Greg responds...

1. There's some question as to whether Flaw was truly alive. And then there's the self-defense rationale.

2. I just answered this. (Everyone, please try to avoid repeating questions.) Getting a new familiar isn't easy.

3. Yes.

4. Every one we've seen so far, I believe.

5. I think every Chaos Lord has a fraught relationship with every other Chaos Lord.

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. I didn't find it odd.

3.1. I think so.

3.2. Is there a question here?

3.3. I don't think you're reading too much in.

4. Actually, the Shazam Family was supposed to have an arc in our companion comic. Not Season Two. She was never supposed to be on the Team in S2. She was supposed to be at the wedding shower and in the group of heroes who go after the Reach devices at the end of the season. But in any case, the Comic was cancelled, so we never got back to it, and our timeline moved forward. And we couldn't spare the man-hours to design her for two cameos in S2. But the basics of Mary's predicament in S4 and forward were always part of the overall plan.

5. I have not read any of that.

Greg responds...

1. Of course.

2. As I'm sure you've seen by now, finding a new familiar isn't easy. And he was only sometimes scared, anyway.

3. Oh, sure.

4. It's not that easy - and it certainly isn't instantaneous. And now that she's lost, the other Chaos Lords might have something to say about it.

5. Both.

Greg responds...

I don't see these as mutually exclusive at all.

As I've stated before, my preferred style of writing time travel is - as with Gargoyles - to go with the type where TRUE history cannot be changed. But the DC Multiverse just wasn't built that way. So we had to allow for the possibility of new timelines being created. But that's just it. It's a possibility. Not a certainty.

Think of it this way. Anytime you step outside you might accidentally step on a butterfly. But then again, sometimes you might not.

Greg responds...

It has. Often. We plan a lot, but we always leave ourselves open to ideas that hit us along the way.

The example that immediately comes to mind is (SPOILERS) the revelation that Owen is Puck. We knew there was an interesting backstory to Owen, but didn't know what it was. Then when we were working on "The Mirror" - i.e. the episode that introduced Puck - Lydia Marano, Brynne Chandler Reaves and I separately realized that Owen and Puck were one and the same.

Greg responds...

I don't know the answer to that. But I'm hoping you can find a way.

Greg responds...

I'm going to defer answering that until we have a flashback with Troia from that era.

Greg responds...

I'm not hiding behind anyone. But I also feel just fine saying that an organization like MPAC likes what we're doing and encouraged same. As did the Muslim writer who wrote the episode and the Muslim actor who performed the role. My point is - and always has been - simply this: JUST BECAUSE YOU PERSONALLY THINK SOMETHING DOESN'T WORK, DOESN'T MEAN THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AGREES WITH YOU. PERIOD. You don't get to decide for all Muslims what does or doesn't play. I had plenty of Muslim fans thrilled over our depiction of Khalid. Doesn't mean you have to be, but stop trying to tell me that you personally represent an entire religion, when I have a list of people who are also of that faith disagreeing with you.

And, yes, of course, Muslims are regular people. Just like Khalid, for example, who didn't talk about his Muslim identity at all in five out of the six episodes he appeared in this season. So he did talk about it in one episode. One episode that happened to specifically be about a crisis in faith. That doesn't make him a zealot, as you so kindly labeled him. His faith is part of his identity, just as Zatara's Catholic faith is part of his - putting the lie to the notion that we've never addressed the faith of any "white" characters. (Or do you think Zatara is a zealot, as well? Or does he not count because he's not YOUNG?)

In any case, Khalid's faith matters to him. And we're just fine depicting that. For some characters, their faith (whatever it may be) is a big part of their lives. For others, it isn't. That's the way the world works. Why wouldn't our show reflect the world?

Take the excellent ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, for example, where the character played by Sheryl Lee Ralph (our Amanda Waller) is constantly expressing her faith and her belief in God, even though none of the other characters do. (At least not that I've seen so far.) This is life.

The funny thing is, I had other Muslim viewers tell me I couldn't hide behind MPAC to justify Khalid being a practicing sorcerer. To which my answer was much the same.

And on the other hand, I had some fan write me asking why I had gone into depth on the faith of a Muslim and a Christian and hadn't done the same for a Jew. If I did a Jew next season, I'd have someone else ask me why I hadn't done X religion or Y.

