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ASSURED MUSINGS 2022-09 (Sep)
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Anonymous writes...
Why have there been multiple episodes where tim drake is involved in a scene but doesn't speak? In the season 2 episode before the dawn, he is on alpha squad with Barbara, but she is the only one who talks to nightwing and he just pulls faces the whole time. Same goes for that infamous season 3 episode antisocial pathologies where once again, only Barbara talks and he makes faces. Even when Beast Boy addresses him directly.
This isn't just due to him being a supporting character - Barbara is a supporting character too and she's allowed to speak. Even Stephanie Brown got a line in before the dawn, and she wasn't spoiler yet. These are scenes in which he's featured and it would make sense for him to at least say a few words. It looks awkward when he doesn't, it's almost like you're going out of your way to ensure he gets no lines.
Tim is the only Robin that has never been in an animated movie or series (the DCAU version doesn't count, it was Jason with Tim's name) but his traits are constantly stolen and given to the others. I was so excited to finally see him in YJ. I can accept that he's not a main character, but the way he's treated in the show is bizzare and to be honest, feels borderline disrespectful to the character and his fans.
Greg responds...
Sigh.
So, there's this thing. It's called a BUDGET. It forces us to make hard choices ALL THE TIME. And, I will admit that poor Tim has taken the brunt of that a few more times than I would like. But that's the reality. There's no disrespect intended toward either the character or his fans. I do feel bad for Cameron Bowen, who is immensely talented and does a great job playing Tim/Robin. And I'd love to give him more work as the character. But the fact is that him speaking isn't always essential to our story, and we do not have an unlimited voice budget.
But let me try to spell a few things out.
1. Stephanie Brown is voiced by the same actor who plays Wonder Girl. So if we're using Cassie in an episode, we get Stephanie for free. So why not give her a line or two? Note that, like Tim, we also didn't give Virgil a line in that episode, cuz we didn't have the budget for it.
2. We felt, in "Antisocial Pathologies," that we NEEDED Barbara to speak. She had a scene with Bruce that required her to speak. On the other hand, we felt we could get away with Tim not speaking in the episode. I'll admit it's a little awkward, but the audience still gets the gist of the thing. And by the way, neither Conner or M'gann spoke in that episode either. We'd have liked all three of them to speak, but the budget wouldn't allow it.
3. When Tim does have a significant role, such as in "Triptich," then of course we bring Cameron in, gladly, and give Tim lines. And if you look at that episode there are other characters who appear who do NOT get to speak. Because we chose to spend our budget on Tim and the other characters that did speak.
Now, with that out of the way, let's talk for a moment about disrespect. About the ASSUMPTION that just because you don't like something or it doesn't live up to your pre-conceived expectations, that characters and fans are being disrespected. Because I find that incredibly grating. You don't have to like my stuff - but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop assigning MOTIVES to me. THAT is disrespectful.
Anonymous writes...
Hi Greg, you previously answered that you needed to keep Halo's origin of Gabrielle being dead because that's built into the character in the comics: https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=24738
I have trouble accepting this reason, because you already changed the character's entire race and background from the comics. Moreover, you've changed the origins of Beast Boy and Oracle, and I get the sense you may have created a different story behind Jason Todd's death. You created an entirely different version of Aqualad. These characters are far more well-known than Halo, and you weren't afraid to change key things about them.
You could've easily made it so that the Motherbox resurrected Gabrielle instead of killing a teenage Muslim refugee and reanimating her corpse. You chose not to. Why?
Greg responds...
Agreed. We chose not to. We liked the basics of Halo's origins from the comics and wanted to keep it. I'm not disowning that. Why should I?
Verdragon writes...
What's the hardest casting choice you've had to make in your showrunner career?
Greg responds...
Hardest casting choice?
Not sure what that means in context. Like we had two people and couldn't decide which one to pick? I can't even think of an example of that.
We've had some roles that were hard to cast. Goliath and Elisa come to mind, but once we found Keith and Salli, respectively, the decision was easy.
There have been roles where my first choice was over-ridden by TPTB, but it's always worked out pretty darn well, anyway.
Anonymous writes...
Is Brion fully mind controlled by Zviad? Does he not have his own will? Is every decision he makes really a Zviad decision?
Greg responds...
He has his own will. As STATED CLEARLY on the show, Zviad can only nudge him toward his own worse impulses. (Or occasionally toward any impulse, really.)
Apollo writes...
