A Station Eight Fan Web Site

Gargoyles

The Phoenix Gate

Ask Greg Archives

VELATIONS 2013-04 (Apr)

Archive Index


: « First : « 100 : « 10 : Displaying #191 - #200 of 254 records. : 10 » : Last » :


Posts Per Page: 1 : 10 : 25 : 50 : 100 : All :


Bookmark Link

Gothic-Cowboy writes...

Mr. Weisman, in Cornered, why was Captain Atom so ineffective debating with the Reach Ambassador, and why was the UN Secretary-General so completely willing to believe whatever he was told by the Reach? I mean, the Reach kidnapped a number of young people from many different places, all of whom were probably reported missing to the authorities. They're obviously traumatized, and the experiments that they were subjected to clearly left measurable changes in their physiologies. When all of these missing kids suddenly show up, testify against the Reach, and begin demonstrating metahuman powers that they didn't have before, how does the Reach Ambassador manage to negate all of that by waving his hand and dismissing them as impressionable groupies? Also, were none of team able to get any records (visual, audio, etc.) of the rescue itself? Wouldn't they have wanted to acquire as much information as possible on that mission, both for careful analysis later and in order to reveal the hidden threat? It just seems to me that the League should have everything they need to prove the Reach's ill-intentions. Thank you.

Greg responds...

You've got some assumptions wrong.

Ninety-nine percent of the children that were abducted were runaways, kids that either wouldn't be missed or whose disappearances could be easily explained otherwise.

THEN most of those captives are dead. There's no one to testify to the experiments besides, Virgil, Tye, Asami, Eduardo and Nate. And Nate doesn't remember anything. And the point that the Ambassador was making is that the four who could testify could be shown to be biased in favor of the heroes.

In addition, Tseng knew (from personal experience) about alien abductions BY THE KROLOTEANS. So the Ambassador's claim that Captain Atom was confusing the two was certainly plausible. Even if it could be proved that the kids had powers (which wasn't yet obvious at the time of the U.N. meeting you're discussing), the blame could be shifted rather easily to the KNOWN abductors.

As for the rest of your comments, ultimately you're entitled to your opinion. But I'm satisfied with what we portrayed.

Response recorded on April 05, 2013

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

What's your reason to change Virgil backstory ?

Greg responds...

To fit our continuity.

Response recorded on April 05, 2013

Bookmark Link

Windona writes...

Hi Greg! I loved Cornered, and the character interactions were great. I especially loved the subtle character development of the scarab, seeing Billy Batson again, and Mal becoming Guardian (the haminess was perfect!) Combined with how slick and manipulative the Ambassador is, along with the reveal at the end... well, I cannot think about anything but next week's episode!

Now, on to my questions:

1) Does the scarab dissolve and reform Jaime's clothes like in the comics? I ask because his pants and hoodies he wears don't seem like they'd fit under the armor, but the Earth-16 version of the scarab has less capabilities than its Earth-1 version, so I could not be sure.

2) Why did you (you or you and your team) decide to change the name of the Negotiator to the Ambassador?

Greg responds...

1. His clothes are soft and smooshable. His armor is hard. They fit.

2. What was he negotiating?

Response recorded on April 05, 2013

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

1) is Marvin the closeted gay character that your not allowed to explicitly show as being homosexual?
1a) If so, does Wendy, his best friend know, even if he hasnt told her?
1b) If not, did he and Wendy ever date?
1c) Are both 1a and 1b true?

2) Are Marvin and Wendy still best friends?

3) Is he going to Ivy University with her?

An unrelated question:
4) Is Mercy an Amazon like she is in the comics?

Greg responds...

1. Why would I answer this? SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

1a. Obviously, since they're dating, Wendy doesn't think he's gay.

1b. Yes.

2. Yes.

3. SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT.

4. No.

Response recorded on April 05, 2013

Bookmark Link

J writes...

Speaking of Clark Kent...
In the comics there have been a number of explainations as to why the general public does not recognise Clark Kent without his glasses...do any of these aplly to Earth-16
1. Does Superman use his speed to blur his features?
2. Does he have unaturally blue eyes which are subdued by his glasses?
3. Is Clark Kent viewed as clumsy nerd, and a coward who runs away whenever there is trouble?

Greg responds...

1. Nope.

2. Uh... sure. I kinda like this one.

3. Clumsy nerd, yes. Coward, no. Not a hero, either, but not a coward. Just a human being, who SHOULD run if a giant alien is attacking Metropolis. But he's considered a fine reporter, who has taken some chances (human chances) to get his stories.