So, yes, for these reasons, I am dismissing your criticism. Not because I'm "hiding" or "blind" but because it is LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE for me to please everyone. So whom should I listen to? One "Anonymous" fan? Or an organization of human beings who are standing up to see that their people are treated well in Hollywood media. What makes you an expert over them? Why would I do what you want? So that I can "hide" behind you instead?

Basically, Brandon and I go with our gut while following the advise of people who work hard to see representation flourish in this industry, which in and of itself we see as important and necessary and as better storytelling. This isn't new territory for me either. I've been doing this kind of thing since Gargoyles.

There's no blind spot. I'm doing this on purpose. And I like it.

Greg responds...

We haven't stopped. Amistad, for example, was played by a child actor. We're just admittedly inconsistent about it, for a variety of factors. Usually, the reason is budgetary. If a child character only has a couple lines, and we think we have someone from the existing cast - in that specific episode - who can cover those lines, we may elect to save some money, so that we can spend it later on another actor. And then once we've cast someone, we rarely recast, unless (a) we have to because the original actor is unavailable or (b) the character has aged so much that the original actor is no longer appropriate.

Greg responds...

Seems likely. Especially now.

Greg responds...

Not involved at all, huh?

<sigh>

Well, by now, you know he got very involved. Next time, maybe... patience?

Greg responds...

1. Zatara's flashbacks in episode 412 of Young Justice: Phantoms (which, I assume, is what you're referring to) ran from 1998-2009.

2. Dangerous ones.

Greg responds...

There was hardly time to file any missing persons reports. They disappeared and then reappeared seconds later.

Greg responds...

1a. Back in Season One.

1b. I don't remember. Me or Brandon Vietti or Kevin Hopps or Nicole Dubuc, most likely.

2. Months ago, now.

3. Appreciate the restraint.

Greg responds...

1. Charlie Daggett was born in 1984.

2. Sindella was born in 1975.

3. Johnny Drew was born in 1997.

4. Penny Randall was born in 1998.

Greg responds...

This arc was set up as more of a mystery. But I think by the time you finish the final episode of the arc - which by now I assume you have - it should all be pretty clear, and Zatanna's mindset and emotions should, in essence, get as much of a reveal as Tigress' did, in the previous arc.

Greg responds...

1. I don't know. (I realize I should know this. But I don't.)

2. 2008.

3. 1995.

Greg responds...

Thanks!

As for your question, I know we knew he was Catholic back then - and he sent Zatanna to a Catholic school - but I don't think it even occurred to us to go into much detail about it. I mean, it's hard to give much thought to something you absolutely know won't fly. So it's hard to say, hypothetically, what we would or would not have done. But I'm happy with how it all played out across the seasons.

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. Was Jason Blood already familiar with Etrigan? Uh, yeah.

3. Some do. Some don't.

4. Sure.

5. I guess.

Greg responds...

1. I'm not big on confirming things we haven't yet revealed in the series, as you may know. However, I'm pretty sure I revealed this years ago, during the long hiatus, so, to be clear: Billy Batson and Mary Bromfield are NOT foster siblings on Earth-16. That notion, from more recent Shazam comics, didn't exist back in Season One, so we didn't build for it. (That's not meant as some type of commentary on the idea. We just developed the characters based on the older concept.) They are twins, however, and - as you noted - were separated at birth, only discovering later that their genetic conection.

2. They're twins. Though of course one is older than the other. I haven't done the math, but I tend to guess that one is sixteen minutes older than the other. I just don't, as yet, know which one.

3. Since I haven't revealed this, I'm not going to now. No spoilers.

4. I don't know, honestly. Or at least, I don't remember. It's really a question for Phil Bourassa.

Greg responds...

Why does anyone?

Greg responds...

Maybe a little. But only a little.

Greg responds...

It's basically the same. We have more money now than we had then. But things also cost more now. So overall, it's largely unchanged. We do have a higher budget for after-effects now in S4, then we did in S3, and WAY bigger than we did for S1 & S2.

Greg responds...

1. I don't currently seem to have that info. I'd research it before we named them in canon.

2. Biologically and emotionally, yes. Legally, no.

Greg responds...

Hm.

No regrets. And I suppose it SHOULDN'T come as any shock to you that I'm quite proud of that episode. Very proud, actually.

