rapscallion writes...

**SPIDEY SPOILERS**

How did Harry escape the Goblin(Norman) in Season 2? And why was he captured in the first place? Was it just so Norman could make Harry, the likely suspect, look more suspiscious?

Will Keaton writes...

Greg:

SPIDEY SPOILERS

1. You've often mentioned how you chose Tombstone as the new "Big Man of Crime" because the Kingpin was unavailable due to legal issues. What other characters besides Tombstone did you consider for this position? Also, is the phrase "Big Man" a title given out to whoever happens to be in control of New York's crime rings at the time and is passed on to their successor, (ie, like a king or queen) or is it an alias that is permanently attached to Tombstone? I've seen evidence to support both cases.

2. How exactly does Doc Ock get dressed in the morning? The part of his harness that lines up with his spine clearly goes on underneath his clothing but the ring around his waist goes overtop of everything else. Can the harness still open up in front or is that fused shut too? Just watching Ock go through his morning routine would probably clear most of this up, plus the notion of him using his tentacles to brush his teeth is just hilarious. (Just be glad I'm not asking how Rhino goes to the bathroom.) I also assume that for the duration of Season 2 he's had enough time to acquire or build a new power source for his harness that can last for years at a time?

3. You burned down the Big Sky Billiard lounge! I loved that place. Every comic book needs a place where the supervillains can go for some downtime and hang out. Please, I know you don't want to spoil anything you have planned for season 3 but at least give us a vague hint that we'll get to see a new "Bad Guy Bar."

4. Is Chameleon's white visage a mask that he wears with other masks going on top of it, or is that actually his face after being surgically altered to have any distinguishing features like a nose and ears removed? Typically one would expect a face-changer to remove as much of their original face as possible and then add on top of that as needed, (just look at Metal Gear Solid's Decoy Octopus, the guy shaved down his cheek bones and cut off part of his nose and ears.) Wearing two masks doesn't seem to be that effective since you're doubling the amount the disguise is lifted above your actual face.

5. Exactly how long has Norman been inhaling the gobulin green? I'd assume he'd either start as soon as he'd invented the stuff, shortly after he was nearly killed by a giant geriatric buzzard and wanted to make sure he didn't have to rely on Spidey the next time something similar happened, or shortly after his first dealings with Hammerhead when he started planning to overthrow the Big Man. By the way, what kind of guy develops an experimental highly dangerous performance enhancing drug and then brings it home to show his family and then just leaves some lying around where his son can start chugging the stuff without anyone noticing it's gone?

6. We didn't see much of Aunt May in Season 2, but with so many characters floating around this isn't too surprising. If May does play an important role in any season three episodes is she going to get a spot in the opening credits for that episode?

7. When comparing animated shows through the years there doesn't seem to be a large change in the style and tone from the 1960's through to the late 80's. All the animated shows had a simplistic plot and generally weren't mentally demanding. However sometime in the early/mid 90's we started seeing shows like Fox's Spider-man, Batman The Animated Series, Reboot and Gargoyles, all of which felt more sophisticated than earlier shows and had such features as real character development and story arcs that could last through a season. Somehow I have a hard time imagining an episode like "Lethal Force" being done on G.I. Joe. As someone who has been in the industry a while did you notice a change in attitude from networks or executives towards animation at around that time? When producing Gargoyles did you find that in general people were more willing to let you attempt making a show with more mature themes relative to what you had done before?

8. Should Spiderman not get a third season or become cancelled for certain after season three wraps up, how likely is it that production could continue on direct to DVD movies? Generally speaking is it easier to convince producers or whomever to greenlight a single movie length piece of work comparred to an entire season of an animated show?

Spidey123 writes...

Hey Greg!

You've made Gwen a really main character in petes social life and i like her :p...i was just wondering if she has the same fate in this series like in the comics...ehm...i knw u wont tell me that it will spoil things ...

but another indirect question related to the first ...can you, i mean r u guys allowed to kill a character? or somehow may be make him/her disappear....

No comment writes...

Hey, Mr. Greg. I have a few questions from TSSM I want you to answer.

1. Have you already planned out season 3 in your head or do you not know yet how will it be like? I am NOT asking you to reveal season 3 villains and plot. I'm just asking you if you already know where you're going with season 3.

2. You have an awesome imagination. Spectacular Spider-Man is just great. I don't know where you come up with all these amazing ideas. Who are you? No. What are you? No human can be that talented. You must be an alien.

3. Are you allowed to kill anyone in the show if you want to?

4. First of all, Molten Man was awesome. The Green Goblin had control of Molten Man's abilities with that remote. Now that Osborn is defeated, where is the remote?

5. IT'S A JACKAL!!!!!!!!! Will Miles Warren ever become the Jackal in the show? You don't have to answer this question. I already know you will answer it with no comment so go ahead and say no comment. The reason why I wrote this question is because I felt like saying "It's a jackal". I love Family Guy. It's hilarious.

6. Hey, Cool. I can count to 6. Here's my last question. It's not really a Spectacular Spider-Man question but a Comics Spider-Man question. Do you think Spider-Man would be better in high school, university, or somewhere in late 20s when he's not in university?

Marcus writes...

