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Young Justice: Phantoms
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Anonymous writes...
This is a question about the writer's room and your relationship with the writers.
Do you and Brandon develop all of the premises for the episodes yourselves? What if a writer comes to you and says: "I have my own really cool idea for an episode. Can I pitch it to you?" or "I don't know if you guys are planning to bring back Wally or not, but, if you are, I have a really cool scene in mind for Wally's return."
Would this be inappropriate? Is he or she crossing some kind of line? Is he in danger of being fired? Is a writer's job strictly to develop the premises you give her? Or, is there some flexibility to parameters of his job description?
Greg responds...
For the last two seasons, Brandon and I skipped the premise stage entirely, and we broke every episode together on index cards, and I took those cards to outline. Then Brandon, myself and the freelance writers are handed a completed outline. (We have no staff writers on the show, and haven't after season one, for budgetary reasons.) So, no, a writer can't come in and say "I have my own really cool idea for an episode." Freelancers are not in danger of being fired; they simply don't have that opportunity on this series. It's too intricately plotted. They do come on at the outline stage, and we talk through everything and try to stay very open to their ideas for the episode they've been assigned and to the other episodes in the writers room that day. But the story is the story. If they decide to bring Wally back in an episode where we didn't previously plan to bring Wally back, it's simply not going to happen.
But no one ever suggests going that far off book, anyway. That's just not this gig, and that's made clear up front.
Marvelman writes...
Young Justice: Phantoms didn't seem prominent to me at Fandome. In fact, I haven't seen much marketing for the show. I get the impression that the show isn't that important for the folks at DC or HBO. Am I wrong? Am I jumping to conclusions?
Greg responds...
They'd say otherwise.
Will writes...
1. Is Dreamer the New God a more powerful psychic that can get information that normal telepaths can't at least without harming them like she did in her first appearance?
2. What were the Light’s traditions that Ultra Humanite was referring too?
3. Why didn’t the Light dispose of Speedy when they were okay with it for the other sidekicks when they were captured in Cadmus?
4. What was the official reason/cover story that Lex Luthor had held Speedy captive for so long?
5. Could martians have children with humans or atlanteans or
even other aliens?
Greg responds...
1. "More powerful" than whom? I'm not too big on power comparisons. Her powers are different but overlap with other psychics we have in the series.
2. I think he states it fairly clearly in the episode.
3. They thought he might be useful, and by that time there was no fear that his existence would out their clone.
4. I don't understand this question. Cover story for whom?
5. It's a good question... that I'm not going to answer, as any answer could constitute a potential spoiler.
Impetuous_77 writes...
1. How old is Saturn girl?
2. How old is Phantom Girl?
Greg responds...
Assuming they survive to the end of Team Year Ten, they will be...
1. 18
2. 15
Verdragon writes...
What is your favorite episode of each (complete) season of Young Justice so far? Which ones do you think are objectively the best of each season?
Greg responds...
I don't have conclusive or definitive feelings about them in the way you seem to be implying.
I am very fond of Independence Day, Misplaced, Summit, Endgame, Evolution and Overwhelmed. But I honestly love every episode (like a proud papa).
Nick writes...
Hi Greg, I'm glad that Phantoms has premiered now. Almost flipped when hearing we can watch them on HBO Max after the DC Fandome was done. I like how the heroes are not given a big issue to deal with like in the last two seasons. Feels like going back to the first season roots.
Anyway I enjoyed the first two episodes and I have a few questions from them and I can promise that none of them involve spoilers.
1. What's with the iris-change in the Martian eyes? How come J'onn didn't have them when he was on Earth? They look better.
2. Are Harper Row and her brother adopted by Snapper and Beth?
3. One scene I didn't get in "Schooled" was when M'gann formed multiple arms to fight the Monqis and then freaks out after Wally freaks out seeing her with the arms. I don't get it?
4. Is Phil Bourassa not working on the show anymore? I noticed someone else is in charge of character design. Did Dou Hong work under him?
Thank you and till next time.
Greg responds...
1. The iris change allowed them to take in more light on Mars, I believe.
2. Fostered.
3. His reaction startled her.
4. Dou worked as a character designer on Season Three under Phil. Phil moved on after Season Three, and Dou was promoted to Model Supervisor. We also brought back Jerome Moore, who did characters for us during Seasons One and Two, and brought in Austin Reinkins to design with Dou and Rome.
