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Emeka Uzoh writes...

hello,

rephrasing the question, How did you manage to relate to Spider-Man/Peter Parker? that I asked you earlier. I actually wanted to ask you what traits of Spider-Man/Peter Parker's character do you find that you have within yourself?

Greg responds...

He worries about money.

He worries about girls. (I don't do that anymore. Happily married for over twenty years, but I haven't forgotten what that was like.)

He worries about letting down the people in his life.

He worries about stopping super-villains. (Um... well, actually, I do worry about that. Though maybe that's not time well spent.)

Response recorded on April 11, 2017

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Brodie Marschall writes...

Hey, Greg,I've got to tell you something, Josh Keaton, the voice of Spider-Man in Spectacular Spider-Man reprised the character in the Marvel Super Hero Squad video games and Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, And he was going to reprise his role in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, But he was replaced by Drake Bell from Ultimate Spider-Man.
What do you think of this?

Greg responds...

I think Josh is great, and my ideal Spider-Man. So I'm happy whenever he gets to do anything (but especially Spider-Man).

Response recorded on April 07, 2017

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Marquis writes...

John Semper, script writer of Spider-Man the Animated Series from the 90s, has crowdfunded an audio drama epilogue for the show with much of the original cast. Since he's somehow allowed to do that, I wonder if you've ever thought about tying up some of Spectacular's loose ends through a full-cast audio recording of your own?

Greg responds...

I have no idea if he's ALLOWED to do that. Or if he just did it. You'd have to ask him. Personally, I wouldn't risk the lawsuit. And the spectre of getting permission, even for a non-profit venture, from both Sony and Marvel/Disney is nightmarish to me. In addition, since I have no ownership in the property, I'd want to get paid for my work. And finally, I've had my fill of crowd-funding for a lifetime.

Response recorded on March 29, 2017

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Emeka Uzoh writes...

How did you manage to relate to Spider-Man/Peter Parker?

Greg responds...

He's everyman. He's easy to relate to. He has powers AND responsibilities. Doesn't everyone?

Response recorded on March 29, 2017

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Lloyd keh writes...

Its brought a joy to my heart seeing Young justice get renewed for a 3rd season, the fans really acknowledged this series a lot ! You also took a big part in YJ return. GgvvvvvvvvbbbbbbbYou gave 3 ways we could help The series get renewed for a 3rd series. Netflix also took part in this great return so I was Wondering How can we get spectacular spiderman to return for a 3rd season. There's been multiple petition People have created and multiple I've signed (including the one on change.org). There's also been a hashtag #MakeSpidermanSpectacularagain & people have been influencing others to buy spectacular spiderman on blu ray & I myself have bought it and been doing the same.. I just wanna know if we are taking a step in the right direction & if we are, is marvel and Disney seeing this? I mean they should be seeing all this. It's been going on for years and last thing , how do u feel about this whole spectacular Spiderman thing ?

Greg responds...

I'd love for Spectacular to come back, and stranger things have happened. But if I'm being honest, I don't see a clear path for it. Buying the BluRays definitely helps - or at any rate doesn't hurt. But Marvel has its own animation studio now (owned by Disney) and is understandably NOT inclined to PAY Sony (which controls the rights to Spectacular) to produce a cartoon based on their signature character. I'm sorry. Believe me.

Response recorded on March 28, 2017

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RexBlazer1 writes...

Out of curiosity, are you aware that, in the original comics, the initial intent for the Venom symbiote was that, instead of going to Eddie Brock, it would go from Peter Parker to a WOMAN who had a grudge of her own against our friendly neighborhood web-slinger?

From what I've heard, the initial idea was that the woman would be pregnant and in labor. Then, her husband would try to wave down a taxi, and the taxi driver, who is paying more attention to Spider-Man in action instead of the road, accidentally hit and killed the woman's husband. The woman would then give birth on the spot, but the child would be a stillborn, and she'd lose her sanity because of the sudden loss of both her husband and her child, sending her to the Ravencroft Institute. She'd eventually regain her sanity and be released, but would still blame Spider-Man for the loss of her family. The symbiote would be nearby and sense her mutual hatred of the web-slinger, and bond with her to form Venom.

The reason Marvel didn't go this route, from what I hear, was that they felt their readers wouldn't consider a woman to be a physical-enough threat to Spidey. (Never mind the fact that a woman with the Venom symbiote would be, by definition, physically STRONGER than Spidey). Thus, they went with Eddie Brock, whose grudge was based on things that happened because of his own stupidity.

Here's the article describing it, just scroll down the page and you'll find it:
http://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-50/

Not to mention, as a result, it came to be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as Spidey doesn't have a lot of MEMORABLE female villains. In fact, the only one I can think of is Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat, who is very on/off when it comes to villainy, and is TECHNICALLY a clone of Catwoman when you think about it.

Still, imagine how things might've been had they gone with the female Venom route.