Hey, Greg! I love what you've done with Spectacular Spider-Man. The the best show ever. The 90s show compared to yours is nothing. This show rules!! Here's my question:
Every season in Spectacular Spider-Man has 4 arcs. Each arc is 3 or 4 episodes. You were involed in "The Batman" but you weren't the main director. If you were the main director and producer of "The Batman" when it was first planned, would you have done the same thing you did to Spectacular Spider-Man (having 4 arcs per season)?

The Main Man writes...

I said at the beginning I have two questions. Sorry about that. When I was going to first ask you a question I had two in mind but once I was done I had more in mind and I forgot to change the 2 to a 5. Anyways, I have 5 questions I want to ask you.

The Main Man writes...

Hey, Greg. I have two questions I want to ask you. They're both about Spectacular Spider-Man.
1. You've said besides Spidey, there are more heroes active in Spectacular Spider-Man. You've said the Fantastic Four were celebrities, Hulk was a myth, Captain America is still frozen, Ant-Man is somewhere out there also doing his job, and that Professor X is currently building his school with first students Cyclops and Beast. But what about the Punisher? Is he currently active? Did his family get killed yet? Is he already a vigilante? What about the Punisher?

2. You've mentioned active heroes. But what about active villains? Which villains besides Spidey's are currently active in the series?

3. Will we ever see the Lizard again at some point in the show?

4. In the 90s Spider-Man series, Morbius was watered down. He couldn't say the word blood at all so he always said he needed "plasma". He was also not allowed to suck anyone's blood so he absorbed their energy or something (can't really remember). If you are ever going to use Morbius at some point, will he be watered down like in the 90s series or will he be a "real" vampire?

4. Same as question 3 only with Carnage. If you are going to ever use him, will he be watered down or stay the same maniac he is in the comics?

5. Before I ask you to answer my last questio, I just want to stay the Green Goblin was AWESOME! Before, I hated the Green Goblin and now due to you, he's my favorite Spider-Man villain. But most of the plot elements for the Green Goblin were taken from the Hobgoblin (e.g. framing Harry, removing mental effects from globulin green, faking his death and retiring to some island, etc.). I'm kind of worried now because the Hobgoblin barely has anything left. You do have a plan already for the Hobgoblin don't you? You know how to handle him, right? Please say yes. Please say yes!!!!!

Martin writes...

Goblin/Osborn questions (the questions are from the perspective that we know who the Goblin is):

1) In "Catalysts" after seeing Glory back with Kenny, Harry gets mad and leaves the Fall Formal. Where did he go?
2) The thing that got me suspicious about the revelation in "Uncertainly Principle" was how Norman was able to answer all Spidey's questions so quickly. Of course, after what "Final Curtain" showed us, I can assume that he already had everything in his head before Spidey can confront him. But why wasnt Norman limping, if he was the Goblin who cracked a limp at the factory?
3) the show is great. you're great. I pray for season 3.

SpiderFan89 writes...

Haha, Greg, i was reading IGN's review of "The Invisible Hand" and it says something about Rhino that interested me. If the suit is permanently bonded to O'Hirn's skin, then how he manages to do a certain body functions??? Whats your opinion/expaination?

Bobba J writes...

Hi Mr. Weisman! I remember watching "Growing Pains" and "Identity Crisis" a few months ago. There is something I found confusing. In "Growing Pains" Venom framed Spider-Man and everyone hated him but in the next episode, Spider-Man was treated like a hero again. What exactly happened? How did he go from being considered a villain to being considered a hero again?

Monk writes...

I went on Wikipedia and typed in Spectacular Spider-Man. It said that Scorpion and Hobgoblin will appear in season 3. Obviously, I knew that from long ago but it also said that Carnage has been confirmed. Is this true or did someone just pull a prank on Wikipedia?

Gonçalo writes...

Hi Greg, so i just recently saw episode 207 "identity crisis" from the spectacular spider-man and i got a question:

What is up with that episode? so all the journalists blindly believe a black suited alien? They see said black suited alien kicking spiderman's ass and they're still focusing more on knowing his identity rather then helping their hero? And even more, they're STILL interested in knowing spiderman's identity even after venom shows his second mouth in front of every journalist while beating spiderman to a bloody pulp?

If I were a journalist i would probably either run for my life or start investigating who is this two mouthed black creature who is defeating spider-man.

Sorry for the rant there, but that episode just made no sense

rapscallion writes...

Love what you've done with Spectacular Spider-Man. Pure genius. Not just one of the best animated Series since BTAS, but probably one of the smartest shows on TV right now.

*SPOILERS FOLLOWING!*

When it comes to Gwen, I can easily figure why you made her Peter's friend and secret crush and all, due to her role in the comics, but why did you decide to make her a "nerd"? I remember her being, well, "Gorgeous Gwendolyn" in the comics. I realize she had a "make-over" in season 2, but the question is still there in my head.

Emily Osborn. What's up with her? Except in Ultimate, where Norman did some "bad things" to her, Norman was always a widower. So why did you keep her? Especially since, well, she's got the personality of a spoon? I feel like there's a message there but I can't quite get it.

One moment specifically, was when in the episode Blueprints, Martha Connor is getting pressure from Norman, Aaron Warren, Miles Warren, and her husband, to reinstate Peter despite her mistrust and for some reason she looks to Emily Osborn and then relents to it. Was there some message there?

What's with the mole on Peter's cheek? I heard it was some in-joke or something, but to what end?

