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Young Justice: Phantoms
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Karrin Blue writes...
Hello! I just saw the premiere - well, the first two thirds of it? - and it's gotten me so excited for the next episodes I can't begin to describe it. Everything looks gorgeous, and I'm very excited to check in with everyone - all the tidbits of what's changed (and what hasn't) are really intriguing. Even the post credits scenes - I'm so glad to see the quiet restful moments from s3 evolve into these little talks.
Ok so, actual questions!
1. Are Harper and Cullen being fostered by the Carrs?
2. So in the explanation of the Martian castes, they said that the priestly caste permanently take on y'alen form - does this mean that they don't shape change ever, or lose that ability?
3. How small is the red royal caste? If every ruler and every ruler's spouse has been red, then do they have to arrange marriages to keep the family lines from getting too tangled?
4. Is the Vlatavan language we hear Perdita speaking based on an existing language, or is it a constructed language?
5. What are the words she says at the beginning and end of her voicemail?
Greg responds...
1. Yep.
2. The Y'ellonn don't change their skin color ever.
3. The B'lahdenn - as Beast Boy said - are the Royalty AND Nobility. It's not as big as either the G'arrunn or A'ashenn castes, but it's a lot of folks.
4. It's a sister tongue to Markovian and Latvian.
5. Labdien = Hello. Es milu teki = I love you.
Elliot writes...
Hello Greg! After just watching the first two episodes of YJ Phantoms on HBO Max, I just want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm so excited to see where the Mars storyline takes us, and meeting M'gann's family has been quite the surreal experience. M'gann's attitude and confidence was a sight to behold whenever she (unfortunately) had to deal with the Green Martians' prejudice and outright assault. I love to see it! Anyways, here are some questions:
01 | Did Roy go back to school after being rescued from the Light? It's assumed that Will was the one that finished his education in Roy's place, so was Roy homeschooled after the fact or did he go back to attending public/private school? Was he not schooled at all? Or was Roy (pre-frozen) homeschooled from the get-go and, as such, so was Will?
02 | In the tie-in comics, it's apparent that Dick and Bette hooked up on the eve of his birthday. Given the retcon (if that's the appropriate word) of the Wayne/Kane family relations in the comics, as well as on the show (with the addition of Batwoman and your confirmation that Bette and Martha Wayne are related), would it be safe to say that neither Dick nor Bette knew that they were distant cousins to some degree?
03 | While I assume it was for budgetary reasons, was there a specific reason you guys chose to use Talia's whitewashed design with the same overtly sensualized/sexualized outfit from the recent DC Animated Movies instead of the more appropriately Arabic and regal design Christopher Jones gave her in the tie-in comics?
04 | A lot of stuff has changed very recently in the comics regarding character sexuality, what with Tim Drake and Jon Kent both being confirmed bisexual (though, as of this writing, I don't think Tim's put a label on it one way or another). Whether or not you were privy to such a development isn't what I'm asking about, per say, but you've stated in earlier posts that you'd never take away an LGBTQ+ character's sexuality away (the question was in reference to Renee Montoya's sexuality in the show), so even though I highly doubt it would effect S4 at all, would the change be taken into consideration in later seasons? I'm not asking about Tim and/or Jon specifically, by the way, just the notion itself. Would a previously perceived straight character getting recently confirmed/retconned as another sexuality impact your interpretation of that character? Just for example, Alan Scott has been gay in the comics for quite a few years now, same with Wonder Woman and her bisexuality. Given that you make histories and timelines regarding most of the characters on your shows, I assume you've done the same with these two back in S1 when they were first introduced, but back when in the comics they were straight. Has the retcon changed things for you guys, or is it largely a non-issue?
05 | Not really a question, just more love for Phantoms! The poster alone was phenomenal, and I'm so stoked for what's to come, especially given the trailer, the first two episodes, and the new opening! I'm so glad Raquel is (seemingly) taking a bigger spotlight this season, hopefully we can finally find out who she married!
Greg responds...
1. I honestly haven't thought about these issues.
2. Dick's not blood-related to Bette, either way.
3. She's still Arabic in my mind. Phil chose which design to use, but I don't believe we colored her white.
4. As a rule, I wouldn't change an LGBTQ+ character into a heteronormative character. But being with a partner of one sex doesn't preclude someone being bi, obviously. And even, say, with a character like Alan Scott, given the environment and era he grew up in, he could be gay - not bi - and still have been with women in his past. I have contemporaries much younger than Alan who didn't self-acknowledge their sexuality until long after they were adults in adult relationships with members of the opposite sex.
