off DC lore, when Kyle is supposed to be the Green Lantern in question (Justice League: Doom), or at the very least, could exist as one, he is passed over, more frequently than any of the other Lanterns in 2814. Is this a licensing issue, or is it something else entirely? From what I've read, Kyle isn't an unpopular character.

Greg responds...

It is not - as far as I know - a legal issue. No one has told me he's off limits. But I can't speak for what the situation was on past series.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Luna writes...

I have some questios regarding Lex Luthor.

Do you think he would get along with Xanatos?
Is He as smart as Xanatos?
Would David Xanatos be a member of the light if he lived in earth 16?

I know it is never going happen becuase one is from DC and one is from Disney/Marvel. But I would love to see the two of them interacting.

How would you do an episode with Lex and Xanatos?.(I don't consider this one a spoiler or an original idea becuase copyright will never allow this to ever happen).

thank you!

Greg responds...

1. Sure.

2. See, now, the Hulk is more powerful because the madder he gets, the stronger he gets. But the Thing can still beat him if he keeps his wits about him.

3. I'm not interested in those kind of hypotheticals.

4. I wouldn't.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Smallville fan writes...

Hello Greg I just wanted to apologize for my superman complaining and ask some questions regarding him.

As a fan I am a bit tired of writers using him just to make batman look cool.I think he is a great character, that few people are actually able to write well (many writers complain that he is too powerful).

When I saw him treating superboy as a brother. I regretted every word I said. You gave is a flawed yet true to the character that is Superman.

On to my questions!

1.-Do you think it is possible to write a superman show as great as past batman shows have been?
2.-Have you considered a superman show?
3.- How has superman survived against lex Luthor. I know superman is the super powered one... But he is too nice and naive while Lex is perhaps as smart as Xanatos.

Thank you for your time!

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. Not specifically, since I don't own Superman, it's not up to me. But I'd be game to try.

3. Observe for yourself.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Celestia writes...

Hi the awesome job with the show.

My favorite new character is wonder girl!. I would like to ask about wonder girl's powers and origin.

I think you have hinted that she isn't an amazon.

In the show Wonder woman said that she "would tell her mother" and you said that her religion was Christianity with a "new found respect on pagan"

1.-was she ever a normal human or is she an amazon?
2.-How did she gained her powers? (genetics?)

Greg responds...

1. Depends what you mean by 'normal', I guess - but the short answer is NEITHER.

2. SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Paul writes...

When the Magus handed over the Grimorum to Mary and Finella after casting the "teleport to Avalon" spell, why didn't he tear out and destroy the page with the teleportation spell? He had seen Hakon tear out and destroy another of the Grimorum's pages, so he knew that it could be done; and it would prevent Constantine from pursuing them to Avalon even if he did obtain the Grimorum.

Greg responds...

The book was so holy to him, I don't think the thought occured. I mean, why not destroy the entire thing? It just wasn't the way he was trained.

Response recorded on November 30, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

What spell was cast by Zatanna in "Satisfaction"?

Greg responds...

Brag su rof elttab!

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Aside from Batman, does Dick Grayson idolize a particular hero?

Greg responds...

I think he likes them all, but might be particularly impressed with Superman and Black Canary.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

On another post you said that the pentagram's symbols in "Misplaced" had been inspired by My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Was that a joke or were you being serious? None of the cuttie marks resemble any of those symbols.

If you were kidding, then where did you base those symbols on?

Greg responds...

I was kidding.

And I have no idea what - if ANYTHING - the symbols were based on.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Why is Batman the only one who cares so strongly about his and Robin's secret identities? I mean, why were Kid Flash and Speedy allowed to tell everyone their names but not Dick?

Greg responds...

Flash doesn't feel as strongly about it.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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CGYJ writes...

Mr. Greg Weisman,

In the Season One finale, Superman had told Superboy of his own secret identity as Clark Kent. When Superboy reacted to this revelation, was his reaction based mostly towards the fact because he now realized that they shared the same last name in the episode, or mostly towards the fact because Conner had met Clark Kent in Young Justice issue #20 (as indicated by the flashbacks) and not realizing at the time that Clark was actually Superman?

Thanks,
CGYJ

Greg responds...

Both.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Billy Q writes...

Hi Greg, I just saw the newest episode of Young Justice,of March since comic wise one of Dick Grayson's birthdays is listed as March 21 or the first day of Spring. Was this intentional or not? It's pretty funny since Wally got November 11, and now Conner has March 21. Was this just another coincidence or what?
Thank you a good episode, can't wait for the next one. :)

Greg responds...

I'm sorry, I don't really understand what you're asking. Was what a coincidence?

Mostly, March 21st was chosen as Conner's 'birthday' because (a) the timing made sense vis-a-vis what we already know, and (b) it's my son Benny's birthday.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Guy Gardner writes...

Back again! Hopefully you didn't have to go through all the lists that were ahead of me when I posted this, but if you did I pray for your sanity. Anyways, thanks for the answers you gave me last time. Here's a few more questions:

1) I love how you've fleshed out the Martians in this universe (Hope to see some Red Martians in the comic or on the show), but I wanted a clarification on their weakness: Is their weakness to fire purely based around heat, or is it more of an innate psychological fear of fire?

2) In "Earthlings", it's mentioned that the word "Krolotean" might as well mean "thief", indicating they are basically a race of criminals. So are Kroloteans supposed to be GOOD at what they do (tech thievery, infiltration, etc), or are they sort of a bargain basement criminal enterprise? Just wondering if the Light took the lowest bidder when it came to planning an alien invasion.

3) We know Earth has three Green Lanterns, but traditionally there are only two per sector. Are there different rules for the YJ Green Lantern Corps, or is one of them part of the Green Lantern Honor Guard (Elite Lanterns who are not bound by individual sectors)? If the latter, is it Guy Gardner? If not, WHY is he not when he is obviously superior to the others?

4) Conner is now attending Ivy University, judging by "Satisfaction". What's his major and is Ivy Town as crazy as it is in the comics? Oh, and nice job sneaking in "The Mysteries of Udolpho" in a second time.

5) I know that the production team was always planning on a 5-year timeskip. Was the idea of doing this inspired by the Legion of Superheroes' "5 Years Later" skip, or is that complete coincidence?

Thanks again for your time!

Greg responds...

1. Heat.

2. They have their skills.

3. The rules are slightly different in Milky Way-16.

4. History, I'd think.

4a. Ivy Town's no crazier than anywhere on Earth-16.

5. Coincidence - if it even rises to the level of coincidence.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Can you explain how Wally is Bart's first cousin once removed? Thank you :)

Greg responds...

Wally is first cousin to Bart's father.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Becca writes...

Does Red Arrow have the same fingerprints as the original Roy Harper/Arsenal?

Greg responds...

I would think so, but I have to admit, I don't know for certain how fingerprints are formed.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Ky writes...

Concerning the titles of the next two episodes in Young Justice Invasion ("Darkest" and "Before the Dawn"), I was wondering if they were a reference to the song Shake It Out by Florence and the Machine or if that was just a pure coincidence?

Greg responds...

"It's always darkest before the dawn." is a very old phrase that pre-dates both our series and the birth of Florence or the Machine.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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B writes...

Do Miss Martian's Green siblings get looked down on or discriminated against for having a White father even though they aren't White themselves?

Greg responds...

Probably.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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DC Comic Fan writes...

1. In season 2 of young justice, is the hologram of the dead Robin in episode 8 satisfaction, Jason Todd or a brand new robin invented for the show based on Jason?
2. When the original Roy Harper fired a Rocket Launcher at a building, was that a reference to Batman: Under the Red Hood?
3. Was it always planned from season one of young justice to have two Roy Harpers, each of them becoming or about to become in original Roys case, one of the two identities, Red Arrow and Arsenal?

Greg responds...

1. Jason Todd.

2. Hmm. Not consciously...

3. Yes.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Tyler Reznik writes...

Hello once again, Mr. Weisman.

I've read in the archives that, for the Gargoyles comics, you mentally cast actors for characters who didn't appear/speak in the original series, as well as imagining the voices of the original actors for pre-existing characters. Do you do the same for the Young Justice comics?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.

Greg responds...

Generally, yes.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Paul writes...

Why did Nightwing say, "We're crash" in Bloodlines?

Greg responds...

He was quoting Impulse.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Clark Cradic writes...

According to one of your earlier answers, Wonder Woman is 90 years old as of Invasion. How exactly is she so long lived? Is it an Amazon thing, do they only age to a certain point?

Greg responds...

They don't age on Themyscira.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Bridge writes...

hi greg,

I would love to say thank you for providing us with shows like young justice and spectacular spiderman with all the twists and turns in the story line.

For spectacular spiderman, i was fooled that harry was the green goblin when it actually norman. Just when i thought i had the Green Goblin so played out (making the harry seem so obvious) and yet so deviated (making it Harry instead of the traditional Norman), I was wrong.

I loved how the show kept with the original story of the Green Goblin AND found a surprising and original way to tell it. That's what i call killing 2 birds with stone.

Same goes for young justice, how Red Arrow accuses Miss martian, Artemis and Superboy of being the mole when it was Roy. I admit myself i thought it would be artemis which roy was suspicious and when i found out he was the mole, i thought to myself hypocrite but when i found out he was a clone and a sleeper agent?! Oh my....

I love surprises like these keep it up!

Greg responds...

We'll try!

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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The Greenman writes...

Yj questions:

1. Has Augustus Freeman ever encounteredand or known of older heroes like the JSA or the Mystery Men?

2. Is Augustus Freeman rich on the level of say Lex Luthor or just wealthy?

Thank you!

Greg responds...

1. SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

2. Just well-off.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Andy G writes...

Hello Greg and welcome back,

i would like to say in my opinion that spectacular spiderman is the best adaption since the 90's with great storylines and character development such as flash thompson's sense of honour in sports (Probably Cause) which really surprised as he is portrayed as an arrogant jerk.