Why did you make Kraven a "Cat-mutant"? I think it ended up working and I personally like it, but it's a very different take. Was it just to make him more modern? To avoid mention of his "voodoo potions"? Why?

I like how you're taking a realistic time-frame with the seasons and Peter's school year, but hypothetically, if you got a fourth season, would that be during the summer, or would you skip over it and get started in November of Peter's senior year? Also, will you include his college years in the show or would that be saved for DT-DVDs?

Did the title at the end of the theme song get an upgrade? In Season 2, it looked... shinier and bulkier. Generally cooler. Did you guys just change it due to Season 1 doing so well or was that always a plan to upgrade it or something?

Lastly, this isn't a question, but a request. I love what you've done with Miles Warren and I like how he's malicious without being "Bwa-ha-ha! evil, but if you ever do clones... you'll make me cry. You will make a grown man cry. Do you want that on your conscious? NO CLONES PLEASE!

You are a genius.

Diminuendo writes...

I was wondering if Osborns death being fake was decision of your own or influenced by Kids' WB dislike of characters dying

Also could we get an update on season 3?

thanks

David Sky writes...

Carnage?

David Sky writes...

I must second the suggestion of other superheroes being mentioned in speculator spiderman. In ultimate spidey tony stark is often mentioned alongside other scientists, and sometimes the question is raised if peter is a mutant. but yeah, it wouldn't hurt if in conversation daredevil or frank castle come up in conversation since they are in fact right in peter's backyard.

Beoc writes...

Is Gwen's fate in Spectacular down the road going to match what happened in the comics? Would you even be permitted to go down that road if you wanted to since SSM is a kids show?

nygma619 writes...

A couple of statements on the outcomes of Gangland in the Spidey-Tombstone battle.

I felt alot of the success to Tombstone's character was the fact that he was nearly invulnerable (IMO it seperated him from Kingpin being in this role). We had this big crime boss who controlled most of NYC's crime, who could seemingly crush Spidey anytime he wanted (he took Spidey down in 5 measely seconds in his debut), add that he was cool, calculating, incredibly competent, and kept his criminal activities private, not only that but he could turn the law on Spidey if he wanted to (an angle I don't think was used to it's fullest potential). Spidey getting a physical victory over him in their second physical encounter, (after getting bulldozed in less than 5 seconds in their first) felt like a clumsy transition.

Now that Spidey has established that he can beat Tombstone clean, it diminshes his preseance greatly, when they meet again, the question of whether Spidey can beat Tombstone or not won't be there to add to the drama, IMO I thought it wasn't handled very well here. As it's one of those things that seperated him from the rest of the villains on this show.
And it's not like his fight with Tombes was one of his most hard fought victories to date. Kraven left a shiner on Pete's face in their second battle, even though Kraven lost, the black eye signified how hard a battle Spidey fought the second time. Also Pete was left sore and bruised after his 2nd alleged battle against the sinister six in group therapy, and he had a sprained arm after his victory over the Lizard in Natural Selection. All these battles he had won but not without being taken to the limit physically or the battle taking its toll on him. Sometimes a little subtlety goes a long, long, long way; (though I don't think I need to tell you that). And Tombstone being invulnerable was one of those subtleties that I think people might of taken for granted. I mean I can live with the Goblin outwitting Tombstone to get to power (it wouldn't be the 1st time the goblin sort of outwitted him), but there were ways to bring GG to power while also keeping Tombstone's invulnerability intact.

There's been some excuses made for this:
-One is Tombstone being exhausted from the battle before him and Spidey. Which I don't buy. Because Spidey was there nearly through as much of the battle as well. And none of the hits seemed like they slowed Tombs down that much, if at all. At least he didn't show very much fatigue from what I saw.
-Also other people are excusing it because Spidey flung a piece of machinary at Tombs and that Spidey wouldn't had beat him had he stuck to hand to hand combat. My comment on that, Well flinging a piece of machinary is practically clean for Spidey at this point. If he gets beat just because of a foreign object, well that still doesn't do Tombstone any favors, since Spidey practically beats foes with foreign objects most of the time. He beat people like Sandman, with certain foreign objects (i.e. cement) and no one was talking about how tough Sandman was, were they?
Heck when David beat Goliath with a slingshot, people weren't saying, "Man that Goliath is some hoss, it took a slingshot for David to beat him." They were talking about how David beat Goliath, period. They weren't talking about the foreign object.

So for Spider-Man to get a clean physical victory (no contrivances, no dumb luck, CLEAN) over Tombs at this stage in the game, felt far too villain of the weekish for my liking, and really took away from Tombstone's character.
I'm willing to give this storyline a chance, but IMO there was far too much potential thrown away where Tombstone could turn the law on & still physically man handle Spider-Man. It feels like part of the fun in Tombstone (his ability to crush Spider-Man/push him to his limits) has been taken away and he doesn't feel as fun as he once was. Not that he's a bad character right now, but there's a difference between being a good character, and being "the balls". Up till Gangland, Tombstone felt like the latter.