5. I LOVE those posters! All props to Brandon, Chris and Jason for their work on them.
Michael Morningstar writes...
Hey Greg!
Today, I just saw the first two episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms on HBO Max and I have to say, I am completely blown away by the animation quality of this season! Studio Mir really nailed it with this season and the animation is on par with the first two seasons (not to say the animation companies who did Outsiders was bad but still could've been better) and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and pray that Warner Bros. Animation or HBO Max renews the show for a fifth season.
Now, when I was rewatching the show a few weeks ago in preparations for its fourth season's debut this year, something interesting popped up in my mind while I was watching the first three seasons:
1. In the first episode of Season 2, John Stewart/Green Lantern explained to the Justice League and The Team that Kroloteans's culture revolves around stolen alien tech. If this species is so involved in stealing technology from other alien races, how were they even able to travel outside their home planet in the first place? Were they originally an intelligent race like the Rannians and the Kryptonians that successfully managed to travel outside their homeworld and establish first contact but eventually became jealous of other alien species advanced technology so much so that eventually caused them to cease all homemade Krolotean tech and resorted to stealing alien technology for themselves?
2. A decade ago when the first season of Young Justice was going strong on Cartoon Network, you responded to a question stating that New Gods are ageless beings. What does this mean exactly? Are they immune to the effects of aging and disease and can potentially live forever? The reason I'm asking is because Dreamer stated to Superboy that fellow New God Serifan grew up watching Earth Western movies on New Genesis. Does this mean that New Gods like Serifan are born similar to Humans and age like them but at some point in their lives, they hit a certain milestone and effectively stopped aging like regular Humans and become Ageless beings?
3. Regarding Lords of Order and Chaos. In Season 3's episode Evolution, it showed that Nabu/Doctor Fate was originally a human but after he died, he somehow ascended to become a Lord of Order. How is it possible that Nabu became a Lord of Order in the first place? Are certain humans capable of becoming a Lord of Order after death? Can this also apply to Lords of Chaos like Klarion? Was Klarion originally born a human like Nabu but became a Lord of Chaos after his death?
4. You mention that everything that has happened in real life has also happened in Young Justice like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 Financial Crisis, and the COVID-19 Pandemic. I guess this means that certain Islamic terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, and Hezbollah also exist in Young Justice? How do these groups react to groups like the Justice League and certain events on Earth like the Reach Invasion and Meta-Human Trafficking? Do they believe these events shook their faith in their religion and their supporters in the Middle East? Or do they use them to their advantage to bolster their plans against the West and the rest of the world?
5. How does a Lord of Chaos like Klarion view the state of Earth it is in? I can imagine that he must be thrilled with events like the Syrian Civil War and the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2021 since they bring Chaos to the world. Has he secretly pulled strings behind the scenes to bring Chaos to Earth or does he let events transpire on its own without getting involved?
Greg responds...
1. I can think of a couple of possible scenarios, but I'm not going to tell a story here at ASK GREG. As always, NO SPOILERS.
2. Did I really say "Ageless beings"? Well, that doesn't make much sense to me now, assuming it ever did. Some New Gods are clearly older than others. Relative to Earthlings, they may SEEM ageless, though.
3. No spoilers.
4. I'll leave that to your interpretation. As for Covid, our show was too far into production to be able to incorporate Covid into our storytelling. So maybe on Earth-16, the pandemic hit a year later. Maybe.
5. Again, I'm not telling stories here. I'll leave that to your interpretation.
ruby writes...
This is my first time writing in, so I just wanted to say thanks for having this website up! I can't imagine the amount of time it takes to answer everything. It's truly appreciated. I picked up YJ not long after the third season wrapped up, and I'm delighted I got into it when I did.
I especially have to thank you (and the rest of the YJ crew, of course) for Artemis. I was in a bit of a rough patch when I watched it first, and I saw a lot of myself in her. Watching her overcome her fears, especially in the first season, was a reassuring inspiration. There's been more than a few times when I found myself thinking of her as I braved through things. She means a lot to me, and I'm thrilled to see her still working things out now, even though she's been through so much. (I was beyond excited when we found out she's leading the Team now! I can't wait to see that!)