Big Fan writes...
Hi Greg, I love Young Justice so much and I’m so glad that you guys are back for Season 4 and hopefully more. Thank you and your team for all the hard work you have done.
A few questions,
1. I’m a little confused on how the Outsiders work with the Team. I know in season 3 it was said that they are the public squad of the team and report to Miss Martian but it seems like Beast Boy does most of the leading. So are Outsiders members of the Team or are the Outsiders a separate entity?
2. Can members of the Outsiders return to the team and do covert missions or are the not allowed to since they have become public heroes?
3. In Season 4 does the public know the Outsiders are affiliated with the League or is that still a secret?
Thanks so much for taking the time read and answer my question
Greg responds...
1. Well, both, I guess. The Outsiders are autonomous, reporting in Season Three - and until the first few minutes of Season Four - to Beast Boy. But Beast Boy initially reported to Team Leader Miss Martian (and later Tigress), who in turn reported to League Chairperson Aquaman (and later Black Lightning).
2. The two groups tend to stay separate, but overlap can happen situationally, as when Geo-Force joined the Team for their mission to the Orphanage.
3. Secret. Though they know the two groups are friendly.
LoboGuara5bruxaria writes...
Hey Greg, on more than one occassion someone have asked you how strong an average Martian is when compared to a average Atlantean, but you had responded that it is hard to give an straight answer since martians can augment their strength with their shape/denseshifting abilities and telekinesis. So allow me to ask you this:
1) How strong to you think an average Martian is in their... "Biologically Natural*" form without any telekinesis involved when compared to the average Atlantean? I am NOT asking exact numbers of "Y Character is X times stronger/weaker than Z character", but more on a "I think X is a bit stronger/weaker than Z" kind of way.
2) How strong to you think an Average Gargoyle from Gargoyles is when compared to Young Justice's Average Atlantean and "Biologically natural" Martian?
*I say "Biologically Natural" form of Martians (That one of large bipedals with narrow waists and exposed gums) than True Form, since for a species of shapeshifters "true form" would likely be the one they are personally most confortable to stay in. Am I right or wrong on that regard?
Greg responds...
1. These kinds of questions are not really of much interest to me. You're trying to remove all situational criteria, but life is entirely situational. I guess by the terms you're using that Atlanteans are stronger than Martians. But the terms only exist in a vacuum of circumstance, which can never occur - not even in a vacuum.
2. Now, you're crossing shows? No. I'm not going there. Watch the two series. See what you see. Make your own evaluations.
3. Every Martian is different.
emmy the vampire slayer writes...
seeing "his, her or their" on the first episode of Phantoms made me happy. i even hugged my dog and told him: THEY SUPPORT ME! THEY SUPPORT ME! (simon's such a good friend :D)
this may sound a little cringe, but that's what i felt about the scene.
i'm a fan of YJ for 10 years now (i'm 15 - almost 16) and i found out that i'm a trans girl a couple of years ago. it wasn't easy, of course. i spent years rejecting myself, so seeing you guys saying trans rights(!!!!) is super special to me.
ps: i know halo is non-binary, but she's a mother box, she's not really a person. as much as i love halo (LOVE!!!), she isn't a good representation. but, hey, you're trying :)
and sorry for any mistake. i'm from brazil.
Greg responds...
Hi emmy,
I'm glad you liked the scene. But I take issue with you saying that Halo is not a real person. She's as real as Miss Martian or Tigress or any of the others. What difference does her origin make? Now, she's a living, breathing person - with super-powers, sure - but in every other way, she's currently a human being.
Aziraphale writes...
After watching the season premiere of YJ, I have an additional question:
In your reinterpretation of the White Martians, I was confused by their new portrayal as an oppressed underclass compared to the Green Martians, in contrast to their depiction in the comics and other media as hatemongering conquerors. And that led to a confusing racial allegory that I already didn't think worked well, but then I noticed Ma’alefa’ak's birth name is "M'Comm", something original to this show and not the comics, and he was imprisoned in a jail with a giant X on the building. M'Comm X? If this was an intentional reference to real life civil rights leaders, what was the thought process in turning a character who had murdered innocent teenagers the previous season into a Malcolm X analogy?
Greg responds...
I see where you're coming from, but that's not where we were coming from.
