Masterdramon writes...

Aloha Greg! Finally caught up with the queue again, and figured I'd "celebrate" my asking my own question for the first time in a while.

First off, absolutely loving just about everything about PHANTOMS so far. The maturity of the storytelling, worldbuilding, and character exploration on display in just the first arc has been stupendous.

I particularly appreciated your acknowledgment in a recent answer of racial blindspots you and the creative team could see in hindsight with the way Mars-16's society was set up, and the genuine effort put into course-correcting here, resulting in a far more nuanced and topical take on racial prejudice and hierarchy than most contemporary shows would even dare TOUCH.

Meanwhile the animation, sound design, and voice talent remain top-notch as ever (particular props to Greg Cipes...people who have only heard him do Beast Boy in the VERY broad take from "Teen Titans Go!" have to have been thrown for a loop by his performance here). The dialogue, both dramatic and humorous, carries a sharpness that few other shows of its type can match. And that heart of mystery and black-ops intrigue, which always gave YJ its own strong, unique identity to set itself apart from other versions of the DCU, remains as strong as ever (though I totally called the king's murderer right off the bat, LOL).

All this combines to create what is shaping up to possibly be the best season of this show yet, and the reason why Thursdays are the day of the week I'll be most looking forward to for the foreseeable future. ;)

Now, to the actual question...

One element introduced in OUTSIDERS that really interested me were the Control Chips used by the Light and their associates. While they seem like garden-variety fictional mind control devices in terms of their utility and effects, their actual origin and functionality are never brought up on-screen, as they are clearly a well-known feature of the criminal underworld by Team Year Eight.

So these are a few of the questions that I've been mulling over since my last rewatch of OUTSIDERS. If any of these are considered to be spoiler requests or touch on unseen elements of PHANTOMS, feel free to skip over, but I figured I'd give it a shot!

1) Who first invented the Control Chips?

2) In "Auld Acquaintance" Vandal mentions that one of the Light's goals was cornering the market, as it were, on "every conceivable method of mind control." As he says this, we get a quick montage of examples from Season 1, including Starro-Tech, G-Gnome telepathy, the Joker's plant-controlling gloves, Queen Bee's pheromone abilities, and Psimon's psychic powers. Were any of these precursors or bases for the Control Chip tech?

3) Anything you're willing to share about how the Control Chip's level of...well, control, compares to the above-mentioned methods? For example, Starro-Tech explicitly only allows an external user remote control of the mind, without actually altering the victim's thoughts. If not neutralized by a Cure Chip, do Control Chips have this same limitation, or do they work along an entirely different vector?

4) Is there a "standard" Control Chip model used by the various meta-traffickers around the world, or is this the sort of case where once the technology exists, unsavory characters of all sorts reverse-engineered their own "flavors"?

5) How does the Control Chip imprint who the victim is supposed to be obeying? Clearly in Jace's case, for example, she had primed the chips she used on Brion and Tara so they would obey her, but is that done by a voiceprint sample, DNA, or some other method?

I'm probably overthinking this one little part of the worldbuilding, but hey, that's what this sight is for! That, and asking for the age of every character who has ever been mentioned for a single femtosecond, LOL...

Regardless, wishing you, the rest of the cast and crew, and all of your loved ones the absolute best! Cannot wait for the next chapter of PHANTOMS to enter my eyeballs.

Mahalo nui loa! :D

Isaac writes...

Hello! I was wondering if you ever watched Robert Kirkman's Invincible (2021) animated series? It's about superheroes and gave me the same vibes as Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice (just WAY gorier). I really enjoyed it, and one aspect of it that I absolutely loved was the longer episodes, running about forty-to-fifty minutes each. I know it's way above your pay-grade, but I was just curious, if you had the choice, would you want to extend your episodes to fifty-some minutes like Invincible? Or would you want to keep them a little over twenty minutes? Assuming of course you'd be able to still produce twenty to twenty-six episodes for each season, which Invincible didn't do at just eight episodes per the first season.