My other problems with Tombstone being outed: Spidey trying to out Tombstone's secret identity lacked any real logic. Sure Foswell would end up reporting what he heard (does that even hold up as evidence unless he has a tape recorder? If not, what's it doing in the papers?) but Spidey had no idea that he knew this or would tell anyone. Not to mention how anti climatic it was.
And does what Foswell said really constitute 16 government agencies looking after him? And if they really are serious about that statement how does Green Goblin get into Lincoln's office without any government agencies noticing? Some government agencies.

I realize that this show has an ever changing status quo all the time, with many different outcomes, and thats one of the reasons I dig the show. However Spider-Man's physical victory over Tombstone was still disappointing because it didn't feel like a battle that put Spidey's body through hellfire and brimstone(thank you Jim Ross) just to beat him.

lambert writes...

hi, greg. don't know if you saw this yet. pretty nifty. http://vimeo.com/4947207

p.s. can't wait for the 2nd season of spidey!

Clark Cradic writes...

Was it your idea to get Rober Englund to play the Vulture? Was it hard to get such a big star to accept a role on the show?

Okuraorca writes...

Greetings Greg,
First of all, I want to thank you for doing Spectacular Spiderman. This show has had me on the edge of my seat from the first episode until the last, and I really hope there will be a Season Three. If there is, I hope it all goes well, as I am looking forward to more!
Anyway, I had a few questions about how the show is planned out, if I may ask, as I am keen to learn about how the process of writting and planning out the episodes and the plotlines is done, as I am in the process of trying to create some complex stories myself.
First all, I notice that your plotlines have intertwining plotlines that grow from one thing to something else later (IE: The gene cleanser's use in Season 2 even after we were sure to have seen the last of it in Season one). My question was to this concept, of how you write these plotlines. Do you have them all planned out from the start, or do you look backwards to previous episodes to find ways to get them to interact with what's happened before?
Second question, about the planning of the series again. Do you choose a character then create a plotline about that character, or rather; Select a plot idea, then cycle through characters to find what ones would work best for that episode? Or if there is a combination of the two, which do you find easier to work with?
Third, when it comes to cutting things from a plot (events, characters, etc...), because there's just not enough time for it all, what are the things you look for or consider with things that have to be cut? I'm not just meaning main events in the plotline either, but more like, you have two jokes that could happen and you remove one and keep the other. What makes you keep one thing you want, but cut the other?
And finally, just a small, easy one here. I loved the use of Molten Man, as I'd always seen him as a minor villian, as there's very little about him compared to major villians, yet you made him awesome in the show (I'll also admit Mysterio also always bored me, but you made me like him in the show and want to see more!). I don't want names, as I know you don't give them out, but did you have plans for other 'minor' or lesser known villians to show up further down the track? Just curious really.

At any rate thanks for your time, and here's hoping for Season Three!

~ Okuraorca

clyde writes...

Hey Greg! Earlier I've asked you if you hate Carnage. You didn't answer my question yet and you don't have to because I heard that rumor was fake. I'm sorry for not checking if my question was answered. So don't when you get my questions, don't answer question #2 but answer all the other questions left. Thanks and I hope this message reaches you before you answer my questions.

Tommy writes...

Hi Greg,
I'm a huge Spidey (and Gargoyle) fan and I love your Spectacular Spidey animated show. By far my favorite episode is NATURAL SELECTION. So naturally, I have a few questions about it.

1. When this episode originally aired was it incomplete? I ask because there're two scenes that stand out that have been changed (or fixed?) since its first airing compared to its DVD release and widescreen airing on Disney XD. The first scene is the cake scene where it changed visually from a white cake to a chocolate cake. The second scene is the under water struggle between Spidey and the Lizard. In the first airing the under water scene is shot almost like it was in black and white, the exception being the Lizard's eyes are yellow. On the DVD release and Disney XD airings, Spidey and the Lizard are colored. Obviously you guys fixed the cake to match the dialogue, but what about the under water struggle? Was it fixed or changed? If it was changed, then why?

2. With there being different interpretations of the Lizard throughout his appearances in the comics and in other media, was there any specific reason why you guys went with an all-savage Lizard instead of one that retains some of Dr. Connors' intelligence?

Thanks for the time you take to answer these questions, I really do appreciate it.

? writes...