The X on the building comes from the X on Martian Manhunter's chest. In our mind, that was the symbol of the M'huntrrs, i.e the Martian police, that J'onn J'onzz was a member of before coming to Earth. I totally see how you got there, but I promise you it literally never occurred to us to associate that X with M'comm to create any kind of Malcolm X reference or analogy.
The name M'comm was, for us, just following in the tradition of most Martian naming, i.e. you take a relatively average human name and Martian it up a bit. Hence John becomes J'onn, Megan becomes M'gann, etc. M'ree, M'aatt, J'ann and M'comm follow along those lines. So, yes, M'comm is a Martianing up of Malcolm, but I never specifically thought of associating him with Malcolm X, any more than I think of J'onn being associated with some specific Jon or John.
Way back when we were developing Season One, Brandon and I rejected the idea of there being an evil race on M'arzz. I find that notion from the comics very troubling. But we did think that the MYTH of an evil race would be useful for the ruling castes to justify their caste system. Scapegoating, in essence, creates a self-justifying belief: "Oh, so the A'ashenn are angry about the way we treat them? They don't like how we keep them in their place? Well, that's because they're hate-mongering would-be conquerors! Thank C'eridyall we DO keep them in their place!"
I've said before that I regret having used White Martians at all. We were following in the footsteps of the comics, but I do wish we had thought to use Grays instead of Whites. For one thing, the idea of Martians being either "little green men" or "Grays" feels right to me, in terms of alien-mythology. But mostly, it's because here in the real world, the word "white" is obviously associated with people of European descent (such as myself) - i.e. so-called Caucasian - and not with the actual color white, i.e. the snow white or chalk white of our A'ashenn. In essence, we were distracted by the visual look of the White Martians and didn't have the sensitivity to focus on the actual and very real connotation of the WORD "white".
That's one of the main reasons why, this season, we made a conscious choice to largely stop referring to the Martians as White, Green, Red and Yellow, in favor of A'ashenn, G'arrunn, B'lahdenn and Y'ellonn. We actively wanted to create some mental distance between the A'ashenn and Caucasians by avoiding the common word "white". We don't want the oppressed A'ashenn associated with the decidedly NOT oppressed Caucasians in any way, shape or form. It's not a perfect solution, but after consulting with our multiple sensitivity readers, it felt like the best we could do, given our failure of imagination and sensitivity way back in Season One.
Caleb writes...
I've been sitting on this question for a while, so it's not strictly related to the season 4 premiere (which I really enjoyed), but here we go:
Agendas is one of my favorite episodes of Young Justice. I love seeing superheroes interact in decidedly not-super ways. Anyway, I was looking at the membership timeline of the Justice League on the YJ Wiki and noticed that (as a rule) there seem to be no new members for years, and then a huge jump in membership around the same time. What was really odd was the (at least) 10 season 3 additions (from Aquaman II to Steel) all joining around 6 months before the season began. This is contrasted with the Team, where members come and go much more frequently. So…
1. Is the meeting/discussion/vote format depicted in Agendas the primary way that new members are added to the Justice League?
2. Are there any outliers besides Doctor Fate (who was then legitimized by the vote in Agendas)?
3. When multiple members are added in a single day (like Atom, Plastic Man, Icon, and Red Arrow in Usual Suspects or the aforementioned season 3 batch), how are their Zeta-designations assigned? When they debuted as heroes? How many votes they got? Whatever order Batman dictates?
4. Whose arm do I have to twist at DC to get a comic miniseries of Earth-16 Justice League Election Specials?
Greg responds...
1. Yes.
2. On occasion, a hero may be drafted into the League on a probationary basis, during an emergency or for other reasons. But then he, she or they would have to be confirmed in a League vote, as with - as you noted - Doctor Fate.
3. Batman has nothing to do with it. He doesn't run the League. He was chairman during Season One. But since then, we've had multiple chairpersons, including Captain Atom, Black Canary, Wonder Woman & Aquaman (II), and Black Lightning. Generally speaking, if members join at the same time - without having first joined on a probationary basis (as Doctor Fate did) - they are in essence inducted in the order they debuted publicly as heroes.
4. I wish I knew...
Gigliovaljr writes...
Hey Greg,
It has been a delightful surprise for the sudden premiere of YJ Phantoms and I hope there's more episodes soon.
Looking back at when YJ returned, you had a lot less restrictions, allowing you to tell the story more to your choosing, but I can't help but wonder how different season 3 would have been if Young Justice had never been cancelled to begin with and still had those restrictions.