Anyways, Happy Halloween! I'm eagerly awaiting the next episode of YJ Phantoms! Artemis' arc is looking to be fantastic!

Keira writes...

I do geuninely appreciate what you did with Halo in Outsiders. I thought you crafted the arc of an otherworldly being trying to outline its own identity very well. I thought the point of her arc was clearly communicated- last season she was trying to grasp the bare fundamentals of being human, and in this one, it seems like she's reached a place where she explore them in more depth.

Her arc was one of favourite parts of the last season, and I thank you for that.Looking forward to more.

Caleb writes...

When (in Team Years) did King Orin retire as Aquaman?
Did Kaldur immediately take up the mantle after Orin?

Anonymous writes...

Young Justice Questions in regards to Batwoman:

1. Is her full name Katherine "Kate" Rebecca Kane?

2. Are she and Bruce Wayne maternal cousins?

3. When did she join the Justice League and what was her designation number during her time as a member?

4. Within the animated series, does her immediate family consists of Jacob Kane (father), Gabrielle "Gabi" Kane (mother), Elizabeth "Beth" Kane (twin sister), and Catherine Hamilton-Kane (stepmother)?

5. Within the animated series, when and why did Kate Kane become Batwoman?

Suzie writes...

Hello got a few more Young Justice questions.

1. To confirm are Bart and Eduardo a couple?
2. What are the names of Tula's parents?
3. When and how did Superboy make his engagement ring to Miss Martian?

Elizabeth writes...

A) Does Roy Harper suffer from chronic phantom limb pain?

B) Is he going to college?

C) Does have a father-son relationship with Ollie?

Windy writes...

Hey Greg,

This is just a few quick questions:

1) Who was Tara's guardian during s3? I know Gregor became hers afterwards, but she needed someone listed as her guardian when attending school
2) Who's Violet's guardian?
3) Who is/was Foragers?

Hoping none of these are spoilers, and have a great Halloweekend!

Anonymous writes...

1 Was jace already insane before ultra humanite mentored her?
2 If the answer to question 1 is yes, did he mentor her because of her insanity since he thought she would be easy to control?
3 What does ultra humanite think of her insanity?
4 Was there a specific reason you picked ultra humanite as a member of the light?
5 When did ultra humanite mentor jace

Nick writes...

Hi Greg!

Thank you VERY much for answering my Z-designation questions. The designation ordering is a small part of the show but one that has always interested me. The little touches of world-building throughout YOUNG JUSTICE are one of my favorite things about the show, and I can only imagine how much unseen work goes into fleshing out the universe you and Brandon have created. And I completely understand that the G- and Z-series were special cases, and have no expectations for seeing the other fulls lists unveiled. Discovering them as the show goes along is half the fun!

One question I do have spinning out of the Z-designation ask though is Katana's numbering. It is what prompted me to ask that question in the first place. My general understanding of the designation assignments (and please correct me if I am wrong) is that when multiple heroes join at once, they are given their numbers in the order that they debuted as heroes. But Hardware (Z-04) was designated before Katana (Z-05), despite you having stated that Hardware debuted in Team Year Five with Katana debuting in Team Year Three -- in Japan. So my question is...

1A. Was Hardware's debut year a mistake?
1B. Was Katana's designation based on when she debuted in America instead of Japan?
1C. Or perhaps most likely, did Batman simply recruit his team in different batches, quietly assigning designations in multiple waves?

While I hope this would only apply to the defunct Z-series you have agreed to unveil, if any of it touches upon still present spoilers, I completely understand if you cannot answer at this time.

As always, I wish you, Brandon, and the team the best on completing production for the final episodes of Season 4, and thank you for continuing to keep up with the queue as the current season is airing! Very excited for the Artemis arc and only still crying a little bit after the "Involuntary" ending. (Okay, a lot bit.)

Oh, and I'll be helping to moderate the Reddit AMA on 11/2 -- so if you only get to this question after that -- a huge thank you to you and Brandon for answering even more questions there!

Anonymous writes...