Greg responds...

It's interesting, but I'm not too enamored of the scenario you described. Again, her hatred of Spider-Man is largely irrational. She could hate the cab driver. God. Whatever. I prefer things being more personal. On the other hand, the goal of having more and more powerful female villains is one I'm whole-heartedly behind.

Response recorded on March 23, 2017

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Anonymous writes...

Hello Greg! I hope you are doing well and I want to congratulate you for Young Justice season 3 being commissioned. I cannot wait to see it. Here are my questions:

1. How long was your timeline for Spec Spidey, if you had one? I know you had eventual plans to go into Peter's college years and beyond if you had the chance, so I was curious if you had stories, characters, and events such as deaths, graduations, etc. planned out? I'm not asking what stories you wanted to tell but I am curious if you had a long outline, similar to Garg and YJ.

2. Why did you make MJ and Gwen friends in the series? It was a change I loved and considering where Pete and Gwen end up in the comics and where Pete and MJ end up, I thought it was a brilliant idea.

3. For YJ and Spec, was Jamie Thomasson a comic book fan? I ask because I wonder if him being a possible comic book fan helped him cast parts in the show easier. Did he only rely on your scripts or also on other source material?

Can't wait for YJ season 3 and hoping for Garg comics! And I still hold out hope you can write Spider-Man again in another form! Take care Greg and good luck.

Greg responds...

1. I did have one. But I don't remember how long it was, and I don't have access to it here at my Warner Bros office.

2. I didn't come up with it. They were on and off friends in the comics.

3. You'd have to ask him, but I don't recall him being a hardcore geek like me.

Response recorded on March 16, 2017

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Vincent writes...

Do you know if Tom Holland, or any of the cast/crew of Homecoming, or if Feige are fans and have seen Spectacular Spiderman?

Spectacular was an excellent adaptation which really captured the spirit of Spiderman. I love it so much and hope Homecoming does something similar to it.

Greg responds...

No idea.

Response recorded on March 03, 2017

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Kolty writes...

So in Young Justice, you cast Bruce Greenwood as Batman, but not John DiMaggio as the Joker. Any reason on ditching that match-up? I find it amusing.

Greg responds...

I don't know why it's amusing. We weren't/aren't in continuity with the Red Hood movie. But we felt Bruce was right for our Batman, and that John's interpretation of Joker wasn't right for our version of the character. Love John's work, however, as any fan of The Spectacular Spider-Man must know.

Response recorded on February 21, 2017

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Josh writes...

I was one time rewatching all of The Spectacular Spider-Man episodes and I noticed in the episode Identity Crisis smaller fronted overlapped letters on the word Kevin Michael Richardson on the closing credit. Was that some kind of goof/glitch and if so how can it happen out of curiosity or perhaps are the letters supposed to be some kind of word maybe? I wish if it is some kind of glitch that it could be fixed someday because I seemed to be triggered by OCD/intrusive thoughts/unwanted thoughts on it lately which seems to make me have anxiety feelings.

Greg responds...

I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. How were you watching the episode?

Response recorded on February 15, 2017

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R.I.P. Miguel Ferrer

Just a few words about Miguel Ferrer, who passed away yesterday. I won't pretend I knew him very well, but he was always a pleasure to have in the booth. He was the voice of Silvio "Silvermane" Manfredi on The Spectacular Spider-Man, and Bo "Bibbo" Bibbowski and Tribune #1 on Young Justice.

Did I forget anything? Oh, yes. His brilliant portrayal of Vandal Savage in Young Justice, making him one of the most interesting and complex hero/villains I've ever had the pleasure of working on.

His talent - both in material I was involved in and in the many, many things I simply watched as a fan - was immense.

He will be missed.


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James writes...

Hey Greg,

I have some more questions about S2 Ep1 of Spectacular Spider-Man.

1) Did you voice anyone else other than Menken?

2) How did Xander Berkeley land the role of Mysterio?

3) What inspired your version of Mysterio?

4) Where did the idea of the little purple bat things come from? Who voiced them?

I liked the Star Wars reference when Spidey said "May the Spidey Sense be with me."

Greg responds...

1. The truck driver, maybe. I'd have to look at it again.

2. I suggested him. He and voice director Jamie Thomason and I had worked together on GARGOYLES, in which he played Coldsteel, so we knew he'd be great.

3. The comics and the core idea of the character.

4. The Homunculi seemed to fit Mysterio's M.O.

4a. Thom Adcox, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Phil Lamarr, Cree Summer and James Arnold Taylor. I loved those little guys and wanted to do a spinoff series with them.

Response recorded on January 20, 2017

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James writes...

Hey Greg,

Spectacular Spider-Man is the best Spidey adaptation ever in my opinion. I have a few questions about S2 Ep1 "Blueprints".

1) Who was Eddie's roommate?

2) Where did Eddie live? Was it a dorm on campus?