Anyway, I've had these lying around for a bit, so here we go.
1) You recently mentioned some of the organizations you’ve reached out to for help with YJ’s characters of color, cultures you’re unfamiliar with, and the LGBTQ+ community. It’s wonderful to hear that you’re working with them! Which other groups have you worked with (both today and during the first and second seasons) and how does that relationship work?
2) What does a day in the life look like in the YJ acting booth? (I have to imagine it’s pretty fun with that particular group of actors and directors!) Any idea when you’ll be able to record in person again?
3) From what I understand about acting (both voice and “regularâ€), it’s incredibly important for actors to be able to play off of each other. How does that work with recording during the pandemic? Do actors record lines individually and then play off those recordings, or are Zoom meetings used to imitate the booth as much as possible?
4) One last question about voice acting: how much influence do your actors have over the characters' personalities? Are their ideas about the characters integrated into the writing?
5) I’ve always loved the glimpses we’ve seen of YJ’s interpretation of Atlantis. Many of the versions I’ve seen are basically just a very large underwater city with little oceanic inspiration. YJ’s version seems to have been created with a lot of thought toward how the structure of the seafloor and plant life interact with it, as well as the intense influence of magic. The colors also often feel particularly vibrant and ocean-like. Given that you’re not one of the artists, I’d guess you may not know much about how it was designed, but is there any insight you could give to choices made regarding Atlantis’s design and culture?
I've just seen the first episode of Phantoms, and it's looking spectacular so far. Good luck with finishing up post-production, and thank you again for your hard work!
Greg responds...
1. I'm going to hold off answering which other organizations we've worked with for now, as I think revealing the organizations would by default reveal content. I'd be happy to answer this after the season's over. But I've already stated that we've been working with GLAAD and OUT and MPAC (Hollywood Division). Plus, we've run every single outline and script by Dr. Janina Scarlet (superhero-therapy.com and @shadowQuill on Twitter). She's helped us with psychological and therapeutic details, while also generally acting as a sensitivity reader for our work. And there's also Warner Bros' own DEI department, who've been very helpful. There are more organizations, but the rest will have to wait for now. As for process, it can differ slightly. But generally, we discuss the stuff we were thinking about doing with them and get their feedback. Then we show them our outlines. Then our scripts. Sometimes even animatics or animation. At each step, we listen, take their notes and make sure everyone feels good about what we're doing before we take the next step in the process. We don't do anything that doesn't work for our story and characters. But we admit to ignorance on many fronts and many levels, and we like educating ourselves and allowing that education to be reflected in the work.
2. Well, it is fun! (Or, you know, most of the time. Nothing's perfect.) But pre-pandemic, we'd bring a majority of any episode's cast in together. (Although our casts are SO big, that sometimes we might split that cast into two shifts, trying to get folks who have scenes together to record together.) Jamie usually has them do a first run through without much direction. Then he might dive in and nuance an exchange or a line. Or even a certain phrase. We like to have options, but we want to make sure we get at least one version that hits the nail on the head. And we also make sure that we have at least two versions of every line. Post-pandemic, everyone was recording alone. Which is still great but not quite as much fun. There's a lot of playing back what one actor did for the other actor. (Whomever went first, kinda gets to set the tone for any scene, in these cases.) As for when we'll get back to recording in person, I don't know. Not on Season Four. That's all fully recorded.
3. See above.
4. After an episode or two, we definitely begin to incorporate their performances into their characters. With regulars or our long time recurring actors, we often sit down and talk to the actors about their characters, and I'm not at all adverse to listening to their takes on their own characters and importing those ideas into future episodes.
5. We wanted to fully bring their culture and milleu to life. To see Posiedonis - which is all you've seen of Atlantis so far - as its inhabitants see it.
Thank you for watching!
Nick writes...
Hi, Greg! I just wanted to take a second to thank you for taking the time to go through the queue this summer (including my many taxing age questions). It’s awesome that you’re still taking the time to answer us fans’ questions DECADES after starting this site. Seeing you go through all the answers these past couple of months has been super exciting as we've looked ahead to Season 4. Seeing the premiere today was incredibly exciting and I'm having a blast talking with the community again as we prepare for all the exciting stuff to come with PHANTOMS. Rest assured, we are campaigning for Season 5.
I have... several questions that I've built up over these past few months as you've been answering the queue, and thankfully, this time most of them aren't age questions.