Hi Greg! Now that I’ve watched Season 2 of The Spectacular Spider-Man, I have a few more questions. But first regarding the last set I asked:
I. Sorry about spelling your last name wrong, I didn’t realize it until it was too late.
II. With my 3rd question you did answer that you avoid biasness regarding characters which is great; I did mix the “parts” of my question together though (sorry about that again), so I was wondering if you liked the character of Venom? Most (not all) people I’ve met who said they don’t like Venom grew up in the “Stan Lee Era”. I understand you grew up during the “Lee/Romita Times”, but I also know that the “Greg hates Carnage Rumor” is false (I’m not a fan of Carnage, but I don’t hate him either, I’m “neutral/take or leave” to Carnage).
III. Thanks for answering my last batch of questions!
Alright, now onto the new batch of questions:
START OF SPIDEY SPOILERS!
1. I remember you said in an earlier post that you saw a little bit of the 90s Series but not enough to give a “true opinion” on it. My question is: Do you remember which episodes of the 90s series you saw? It’s OK if you don’t know the episode names; the villains from the episodes will suffice. I ask, because I noticed that the Symbiote arrives on Earth on John Jameson’s space shuttle in The Uncertainty Principle. This idea was 1st used in The Alien Costume Part I.
2. Why did the local authorities put Dr. Octopus in Raven Croft Asylum after Group Therapy when they had him in Rykers Prison before he escaped in that episode? I figured the “behind the scenes” reason was for your production crews’ plan, but what’s the “in story” reason (if you get what I mean)?
3. What was Eddie Brock doing during the Master Planner Arc? The most I can tell is that he was working out (he’s buffer then he was in Season 1) and that he made his own web shooters and costume. So where was he hiding and what else was he doing besides the things I mentioned earlier? I figured this was OK to ask as I don’t see how it would spoil anything in the future (sorry if it does).
4A. Whose idea was it to have Venom speak with 2 voices (Eddie’s voice and the Symbiote’s voice in unison)? I love the idea and I think it works so well for Venom.
4B. It actually reminds me of the fusion characters from Dragonball Z; have you ever herd of or seen Dragonball Z? If so, what did you think of it?
5A. What was your reason for making Walter Hardy/Black Cat’s dad into Uncle Ben’s killer? As someone else pointed out, it probably worked out better then it did with Flint Marko/Sandman in Spider-Man 3, because Walter was still the same guy Spidey let get away.
5B. What made James Remar your choice for Walter’s voice (I found him to be a great choice)? Do you remember who else tried out for Walter’s voice?
6. Seeing as how Norman and Green Goblin had different voice artists (for obvious reasons) I think it’s safe to say Roderick (or who ever you choose) and Hobgoblin will have different voice artists as well. My question is: If Season 3 does happen, will you just have Steve Blum voice Hobgoblin since he voiced Green Goblin or do you have someone else in mind for Hobby? The 90s Series used Neil Ross and Mark Hamil for Green Goblin and Hobgoblin respectively. I thought this would be OK to ask, since we already know Hobgoblin is in Season 3 and I’m only asking if Steve Blum is your voice choice for Hobby or not (not who exactly will be Hobby as we both know Season 3 is still undecided). Sorry if this was a “bad question” to ask.
Well, thanks again for answering my 2nd set of questions Greg! Hope you enjoy your summer (as far as temperature is concerned).

Gareth Tan writes...

Hi, I'd just like to start by saying that I thought The Spectacular Spider-Man was pretty much the best adaption of the comics onto any sort of screen. This might of course stem from my inherent dislike of the movies, but enough about me. I have three questions for you;

1) Are you currently planning to involve SHIELD in any future seasons?

2) Given that all the established pieces are already on the board, do you feel that there's a need to eventually introduce the much-maligned clone saga, if you get a third and maybe fourth season?

3) Are there plans to eventually bring other, less traditional allies into the show, such as Daredevil?

thank you for answering my questions, assuming you do answer my questions. My apologies if they all turn out to be 'no comments'...

Harlan Phoenix writes...

"So, I'm curious about something involving the early development of Gargoyles...particularly, the pitching process. I'm not exactly sure how to word this, as my knowledge of how the process of actually pitching a show works, but I'll try my best."

That should read "As my knowledge of how the process of actually pitching a show works is limited." My bad. Last time I post a question late at night.

I do have a question concerning Spider-Man's stand alone status but the "in the early Marvel Universe" hypothetical status it's also in in your mind. Do you have any process of rationalizing why other heroes haven't been around to stop Spider-Man's villains? (I have this same general question concerning normal comic stories, as well, but that breed of this question obviously wouldn't be aimed at you. It's just always puzzled me how exclusive to their Rogues Gallery some heroes can be the grand majority of the time.)

David B. Jacobs writes...

How does the Green Goblin change his voice? Does he have a voice-changer in his mask?

Lee H writes...

Hey Greg. I love the work you've done on The Spectacular Spider-Man, it's by far the best version of the character and his stories since Steve Ditko was handling him. A few questions:

1. You've mentioned before that you try your best to avoid creating original characters, so a lot of minor roles in the show are characters from the actual comic books. Are there any you can "reveal" that people haven't picked up on? I believe you've mentioned Tiny (McKeever, from Untold Tales right?) and Vin Gonzales before, which episodes did they appear in? Furthmore, has Seymour O'Reilly ( http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/seymourspdm.htm ) appeared in the show?

2. An excellent job has been done of merging certain characters, such as Montana/Shocker, Fancy Dan/Ricochet and Bennet Brant/Molten Man (which by extension merges some of Betty Brant with Liz Allan). Was Black Cat intentionally merged with Jessica Carradine? Are there any other, more subtle, character merges in the show?

3. Peter hasn't been shown tinkering with web shooters and gadgets as much as he did in the early issues of the comics. Was this something intentionally downplayed, or just due to time constraints and what-not?

4. What do you think worked best in Spectacular Spider-Man so far? Anything that didn't quite turn out as well as you'd hoped?

Thank you!

Paul writes...

I asked before whether Spidey had ever crossed paths with the real Mysterio in season 2, and you asked me to define "crossed paths", by which I mean any occasion when Spidey had come into contact with the real Beck in his Mysterio disguise. So did Spidey ever encounter the real Mysterio in season 2? I guess Beck was real enough in "Persona", but did Spidey ever meet the real deal on any occasion that he met Mysterio in season 2?

Martin writes...