I liked the themes of character development such as "defrosting the ice queen" e.g. Liz Allen warms up to Peter and becomes open minded (Interactions) and Sally Avril because concerned with peter's safety (Probably Cause) and showing a bit of compassion. Not to mention about Harry's transition from friend to a jerk when he becomes popular which i like to call "Acquired social narcissism".

The characters hated towards spiderman are well understandable e.g. J jonah jameson's anger towards spiderman after rival papers sold well with front covers of spiderman than the bugle's front cover of his son miraculously and heroically piloted the shuttle to safety against impossible odds of survival. I would be annoyed if that happened to me.

I liked how the series show a more human peter parker and how he can be portrayed as a sleaze and quite an opportunist as would be willing to take any opportunity which would benefit him and other people he knows in the long run if how could avoid the consequences e.g. Taking photos of the lizard but disclosing Dr conners as the lizard from the public to win the prize money for his aunty, however that minor consequence can build up major consequence e.g. miles warren managed to get a that pic of the lizard to uses to blackmail Dr conners into giving up control of his lab to miles after dr. conners said his research was a "dead end".

I would like to say thank you for producing a spectacular series of spiderman and even though it's cancelled i continue to use my imagination.

P.s. Ignore the haters and continue doing what you do best.

Greg responds...

Thanks.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Rex Dawson writes...

Hello greg,

I would like to say thank you for producing animated series like young justice and spectacular spiderman especially. I'm sorry to hear about your loss and i hope things will get better.

There are a few questions if you don't mind me ask but:

1) In spectacular spiderman, why did peter chose liz instead of gwen first and did he even like liz at all? is it because peter is seen as a nerd and liz is popular and attractive and he chose to be with Liz because it would boost his credibility and change peoples perceptions of him?

2)Why did mary-jane decide to give gwen stacy a makeover? is it because to help her self-confidence or to make peter notice gwen more and make him realise that gwen is the girl for him? or is it because even though peter was with liz, she never gave up on helping gwen to get with peter because she believes there's a connection between them? Because this love triangle between peter, liz and Gwen caught my interest.

Thank you

Greg responds...

1. I think Peter was immature. Liz was there and kissing him. She declared she was his girlfriend, and he wanted a girlfriend, and he got... distracted by her. I don't think it had anything to do with popularity. And I do think he liked Liz. I think he still does. He just LOVED Gwen.

2. Yes.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Sean writes...

Hi its good to have young justice back. So my first two questions are directed at the lastest episode or at least ths lastet episode there was when i posted this.
1.Arsenel(the first roy but for simpcity sake) seemed to be able to fight extremely well given his handicap, not to mention the fact that he just got out of the hospital. Could just elaborate a little how he could do this, when he also had to use different tatics compared to his eariler training. Also is red arrow more skilled than aresenl given he had three extra years of training with green arrow?
2. I know you may have said this eariler, but I am curious about how important a character rocket was in the first season. Compared to zatanna who was introduced sooner and was shown working with the team before she actually joined, it felt like rockets entry was rushed. Was that intentional or just part of script changes?
3. Final question is about the finale of season 1. The light put in alot of time and effort into creating starro tech which can subdue any hero, over a period of several months, yet the team was able to create a counter to it in less than a day. It really seems to me that was a bit of a deux ex machina. I guess my question is did you only do that to clear the board for season 2?

Greg responds...

1a. Shrug. He was motivated.

1b. Probably.

2. I don't think her entry was rushed at all. It just came later in the series. And she was set-up by multiple cameo appearances previously.

3. No. We felt we had set up the players who could counter the Starro-Tech, given a sample for reverse-engineering purposes.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Clark Cradic writes...

Any characters that you don't like that everyone else you know seems to love? Doesn't have to be DC, it can be any character in general.

Greg responds...

Um... none spring to mind this second.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Clark Cradic writes...

Some of my friends are curious about certain parts of the last season. I'm very, very, very sorry if these come off as rude or accusatory to you and the crew. I love the work you're doing, but they're really up in arms over certain things and misconstruing certain scenes in the worse possible ways. I figure the best way to calm them down is to get answers straight from the source.

Why did the Light need Roy's entire arm for cloning? Wouldn't some blood or a finger have been enough?

Why did the others but Clone!Roy give up on looking for Original!Roy? Why did they say Original!Roy was never their friend and tell Clone!Roy to give up searching for him?

Again, I apologize for this, I tried to clean up the questions as best I could without messing up the point of the question. Honestly, they'll never let this go unless they hear the answer straight from the creator's Q&A blog. Again, I think you're doing a great job and I hope you and the rest of the cast and crew keep up the great work!

Greg responds...

1. They wanted an on-going source of DNA, and didn't want to continually have to defrost him and refrost him to get it.

2a. There was always a suspicion that Original Roy might be dead. As more and more leads led to dead ends, more and more people became convinced that he was.

2b. Robin and Kid Flash met Speedy AFTER the switch to Clone Roy was made. (This is flat-out STATED in the series.)

2c. See 2a.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Julio Lopez writes...

Did you have plans of pitch or self produce a new original concept in form of series/comic?

Greg responds...

I've tried pitching many times, but have yet to sell anything. Long ago, I had thoughts of self-producing, but it's just an economic impossibility for someone with my (lack of) financial resources.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

When figuring out a character's birth date, do you ever draw from horoscope personality types? For instance, did you consider whether or not Wally was "a Scorpio" when you chose 11/11 for his birthday?

Greg responds...

No.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Sowmya writes...

I have a question pertaining to the comics, on the newest edition #20, Rocket makes a comment about how Nightwing is still friends with all of his ex's, does this mean that he date Rocket as well in the five year time gap, the comic was a little unclear, sorry if its a spoiler!..?

Greg responds...

It was actually Zatanna who made that comment. And I don't think it was all that unclear.

But, yes.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Katie M. writes...

Does Bart Allen have photographic memory in Earth-16 like he does in the comics?

Greg responds...

Probably not.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

I you ever thought of creating a young justice like TV show for the marvel universe?

Greg responds...

It's not up to me.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Kevin writes...

1. Who came up with the idea to have designations?
2. Is Black Lightning a school teacher on Earth 16?
3. How much fun did you have with the idea of four generations of speedsters taking on a Superman villian?
4. Do you have an origin story for the Joker or did you leave it vague like Alan Moore did?
5. Is Superman's cape kryptonian or is it hand made by Martha Kent?

Greg responds...

1. I did.

2. SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

3. A lot.

4. Maybe I'm misremembering Killing Joke, but I don't feel like Alan Moore left it vague at all.

5. Can it be both?

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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GhostDog401 writes...

First off I love your work! You are amazing! While I have not seen Gargoyles I have seen Spectactular Spider-Man and my personal favorite TV show right now, YOUNG JUSTICE!!

I love all the twists and turns and unexpected events that happen and while I was a little worried over the 5 year time skip (I was so worried about where Wally was, he's my favorite) you eventually won me over again!
I love all the new characters, with Impulse and Blue Beetle quickly making my favorites list, and all the adventure and cliffhangers!

In short thank you for a wonderful series! I hope you get to do a season 3!! :D :D

Greg responds...

Thanks for sticking with us.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Regulus writes...

Hey Greg, longtime fan and Great work as per usual, just a couple quick questions caused by the new roy.

1. The family inheritance and GA's trust fund left to Roy Harper as Speedy. I assume that Red Arrow has used it in maintaining his search for Arsenal, is this the case or does he get the money which primaril was intended for him?
2. The Arm(knew he get one off Lex and Mercy) is it given the title/name of Satisfaction? seemed apt given how it was referred to in the episode.
that's all really, loved the det cord.

Greg responds...

1. There's nothing left to give to the original Roy.

2. What's with this obsession over naming the arm? I'm still leaning toward Maurice.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Lurker writes...

This is about what Fox's mother whispered to her.

Did she whisper something that we have now seen? I mean, did she tell Fox to do something and we saw Fox do it later in the series or comics, we just dont know it.

Greg responds...

I'm not revealing this...

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Janey writes...

I read all of the new questions and I don't think I seen this one. If it was asked I'm sorry, but it got on my nerves having to read the post that were like a book!! My question is:
1. During Satisfaction when Sportsmaster was angry at Black Manta, in his "own way" was he upset that Artemis was dead and that was his way of venting or was it really just all about his ego?

I love this show!! You and your team are AMAZING!! I have been a fan since I was 10 and would watch Gargoyles. I have read were a lot of fans don't like the time skip...obviously they have never watched gargoyles were it would show the past, then the present. I love your work. I have had complete faith in you guys that I would not be disappointed, and so far I haven't. Thanks for all of your hard work!!!

Greg responds...

1. I'll leave that to your interpretation.

And it's true, we did have a HUGE timeskip in Gargoyles. A thousand years. Five years is nothing, right?

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Eric writes...

You once said this to another person "The irony for me is that Red Arrow didn't understand how the Starro-Tech worked. If Aqualad HAD been possessed, Klarion would have had access to all Aqualad's memories and would still have been able to answer the question."

But couldn't have Red Arrow still know Aqualad was in control based on his emotions, something Klarion wouldn't have probably mastered?

Greg responds...

Potentially.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Jordan writes...

1. How many years have Lexcorp been in business for on Earth 16?

2. Did the terror twins parents have superpowers?

Greg responds...

1. I haven't calculated that, but LexCorp predates Superman's debut.

2. SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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SuperMartian89 writes...

M'Gann said that she had a lonely childhood. So how were her parents and siblings to her? Especially her white father and brother?

I see some similarities between Miss Martian and Jean Grey from X-Men. Do you? Both are pretty redheads, basically unofficially named the sweetheart among their group, are psychics with incredible raw power and it has a dark side which threatens to consume - Jean Grey with her Phoenix alter ego and possibly Miss Martian with her white martian savage side. *Please note I know you are paving your own way with things but I also couldn't notice some things with between our two red-head pyschics.

Greg responds...

SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

When you point out those similarities, I guess I can see them. But that wasn't our intent.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Hi Greg. Young Justice is absolutely amazing, please pass on my congratulations to the cast and crew for doing such an amazing job with an amazing series. A particular mention should go out to whoever assisted with molding the never ending contradiction and continuity error that is the DC Universe into such a succinct yet broad and rich world that is Earth-16. Well done. :)

I have a couple of questions about the latest episode, "Satisfaction". And just to say, WOW, what an episode to return from hiatus on. You sure this wasn't all planned out? ;) It just worked so perfectly.

1) The Cave's grotto scene was excellent, congrats on that. The statue of Tula depicted her in the same outfit she wore during "Downtime". Did Tula receive a costume when she became Aquagirl, or did she use that same outfit?
2) Real!Roy/Arsenal accepted a weaponized arm or sorts from Luthor towards the end of the episode. How could he be so trusting of Luthor; the man who kidnapped him, cloned him, and then left him frozen for 8 years?
3) While we're on the topic of it; is there a specific name given to Arsenal's new arm?
4) Possibly spoilery - who is Raquel marrying? Is it a significant character (i.e. member of League), or just some casual guy that works at the local fast food outlet?
5) Was Captain Cold merely after money prior to having his arse handed to him by the League and Team ladies?

Thanks very much. :)

Greg responds...

Well, we planned on it being a kick-ass episode, but there was no way we could know when CN would choose to go on hiatus.

1. She used that outfit.

2. He wasn't.

3. Like 'Maurice' or something?

4. C'mon. SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

5. Yep. Sometimes an armored car robbery is just an armored car robbery.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Can you give us a list of which directors will direct the remainder of the episodes for season 2?

Greg responds...

I don't have one handy, but basically in Season Two, we had three rotating directors: Tim Divar, Doug Murphy and Mel Zwyer.

So Tim did episodes 201, 204, 207, 210, 213, 216 and 219.

Doug did episodes 202, 205, 208, 211, 214, 217 and 220.

Mel did episodes 203, 206, 209, 212, 215 and 218.

I think I got that right.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Hotchin writes...

Hi Greg! I absolutely love what you and Brandon (not to mention the rest of the cast and crew) are doing with Invasion. I'm really enjoying it, in fact, now that I think about it, there's not an episode in Invasion which I haven't thoroughly enjoyed.

I was just wondering about the origins of the Justice League and its subsequent history. I understand this is spoiler territory, so I'll try to be fairly cautious of asking you for exact information.

1) We know from "Salvage" and "Alienated" that the Justice League came together to fight the Appellaxian invasion, and that the aliens' husks are on display in the Hall of Justice. In the comics, there are seven Appellaxians, however in "Young Justice" we've only ever seen four. Were the other three husks destroyed by the League, or were there only four Appellaxian invaders?
2) Was remaining a secret from the public a conscious decision made by the League, or did it just so happen that the public were oblivious to their operation for three years?
3) It wasn't for another 3 year following the League's formation that it became known the the public. Was this revelation directly linked with the Joker's discovery of the League's secret base in Mount Justice?
4) What was the League's roster at the time of Joker's discovery of the Cave, and the League going public?
5) I find it unlikely that this is a date you've nailed down, but if so, what month did the League form?

Thank again Greg, not just for answering our questions, but for making what I consider to be the best superhero television show since "Batman: The Animated Series". The tone of the series is nailed so perfectly, and there's nothing too far fetched which ever throws me out of the experience. I love the dynamic between all the characters, yes, even Lagoon Boy. :P

Fingers, arms, legs, toes, feet and eyes crossed for season three, and many more to follow!

Greg responds...

1. There were seven. The other husks didn't survive the end of the confrontation.

2. Both.

3. No.

4. The original seven plus Green Arrow, Hawkman and Hawkwoman.

5. February. And no, I haven't nailed down an exact date in February.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Why did Wonder Women decided to, if she did, to join the All-Star Squadron in 1941?

Greg responds...

The short answer is Pearl Harbor. The longer answer involves Steve Trevor. And since, that's already WAY spoilerish, I'm not saying anything more.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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WIndona writes...

Hey Greg! I will just start to say that both Young Justice and Spectacular Spider-Ma are amazing shows, and you and the rest of both crews did amazing jobs on those shows.

Also, I'm a huge Blue Beetle fan and love how you've portrayed him in this show thus far, and loved how you handled him in Beneath. Jaime's supporting was really important in the original comics, and even though you didn't include those characters (I totally understand why; it would have been odd to see any of Jaime's comic canon friends run away, not to mention La Dama) you managed to capture the spirit of the original comics and handled the character brilliantly.

As any specific questions about Blue Beetle and Blue Beetle characters will have to wait until the rest of season 2 airs, I have one question, and seeing as you mentioned the name of the aliens in a previous answer I assume I can say them here, but here are my two question;

1) What made you choose, out of all the aliens in the DC universe that could have invaded Earth, the Reach? From the comics I know that they are great villains, but I want to know what made you, as a show producer planning this intricate story, to choose them.

2) Also, I'm assuming you read all of Jaime's solo series because of how well you adapted him, so I'm curious; what was your favorite issue?

Thank you for your time, consideration, and this amazing show!

Greg responds...

1. Actually, Mike Carlin suggested using the Reach - after we had already decided to use Jaime. Brandon and I read up on them, and thought they were perfect for our needs.

2. I'm not sure if I read literally every issue, but I read most of them. But this was now a couple years ago, and I don't remember the individual issues well enough to pick a favorite.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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John Pannozzi writes...

Were the Raw Toonage "He's Bonkers" shorts outlined/written/storyboarded/voice recorded before the Miranda episodes were, or after?

Greg responds...

Simultaneously, more or less. As I recall, that is. It's been a long time.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Paul writes...

Is Impulse the smartest member of the Team, since he worked on a time machine?

Greg responds...

For all you know, he was tightening bolts.

What you saw offers no proof either way.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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bigfan writes...

Hi! I really enjoyed Satisfaction, but one things confused me - why was there a hologram of Robin with the dead heroes?

Greg responds...

It was the middle Robin, Jason Todd.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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K.C. writes...

1.) Do Wally and Artemis love each other?
1A.) If so, so they tell each other that they love each other?
2.)Do Wally and Artemis want to get married someday, and possibly start a family?
3.)Are Wally and Artemis sexually active with each other?
4.)Is Nightwing/ Dick Grayson sexually active?
5.)Does Zantanna still have feelings for Nightwing/Dick Grayson? Vice versa for Nightwing/Dick Grayson.

Greg responds...

1. As opposed to...?

1A. Sure.

2. I think so.

3. I think it's wise if I leave that to the viewer's interpretation.

4. Ditto.

5. Depends how you're defining 'feelings'.

6. Ditto.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Gigi writes...

Hey mr. greg i was wondering how did you have it planned out that speedy was going to become arsenal while still maintaining a red arrow in the series?

Greg responds...

How? Um... Brandon, Kevin and I sat down and discussed it. Then we put it on index cards on our big bulletin board. Then... we did it.

(Why do I feel like I'm not understanding the question?)

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Mandy writes...

Dear Greg,
This is something that has be bothering a lot of fans. You and Brandon have repeatedly stated that you planned the timeskip because you wanted to see the characters growing up. But a lot of people on Tumblr noted that by having the time gap, we never got to see the characters actually grow up. They were already grown up by Season 2.

Greg responds...

Well, I believe you're paraphrasing our statements, and then holding us to a literal interpretation of YOUR paraphrase, but I see your point, and if we were guaranteed twelve seasons in advance, I might agree. But of course, we weren't. The only way to show the true change between child and adult was to jump ahead. Otherwise, we'd still be seeing incremental change between teen and oh-so-slightly-older teen.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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YJ Fan writes...

Hey Greg, loving Invasion right now. Just a quick couple of questions related to Dick Grayson and the Robins.

1. How would you describe the development and friendship of Dick and Conner? I ask this because they are the two proteges of Superman and Batman, and I always felt as if they had a unique relationship. I'm curious to see if that rubbed off on Dick and Conner.

2. In your opinion, what do you think sets each Robin apart? How they view the job, personality, etc. You don't have to give any long winded answers, but anything would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Greg!

Greg responds...

1. I'll let you describe it, YJ Fan, by watching the show and observing it. I don't see the need for me to editorialize on it.

2. I'm tempted to give you the same answer again, but I'll be a tad more forthcoming: I believe Dick ENJOYS the action more than Tim does. Dick is good at leading, but does NOT enjoy that aspect of the gig. Tim is a much more serious student of crime-fighting and would like to lead.

Response recorded on November 29, 2012

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Nina writes...

Dear Mr Weisman,
What was it like directing the 2001 English dub of the anime OVA series 3x3 Eyes? How different is it from working on American cartoons?

Greg responds...

Well, I not only voice directed 3X3 EYES, but I also story edited the English language translation. In those days, that meant a LOT of time with a relatively crude VCR, going back and forth, line by line (grunt by grunt, even) with a LITERAL translation given to me by Jonathan Klein, my boss at New Generation Pictures, in order to transform it into (a) American idiom and (b) something that would fit the already existing lip-synch. Generating usable scripts for this purpose was VERY time-consuming.

The next step was the voice recording. Generally, in American cartoons, we bring in the entire cast and record them together, and those voice tracks are then used by our storyboard artists, directors, timers and animators to help create the footage. That is to say, the pictures are drawn to match the actor's performances. But when dubbing an existing cartoon into English, obviously, the actors have to match the picture instead. That's a time-consuming process called ADR, which, I think, stands for "Automatic Dialogue Replacement" - though I have no idea what about it is automatic. This process is done with a single actor in the booth at a time. The first actor has only the Japanese dialogue to respond to. Later performers can listen to what some of their English-speaking fellows have already performed.

As a voice director for something like 3X3 EYES, I'm looking for the right sound, a good performance and a good match with the existing lip-synch. I mostly cast people I'd enjoyed working with before, with Brigitte Bako ("Angela" from GARGOYLES) and Christian Campbell ("Max Steel" from MAX STEEL) as the two leads plus other favorites of mine, including Keith David in a really wild role, Ed Asner and Thom Adcox among others. We also held auditions for a handful of roles, and some of the people (e.g. Susan Chesler, Yuji Okuomoto) who worked for me for the first time on 3X3, later became new favorites of mine that I used again on other series like W.I.T.C.H. and Young Justice.