How many people (roughly, by orders of 10, or you can confirm that it's a non-zero entity if the specific number is a spoiler) has Jade killed?
What kind of notoriety does Jade have as a professional assassin in the grander world? Was her zenith ever just "another shadow" or did she build up a bigger rep to the level of her father?
Greg responds...
It'a a non-zero number.
Most people don't know she exists. She had an impressive rep in the clandestine world she operated on, but she was never a Super-villain, per se, like Sportsmaster.
Anonymous writes...
1-How durable are Martians in their natrual Form? miss martian was able to take a casual hit from superman so could she resist low calibr bullets with no physical damage? Or could she survive being hit by a bus?
2-Are atlanteans more durable than Martians in their natrual Form? (If comparing two races is not possible take martian manhunter and aqualad for comparasion)
Greg responds...
1. I doubt she could take any bullet - unless someone threw a bullet at her - without ANY damage, unless she was ready for it and used some combination of her morphing and telekinetic abilities to avoid injury. She might survive being hit by a bus, but I'm sure it would do damage.
2. Both are extremely dense, relative to your average Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Beyond that, I'm not interested in making hypothetical comparisons.
Matt Itelson writes...
Does Tim have stealth-tech in his costume or is he capable of sneaking without it like Dick?
Greg responds...
We generally play the Robins as not needing it, do to their training.
Wysteria writes...
Here are some questions about M'Gann:
1. How did Martian Manhunter learn about the value of tolerance and acceptance? Given the fact that he went to Earth in the 1960's, he must have learned about Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. He probably even learned about the Holocaust. Was the Civil Rights Movement the reason how J'onn learned about acceptance?
2 Since Earth television was introduced to Mars in the 1960's, what classic TV series would the Martians have seen?
Did these include I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and Bewitched?
3. What about when M'Gann and Em'Ree started watching Hello Megan? Did the Martians watch series such as Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family and Happy Days?
4. Would the Martians be exposed to classic films, such as the Godfather, The Wizard of Oz, and Dirty Dancing?
5. Given the caste prejudice occurring on Mars, have the Martians ever seen TV series that deal with racism, such as All in the Family and some episodes of Little House on the Prairie?
6. In India, there is also a caste system that is quite similar to the one on Mars. The Indian caste system is based on one's surname. Like the caste system on Mars, there are four to five categories in the Indian caste system. There are also priests in the caste system that are similar to the yellow Martians. I would like to know if the caste system in India is an inspiration for the caste system on Mars?
If you don't know anything about the caste system in India, you may want to google it and learn more about it.
Greg responds...
For the record, please note that her name is M'gann. Not M'Gann.
1. There's no simplistic answer for me to offer here, and I'm not going to write a novel about J'onn's early adventures on Earth on an Ask Greg post.
2. I'm also not going to come up with anything like a comprehensive list. So feel free to use your own imagination for now.
3. Same.
4. To some, yes. I'm not going to give specific examples.
5. I'm sure they've had access to television that deals with racism, yes. I'm not going to give specific examples.
6. It was, in part.
Apriel writes...
Why did superman not realize Garfield was also has depression over suberboy's death during the trip back to earth from mars?
Greg responds...
The trip back was on the Javelin, which can travel at post-light speeds, and thus took very little time to return to Earth. AND BOTH OF THEM were understandably down over Superboy's death. It's hard to notice any distinction between depression and mourning, especially in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy.
FallenLegend writes...
Hey Greg, after watching the spectacular Spider-Man a thought came to me about Young Justice’s Mary.
Do you think her situation with power obsession is comparable to what happened with Eddie Brock? With him being obsessed about Being Venom,
The biggest difference I see is that the symbiotic is somewhat sentient, and the power of SHAZAM is not.
Second question was that power withdrawal /obsession Mary suffered something Black Adam, Billy or Freedy also felt?
Also, do you think Mary’s obsession with her power had to do with low self steem on her normal self?
Blank Adam is also transformed all the time, but he also has that rapid aging problem to have him don’t bother, doesn’t he?
It seemed like this only affected Mary of all the holders of Shazam we know so far. Unlike, say, Venom who was trying to corrupt the minds or both Peter and Eddie, The problem seems to be on Mary’s end completely,
Thank you Greg.
Greg responds...
1. It's an interesting thought.
2. No spoilers.
3. I don't want to oversimplify, but I think that's in the mix.
4. No spoilers.
5. No spoilers.
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