Greg responds
And just so it's clear, I do NOT enjoy answering nearly every post with "NO COMMENT". This isn't fun for me either, gang, but since collectively you all keep insisting on asking for Spoilers that I've already made clear I'm not going to give, you're not leaving me much choice.

Look, Greg, you gotta understand us (the fans). These season 3 questions are probably coming from people who have already seen season 2. Plus, you revealed two big villains for the 3rd season (and you revealed it waaay back, I think in an interview with Spidermancrawlspace, even before the show started on KidsWB). Two teases, and now, with the show's fate in the air, we want more. But I agree with you, we should stop with this. it must be frustrating for you to see every 3rd question be something like "will Venom return and Chameleon too" or "Will you kill off Gwen". HE'S NOT GONNA KILL OFF GWEN, ATLEAST NOT IN SEASON 3 SO BACK OFF. Now I was about to ask you something, but what was it.... oh yeah:

I read your interview where you say that if the show gets 4th season, there will be Spider-Mobile. Is this still valid?

Clark Cradic writes...

Are you allowed to create show only characters for Spectacular Spider-man (not counting background characters like the couple) or does the agreement with Marvel prevent you from making your own characters for the story?

Spiderman Fan writes...

Hey Greg. You've done a great job with Spectacular Spiderman. I liked the twist with Black Cat's father murdering Uncle Ben which leads me to my questions:

1. I know you can't / won't reveal Season 3 but do you think Spiderman knowing Cat's relationship with Ben's muderer was a wise decision? The reason I ask is Black Cat's identity is basically shot since Spiderman could easily deduce her identity with a simple google search on The Cat Burglar.

2. Was the revelation Black Cat's father murdering Uncle Ben a calculated one (meaning Spiderman will use the info in a future episode)?

3. In Opening Night, it almost seems Cat's dad knows Spidermans identity based off his reaction in the air vent. This is my interpretation and perhaps am reading too much into it. Without revealing any spoilers, do you plan on having the Cat Burglar Cat's Dad) in future episodes?

Daniel writes...

Hi Greg,

I love 'The Spectacular Spider-Man', especially with what you and the crew did with the Green Goblin. Season 2 finale was Excellent!
The show itself has capture that old school Spidey feel and the only Spider-Man related comic book that captures this feeling, IMO, is the Spider-Girl series by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz.
That brings me to my questions:

1) Have you ever read a Spider-Girl comic?
2) If you have read Spider-Girl, what are your thoughts on the character and her world?

Nelio writes...

Not so much a question but praise / comment.

I'm not the biggest Spidey fan in the world, I was a little skeptical about watching the Spectacular Spider-Man. However after your announcement about it getting a second season, I decided to give it a chance.

I'm glad I did. The show is great. First I love the character designs, especially Parker. Not sure if you played a hand in their creation, but I like Parker in particularly because of the few idiosyncrasies with his face such as the mole. I was curious though about the triangle nose "slit" he seem to have. Is that supposed to be just a nostril or some type of disfigurement due to an injury, or something like that? I personally hope it is one of the latter as I feel having an injury like that brings some insight to the character.

One thing I must mention is the level of complex interaction going in the show. It's very good, and something I wouldn't expect from a cartoon. I dare say it has complexities of that of a prime time drama. I also love the long fight scenes.

While I'm mostly like you Greg for Gargoyles, I have to admit in the two other cases I've seen you work (7 episodes on The Batman and now Spectacular Spider-Man), I'm very happy with he quality of story you provide us with. Thank you very much.

rick writes...

first off, in 2005-07 i wasn't a real big fan of marvel until spidey 3 came out then i loved it again i cab probaly name every characters comic, animated series, movie, etc. but after spierman friend or foe came out (game) i was kinda fallin behind. then i saw the spectacular trailer for spiderman and i loved it, the action even the animation i really don't get why some people don't like it. anyway i have a question and opinions on some of the characters.

question: have you ever played any of the games because i noticed spidey called goblin emerald elf just like in the first movie game.

opinions:
vulture: when i first found out he was the first villain i was asking myself why? but you really did a great job with him it's everything he should be plus more.

enforcers:
in survival of the fittest i was only expecting vulture but when i saw the enforcers i was in a state of shock to see they were in a series. after spidey 3 i went out and bought spiderman essentials and thank god i did because i now know characters like blacky gagston (sorry if its spelled wrong, frederick foswell and both his alter egos, and enforcers or i wouldnt have known about them. more to the point these were really great adaptations of them and the fight scene was perfection. thanx

hammerhead: one word, brilliant this is how i always pictured hammerhead. a deep voice, a henchman for a crime boss but still is his own man, he was pulled off so nicely.

electro: me and my friends always mde jokes about his outfit, like how stupid it made him look but we still liked the character nonetheless. but this electro brings it to a whole new level, he is easily one of my top 5 favorite villains in the show.

lizard: i always liked dialouge in comics but for characters like liazrd, manwolf (even though he had no dialouge)and other monsterous characters like that i didn't think it suited themi mean i would like to see a few words coming out of his mouth but not a shitload (sorry for language)and not to mention the way he looks does resemble the comics but it is more ripped up and his silentness just made this character more frightening and AWESOME!!!

shocker: i saw the commercials and i just was in amazment of how awesome the episode looked and when i saw it it didn't disappoint. it was excellent. shocker though at first when i found out it was montana (here we go again, right) i was a little confused but after the episode it made more sense. montana suits your series' shocker.