For fun, I also took a couple parts myself: I was Hide, one of the buddies of the male protagonist, and I was also a bum, who hummed a semi-recognizable theme song.

Finally, I also participated in the sound mixes here, balancing the new dialogue track with the existing music and effects tracks.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Speedys Speedys Everywhere! writes...

I just finished watching "Satisfaction" and, first things first, I just have to say that I love the portrayal of Lex Luthor you, Brandon, and company have put together (not to mention how well Mark Rolston sells it). He's just so LIKEABLE. Many writers seem to forget that the main reason Superman can't just say "Uh yeah, he's a bad guy, let's lock him up" is because, to the public that doesn't know what he's upto, Lex is almost as beloved as Supes himself. You guys have nailed what makes Luthor a great adversary. Kudos!

Anyway, onto my questions:

1. The Blue Beetle statue in the grotto implies he was a member of League during the timeskip, yes?

2. Sportsmaster's comments made me wonder about who all knew that Artemis was his daughter. Obviously, Aqualad had reason to know, but would Manta? Is Artemis' parentage well-known among the criminal element in Earth-16?

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. By Season Two, yes. (Frankly, it wasn't that big a secret in Season One either.) But that doesn't make it PUBLIC knowledge. Artemis is largely unknown to the general public, with a few exceptions - like Cissie King-Jones, for example.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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EXALT writes...

1)Has Vandal Savage ever faced the JSA or the All-Star Squadron?
2)If yes, what did he think of them? Was he troubled by them as he is now troubled by the JL?

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. Ironically, no, because of the A in J.S.A., which made it seem more nationalistic. The moreso with the wartime A-SS.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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B writes...

Did Miss Martian try to make Superboy forget the fact that she had used her telepathic powers violently on enemies or just make him forget that he disapproved of it? (assuming this isn't going to be clarified on the show)

Greg responds...

Probably a little of each.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Marvelman writes...

Hi Greg,

I'd like to make an observation about "Salvage."

It's that moment where the creature says (through Blue):

Where is the stillness of wood, of stone, of crystal, of metal? All this noise, all this life is pain. We sense the power in this place - power enough to destroy us, to end the pain, to be still again.

And Superboy says, "I can identify."

And then it hit me…

Oh that this too too solid flesh would melt…

the thousand shocks that flesh is heir to…

I wondered if we were intended to hear an echo of Hamlet in Connor and the… whatever it was. One of the reasons that Hamlet is so despondent is that he believes the girl he loves has betrayed him. Then, I remembered that the girl Connor loved and probably still does betrayed him.

So, my question is: am I reading too much in to this? Or, did you intend for there to be deliberate overtures of Hamlet in this scene and in Connor's character in general?

Greg responds...

I'd love to say otherwise, but it wasn't in my conscious mind. But you know, it's all rattling around in my brain, so...

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Nicole writes...

Hi Greg,
This more of a comment, or a praise post. I just wanted to say that Young Justice is an AMAZING SHOW. From the story to the animation! It is AMAZING. Every single show leaves me speechless! I've been a fan of a lot of the shows you've produced and/or written, such as Gargoyles. Young Justice is incredible for both me and my dad! I live in California and my dad and I would actually get up at 6:00AM just to get ready to watch Young Justice(and the rest of the DC Nation Block) from the east coast time! My mom thinks we're crazy, but what can I say? WE LOVE THIS SHOW! I really just wanted to say congratulations for both you and your team! I haven't seen a superhero show this great in a long time(and I'm only 15 xD)! My birthday was on the 29th of September, so having to see Young Justice early in the morning made my whole day! You all are amazing, talented people and uou guys are awesome! Thank you for taking your time to read this :)

[P.S. I read on Wikipedia that your birthday was on the 28th. Whether it's true or not(I don't really trust Wikipedia xD), HAPPY late BIRTHDAY! I hope your day was just as great as mine! :D ]

Greg responds...

Yep, September 28th is my birthday. Happy birthday to you too.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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SuperMartian89 writes...

This show is something that me, my mother and two sisters wake up and watch together. We try to get everything out of the way in the morning so we can watch it at our leisure. We haven't had show that we can sit down, watch and discuss among ourselves for a while. My sisters all agree that Young Justice remains us of the cartoon shows of the 90s where it had more darker and some mature themes and tones. Where the creators didn't treat kids like idiots. One show we made example of that was Gargoyles so imagine our surprise and delight that the same people who created that epic created this. We were like "No wonder! That explains so much!" Thanks for creating this great show.

My least favorite thing is Superboy and Martian current relationship with each other and the issues between them. But that's mainly because I love those two together. I haven't been disappointed by you and Brandon in the show overall so I am keeping faithful that you two know what you are doing. My younger sister says to get over it but I am not giving up until the show ends which I hope isn't for a LONG while.

Greg responds...

Thanks.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Jack-Pumpkinnhead writes...

Dear Greg,
Took me a day to catch the new episode of YJ, and I gotta say that was good! First off, I loved the interaction between Red Arrow & Roy/Arsenal. It felt natural, very cool. Second, I like how he got the arm and the Arsenal name, it's very clea he's not RA. And I gotta say, I loved Captain Cold crashing the bachelorette party of supergirls. That was hilarious. And finally, it's creepy, I was just thinking about whether or not Jason existed in YJ's world and ,without checking the site beforehand, you decide to answer it like that? AWESOME! Also, loved Impulse and Jaime's interaction, very cool. My only concern is, I'm starting to worry for Garth. I hope he survives everyone finding out he's a mole. Keep up the good work!

Greg responds...

Garth's a mold?!

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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CGYJ writes...

Hello Mr. Greg Weisman,

Today's posting is in regards to the closing moments of the episode "Alienated." The episode had shown us just exactly what the missing six members of the Justice League did on the Planet Rimbor. On January 26, 2016, these six members intended to go to Rimbor to stand trial for their actions while under The Light's control. Accompanying them are Icon, who is knowledgeable in intergalactic trial law (as stated by Wonder Woman), and Hawkman, who wants to accompany Hawkwoman for obvious personal reasons.

I'm sure you understand that the decision for these eight Justice League members to leave for Rimbor was probably not without causing complications. While it is shown that some heroes like Miss Martian and Superboy are covering for members like Superman and Martian Manhunter as best as possible, there is also another problem. I'm sure you know that we, the fans of the show and comic, understand that most, if not all, of the eight Justice League members have secret identities. The problem with these eight members is that with them leaving for another world, and given enough time, the public would probably ask questions like "Where is Clark Kent?" or "Where is Bruce Wayne?"

While I'm sure that each of the eight Justice League members probably DID have a plan to handle this unique situation before they left for Rimbor, can you please tell us in some detail just what EXACTLY each Justice League member (the ones who left for Rimbor) did to cover for the "disappearances" of their secret identities/alter egos so that the public would not become suspicious enough to believe that they vanished off the face of the Earth? I'm hoping my question doesn't confuse you. Your response might shed some light as how the eight Justice League members resolved this problem before leaving off-world.

Thanks,
CGYJ

PS. I did two postings on 9/29/12. One was about Darkseid, and the other was about Jason Todd. That night, I noticed both postings were approved, but on this day, they appeared to have been removed. What happened? Did I do something wrong or something else?

Greg responds...

You basically answered your own question. They each had time to prepare and did there best to cover. I'm not going to go into any further detail: at best it's a spoiler request.

As for why your questions were deleted, I have no idea. I never saw them. But you could ask the moderators at the Station 8 Comment Room.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Mercy Graves.... a cyborg. Why did she ever allow herself, if she ever did, to become one in the first place?

Greg responds...

I don't tell stories in this forum.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Illyana writes...

Brandon recently posted on his Twitter (https://twitter.com/BrandonVietti) that Red Hood would not be appearing in season 2 of YJ. Obviously, you've got a bunch of other amazing stories to tell, which I'm most assuredly looking forward to.

My question is this: I know Jason Todd is a bit of a polarizing character; is his story one you'd ever be interested in exploring? Not trying to get spoilers for the potential season 3 - I'm just curious as to where you stand on the Jason Todd debate. Some people wouldn't want to touch that story with a ten foot pole. I'd just like to know if his tale is one you'd consider telling in any medium, YJ or otherwise. Or do you find yourself in the 'not a fan' group?

Please pass along my heartfelt gratitude to Brandon and the rest of the team. You folks have done a truly phenomenal job with the show and re-imagining much beloved characters. YJ is simultaneously nostalgic and a breath of fresh air; the perfect Saturday morning cartoon, in my opinion. Can't wait to watch more of the journey unfold.

Greg responds...

I'd be happy to take a pass at Jason.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Is Arsenal's new arm more powerful than Luther's body guard's arm?
Also does it have new or different features compared to Luther's body guard's arm?

Greg responds...

Yes and yes.

Response recorded on November 28, 2012

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Arlo writes...

Hi Greg. Thanks for giving us this great series, and for all you do to help keep it alive. Here's my question:

I've always felt that "Hunter's Moon" was a much darker storyline than any of the other Gargoyles episodes we've seen. I don't know if it's the way all three episodes open with a flashback that involves someone seeking vengeance, or the fact that this is the first time we actually see Goliath wanting to commit premeditated murder (not just "murder in the heat of battle" like before), or the fact that we almost lose two regular cast members (Angela and then Elisa), or the theme of hatred being passed on from parent to child for a thousand years. Maybe it's just that there's hardly any comic relief in these episodes, as almost every scene seems to involve one of our regular cast members going through emotional turmoil in some way.

Anyway, I was just wondering if you were deliberately trying to set a darker tone for these episodes, or if this is just how I perceived them myself. And if it was deliberate on your part, just wondering what your motivation was for that, because these episodes really do stand out to me as the darkest episodes in the series. And if it wasn't deliberate, then is there anything which in hindsight might have contributed to these stories coming out this way?