Hi Greg, hope your doing well.
1.Has Zatanna ever dated someone else after breaking up with Dick ?
2. Has Dick dated someone else after breaking up with Zatanna and before dating Barbara ?
3. Had Dick and Zatanna ever wondered to set back together after breaking up ?
4. Had they ever regret they break up ?
Thanks for your time !

Woodrow Butdonthaveapaddle writes...

Hello Greg!

I'm in awe of how good Young Justice: Phantoms is so far, you and Brandon have certainly knocked it out of the ballpark again! I have two small questions that correlate to both Outsiders and Phantoms.

1.) What was the in-universe reason for Tim Drake to change his Robin outfit to the variation with the hooded cape? I personally thought it was a really cool-looking addition to the character's costume. In Phantoms, why did he choose to ditch the hood for an outfit more along the lines of his Invasion appearance?

2.) What was the in-universe reason for Cassie Sandsmark to trade in her original Wonder Girl outfit for a newer variation with knee-high boots and a dark red jumpsuit?

Thanks for your time! If writing was a superpower, then you'd be more powerful than Superman!

Jason R Carter writes...

1. Whose idea was it for Steve Dayton to sound like Alan Rickman?

2. Do Bio-ships reproduce by parthenogenesis or coitus?

3. Not so much a question as a request: please get Virgil a girlfriend. Daisy, Frieda, Madison, whoever. Please!

Anonymous writes...

How long has Dr. Jace worked for the Markov family?

Anonymous writes...

Was Baron Delamb fourth in line for the throne of Markovia?

Anonymous writes...

Who created those speakers that Gar uses when he is in beast form? How do they work? What is their name?

Anonymous writes...

Dear Mr Weisman i have some Young justice related questions for you 1. Does Mrs M'orzz watch hallmark movies on a frequent basis as she was more familiar with the purpose a wedding ring then Mr M'orzz was? 2 Are any of Miss Martian sibling's (Em'ree and M'comm aside) members of the yellow Martian order? 3. what does Black canary do for a living?

Ali writes...

I have 2 questions about Doctor Fate.

1: Do people have to consent to let Nabu possess their body? For Example would it have been possible for the Team or Kent Nelson to just have him possess some evil magic user such as Wotan or Orm by placing the helm on their head against heir will?

2: Does Doctor Fate have access to any non-mystical powers of their human host? He didn't seem to have super speed when possessing Wally, but I am not sure if he just didnt try to(which would be understandable as mid-battle isn't the best place to try out new powers).

Shivang Parikh writes...

Was Ilona, Bedlam sister born into the royal family of Markovia and inherited the throne once her father died?

Shivang Parikh writes...

Was Baron Bedlam born into the royal family of Markovia

May writes...

Despite a multitude of differences, I've always seen M'gann as sort of a parallel to Starfire from the Teen Titans TV series, in terms of being an alien and overall personality.

Hynden Walch voiced both Starfire and her sister Blackfire in that show. Was choosing Hynden to voice Em'ree a purposeful choice because of that? Her voice seemed to match more how she did Blackfire than Starfire. Or was it all merely a coincidence?

NoOneSpecial writes...

Maybe this is a strange question, but from a production point of view, are you only allowed to use existing characters from the DC comics or you be able to create an original character for the YJ? I get that their could be a lot of factors in this and alternatives, e.g, like using a relative minor or unheard of character over a more mainstream one. But would you say you have enough creative freedom to create a purely original character for your show that has no DC counterpart that you are adapting? And not just being original, but also having an unmistakable presence in the series, equivalent to one of the mainstream heroes like Nightwing or Artemis. Is a lot of emphasis, from an executive pov, to keep focus on the heroes that are most recognisable to the audience, throughout any of the 4 seasons of YJ? I can think of couple of examples of this occurring in other shows such as Harley Quinn who was created for the Batman TAS, or X-23 who was created for X-Men Evolution. Of course those are two examples of characters that were such a huge hit that they became part of the comics. Now I'm not asking about anything that could be potentially upcoming, I'm just curious if creating original characters is something you could do if you so choose.