1. In the interest of age/debuts questions: I know you don’t always love to reference the real years for YJ and prefer to operate on the ‘Team Year’ system. Still, for the sake of saving you some math, would it be okay if I started phrasing my questions as ‘What year was x born?’ instead of ‘How old is x?’ Just want to know if that’s faster since it could make things easier on your end.
For this question (https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=24832), you weren’t sure whether or not you had confirmed that Bruce Wayne was Tim Drake’s legal guardian in the past. In this 2012 answer from quite a while ago (https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=17071), you said: “Batman is [Barbara’s] mentor, but not her legal guardian (unlike Dick & TIM).â€
2. Is Bruce Wayne the legal guardian of Tim Drake as you implied in the above answer, or have plans changed since then?
If yes, would you now be willing to answer:
3. Was Bruce Wayne the legal guardian of Jason Todd?
4. Is Bruce Wayne the legal guardian of Orphan/Cassandra Cain?
And just for my own understanding of the legal terminology:
5. Has Bruce Wayne legally ADOPTED any children, or was Dick, for example, simply a ward like in the classic comics?
I'm incredibly excited to see what you, Brandon, and the team has been cooking up these past couple years and I'm very excited for the future. Hope you're having a great one!
Greg responds...
1. Probably.
2. Nothing is truly canon until it appears in the show (or the comics, etc.). Plans haven't changed. But the way the Barbara question was asked, I may have been lured into answering the way I did. So... no spoilers.
3. No spoilers.
4. No spoilers.
5. There's a difference between being a ward and being adopted. But whether or not Dick was adopted is also a spoiler.
I feel like this is probably a disappointing set of responses. But I am extremely grateful for your enthusiasm!!
Miraphosa writes...
Heya! I literally just watched the s4 trailer, I'm so excited. YJ has done so much for me over the last few years, and I'm glad I get to grow up with it. Artemis was the first character I recognized as a kid that was like me racially (white/asian mixed) and I'm forever grateful for that. It's... honestly impossible to describe how much this show's meant to me. My favorite media of any kind, by far.
Anyways, as someone queer, I'm just kinda curious - Tim got announced as bi after the show was already in production, and I'm curious as to whether or not you think Tim is bi in earth-16 or not? If that wasn't you and Brandon's original vision, is it a welcome addition? Same question goes for Jon Kent as well. Also, are there any other characters you could confirm as queer that wouldn't be showcased as such in the show? So.. something not a spoiler, because it wouldn't get shown anyways? Ahaha? :'D
Thank you for all your hard work! I hope S5 gets confirmed soon (and that we see it before 2024, LOL!)
Greg responds...
I'm going to say that all that qualifies as spoilers, generally. But we're not going to take an LGBTQ+ character and suddenly make he, she or they heteronormative. (We have plenty heteronormatives already.) So, for example, Batwoman is lesbian on Earth-16. So... maybe... that inadvertently answers your question...? Kinda/sorta?
Obviously, we can't change courses instantaneously. As you noted, something that occurs in the comics when we're already in production just isn't going to make it into the show. At least not during that production's season. But down the road... no spoilers.
Max Scream writes...
Can you describe the recording process of Young Justice: Phantoms? Was it ENTIRELY done separately? Was it done via video-conferencing? Did each actor get the entire script or just their lines?
Greg responds...
The first half - or nearly half - of the season was done the way we always have, with group recordings predominantly, while picking up the occasional actor at a different time, based on availability.
About halfway through the season, we temporarily stopped recording because of the pandemic.
So in order to keep our board artists supplied with vocal tracks and working (from home), we began recording scratch tracks, using myself, Brandon, voice director Jamie Thomason, Talent coordinator Laura Lopez, editor Cris Mertens, and my wife and kids.
Then we began recording actors individually from home. Some of these actors have fantastic home studio set-ups. Others, well... not so much. We weren't video-conferencing with them, but we were audio-conferencing.
Then we switched from BangZoom Studios for our records to Atlas Oceanic Picture & Sound, which had a booth with a door that opened right into their parking lot. That way an actor could drive up and stay in their car until called for. Then they could walk right into the studio without any contact with any other human being. The engineer was in the control room, and the rest of us - including Jamie - were all listening in from our homes. Then when that actor was done, the booth would be sanitized before the next actor entered. Some of our performers still worked from home, but about half came to Atlas. It was always the choice of the actor.