Also, why is it that you chose for the series finale to be so dark? I'm not criticizing, because I love these episodes and I love Gargoyles, but it just seems unusual (not in a bad way) that in a show where you've said yourself that you wanted Goliath's basic optimism to shine through, the way you chose to write the finale was by telling a story where we see his most vengeful side coming out. Just interested in understanding what your motivation for that was, story-wise.

Thanks for taking the time to read this question, and for all you do.

Greg responds...

It was a BIG story. But to me it seems of a piece with what came before (and even what came after in the comic). I'm not sure - though it was long ago - that we set out to make it darker, though we did set out for it to culminate much of what came before and to resonate with much of what came before too.

In any case, I think the ending of the thing is VERY optimistic. The fact that we put Goliath through the mill - and had him react realistically to that mill - during the three-parter doesn't change that. By the end, Goliath reaffirms his principles.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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Harlan Phoenix writes...

What was the creative incentive for writing "Satisfaction" personally?

Greg responds...

There were a few things...

*First and foremost, I like writing "funeral" stories, i.e. the story that comes in the immediate aftermath of death. I like seeing how characters respond to death.

*I wanted to play the interaction between Speedy, Red Arrow and Green Arrow.

*I enjoy writing Lex.

*I liked the bridal shower gag.

*There were two other characters I REALLY wanted to include at the shower, but unfortunately that would have added four more designs to Phil's total for the episode, and he just didn't have time for them. But one of the reasons I chose to write this episode was so that I could introduce those two characters. Didn't work out that way, but it was part of the initial "incentive".

*I wanted to introduce the Grotto and show who was memorialized there. (This also added to Phil's total, but we all agreed these designs were essential.)

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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JoeMerl writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman! Let me begin with the obligatory praise: "Gargoyles" had a big impact on my childhood, while "Spectacular Spider-Man" and "Young Justice" are new favorites. Thanks for making them!

I have a few questions, which I hope don't come off as too nitpicky or critical. I tend to over-think cartoons sometimes.

1.) M'Gann's subplot in season one feels kind of odd to me. You've said that White Martians and Green Martians look basically the same, but if that's the case, why bother keeping her true race a secret from the Team? She probably realizes that Martians look freaky by human standards, but color makes little difference to that, and they are only going to recognize a social connotation to her White-ness if she explains it. Am I missing something, or is it just that this is such a touchy subject for her that she is not really acting rationally?

2.) You've said before that you always try to capture the "core" of a character, no matter what details you change. Now, I only have second-hand knowledge about Artemis from the original comics, but from what I understand her moral alignment was opposite of what it is in YJ. I'm not necessarily arguing with the result---Artemis is one of my favorite characters---but I'm curious: why did you choose her for the Team (you mentioned several other female archer candidates), and what exactly do you feel is the "core" similarity between the original and Earth-16 versions?

3.) Another not-complaining-but-curious question: I understand the reasons Superman found Superboy's existence disturbing, and I like how they're nuanced if not perfectly noble. But other versions of his character did not go through those sort of issues. Is there a particular reason you decided to include them? Did it just make more sense to you than instant acceptance, or did you want to try something different with the character, etc.?

4.) A more minor query: about how fast can Billy's "Speed of Mercury" go? My math (which admittedly might be wrong) says it took him about a day to get home from India in "Alpha Male." I would have guessed it would just take a few hours, but maybe I'm just over-estimating it? (He's still flying about as fast as a plane, after all.)

I hope none of these questions were annoying, and thanks a lot for this forum! Good luck getting a third season!

Greg responds...

1. The latter, basically.

2. As to why we chose her, for the most part it was her backstory, which gave us the potential to play with our themes of Secrets & Lies. And the answer to the second half of the question is essentially the same. I don't feel there was a lot of there there with this character BEYOND her heritage. That birthright, such as it is, seemed like the core of who she was.

3. Yes, it made WAY more sense to us.

4. I think you're WAY over-estimating it.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Was Ted Kord a member of the Team, the Justice League, or none?

Greg responds...

The League.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Hi, I just have 1 question for you today :)

What exactly does Wally see in Artemis? I see that he probably likes how she's pretty and she kicks butt, but is that it?

Greg responds...

ASKED AND ANSWERED.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

Hi Greg,
I just would like to say sorry in advance if any of these questions turn out to be a spoiler request.

1. Since Zatanna can sense magic/mystic forces near her(as said in "Auld Acuaintance"), can anyone else that can wield magic do the same? What I mean is, can Klarion, Zartara, etc. sense magic near them too?

2. How did Artemis recieve the full scholarship to Gotham Academy? I mean, I guess maybe Batman gave it to her, but why?

3. In Denial, when Artemis and Wally held Kent's staff, why did it fly away with the both of them stuck to it?

4. Why is it that Barry runs at the speed of light and Wally runs at the speed of sound? Was the experiment Wally created done wrong or something like that?

5. In the comics, obviously the story that M'gann told the team about how she became Martian Manhunter's sidekick was a lie, but I was wondering what was M'gann's true story of how she came to Earth?

Thank you for taking your time to answer these questions. I absolutely LOVE Young Justice. It is the most AMAZING super hero show that I've seen in a long time. Congats to you and your team for making this incredible show!

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. He was trying to help her.

3. To find Kent.

4. Basically, yes. It blew up the West garage, and Wally was nearly killed in the process. It did not work as well as Barry's.

5. She stowed away on his ship.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

1. Can anybody besides Ra's Al Ghul can use the Lazarus pit?

2. Does the death penalty exist for supervillains?

3. How long has Hal Jordan been a Green Lantern for?

4. How long has the joker and the Riddler been fighting batman for and how many people have they killed?

5. What other teams was the martian manhunter apart of besides the league?

Greg responds...

1. See issues 11-13 of our companion comic.

2. Depends on the jurisdiction under which they were convicted of their crimes.

3. He'd been a Green Lantern for ten years before the start of Season One.

4a. The Red Hood became the Joker ten years before the start of Season One. Edward Nigma became the Riddler two years before the start of Season One.

4b. I don't have numbers for you.

5. I think he joined a Chess Club once.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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B writes...

When you were creating the Superboy/Miss Martian breakup storyline, was the plotline from Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Willow erased Tara's memories of their arguments about Willow misusing her powers, leading to their breakup, an inspiration?

Greg responds...

Not a conscious one.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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B writes...

Does the public know that the Green Lanterns' powers come from an alien source?

Greg responds...

That's a good question. Probably not.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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Jasae Bushae writes...

Hello and salutation! I wanted to ask a few questions related to Kickstarter http://kickstarter.com/ (The getting people to put forward money to fund things thing) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickstarter#Top_projects_by_funds_raised

1A. What is your opinion of this 'get fans to fund a project' approach as compared to the current methods? and
2B. Would this be something you might consider using yourself? (gargoyles~)

2. and with your experience with several large companies like disney, marvel and dc. Can you see the likes of them making use of this method to let fans simply fund a project they have interest in instead of risking their own money on a project or getting financiers?

3. and this is kinda unrelated but are there any questions you WANT people to ask? I know you have in the past mentioned questions you dislike (and im pretty sure someone asked about which questions you like to receive) but im curious if theres a subject that the fans have overlooked that you would be overjoyed to discuss and answer questions regarding

Thank you and good luck working your way through the steadily growing list of questions~

Greg responds...

1A. It would seem to me that the money required would be prohibitive - particularly if one is talking about raising money for a property like Young Justice or Gargoyles that is owned by a major entertainment company. I can't see them relinquishing control of their Intellectual Properties (I.P.) for ANY price.

2B. What does "consider using yourself" mean in this context? How can I solicit money from anyone for an I.P. (like Gargoyles), which I do not own?

2. No, I can't. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I don't see it.

3. I can't think of anything off the top of my head.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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EXALT writes...

How old is the original Roy/Arsenal as of Satisfaction? Always fifteen (thanks to the time he spent on ice)?

Greg responds...

He's biologically 15.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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YJfan writes...

Hey Greg, Seeason 2 is awesome. Love the new characters as well as seeing the old ones develop and grow.I have been enjoying Beetle, Superboy, Bart and Lagaan.Don't like what Megan is doing though cause it feels like she is stringing poor Lagoon Boy along. He's kidnapped and she's worrying about Conner birthday. Do the other girls like Zatanna know what she did trying to mindwipe him? Wendy seems genuinely cool actually. I am so looking forward to see how the Aqualad vs everyone wants a piece of him now plot plays out. They are fun!You Lex Luthor is the best animated Lex I ever came across!PS. Did you know Superman and Wonder Woman are now an official couple in comics?It was huge news. I know, you said your show came before the reboot in comics. But reason I ask is because in your show, even from day one the interactions we've seen between these two characters seem to point to something more than friends/teammates.I personally think it a great idea and looking forward to seeing if you called it first in earth-16. :)

Greg responds...

1. No, they don't.

2. Yes, I heard.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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EXALT writes...

I have a couple questions about your version of the Joker...
1)Usually, the origin of the Joker is a mistery to anyone, including himself. But you said that you create backstories pretty much for all your characters, even if you don't necessarely put them in the show. So, the question is: have you created an origin for the YJ Joker, or did you just stick with the "total mistery" thing (of course, if you DID create an origin, I'm not asking you to spoil it here).
2)In Revelation, the Joker claims to have multiple personalities. Was that a reference to his multiple origins?

Greg responds...

1. Red Hood.

2. If you like.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Chris Adams writes...

Hi Greg! Great to have YOUNG JUSTICE back.

I really admire the way you and your team use the breadth of your version of the DC Universe to produce an episode like "Satisfaction" - you have the story of Roy, Ollie, Roy, and Lex on the one hand, but you break it up with smart little vignettes featuring other characters. It's also good to see the continued use of non-heroic supporting castmembers like Wendy and, in issue #20 of the comics, Bette.