sandman: flint marko was awesome and so is sandman, incredible job, this sandman was 10 times better than the movie version (not saying i hated it) and maybe even the comic version.

rhino: again better than the comic version. he reminded me of the hulk. and that is how it should be. although did you ever think of using ultimate rhino's look?

bigman/ tombstone: i was expecting fosswell but tombstone worked out great. in this he's more than just a henchman and thank god for that. also, i got kinda tired of kingpin in 90's series, not that i don't like him just he was in every episode. i do hope to see kingpin in this though.

green goblin: my favorite character right next to venom on this show. this goblin is exactly how it should be, just an excellent choice and steve blum is perfect.

doc ock: when i saw his look i had my doubts but it grew on me and soon he bacame one of my favorie villains on the show. his attitude, his action scenes, and the fact you made him master planner just like in the comics is awesome. and the battery pack or whatever it is called is another great improvement.

chameleon: not a huge fan of the chameleon but this version is just speechless. he is a cool villain in the show not best but cool.

Black Cat: 100 times better than the 90's version, exactly how she was in the comics, but will we ever see felica hardy out of costume?

sinister six: PERFECT!!! first six with ock, rhino, sandman, vulture, electro, and shocker was the best one. and the second one with sandman, rhino, vulture, electro, mysterio and kraven was cool and all that but when mysterio and kraven were introduced i was expecting the ock, mysterio, sandman, electro, kraven, and vulture version, will we ever see them?

Venom: Awesome job with black spidey, but why was his costume changing every episode. the symbiote going through his thoughts and memory and stuff was awesome(i use this word entirely to much) and venom was just too great to be true but it was and i loved it. eddie being his friend like in ultimate and the symbiote being an alien like in amazing was a great mix. my favorite character on the show.

Mysterio: awesome adaptaion of him.but that cheesey accent is really wierd.

Tinkerer: another character that was brought from a "whos that" level to an "oh him"
level, nice!

Kraven: i liked the mixture of sergei and the wolf looking creature, extremely cool but i do hope to see more of his human form.

Calypso: not really much to say but was a nice cameo and hope to see more of her.

colonel jupiter: just another great improvement w/ a character on this show. he was incredible.

silver sable: cool character but why was she going out w/hammerhead and why silvermane's daughter?

New enforcers: shocker, ox and the new and improved fancy dan, ricochet. a nice adjustment and creative decision to make fancy dan ricochet.

Silvermane: i wished there could have been more with the character but he was still awesome while he lasted, espescially w/ the suit.

Molten man: the last villain introduced throughout the two seasons and yet another great improvement on your show...how r u doing it.

that ends this i hope for at least 65 episodes but if it is doing good would you consider doing more

stephen writes...

can you answer a couple of questions:
1.) have you ever seen the 90's spiderman cartoon and if you have did you ever think about using some of the stufff they did?

2.) what made you pick tombstone as the big man...i know you answered it before but you always said at first you wanted to use kingpin but couldn't but my question is why not frederick fosswell but tombstone?

sorry if i confused you i was just curious

Paul writes...

I read your response to my question about when "Final Curtain" takes place and I thought I'd ask: does "Final Curtain" take place before, on or after St. Patrick's Day (considering the emphasis on the colour green on that day, and for the villain of the episode)?

Antiyonder writes...

An aspect that often attributed to Spider-Man's success is that the audience can, has or had related to him. With that said:

1. As far as Spidey's civilian life (because I have serious doubts that you have superhuman strength or can stick to walls or have a spider sense) goes, do you or have you related to him in any way?

1a. If yes, then how?

Clyde writes...

1 more question i forgot to ask:
The Green Goblin in Spectacular Spiderman seems a lot more dangerous than in the comics. He sort of reminds me of the Joker from The Dark Knight. If Venom and Green Goblin would get into a fight in the show, who do you think will win?

Clyde writes...

1. Is there at least a small chance that Spider-Man will bond with the symbiote one more time in future episodes?
2. Is is true you hate Carnage?
3. Your goal is to reach 65 episodes. If the show gets really high ratings after you're done all 5 seasons, would you still continue the show with a season 6 and beyond?

SpecSpidey546 writes...

which Hobgoblin do you prefer - Roderick Kingsley or Jason Macendale?

Matus/Slovakia/ writes...

I just wanted to say how pleased I am with all TSS stuff. Great job. No questions, life is full of surprises and I am going to wait for it all in TSS S3!

SpiderFan89 writes...

oh, I forgot to ask you - if season 3 is ordered, will the situaton with season 4 be same (waiting for the ratings and stuff)?

SpiderFan89 writes...

Greg, congratulations for your Spider-Man series. I watched the two seasons and as everybody else, I want more. but I'm not gonna ask season 3 questions because:
A) you wont reveal anything
B) by the time you answer this we will know if there's going to be another season

so:
1) have you watched the other new Marvel shows - Wolverine & The X-Men and Iron Man - Armored Adventures? if so, what do you think of them?
2) theres been speculation that Teletoon (Spectacular Spidey's Canadian home) may step in to save the show. is that a possibility, or the fate of the series depends entirely on Disney XD?
3) can you use Jack O'Lantern and The Punisher?
4) which Spider-Man games have you played?

thats for now.

AJC writes...