Anonymous writes...

Why did Alan Tudyk only voiced on episode of season 3? Did he become unavailable because he’s becoming more high profile?

Were Troy Baker and Nolan North together in the studio for season 4? They broke off their partnership on YouTube. Are they still friendly?

Zergrinch writes...

Thank you for clearing the queue and reopening the questions! I did a rewatch of Young Justice in preparation for the new season, and have these questions:

1. How was Vandal Savage able to solo Black Canary, Black Lightning, and Captain Shazam in 4 minutes at the end of Young Justice season 2 episode, "Summit"? I understand that Black Canary and Black Lightning aren't tanky, but surely Captain Shazam would be very hard to knock out?

2. Why did Vandal Savage immediately depart with the Warworld, instead of obliterating the Reach fleet at the end of "Summit"? Wasn't he leaving a lot to chance, given that the Earth could really have been destroyed by the MFDs?

3. Since Vandal Savage has been shown to regenerate from fatal wounds, why don't his facial scars heal?

4. Why did Lobo kill little Lobo at the end of Young Justice season 3, going as far as to burn the corpse? Did he really wait all that time for it to gestate?

5. Given Black Manta bristles at being enslaved by the Reach, why was he so docile towards Amanda Waller, unlike Captain Boomerang?

Izzy writes...

Hello! I've seen the last three episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms and I'm eagerly awaiting the fourth. The relationship dynamic between M'gann and her family (especially M'comm) is rivaling Artemis's in terms of pure curiosity and intrigue. I love it and I want to know everything! And given what was shown in the trailer, it looks like even more of Artemis's family dynamics are going to be explored, which is fantastic. I think this is going to be something they'll bond over this season. But who knows! Anyways, on to the questions:

01. You mentioned in a recent Tweet that ‘Catwoman: Hunted’ is, like your Green Arrow short, a story that also occurs similarly on Earth-16. Given that information, is it safe to assume Catwoman exists on Earth-16?
02. Are Lucas Carr and Bethany Lee alumni of Happy Harbor High School, or did they graduate elsewhere? Given that Snapper was at least living in Happy Harbor as a teenager, I assume he attended the public high school. The same can be said for Bethany, if her backstory from the comics as the daughter of Happy Harbor’s police chief before becoming one herself is largely unchanged.
03. Given you are a Stanford alumni and have thought about what dorms Wally and Artemis spent their Freshman years in, did you give any thought into who their respective roommates were? Not asking for spoilers about who they were, just merely if you guys ever bothered to come up with them.
04. Is Batwoman Jewish on Earth-16 like she is in the comics? If so, wouldn’t that make Batman (by proxy, if not in practice) Jewish as well, at least on his mother’s side?
05. This is a long one! I know birthdays aren't something you come up with unless the story needs it, but do you have the same line of thinking with babies born during the story? Artur, for example, was born on February 1st, 2011 (according to the YJ wiki, which got the date from Legacy). For Lian, however, we only know she was born in September 2015. Do you have a birthdate in mind for her, or just the month? For Don and Dawn Allen, you answered in an ask that their due date was sometime in the September following Invasion. I’m not asking if that due date was accurate or when, if you know it, their actual birthday(s) are, but merely the concept as a whole. Was Artur the only one assigned a birthdate in-story because the diary entry needed a timestamp? Since then, a whole bunch of other super-kids (Anissa and Jennifer, Jonny, Traya, Amistad, and most recently Rhea) have been introduced, with Rhea being (according to Unknown Factors) born on January 21, 2019. While Rhea’s birthday is obviously a byproduct of the story and thus laying credence to your stance on only assigning birthdays when needed, she was also the only one explicitly shown. I guess this whole question can be summed up to: do children (emphasis on children somehow connected to the main cast) born DURING the story get assigned birthdays even if the story doesn’t necessarily showcase/reference their birth outright? If not birthdays, then just birth-months? Or is that only come up with when needed as well?