Two quick questions, since my original query about Mercy's power of speech (or lack thereof) is already in the queue:

1. Is Ray Palmer on the faculty of Ivy University?

Apparently no-one else in Ivy Town knows Conner well enough to know it's his birthday besides Wendy, which strongly suggests* that Karen doesn't attend Ivy University with them. Therefore:

2. Is she formally enrolled at any university, or only pursuing her studies with Professor Palmer under the aegis of the team?

* The other option would be that Superboy and Bumblebee choose not to socialise in their civilian identities, but that doesn't seem to be the way the team rolls.

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. I don't quite follow your preamble or your afterward - I'm not sure how or why you're concluding what you're concluding. But Karen, Wendy, Conner and M'gann all are enrolled and attend Ivy University. You do realize Karen was in Dakota City for the Bridal Shower, right?

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Satisfaction
Commenting on current ep! No questions, just comments.

Short on shorts: Teen Titan Go psa - cute enough. Love SBFFs "Solomon Grundy No Fight Girls!" was mostly brilliant, but I was a little disappointed with end.

1-I was surprised original Roy's voice was so deep. Also so angry! (At least that quickly.) He correctly didn't blame our Roy, but crazy blamed Ollie. From Independence Day and onward it seemed Ollie had a warm relationship with Roy despite Roy's Angry Young Man vibe. Nice Ollie character work. I'm curious where Dinah works into this relationship. Did she even know the original? (Rhetorical- expect to learn that in story.) Nice way to get to Arsenal.

2- Grotto- Took me a bit to realize that those memorialized in the grotto were not necessarily team members. Ted Kord was the huge giveaway. (I have noticed Tim is "Robin B" to the computers, so assumedly the memorial is to Jason who wasn't a member of the team.) Nice bit between Blue Beetle and Impulse- both in their demeanors from not having interacted with the folks honored in that room, and in the discussion about why the League doesn't do the memorials. Also lovely to see Jaime's 'relationship' to Ted spelled out. Visually, the subtle run through of emotions on Bart's face is fantastic. You see all the other, none 'Impulse', thoughts flit by before he shapes his face into the sunshine and light one.

3-Artemis' grave- Brutal to put Paula through that. Jade is there with the baby; she's all vengeance, but from actual love. Sportsmaster...not so much.

4-Lex Luthor- blasé about enabling the alien invasion... and customized desks ;) Mercy bleeds? So a cyborg, not robot. Lex does like to pontificate...but he isn't wrong. Did Lex actually show a moment of concern for Mercy? "Except we gave you anesthesia. Your methods..." Again with the not wrong. Now where have I heard that vengeance is a sucker's game....?

5-Superboy and Wendy- Lovely little surprise there. She isn't in on the team ("6...22!") She really does have insight into Conner. Ivy Town? Mmm....

6-Bridal shower- I wondered if there was something romantic between Raquel and Icon, now I'm wondering if they're engaged. Captain Cold... "I'm completely doomed, aren't I?" BWAHAHA!

All my reviews have been positive- but just to state the obvious- Loving the show!!

Thanks again for reading fan rambles. I tried to lean more to comments then questions to make up for the length.

Greg responds...

All Grotto memorials were for League or Team members, including Jason.

Thanks for posting your rambles. They're fun for me to read.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Last old review-
Depths- nice way to start a hiatus... Wowie

Shorts - Sword of the Atom pIII- dialogue a little hokey. Teen Titan dividing tape; cute enough.

[Actual questions bookends the comments. The other #s are just observations.]
Q1 Rocket to Mars- How where they planning on dealing with Earth seeing true Martian form?

1-Wally and Artimas at home, cut ahead to CPR at end. I think it is the first time you've set up a flash forward to the end following present events. Works nicely. Love the way Dick's body moves with the CPR compressions. Nice attention to detail.

2-M'gan's reaction to Artimas is like stepping back in time. She's light and open as she really doesn't appear much this season.

3-Conference - took me till the second time to figure out why you didn't say "Drink the Kool Aid". Yeah, I bet the Kool-Aid folks have a special hate for Jim Jones.

4-Mmm.. GGG's hands,for a moment, look like alien claws. War of the Worlds ish.

5-Mimicking missing Leaguers is a good idea. (I wondered last issue that Psion said he knew Batman wasn't around.)

6-There is quite enough skilled (rust free) fighting and teamwork to make the Cape fighting interesting even separate from the overall plot. Add the revelation of what really broke up Conner and M'gann, Lagan being taken and...Artimas dying at the hands of Kalderan! Wow.

7-Nice how the test the villain gives is a test of honor. Will he take credit?

8-Back at Mt Justice... I think someone already asked who the girl next to Blue Beetle is. You'd think it would be easier to guess- there aren't that many white, non blond female teen girl superheroes. Yes... it's an exaggeration, but true enough to be sad. Mmmm.... Next to Jaime? Traci 13 would rock!

9-I truly was surprised by the Kal undercover/Artimas alive twist. Nicely done. For some reason the line about the League and team being in mourning and possibly never forgiving them stuck a nice chord with me.

Q2 I figure this is either an incidental or a major spoiler. If it is the former- What does Artimas's mom know? {Never mind- moot now}

Q3 How is the voice altered for the glamoured version of Artimas?

Simply passing herself off as dead would be one thing. Going undercover too...interesting.

Yay! current review is all that's left to post!

Greg responds...

Q1 - How is who planning?

Q3 - In show, you just have to take it for granted that the charm has changed the voice enough so that it's not recognizable. Out of show, Stephanie does deepen her voice slightly for Tigress. It's intentionally subtle.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

At least I'm getting to the end of old reviews...but not there yet-
Bloodlines-
Certainly a satisfying first major look at the greater picture for the season.

But first the Shorts-
still Sword of Atom- so no mid messy divorce, no learning the language.
Teen Titans Go- Cyborg the lifeguard is cute, but who is he saving?

[First half is just comments- the questions start when the "Q"s show up. The rest is just thought ordering. Hey 5and 5!]
1-I know starting with a scene and coming back to it is derigur (sp?) in the show, but this one is somehow above and beyond. It isn't so much a teaser as does something to the mood. Misleading about Bart, but still honest.

2-Impulses entrance is a hoot. He might have wiped the floor with Tim and Garfield, but I get an impression that the learning curve will be as such that they won't be so outclassed for long

3-Roy and Cheshire- It is suspicious she seems to find what they are looking for so easily. On the other hand it is believable she'd do it to set Lian's father straight. Uh...seriously, not the place to bring a baby. Jumping ahead- Dispatch two bad guys, waken baby laughs, tens of men with spears. "Told you we should have left her with your sister." Nice beat. (Wonder if Artimas knows she's an aunt. -new ep! Lian's her middle name!) "Should I be concerned in the obvious delight our daughter takes in the ultra violence?" :) Cheshire opens the tube without even wiping the glass to see who is inside. (Already Liann is saying Dada?)

4-Bart blabs Bat identities. They keep their IDs secret from their team. As I mentioned before, it does leave you wondering if there is any discomfort, or even hostility to the Bat clique. It seems a little of a 'first among equals' incongruity.

5-Bart with his family...
The Garrick's 70th anniversary- making them in their 90s- a very spry 90s. I'm assuming Jay has some Flash related reason for being more like a late 70s year old, but Joan?
Didn't notice all the slip ups Bart made referencing Barry the first time around. Meant to tell you in private...Twins?! "Back in a flash!" Group moan. Since the beginning I have liked how the extended speedster family is portrayed. No gloom and doom for them. Well, maybe now Bart….

"Fox & Gardner" cute.

Q1 Bart learned whirlwind from father who learned it from Barry. Since Barry originally died before knowing he was going to be a father, who taught the son?

Super speed talking is funny. So is Wally's being outpaced. Wish the Network bug wasn't partially covering some of the alien subtitles.

Q2 Stranded in our time...big reveal-> actually a set up. Idea is great. I'm not yet clear on the mechanics of time travel in this universe and how Nathaniel remembers the changes. I assume it becomes clear over time. Is there a town shown to the bottom left of the wreck of Mount Justice? And does that town have more color after the time change?

I do hope that the Impulse persona is not entirely made up. That it is either based on an earlier version of himself, or an aspect of his personality not foregrounded in an apocalyptic future. Time will tell.

Q3 How big is Wally? Sometimes he looks bigger than Barry. Sometimes boyish.

Some more questions on Wally and speed brought to mind-
Referencing other questions -Geodude writes...
"Are Flash and/or Kid Flash capable of doing relatively complicated things at super-speed? Could they use their speed, for example, to assemble a store-bought bookcase or put together a jigsaw puzzle? ...
Greg responds...
1. Flash MIGHT be able to. But Kid Flash's speed is all about acceleration and deceleration. I'm not saying he couldn't do it faster than, say, Artemis. But he's not going to do it in a split-second. ..."

Me-
Q4-Is Wally's super-speed fundamentally different from Barry's (and Jay's?), or is it a question of skill and practice? We know he is very smart, but does he think ~quicker~ than ordinary humans?

I'm not well versed on the DC Speedsters, but what I've read seems to say they think quicker to match the movements as a necessary component of their powers. A rather clever Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) issue a year or two ago had her figure out that the kid sitting next to her in class had been spending all his time memorizing his route step by step for a planned heist in a speed suit because his mind would not be quick enough to respond to what he sees. In contrast, a few years before that Bart Allen (around the time he switch from Impulse to Kid Flash) read the contents of a library at superspeed because he felt he needed contribute more (and screw up less). He added that it feels as long to him to read a book as it does to anyone else, and things not at superspeed move glacially slow to him making him seem ADD.

Q5
A-If the speedster's mind does work faster, is it a default speed or is it only revved up while the speedster is speeding?
B-And if it is a default, does the rest of the world seem to move slowly to them?

thanks again.

Greg responds...

Q1 - We'll never know, but it might have been Wally or Jay, I suppose.

Q2 - I'm not sure what you're referring to.

Q3 - Occasional inconsistencies of animation aside, Wally is pretty-much man-sized now.