4. No super-hypnotism either.

Look, all you need to do is look at the original Christopher Reeve Superman movie, specifically at the scene where Clark considers telling Lois that he's Superman, and then chickens out. In that moment, I believed for the first time in my life that people could know both individuals and not make the connection. And keep in mind, there are VERY FEW PEOPLE who do know both individuals. Most know one or the other. And most people don't even think that Superman has a secret identity. They just think he's Superman from Krypton. So it wouldn't even occur to them to be trying to figure out who Superman really is.

Response recorded on April 04, 2013

Bookmark Link

J writes...

Why is it so easy for the bad guys to manipulate the opinions of the general population of Earth-16?
I mean, if Superman existed in the real world, not many people would find it hard to believe that a multi-billiinair like Lex Luthor was really a scum-bag...thats the general consensus about most rich people anyway; even a philanthropist like Bruce Wayne would be looked at with suspission by many.
Would I be correct in assuming there is a general distrust of anyone in a mask (which I could understand, but that doesn't apply to a lot of heros like Superman, Wonder Woman, & Captian Marvel)?
Or should it just be chalked-up to "hey, these people are so unaware they dont even recognise Clark Kent without his glasses"?
Are they just REALLY gullable?

Greg responds...

I think manipulating the opinions of any large group is depressingly easy in the real world. So the notion that it's RELATIVELY easy on Earth-16 doesn't even vaguely trouble me.

Today's hero is tomorrow's goat. Today's scumbag is tomorrow's candidate for redemption. Today's truth is tomorrow's lie. Today's lie becomes tomorrow's truth. Etc. Etc. (And again, I'm talking about the real world here.)

In that context, what really bothers you about how we've depicted things?

Response recorded on April 04, 2013

Bookmark Link

ASK GREG LIVE - Correcting the web

So, I still maintain that ASK GREG LIVE was a great success, but I've seen a few posts on the interwebs that... undercut that success a bit.

With the best intentions, I'm sure, people have attempted to relate what I said, and although they got a lot right, they also got a bunch of stuff wrong. They either misheard me or mistyped or related the information second-hand or whatever, but I'm going to try to set some of the misconceptions straight.

Myth #1: "Greg categorically stated that Wally West is dead and will never come back."

I did not. Surprisingly, I was not even asked this question and thus never responded to it at all. Now, let me be clear. I also have not stated categorically that Wally West is not dead will definitely come back. And I'm not going to do either. Let me illustrate why with an example:

You've seen memorial holograms for Jason Todd/Robin and Tula/Aquagirl. There are four potential scenarios for those two characters coming back:

Scenario A) Both are going to come back.

Scenario B) Jason is going to come back, but Tula is staying dead.

Scenario C) Tula is going to come back, but Jason is staying dead.

Scenario D) Both are staying dead.

Break it down like this, and it becomes clear why I won't answer any questions about either character in this regard. Assume, just as a hypothetical example, our plan was Scenario C. Then someone asks me about Jason. They say, the show is over; if he's really dead, why not tell us. This sounds logical (in the moment), so I state that Jason is staying dead. No harm, no foul. I've only confirmed something that the show itself already stated. No big deal. That is, until someone else asked me about Tula. I don't want to answer this one, of course, because I want her resurrection to be a surprise. But I also don't want to lie. So I go for my standard "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT." But then someone realizes that I was willing to be clear about Jason, but not about Tula. Ipso facto, Tula must be coming back. And I've just spoiled my own show. Which, as I'm sure you know, I am quite LOATHE to do. Clear?

Myth #2: "Greg stated that they killed off Wally instead of Barry because Barry's death would be too telegraphed."

That's almost exactly the OPPOSITE of what I said. Rather, in response to comments I've seen that Wally's death was out of the blue, I said I found those comments to be ironic, because Brandon and I spent the whole season afraid we were telegraphing WALLY's death too much. We cut lines of dialogue from and about Wally because we thought it would send too obvious a signal that Wally was going to buy it at the end. (And this is NOT meant as a statement with regards to Myth #1 above. As far as Season Two is concerned, Wally is considered dead. What that may bode for the future, is something that I won't respond to for the reasons outlined above.)

We did - at the very beginning of the season's development - briefly consider taking out Barry instead of Wally. But we decided that Barry was too much of a minor character, and that his death would have no resonance for our audience, would exact no cost. I suppose, as some have argued, we could have spent the entire season bulking up Barry's part to make sure his end had resonance, but we didn't have either the screen time or, frankly, the desire to do that. Wally mattered to our audience. Even with relatively little screen time in Season Two, he MATTERED. And I think the proof that we made the correct choice is obvious in how it's torn fans apart over his demise. It hurts. It hurt us too. I still well up watching that scene - and I've seen it dozens of times by now. It is sad. It's supposed to be sad when a hero that we love dies. Given that, I don't have any regrets.

Myth #3: "Greg stated that Ocean-Master will have a huge roll in Young Justice: Legacy."