Could you tell us more of how different season 3 would have been if the show had continued back in 2013? What would have changed in regards to characters and story? What plans for season 3 did you come up after the original cancellation and what plans were scrapped?
Greg responds...
I can't answer that. It's hypothetical to a wild degree. Our general plans for the first four seasons haven't changed from back when we first developed the series. But we didn't break Season Three in any detail until DC Universe picked us up for a third season. And we didn't begin breaking Season Four until DC Universe picked a fourth season up - months before DC Universe became DC Universe Infinite, and we moved over to HBO Max.
Marvelman writes...
In "Needful", why did Gar's telepathic plugs (or whatever they are) fall off during the cave-in? They had always seemed to adapt to whatever form Beast Boy took regardless of size.
Greg responds...
No, they didn't. His speakers never changed size. They stayed on his collar but maintained a consistent size, whether he was a green elephant or a green mouse. So, in essence, if he and his collar becomes too small to hold the speakers, they fall off. This happened last season when he became a green hornet, and this season when he became a green cockroach.
Liam writes...
Before I ask any questions, I just wanted to say I love Young Justice Phantoms so much so far and I can't wait to see the rest! I'm a big fan of you and Brandon's work on Young Justice and I just wanted to say thank you to both of you for it. It's such a fantastic show that has become such a big part of my life and I am forever thankful. 1) You've said before that important real life events have happened in the YJ universe. Are the people who acted in these events the same people or a fictional character who is not them? (So basically, if Person A carried out an event in our world, could it be assumed the character who did the same was an alternate version of Person A, or a different character who's only similarity to person A is carrying out the action?) 2) Was Hello Megan a popular earth show on Mars, or was it just popular amongst M'gann's family? If it was only popular amongst all martians, what about it made them so interested while earthlings didn't seem to like it all that much considering it was cancelled due to low ratings? 3) What were the cultures you pulled from in order to create martian culture? With mention of a caste system, I assume hinduism is one of them but I assume there are others 4) In season 3, Artemis had mentioned that they know the soul exists because of Secret, does this mean Artemis developed an interest/exploration of the concept of spirituality after meeting Spirit, or was it a belief she had prior? 5) This is an add on to the last question, but I assume it would count as a second question anyways. Does Artemis have any spiritual practices that she has developed or is it more of just a recognition? This last part isn't a question, but thank you, Brandon, and the entire YJ team again. I know some fans dislike it or even wish it wasn't part of the show, but personally I love the way the character's personal lives are incorporated into the show because it adds in a sense of realism that really helps build character
Greg responds...
1. If I understand your question correctly - and I'm not sure I do - then there is an Earth-16 version of real life people doing real life things.
2. It wasn't necessarily a huge M'arzz hit. But there's no Nielson ratings to confirm.
3. As you noted, the Indian caste system was an influence. Racism, in general, is an influence. But I don't want to imply any one to one relationship between Mars and any specific culture or nationality.
4. I don't think Artemis' knowing about the soul implies anything more than that, so your either/or question doesn't follow.
5. This, in essence, is a spoiler request.
Thanks for all your kinds words.
Claire writes...
Was M'gann close to any of her green martian siblings growing up? Obviously not close currently since none were going to her wedding.
Greg responds...
Not particularly - or consistently.
Emory writes...
a) What is Ollie’s relationship with Roy and Will like right now?
b) Did Roy join school after he left the team?
c) Is Roy Native American in YJ as well?
Greg responds...
a. Pretty solid.
b. You're the second person today to ask me that. I haven't thought about it, strangely.
c. He might have some Native American ancestry, but generally, he's a white guy.
Dean Paterson writes...
How Old is Harper Row In Young Justice: Phantoms
Greg responds...
By the END of Team Year Ten, Harper Row is 18.
Anonymous writes...
Is it a coincidence that Megan and Harper both have the exact same number of freckles? Is it a conspiracy?
Greg responds...
A freak of nature. Or, you know, an art conceit.
Paco Cruz writes...
First at all, I gotta say thank you for creating this show, it’s amazing. I discovered this show pretty recently. It help a lot, I was diagnostic with cancer and since I had extra time in my hands, I decide to watch it. And let me tell you it help a lot. Now I cancer free. So mostly it’s a thank you note. Although I just have a question (I’m pretty sure that I hasn’t been asked before, I read like 300 question in the search for Zatanna. But then again, it might slipped) Is there any chance for Dick and Zee get back together? I really love their chemistry. Currently I have watched the first 2 episode of season 4. Sorry for my bad English. And thanks again. Hope you doing great.