Q4 - Wally and Jay's speed-powers are VERY similar. Barry and Bart's are pretty much exactly the same. But those two subsets are different from each other. Barry and Bart can be instantly fast, almost without acceleration. They have way more control - even over their molecules. Barry has more experience, but Bart was forced to learn in a much more hostile environment, so he's not that far behind. Wally and Jay must both accelerate and decelerate. They have way less control than either of the other two. Both, of course, at this point have plenty of experience and training. Jay may have lost a step or two over the years, but not much. Wally's pretty much near his peak, though he may be (only) slightly out of practice since retiring. Wally's thinking is pretty much on a par with any non-powered person of similar intelligence - again, once he gets going, he may "think" faster, but he couldn't do that reading trick you describe Bart as doing in the old comics.

Q5A - The latter, if that.

Q5B - Sometimes.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

And more old reviews-
Beneath

Shorts in short- hey I just read Sword of the Atom! SBFF love those girls

[Not so many observations, so I'm only numbering the questions this time around.]
Q1 Jaime seems to come from a well off family. That's a marked departure than his print origin. They ran a business and were better off than hand to mouth, but I remember money being tight, especially after his father was injured. What made you decide to change it?

Nightwing: "Uh, there's, there's no right answer for that, is there?" smart boy not to dig deeper :) She enjoyed that!

The dynamics between Mrs. Longshadow, Maurice, Jaime and the absent Ty- I'd say lovely, but it's the wrong word for the situation.

I wonder if the scarab realizing that his methods would have dead ended with Maurice is the start of him becoming more than blood thirsty programming.

Bumble Bee and Batgirl- first the funny in the air ducts, then the moment that comes when dealing with any bat family member- talking the empty air.

Of course Batgirl was the only one who could fly a plane, she's the only one who would need to. Of course Wonder Woman does have a jet....

Freeze Jr is still hung up on Miss Martian in Belle Rev?

Q2 Simon knows Batman is away? How?

Cast- Devastation… I could have sworn that was Kristen Johnston's voice.

In all a good ep- we see the girls in action as any other thoroughly capable team.
I'm guessing the other plot line will be some sort of Super Chief storyline, but in general it is nice to be reminded that Jaime is not just comic relief, but rather a powerful weapon. Though I do love him as comic relief too.

thank you

Greg responds...

Q1 - I'm not sure we decided any such thing. Are you responding to his house? His neighborhood?

Q2 - SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Still more old reviews:
Salvage

Short shorts review:
-Shorts -Vibe (2parts)- amazing! Intentionally totally dated but not making fun of it!

Main event: (Q for actual questions)
1-Oh Roy... (Q1 Where'd his money go- wasn't he richer than Ollie? Used it up with the search?) The whole intervention was wonderfully done, right up to it failing. (And we caught us up with several characters.)

2-Now Snapper Carr knows they're there.

3-Blue Beetle: "Not Compatible? Not Compatible with what? I swear I don't understand half the things you say!"
Mal: "Feeling is mutual" :)

But that does raise the question, well two questions:
Q2 1- This may be the one error in the execution of the time skip- Finding Jaime's one sided conversations weird is funny, but not knowing that he is talking to the Scarab would imply that he was hiding, albeit poorly, the source of his power. However here he sighs and tells Conner the whole story (at least as he knows it -created by Ted Cord? A clearly deceased Ted Kord). Given how level headed and informed Connor has become, it seems odd that he wouldn't already know Jaime's situation. For that matter, you'd think at least the founding members would have had to know it to let him join the group. Am I missing something here that would explain it?

Q3 2-What made you go with the bloodthirsty Scarab and not the budding sentient Scarab? It is laugh out loud funny, but I have to admit to having a tremendous soft spot for the malfunctioning sentient weapon. Among my all time favorite lines I've read, not just in comics, was in the Blue Beetle comic when Jaime manages to defeat the Reach - right before starting on a dang near suicidal plan he asks the Scarab if he is in on it. (Even though there was no way for Jaime to go without him, and no other way to save his family and the planet.) The Scarab's reply of "Jaime:Friend. Scarab:Hero" was heartwarmingly awesome.

4-Speaking about emotionally wrought near sentient beings- the Golem was very nicely done. Connor meant a specific Ugly, but her was right; something ugly had killed it.

5-I only noticed upon rewatching this and the previous episode that "Partner" is an actual name for the new big bad, and not just a figure of speech.

6-Artimas and Wally...are so very sweet.

7-Cheshire and Roy...can't tell if she's there for him, or for an ulterior motive. Or frankly, she could be there for both. However it is, I like the suggestion that she gave up crime for him without any good guy component to it. It sounds like he wouldn't have married a criminal so she gave up crime. The marriage fell apart and she happily went back to it. She simply does not have a hero mentality and it makes her fun. It also gives her the possibility of being a good sister/wife/mother without being a good guy. You don't get the impression she would ever subject her child to what her father had subjected her and Artimas to. Strange to say it, but she is probably extremely healthy on an emotional level.

8 Q4-Lian makes her debut- How old is she here? Cartoon babies almost always seem to look a bit older than they are meant to be, (though I think there were some clearly newborns in Missing, IIRC). With that much hair I would guess minimum 9 months, but I'm guessing she is supposed to be younger and it isn't meant to imply Roy hasn't seen Cheshire for over a year. (9 months baby, plus it would be pretty impossible to hide a second trimester pregnancy from a husband = more than a year.)

9 -Of course seeing Lian makes me wonder about Amistad and Traya and Aquaman's son...that ends the list of small children of characters I can think of. (Unless Donna Troy shows up and had/lost her family.) Time will tell.

thanks again!

Greg responds...

Q1 - Yes.

Q2 - They knew about the Scarab - although at the time they all thought it was Ted's invention, not Reach-Tech - but they didn't know it talked to him.

Q3 - This feels like it's veering close to SPOILER territory.

Q4 - ASKED AND ANSWERED.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

And another old review:
Alienated ...

...but first a short review of the shorts:
-Teen Titans Mothers' Day short was sick and twisted. I loved it, but the Mad musical number that poked fun at the Justice League is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.

Back to our show: {Numbers without the Q in front of it are just thought ordering}
1-Bumble Bee looks a lot like Rocket in civies...or maybe.... after a lot of freeze framing...Has Rocket's face been made more angular than she had been 5 years before and Bumble Bees stayed rounder?

2-Blue Beetle: ~chuckle!~ but I'm saving up discussing him till later eps.

3-Boy in dreads does look a little like a young Virgil Hawkens, but it seems odd to me for him to be so significantly younger than Rocket.

4(Q1)-M'gann 'interrogating' the Krolatian - in front of Batman and While J'ohn is trying to do the same? She really is without boundary. Connor's look of shock makes sense, but shouldn't J'ohn and Bruce be at least a little surprised?

5-First time we see Kaldur - he does make a scary villain.

6-"Competitor Warrior"- Blue Beetle? The Reach?

7(Q2)-Love watching the Bat Family in action. They are so incredibly in sync with each other. The 'kids' kids with each other even more than with Batman. Does it cause tension in the YJ group to have a sub group or even clique, one who I think doesn't even share their real names?

Q3-who planted bomb?

8(Q4)-Nice smile of pride Wonder Woman has watching Wonder Girl. In all this fighting, I can't tell if they are using lethal measures or not. Last ep Allana saved the Krolatian whose mech she lured into a trap. Here they seem to be causing big enough explosions that you would not expect the mecha pilots to be able to get out. Is this JL willing to respond to lethal attack with lethal counter measures? Batman blew the platform out from under 'Manta's' men. It looked to be a 10-5' drop- though maybe that isn't a big deal for battle armored atlantians. It never struck me as important for WW to be willing to kill if necessary- it actually makes sense since she is a warrior before a superhero. But it does seem pretty integral to Supes and Bats.

9-More things I'm noticing while rewatching- when Kal tells NW he has two minutes left on the bomb his voice is different. He's got Conner incapacitated in a way that will at very least distract him if not let him hear the warning at all and he then gives Dick the vital info.

10-M'gann & J'onn ~chuckle~ I've forgotten I'm wearing something silly, I guess Martians can forget they're wearing a whole different species look.

11-For some reason I didn't realize the Krolatians understood English the first time.

12-Must find the issue with Kal's parents- I thought that's what his father looked like.

13-Black Manta replacing Ocean Master in Light- there is clearly some interesting stories in the gap/

14-The good byes-
-Wonder Woman/Wonder Girl- nice feel between the two of them, and a mention of Cassie's mom.
-Hawkman goes with Hawkwoman his spouse
...cut to Icon and Rocket. We never do hear from them. I get it might be the realities of voice work fees, but the body language was a bit odd. Are they romantically involved? {Since the new ep- I guess I'm wondering if they're engaged.} (Rhetorical question, not looking for an answer outside of the episodes.) It's been 5 years since we've seen them interact, and Icon has to be used to people aging into new roles around him. Even more than Static, I wonder what D MacDuffie would have done had he had the chance. The original series ended mid story, and there was no Icon cartoon, I don't think we ever saw Rocket in the main DCU (so far) to explore in other ways.
(Q5) Non rhetorical question: to your knowledge did MacDuffie leave behind any ideas or thoughts on where he might have taken her? Would you be more likely to, when possible, try to incorporate such ideas in light of his untimely passing than you would a living creator who might get a crack at doing it his or herself? Working with Peter David you probably hear all sorts ideas that didn't get used in the YJ comic run, but you both know he might work with those characters in a project of his own down the line. Even if it is extremely unlikely, it does remove some of the urgency.
-Super Man/Super Boy "little brother" J See- a clone is more like a brother!
-Martian Manhunter/Miss Martian are adorable- water the plants (plants on Mars)
-Batfamily- really a tight group, a family. I notice it is the first time they smiled all ep. Even when fighting. I can't decide if that is right to me or not. Dick and Barbara always struck me as the type to be having too much fun in the physicality of it not to smile, Tim to a lesser extent, but also.
-Dramatic goodbye- music, wind, break up, everything; nice. (Dang, Barbara is tall.)
15-Bibbo and Vandal are voiced by the same guy? Wow!

Greg responds...