And every actor always gets the entire script.
Anonymous writes...
Did Phil Bourassa work on Young Justice: Phantoms?
Greg responds...
No, though of course many of his designs are still being used in the series, and what new designs that were created for S4 by Model Supervisor Dou Hong and Character Designers Jerome K. Moore and Austin Reinkins were designed based on the template and design style Phil set for the series. Also, Dou worked with Phil on Season Three, and Jerome worked with him on Seasons One and Two.
How I Spent My Weekend...
So... I had a LOT going on this past weekend.
On Saturday, DC FanDome premiered trailers for both CATWOMAN: HUNTED and YOUNG JUSTICE: PHANTOMS, and revealed that the first two episodes of the latter were dropping THAT DAY!
I spent considerable time online - and I don't usually do the online thing over the weekend; in fact, I don't even check my email most weekends - trying to #SpreadTheWord.
But to sum up, here's the news...
CATWOMAN: HUNTED, an anime movie based on my original script, is being released in early 2022. You can see the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYPqTLS_g9c. It stars Elizabeth Gilles as Catwoman and Stephanie Beatriz as Batwoman. Voice directed by our old friend Jamie Thomason, it also features Jonathan Banks, Lauren Cohan, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Ron Yuan and my peeps, Steve Blum, Keith David, Zehra Fazal, Jonathan Frakes, Kelly Hu, Andrew Kishino, Eric Lopez and Jacqueline Obradors. Folks have asked me if it's in continuity with Young Justice. My answer: it's YJ-adjacent, much like that old Green Arrow/DC Showcase short I wrote years ago. A version of these events happened on Earth-16. If you're a completist, you're going to want to watch. (Also, I really think it turned out great!)
Meanwhile, the fourth season of YOUNG JUSTICE, i.e. YOUNG JUSTICE PHANTOMS, dropped its first two episodes this past Saturday on HBOMax. Episode 403 will drop this coming Thursday, 10/21. With another episode (through 413) dropping every Thursday through December 30th. The back half of the season (i.e. 414-426) will drop weekly in Spring, 2022. I'm truly excited for the fans to see the season - and evil creator that I am - also glad that the show isn't all dropping at once. I firmly believe television - especially a show like YJ - is a better experience if you have time to savor and sort and absorb and predict for a week in between episodes.
As for the fourth season's production, we have 21 episodes in the can and ready to air. The last five have all been animated and are currently in post-production. And since there was no IATSE strike today, we're still hard at work. (And to be clear, I'm a member of IATSE as part of the Animation Guild, and I was 100% supportive of the union.) We should be done with all 26 episodes by the end of November.
IMPORTANT ADDENDUM: YOUNG JUSTICE has NOT yet been picked up for a fifth season. So if fans want more of Earth-16, the answer is simple: #KeepBingingYJ (all four seasons) over and over. And over and over. And help us #SpreadTheWord. We want to #SaveEarth16.
So use the following hashtags ad nauseam - just as I'm doing in this post:
#CatwomanHunted
#YoungJustice
#YoungJusticePhantoms
#KeepBingingYJ
#SaveEarth16
#SpreadTheWord
And watch the show on HBO Max!!! Please...
For international fans, I wish I could give you info on when any or all of the above will be available in your countries. But unfortunately, TPTB do not keep us folks in the trenches well-informed. Asking me over and over won't magically reveal that information to me so that I can reveal it to you.
Finally, by the time all my work was done on Saturday, I was completely exhausted and took a nap. In the nap, I dreamed I wrote a hit song. Seriously. Now, normally, my dreams slip away entirely upon waking. And even when I do remember the gist of a dream, the details are lost within seconds. But I actually woke up with a clear memory of the song - both the lyrics AND the tune. Here are the lyrics:
I'm taking my pants off,
Cuz it's that kind of party!
I'm walking a straight line,
And it's luminous!
That's the whole song. You can see why it was such a big hit in Dreamland. I'm expecting the Dream-Royalties to roll in any minute.
STAY WHELMED, everyone!
EMPTY QUEUE
Well, it took me YEARS, but I finally have cleared the ASK GREG queue. I'm going to take a bit of a break now, but we'll open the question asking function for DC FANDOME on October 16th. I honestly don't know what YJ will be doing for Fandome, but I assume we'll have some presence of some kind, and by then I should have had enough of a rest to jump back in.
Thanks for your patience.
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