I personally have tremendous distaste for organized religion - including my own, i.e. Judaism. But that doesn't change the fact that faith is a huge part of many, many, many peoples' lives. We're telling a story about people. (Not about super-heroes, by the way, which is incidental - its eye-candy - but about people. If all you want is super-hero adventure, then you are shopping at the wrong store and have been since episode one of season one.) Please don't even start to tell me that I can't tell stories about the things that concern people. Irrelevant? Give me a break.

And that's aside from the fact, that although I don't think religion should be an out of bounds topic, I don't actually think that this story was about religion. It was about faith, through the vehicle of religion. But maybe that's splitting hairs.

I do resent the notion that Khalid only exists in the story because he's Muslim. I think that's very short-sighted. Why not say he's only in this story because he's a medical student, which got equal play in this episode and more play in the two episodes that preceded it? I believe Khalid is as fully realized a character as any we've had - relative to his amount of screen time. Do you think Zatara only exists in the story because he's Catholic. (But good on you that you're not a hater.)

(I also love that you think using Jehovah's Witnesses as some kind of ultimate example of cultish religious extremism is a-okay. It's not.)

Now, I will admit that I do wish we could find more room for Atheism in the show. Even for Agnosticism. Although I am neither, I admire both more than I admire any and every organized religion. But the problem with setting your series in a world with ghosts (like Secret) and demons (like Etrigan), is that it doesn't leave much space for doubt. [Artemis knows - KNOWS - that the soul exists because she's SEEN one, and so has our audience.] That's a puzzle I'm still trying to solve. But I have no intention of solving it by pretending that religion doesn't exist and doesn't mean something significant to literally MILLIONS of people.

(And for the record, I'm a secular pagan Jew and an animist.)

As for the BITCHING about Zatanna not getting enough attention, I officially roll my eyes at you. This is without a doubt Zatanna's story from moment one to moment last. I get why it's not clear to you back in 411, but, hey, way to be patient. And if it's not clear by the end of the arc, then all I can do is shrug. Zatanna doesn't need to dominate screen time to make this her story. That notion is just silly to me. I also find it sardonically amusing that at least some fan or another has complained to me about how the headline character of a given arc is not getting enough screen time or attention... in literally ALL six of the arcs. I think Nightwing fans may have some - small - justification for these complaints. But for the others, all I can say is that you've created your own expectations about what YJ:P was supposed to deliver for your personal favorite character. Instead, Brandon and I delivered what we wanted to deliver about each character. The rule, as always, being that if we aren't passionate about the show we're creating then how can we expect anyone else to even have a shot at being passionate about what they're seeing? There is no other way for us to create.

And, no, I don't think you were too harsh or rude (though your message above did read to me as obnoxious, which isn't the same thing). But I may be bordering on all those negative qualities in my response. If so, understand that I am truly inundated with comments from "fans" telling me I've done them wrong. With fans who are "sad" or "disappointed". With fans who are trying to convince me that I don't like my own show - or that I wouldn't like it if I simply listened to them and/or thought about if for a few minutes. (Your second to last paragraph is basically doing that.) But the thing is that Brandon and I listened to a lot of people and gave TONS of thought to everything in every episode. Way, way more thought than most shows get, I know. I know. I'm not saying we're above making mistakes, but we didn't do entire episodes by accident.

Now, before you say, "Hey, if everyone's telling you that your stuff sucks, maybe it does," you should know we get WAY more praise than we get criticism. Way more. And of course, the praise is nice but washes over me, and only the criticism sticks. I honestly should ignore ALL of it, criticism and praise, but I'm not that bulletproof. It makes me sad and disappointed. And frustrated. Very, very frustrated. Even if the nay-sayers are only a small (but vocal) minority. And that must be all they are, because our numbers this season on HBO Max are stunningly good. Today, I saw numbers that indicated we have more views this year than any other animated super-hero series on ANY streaming service. (Because, yes, we still have super-heroes in YJ, despite what you believe are my best efforts!) We even beat out a couple of prestige live-action super-hero series. Thus, not everyone thinks we suck. Most clearly don't.

So all of you out there who are going to read this post and feel the need to post a criticism of me here or on twitter (while tagging me) for responding in this harsh, rude obnoxious way... stop. Please. Put yourselves in my shoes for a minute. No one's saying you have to like the show. Certainly no one is forcing you to watch it. (Seriously, I think our season four hate-watchers alone must outnumber our entire audience for season one.) But that doesn't mean you need to sling your $#!^ my way. Be kind. Kinder than I'm being, I suppose. And I'll try to be kinder, too. Thanks.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."
--Walt Whitman