Based on season two of Spectacular Spider-man, the character Debra Whitman appears to be quite aloof and unsympathetic (when she stood in the background as miles warren basically took over the connors' lab and fired them). What was the reasoning behind this characterization and how is this bringing out the essence of the character? Sorry if I am being analytical.

Alex writes...

Hi, Greg.

Have you ever had the chance to watch any episodes of Gargoyles or The Spectacular Spider-Man on another language (German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, ...)? If so, which did you enjoy the most/least?

Pete writes...

Before I begin i just wanna thank you for the best superhero animated series EVER!!!!
Now, with that said I would like to ask...
1.) If you were to ever use any other hero in the marvel universe who would it be?

2.) Did you like the fact that Harry was Hobgoblin in the Ultimate Spiderman Comics?

3.) Are you a fan of the Crime Master? (The crimelord that was in about two comics with the goblin then killed off.)

4.) Season 1 and 2 were both incredible, none of the episodes were below 8 out of 10, but something is bugging me...Norman's alive just like in the comics, were you trying to respect the comics or were you not aloud to keep him dead.

5.) Quuestion four leads me to another question, can you name some of the things you are not aloud to do on the show?

6.) Finally, when, not if WHEN, season 3 gets commisioned will you announce it on this site.

Thanks for your time and the best anime series out there:)

Aldrius writes...

**Spider-man spoilers***

***Seriously***

Ramble: Child Development 101

Okay, so last season I thought the Symbiote arc was pretty good, I didn't really like Eddie that much, but I thought that the take on the Symbiote was interesting. My only real complaint was as with most symbiote stories (in Ultimate, in the other Animated Series), we didn't go long enough thinking it was just a regular costume. (Though I guess that'd be kind of pointless with most people knowing it's an alien.)

I find the theme of this arc hard to pin down. Psychology made sense last season as we were sort of looking into the motives and histories of Eddie Brock and Peter Parker and how they contrasted with one another. But here? We're not really getting a deeper look into Eddie or Peter's history beyond the first episode. I suppose to a degree the major theme is people with power they cannot yet handle or control. (Jameson and his spores, Sandman and his beach, Eddie and the Symbiote.) Which is of course, a big part of growing up.

Anyway, overall while reinforcement was my least favourite episode, this was probably my least favourite arc of the series. Most of the B-plots were always more interesting than what Venom was up to. I really loved the Sandman plot, I thought there could have been more information involved in the relationship between the Master Planner and the Big Man. I also vastly preferred the personal stake Jameson had in the Colonel Jupiter episode. And the third episode had some fun with people considering whether Peter could be Spider-man.

I have a theory about Norman's "No." but I'll chose to keep that to myself until I review Drama 101. The Conner's perspective is interesting, and I kinda like that they suspect, Aunt May's reaction is okay, but I'm still disappointed Peter has never told her. (And that's something I still don't really get. I guess he doesn't want to worry her, but it still seems irresponsible.) Stacy's reaction is of course, awesome. There are so many series and movies out there where the police are made out to be incompetent and completely incapable of foreseeing or preventing even the smallest of crimes, nice to see that subverted here. Stacy is actually a detective.

The use of the gene cleanser was an interesting choice, but a lot of wasted potential in the last episode again, I feel. Kind of like Reinforcement, I think a re-balancing between action and the villain's reaction to Peter Parker would have been apt (that one fight with Venom seemed to go on for a really long time for me). Though that's a tricky bit of writing to pull off, as I also find it difficult to justify why somebody like say, Tombstone (or even Beck really) wouldn't get rid of Peter just in case he was Spider-man.

Other than that, I liked the use of different soliloquies for each part here. Made for nice little bits of character development. While Gwen hooking up with Harry is almost as foolish as Peter hooking up with Liz. Bah, teenagers.

Overall, like I said, not my favourite arc, but overall much better upon reflection. I enjoy Venom somewhat, but still feel like there's something missing with the character. His motives make sense, but I think I just find them too petty to be invested in them. And Venom comes across as too much as a petulant child for me to find him scary beyond his first appearance.

Matthew writes...

When the DVDs for Spectacular Spider-Man were being talked about (prior to the release), the plan was for the arcs to be combined into "movies" and would feature cut material as well as stuff like gunshots. The first release followed this format. The episodes smoothly transitioned into each other and there were added scenes (as far as I know, only the scene with the cop shooting at the Lizard and Flash hitting Pete in the crotch with a water balloon). Now, when the following 3 volumes were released, this format was changed. The episodes were separate and the gunshots were still lasers. No apparent added scenes were present.

I just saw an early solicitation for the upcoming series set and it made no indication on whether or not the set would include extra scenes or actual gun sounds. I was just wondering if you have any idea if these will be uncut episodes or not.

Also, I've been curious, in "Group Therapy" when Black Costume Spidey fights the 6 for the second time Rhino gets shocked by Electro and Rhino's mouth moves, almost like he's trying to say something. Was his line removed? Or was this just part of the animation? It's been bugging me a lot and I just wanted some clarification.

Thanks for the time. The show is amazing. I was actually at Wondercon when you premiered the pilot of the show and ever since then I was a HUGE fan of your take on the Spidey mythos. I can't wait for the second season to air in the US and I have my fingers crossed for a 3rd season (as well as a 4th and 5th!)