Greg responds...
I'm very glad you're cancer-free. But I can't answer your question. It easily qualifies as a spoiler request, and I don't give out spoilers.
Verdragon writes...
Two questions, both on the overly specific subject of Martians stealing Earth TV.
1: Is J'onn basically pirating Earth television to send back to Mars? Like, are the execs running Space Trek seeing a large spike in their ratings from no discernable source?
2: J'onn says he's been bringing Earth TV to Mars for 60 years, has he been active on Earth as a superhero for that long?
Greg responds...
1. Technically, I suppose Martians are pirating the signal.
2. Since 1960, yes.
Marvelman writes...
I was recently about real-life bio-weapons that are being developed to target specific ethnicities. It was news to me! Were you aware of this when you conceptualized Desaad's bio-weapon at the end of "Needful"?
Greg responds...
I've heard it's theoretically possible. But, no, I have no inside knowledge.
Verdragon writes...
1. When exactly was Beast Boy's last trip to Mars, because he mentions having been there before at some point prior to M'comm taking on his Ma'alefa'ak persona, but it wasn't brought up previously.
2. Was the plot of "The Prize" based around who was available at the time to do the recording, or was it always planned to feature those characters specifically?
3. In-universe, why did Waller only send Tuppence on the mission to abduct Clayface rather than both her and Tommy?
4. Why are Martians shapeshifting into noted alien-hater G. Gordon Godfrey like they are the Outsiders? Do they just find his endless stream of hatred funny or is it to mock him?
Greg responds...
1. On screen, Aqualad assigned Beast Boy, Miss Martian and Superboy on a mission to Mars immediately after the end of Season Two.
2. Brandon and I came up with the basic story in advance. We asked a quantity of specific actors, and most - but not quite all - were available. So I cut those few unavailable actors' characters, which we had been planning to use, out of the script, as I was writing it. It was a very fast turnaround.
3. Reasons.
4. I'll leave that to your interpretation. But maybe different Martians have different reasons?
Becca writes...
I'm curious why the time skip was only a year between S3 and S4? It's the shortest one yet and I honestly wasn't expecting it to start off so close to last season.
Greg responds...
It's what worked for us to tell the next important chunk of our story. Also, Superboy and Miss Martian wouldn't just stay engaged forever without actually starting to plan their wedding(s).
Brent writes...
First, let me say I think its just really cool that you continue to do this. I'm sure it can seem like a hassle but it really shows the love you have for people who love your show. I really appreciate it and I know others do too, even if some of the questions seem obvious or minuscule in importance.
I will ask an actual question, though. Just finished ep 4x02. Jemm is typically from Saturn, but here he is a Martian Prince. 1. Do Saturanians exist in this universe? 2. What prompted you to use Jemm, instead of an original character, like Em'ree J'onzz?
Greg responds...
1. J'emm is still a son of S'turnn. It's just that S'turnn is a king, not a planet. The original development of the Jemm, Son of Saturn comic book series had Jemm as a green Martian. It was later changed to make him a red Saturnian. We chose to merge the two concepts.
2. I always thought Jemm was a cool young hero. Plus, we try, whenever possible, to use existing characters, creating new ones only when it's necessary.
Marvelman writes...
Hi, Greg. I just finished watching the first two episodes of season 4. You seem to be off to a great start, and I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it. You seem to be focusing more on the original cast. I think that's a good move given how many new characters you introduced in season 3. BTW, I'm not opposed to you and Brandon introducing new characters to the main cast, but I would like to point that you too great time and care in establishing your cast in season one. (I don't think this rises to the level of a suggestion.) There weren't any superhero battles in the episodes, but that didn't matter to me. These were characters I loved, even Beast Boy, and the story kept me involved throughout.
I was surprised that the Legion appeared so early. I had imagined you would tease out that story throughout the season. So, I only have a few questions...
1) Why did you choose to feature these three particular Legionnaires when there are so many others you could have chosen?
2)Will other Legionnaires appear this season? (Yeah, I know what you're going to say, but it's on my mind.)
3)Was that the bio-ship... mating?
Wishing you well
Greg responds...
1. It felt right to feature these three.
2. <sigh> No spoilers.
3. In a sense.
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