Q1 - J'onn was not linked when M'gann did her thing. Both already know that she's more powerful. Whether they're suspicious is something I'll leave to interpretation.

Q2 - Not particularly.

Q3 - Black Beetle.

Q4 - Neither Batman nor Superman would willfully cause the death of anyone.

Q5 - I have no idea whether Dwayne left anything behind on this subject.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

still posting old reviews:
Earthlings

Rambled observations to follow the short review of shorts:
Still bwahahaing Animal Man and not quite getting the Ardman shorts

{Actual questions are listed as "Q#". The other numbers are just thought ordering}
1-You do like starting at the end and then flashing back how they got there.

2-I love the Garth/M'Gann sibling dynamic, but I wish I could remember if Gar always had the freckles that match hers. Interesting implication in that he has received multiple transfusions from her to get to what he is. It's also interesting that he reverts to a more fully human shape when he is reminded of his mother's death. I wonder whether that is a 'natural' form or a change based on thought. Or if he even has a 'natural form' anymore. (That huge and unexpected, though very welcome, info dump you gave on Martians a while back explains why he is green- if skin color is ethnicity and she has a green parent it isn't particularly odd that Gar could become green. I do wonder why he is only green. I know that is from the comic, but I wonder the in cartoon explanation. Odd- Gar is the age Dick was last season, but he gets to be a kid.
What the Hey! Make that Q1- why is Garth only green?

3-The benefit of being so behind is catching details that can only be appreciated in hindsight - like the look that runs over Conner's face when M'gann establishes the link that allows them to communicate and Alana and her father comment about the sensation. It went right by me at the time, but in light of now knowing why they broke up...

4-"I assume you are not associated with the League"... "We are not members of the League" J\:) technically truthful.

5-Alana is younger than I imagined. She seems of an age with the first YJ team, not the same age as Adam.

6-Seeing Conner talk and act is spot on- a-jumping like earliest version of supes -b-his demeanor matches his description- looks 16 but is not a 16 year old. (Others already asking why M'gann ages at human rate.)

Q2-They took a risk luring the mecha into the sand- how did they know it wasn't the one holding their teammates? Alana sends the Krolatian the rope as second nature- she matches the teams method...and then M'gann mind strips the Krolatian. It was spooky the first time, but seeing Conner's reaction in light of why they broke up it is even scarier. I can't tell from the frame if Alana is looking at the Krolatians carrying their comrade away in shock or at M'gann. M'gann is without boundary- even if she was reacting to them almost getting her brother.

thanks again for taking the time to do Ask Greg!

Greg responds...

Q1. Miss Martian was green when she did the transfusion.

Q2. I think you should watch it again. Because one of us is confused.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Hello! And thanks again for answering our questions and reading our comments!

Just saw Saticfaction and am very happy. I'm also happy to see this queue reopened. Now that Ask Greg is open I can post saved up reviews! Yay...uh, well, 'yay' for me. :}
I have a lot of saved comments from when it last closed - particularly all my {overwhelmingly positive} episode reactions since the time skip. Maybe I'll get around to doing a blanket rection to the comics before the queue closes again...but probably not.

Onward....
{Actual questions will have "Q#" by them. The other numbers are just for keeping my thoughts ordered}

Happy New Year-
All those warnings to check dvr settings for the new title...of course I was so far behind reading Ask Greg I came to them at least two weeks late. By my spill time on my Green Lantern recording I figured out I missed this ep and reset it for the next week- but seeing this episode was under less than optimal watching: poor quality buffering and strangely mirror imaged segments on the internet. {I wonder which shorts I missed ~sniff~}
1-Nicely constructed opening scene- first Superboy, unchanged, fighting Clay Face which is an in story throwback. M'gann is next, but hooded. But then she says something about 'Delta squad', and Robin walks out of the shadow looking different. Beast Boy and Blue Beetle show up to confirm things are really different, followed by Bumble Bee. (She's a extra step because we met her as a civilian.) Finally M'gan throws back her hood looking shorn and older and the voice on the other end of the com signs off as Nightwing. Elegant.

2-I see some thinking L'gann is set up to be silly, but by introducing him sparing with Nightwing, humorously and graciously losing, I think he comes across more positively. The more negative impressions probably come from fan possessiveness over the M'gann/Conner relationship, and not anything he is or has done. He is a somewhat silly character- in the cosmic 'oh, come on!' sort of way. He isn't bad or silly looking, but to use his powers he puffs up like a carnival prize. He's a pretty powerful guy, but he knows he's second string at this point and it gall him and leaves him a little insecure. Same for following Conner as a boyfriend. No crime there, even if he appears later being a little mean about it. (Though I am getting ahead of this ep.) And as for Conner's reaction to M'gann and L'gann- You have two relationships to follow from first season- already know one is going to be meaty.

3-Didn't think of it at the time, but if Bumble Bee is b22 and after Tim Drake, I wonder if I'm misreading a vibe that Mal was an active member and somehow forcibly sidelined- like a loss of power. IIRC his comic book counterpart went through a bunch of personas gaining and losing power sets. (I googled it a while back, I just remember it being convoluted and there being a question over who created him…I think.) I look forward to learning how he and Bumble Bee joined up- how old Tim is (what, have 15 people already asked?) and how long he's been Boy Wondering it.

4-hrmmm if Tim is about 13 now, I wonder if that girl whose father was saved from the Black Spider was at least 8 then? I thought not, but if she is Arrowette, she'd be pretty young. {The advantage of first writing this before the shut down- I already have the answer.}

5-General statement- Love Blue Beetle! (But he really shines in later episodes so more on him later.)

6- (Q1)-In the UN- light blue shirts means private security, not NYPD, right?

7- Lobo sounds like he's from Mos Isly ;) Wow- others noticed it too. Maybe it's something about the way the sort of minds that like YJ work.

8-Wonder Girl - Nice having it both ways- Power house entrance, and then Lobo owns her. Neat trick; it should undercut itself but doesn't.

9-Batgirl - Entrance of an uber competent bat professional. It's a bat thing. (Though I hope we eventually get to see her start in flashback at some point.)

10-Tearing Secretary General in half- coulda been gruesome...but wasn't.

11-G Gordon Godfrey... Not the voice, that's pure Tim Curry fun, but the visuals... I can't decide if it is a specific parody or a general parody. A general parody of our cable new/opinion/ego shows is great. But that spinning G keeps making me thing it may be a specific parody, and that would be distracting. Of course it means it is distracting to me because I am wondering about it, but in principle I applaud a general parody. I feel a little like the headmasters that wanted to sue Dickens over 'their libelous portrayal' in Nicholas Nickleby- even though they had two eyes instead of one he was clearly besmirching the reputations of their boarding schools... Ironic that he actually lists some real aliens in his paranoid rants. Come to think of it- they are also hiding Watchtower...nice cut.

12-Zatana and Rocket are Leaguers? Cool. Also nice how even on the Watch Tower the original YJ members still hook into each other for silent chats. (And that the main members declined joining the League.)

13-And in Rann's corner of the galaxy...by now Hal is not the "NO" joke of last season; John is going to contact him. Others have commented on the watch for all leaguers already having Zatanna and Rocket shown, even though they just joined. Also on how does the GL League not know. The answer works for me.

14-Nice brotherly dynamic between Tim and Dick.

15-Love how Jaime is okay being in Gamma. ["Yes I do. YES I do. Yes I Do!" Sorry, couldn't resist.] It is consistent for Jaime's print character to say that. He's the kid who tells a bad guy to cease, leave and 'feel free not to tell me' what he was planning, and who in his heart of hearts wants to be a dentist when he grows up. (At least pre52.) Not yearning to be in the most dangerous squad is his kind of smart. The Crolotains don't like the Reach...interesting. I've heard some complaint about his falling into some Spanish a little stereotyply...didn't notice it the first time, but now I'm not sure if it isn't a bit much. On the other hand, there is the constraint of the format...he's American so you can't give him an accent for English words, and he does come from a part of the country that has a lot of Spanish speaking communities so it is reasonable that people get used to keeping certain phrases in Spanish even when speaking in English. I know there are words I simply am more used to saying not in English, despite having English as my first language. When the words are generally understood, I don't think I would think not to use them. As humorous as it was when he talks to the Crolotaian and then starts relaying the information to his teammates without switching languages, it is also the kinda thing a bilingual person might due. There may be no delay in understanding, but when the brain is talking in one language it sometimes forgets to switch. Since the Scarab feeds him the language as readily as English or Spanish the reaction would be the same.

Q2-Is that Black Lightning? Little fuzzy backward screen....

16-The team does seem more Teen Titany than Young Justice. Of course the original YJ never got the chance to be a two generation team. Although the type of work they do is, as someone pointed out, very Outsiders like.

17 -Who isn't in the episode is at least as interesting as who is- Roy, Wally, Artimas, Aqualad. Not appearing at all is a teaser in and of itself.

18-And of course, the controversial time skip: You've pulled off a (near) perfect execution; dropping us mid story and giving us some info, some indications and some glaring absences. The pace continues in the following eps to be perfect. {One possible quibble with Blue Beetle that I'll ask about in a later review.} It comes down to whether you like time skips or not. I tend to be an 'or not' because I miss the in between stories. With Time Dancer you found a way to have it both ways- skip in the main line and then have it's own comic for the skipped decades. I don't know if you plan to keep the comics behind to have it both ways here. {Since I wrote this, but before posting you've answered that the comics will follow the skip} I'm guessing not for marketing reasons {I was right}, unless you are cleared to have more than one line {Which would be super cool}. On a business level, I (still guessing) would think your corporate shepherds would insist that the book be a direct connection to the show. In an ideal world you'd get a comic line for both time lines and at least one more with some sidekicking adventures and some general in universe tales. But in a real world we'd probably not be so lucky. Despite my apriori preference against skips, I'm certainly in for the long haul.

18 points and only 2 actual questions, and one is about shirts...odd.

Greg responds...

Q1 - I think it's U.N. Security.

Q2 - Well, Black Lightning was in the episode.

Response recorded on November 21, 2012


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