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WHELMING RESPONSES 2017-03 (Mar)

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Jurgan writes...

I have a bad habit of getting DVD's as presents or while they're on sale and not watching them for years. Case in point, I just finally watched my Young Justice episodes. I planned to write a review of season one, and I was a little disappointed at how anticlimactic the whole thing was. Then I realized I only had the first twelve episodes. Well, I've got a little time, so I'll write a season 1 part 1 review.

First, background: I was always more of a Marvel guy, and I know practically nothing about the DC universe. Well, I know a lot about Batman's corner thanks to various TV shows, movies, video games (Arkham City is one of the best games of all time), and a few graphic novels. Aside from that, I could tell you a handful of things about Superman and maybe the names of some other characters. So I'm mostly going in blind on this one. I've heard some descriptions of events from fans on S8, but I don't know who Vandal Savage is anyway (some sort of thousand year old caveman, I think?), so spoilers don't mean much. One funny thing, though, is that I usually watch DVD's with subtitles so I don't miss any dialogue, and in the scenes where the mysterious members of The Light talk, the subtitles gave their names. Like: "Vandal Savage: Blah blah blah. Brain: Blah blah blah." That's a pretty embarrassing slip-up.

It's hard to approach an ensemble show, because there are so many characters we have to get to know. Spectacular Spider-Man was about Peter Parker. Gargoyles was about the Manhattan Clan but almost always seen from Goliath's point of view. But there's not really one "main character" on Young Justice. As a result, the show seemed to focus on quirks as a shortcut to characterization. Things like Robin's playing with pronouns, Wally's souvenir collecting, and "Hello, Megan" are helpful to me, as I often have trouble keeping straight who's who in a large cast. On the other hand, it's not exactly depth of characterization. The only one I really connected with was Aqualad and his conflict over where he belonged and whether he should be leader. I kind of liked Superboy's trying to deal with his "father," as well, and the implied budding romance between Wally and Artemis was cute. Red Arrow/Speedy was a jerk, and Crispin Freeman did a good job making me dislike him. There's potential there, for sure, but I'm hoping we plunge a little deeper into the characters in the back half.

As for the story, it's very different depending on whose POV you have. If we only saw the heroes, it would be almost entirely episodic. Each conflict appears to be separate from the others. My favorite episode was probably whichever one where they all get amnesia. I also liked the prison riot and the bit in episode 12 where Robin and Artemis are the only ones not captured, and Artemis has to save the day. There's an old joke about why the Justice League (or the Avengers, for that matter) have "guy with arrows" in a team of the most powerful people on Earth. This episode has the character herself acknowledge that, and have to overcome the resulting feelings of insecurity. On the other hand, from the villains' perspective it's all connected. Most episodes ended with one of your patented "Xanatos Tags," where the villains muse about how they didn't get everything they wanted but still advanced their overall plan. The Light, whatever they are, are gradually taking over more and more, but they're doing it under the radar so as not to bring down the hammer on themselves. So I like the core concept that Young Justice is also a below the radar group to confront them. At this point, though, it's not really clear what they're after, and some of the tags strain plausibility. They staged a prison riot and mass escape attempt just to get Hugo Strange in charge? That seems like overkill. I guess they also wanted some of the prisoners to escape if possible, but only The Riddler did. I'm hoping he gets a moment of glory later in the show.

So far, I'd say this show is good, not great. I enjoyed it, and there was good action and humor, but the whole thing felt kind of inconsequential. I guess that's the problem with reviewing half a season- it's deliberately not a whole story, so there's no way to know what's important and what's not. Hopefully, it all builds to something bigger and more exciting by the end. I know season 2 involves a five year time skip and is called "Invasion," so that certainly has promise. I'll let you know when I've finished the first season, but for now I'd give it a B, or 3 out of 4 stars.

Greg responds...

Okey-doke.

Response recorded on March 10, 2017

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Kreack writes...

How deep is the connection between the League of Shadows and The Light? Is it like a partnership or is the League just another one of their puppets?

Greg responds...

Neither.

The League of Shadows is run by Ra's al Ghul and has been for centuries. Ra's is a member of the Light, so the Shadows are at the Light's disposal through Ra's. So it's not a partnership. But calling them "puppets" doesn't make any sense either.

Response recorded on March 10, 2017

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Anonymous writes...

How smart is Red Arrow? Did he go to college? Did he make his own equipment after going solo? How did he get his equipment after going solo?

Greg responds...

1. I don't know how to quantify this.

2. As of when?

3. Mostly.

4. Combination of making it and purchasing it.

Response recorded on March 10, 2017

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John writes...

Hi Greg, hope your day is going well, just wanted to say thanks for creating and producing all of these great shows, comics, and novels, and thank you very much for taking time out of your probably busy schedule to answer fan's questions.
1. How long does it take to make an episode of an animated series, like Spectacular Spider-Man or Young Justice?
2. Is Aquaman's son really named Artur, or was that just a typo in the video game?
3. What would it take to relaunch the Young Justice comic book series?
And I know these are probably spoilery, so I won't ask, but Zatanna and Rocket were some of my favorite characters in season one. Really hoping you guys get enough episodes to bring a resolution to the Zatanna/Zatara/Dr.Fate storyline, and we can finally find out who Rocket'a husband is! But if neither of these end up happening, I'm sure we'll get a fantastic Season 3 story from you guys no matter what. Ecstatic that YJ is back!

Greg responds...

1. Depends what you mean. You see, no one makes a SINGLE episode. From coming up with the springboard for the story, all the way through post-production, until it's in the can, it takes somewhere from between ten and thirteen months, depending on the schedule.

2. Artur is correct.

3. It would help if a lot of people bought electronic versions of the issues already published, either on the DC App, Comixology or iTunes.

Response recorded on March 10, 2017

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Anonymous writes...

Why are there so many close ups of clocks in "Runaways"? Is it supposed to have any significance?

Greg responds...

I'll leave that to each viewer's interpretation.

Response recorded on March 10, 2017

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Anonymous writes...

Would Green Beetle be able to deceive Miss Martian in "The Fix" if she wasn't afraid to probe into his mind?

Greg responds...

Potentially. Potentially not.

Response recorded on March 08, 2017

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Bat-Mite writes...

How good a Robin was Jason? Was he at Dick's level as a hero? Did the other Team members like him? Did he have a romantic relationship before he died?

Greg responds...

1. I'm not big on ranking people.

2. Everyone's different.

3. No spoilers.

4. No spoilers.

Response recorded on March 08, 2017

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Kanjar writes...

Would you be open to doing a video game? There's this company called Telltale, which is very episodic, it would be cool seeing you write an X-Men game or any game in general in that format?

Is that medium something you'd considered?

Greg responds...

Sure. I've worked on a handful of video games over the years.

Response recorded on March 08, 2017

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JSA Fan writes...

In Independence Day, the Team's founders were told by their mentors that they couldn't accompany the League in the Wotan mission due to them not being trained to work alongside its members as a larger unit. Does this indicate that new members are trained by the League, in roles of tactical combat, or perhaps the maneuvers used by the Team later on?

Thanks for everything!

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on March 08, 2017

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Anonymous writes...

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=21667
"What makes you think Two-Face exists?"

There's a page on the YJ Wiki. http://youngjustice.wikia.com/wiki/Two-Face. He appeared in Young Justice: Face Your Fears and Christopher Jones confirmed Batman and Robin were in his lair.

Greg responds...

I see. So nothing definitive. ;)

Response recorded on March 08, 2017


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