No, I didn't say anything of the sort. You guys have seen the villains who are participating in Legacy. You already KNOW he's not in there.

Myth #4: "Greg stated that Troia will have a huge roll in Legacy."

No, I did not. You already know the heroes participating in Legacy - except for the these-are-just-for-fun-and-don't-count-toward-the-canon-story characters. You already KNOW she's not participating in the story.

Myth #5: "Greg stated that Mary Batson is Lieutenant Marvel."

No, I did not. First off, I've never once mentioned anyone named Mary Batson. I have mentioned Mary Bromfield. But she is NOT Lieutenant Marvel. I did give a small spoiler about the Marvel Family at ASK GREG LIVE, but I'm going to leave it as a prize for those who attended in person.

Myth #6: "Greg stated that the plan from day one was to use Donna in Season One and Cassie in Season Two."

This is more of a half-truth. EARLY, early on, Donna was one of our leading candidates for Season One. This was before we had even narrowed things down very much. And BEFORE any true decisions were made, we were informed by our DC Liasons that both Wonder Girls were off-limits for legal reasons that were never explained to us. (So don't ask me.) So neither Wonder Girl was seriously considered. Then Geoff Johns came aboard and made both Wonder Girls available. Unfortunately, by that time, it was flat out too late to include Donna. So we decided we'd put Cassie in Season Two. And have Donna be one of the characters who joined and left the Team during the timeskip, and cameo her in Season Two. Unfortunately, for reasons reported fairly accurately from ASK GREG LIVE, we were unable to cameo either Troia or Mary at Rocket's bridal shower because there just wasn't time for Phil Bourassa to design FOUR new characters, i.e. the two girls in both their civilian and super-hero costumes. Had they appeared in "Satisfaction", then they would have also had cameos in "Endgame", since their designs would already have been completed. But since they didn't appear in the earlier episode, we weren't able to get them at all. This is a sadness to me. But there are realities of production that we're all subject to.

Myth #7: "Greg stated that rumors about DC wanting Wally killed off were 'complete horses#!t.'"

I NEVER used the term "Horses#!t" and never would. I clearly said "complete bulls#!t."


Bookmark Link

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK ONE UPDATE, Chapters Sixteen - Nineteen

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, BOOK ONE UPDATE, Chapters Sixteen - Nineteen

In my on-going shameless attempt to maintain buzz about my new novel, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, due out in stores and on-line on December 3rd, 2013 (but available for pre-order NOW on Amazon, etc.), I'm updating you on my progress proofreading the proofs of the book. (Yes, it's ridiculous, but I did use the word 'shameless' now, didn't I?)

This is a painstaking process. I'm going through each chapter sentence by sentence, trying to be careful with each word, each punctuation point.

Tonight, I finished proofing Chapters Sixteen through Nineteen, which means I finished, since the book has nineteen chapters.

Here are all the changes I've indicated in these last four chapters:

P. 169
In third paragraph, remove comma after "right waist gunner".

P. 170
In second full paragraph, change "Belle's" to "Belles". All italics. Plural, not possessive.

P. 176
In sixth full paragraph, change "Belle's" to "Belle's", taking the italics off the "'s".

P. 181
In first paragraph, change "Sam" to Sam's".

P. 201
In chapter title, change "Bontemps Rouler" to "bontemps rouler".

Admit it. You're intrigued.


Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

Hello Greg, I have a couple of questions.

1.As a creator and producer of Young Justice when it comes to the "looks" of the characters when they are going to be designed, do you take in consideration something like: "They most make the fangirls get a heart attack". Or they are just designed and see if they get fans by themselves (history, past, actitud, etc).
2.Righ now, the series it´s no over yet, we are all specting a Season 3, so most of our questions may be a Spoiler Request. But if theres no season 3, those question are gonna be answered or are gonna be let to speculation?
3.How those it feels to see all the reactions that a series you produce cause to the fandom? (Im sure it´s somehow funny)

Greg responds...

1. Well, this is probably a better question for Phil Bourassa and/or Brandon Vietti, but since it's kind or rhetorical anyway, I won't sweat it. Obviously, we wanted the characters to be attractive in their way, while still being as true as possible to what made them iconic in the first place.

2. ASKED AND ANSWERED.

3. It's a mix. I just saw a review that made me want to slit my throat. (Or maybe the reviewers'.) But on the other hand, we get a lot of great positive feedback that's very gratifying.

Response recorded on April 03, 2013

Bookmark Link

Eliza Thornberry writes...

Has my dad been an alien this entire time? Because, to be honest, that would explain some things...

Greg responds...

>Mind frying due to unwanted crossover imagery!<

Response recorded on April 03, 2013


: « First : « 100 : « 10 : Displaying #191 - #200 of 254 records. : 10 » : Last » :