3) How was it having Stan Lee making a cameo?

4) What all does Liz Allan's father own? Liz says he owns some hotels and in a previous episode they gang ate at his restaurant.

5) Where was Miles Warren before he returned to NYC?

I have more questions so I am going to submit another discussion because of the 5 question rule.

Greg responds...

1. Oh, I used to know this. I really did. But its been so long, I can't remember. It was a character from the canon. I want to say... Josh something. But honestly, I can't remember now.

2. Dorm on campus.

3. F---ing AWESOME!

4. The restaurant was IN one of his hotels. He owns hotels.

5. Elsewhere. (Never bothered to figure that out.)

Response recorded on January 20, 2017

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Victor Valente writes...

Hi Greg,
So a new Spider-Man series was announced yesterday at the New York Comic Con. Are you taking part in this project in any way? If your not, is there any way you could get aboard it because that would be spectacular.
Thank you so much for your time.

Greg responds...

No. And no. I'm busy on Young Justice S3, and in any case, Marvel would have to want me on it. They certainly know how to find me. There's clearly no interest in putting me and the character back together at this time.

Response recorded on January 18, 2017

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Mair writes...

Hi Greg,
First of all I just want to say thank you for every piece of writing you've ever done. You're a genuine source of inspiration to me and i'm continually amazed by the depth of your storytelling.

You've talked in the past about your decision to keep Emily Osborn alive and around in Spectacular instead of being a missing mother. I was thinking recently about how it's not uncommon for writers to imply that Norman's treatment of Harry to the idea that Harry's birth caused or bought about Emily's death.
You're Norman is probably the most explicitly cruel of all the Norman adaptations towards his son, and yet he totally lacks this excuse. I was wondering if that was something you where conscious of when writing the Osborns?

(P.S Spec!Norman is probably my favourite version of the character. He's cold, clever, charming and creepy, but most of all he's an unnervingly believable bully.)

Greg responds...

I never really bought into that as an excuse for Norman. If he had been a decent man up to the point of Emily's death, then he would have treated his son with decency. But he wasn't, so he didn't. So it didn't bother me to "lose" that particular motivation when weighed against other concerns.

Response recorded on January 17, 2017

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Chris writes...

After re-watching "Spectacular Spider-Man" episode "Gangland", I was left wondering... Where did Silvermane get that impressive armour.

Greg responds...

Sears.

Response recorded on January 12, 2017

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Windona writes...

Hey Mr. Weisman, a few random questions about Spectacular Spider-Man (even though it's been a while)

1) Did Gwen ever meet Harry's parents? (I ask because she has a way different reaction than Peter about them in Final Curtain, leading me to wonder)

2) I noticed when watching that Norman Osborn's treatment of Harry has multiple signs of emotional abuse (and of course, was revealed to have physically hurt his son in the s2 finale). Was this something intentional/clear, or just 'let's make Norman Osborn's relationship with his son like this' without thinking 'we want to make Norman explicitly emotionally abusive'?

I just want to say, thank you for creating a lot of wonderful characters, and doing them justice. Harry Osborn has always been one of my favorite, and I feel like not everyone appreciates the complexity of his characterization/does it well. (Though this is probably true of many characters that pass from writer to writer)

Also, since I know you like to include a level of real science (a level since sci-fi and fantasy inherently require breaks from science), 3) Did you ever read up on epi-genetics? It's really cool!

Greg responds...

1. Yeah, she's met them.

2. Like somehow we didn't NOTICE that he was abusive? No.

3. I haven't. At least not yet.

Response recorded on December 22, 2016

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writes... writes... writes... writes... writes...

Why didn't SpecSpidey or YJ have "Previously On" segments? Was it a network or production decision?

Greg responds...

I'm vehemently against using them. I learned painfully from Gargoyles that they actually have the opposite effect then one would think.

Instead of acting as small reminders or hints, they convince people that they've missed too much to join the series now. They were never necessary. Everything you truly NEED to know to enjoy a given episode is spelled out in one way or another within the episode itself.

Response recorded on December 16, 2016

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Zergrinch writes...

Hypothetical question.

ALL of your past and present projects have been renewed, and you have been asked to help them all. Which one would you prioritize, and why?

Greg responds...

Well, as many regular readers of this site know, I'm not big on hypotheticals. Reality is so much more complicated, but I'll give it a shot:

GARGOYLES first, always. We're trying to get another comic book version now. Tweet the hashtag #WeLiveAgain!

YOUNG JUSTICE, second. Season Three is real. It's here. I'm working on it.

I'm also working on the second book in the WORLD OF WARCRAFT: TRAVELER series, THE SPIRAL PATH, and recently completed co-plotting work on THE FALL AND RISE OF CAPTAIN ATOM, w/my old Captain Atom partner Cary Bates.

The third book in the RAIN OF THE GHOSTS series, MASQUE OF BONES, which I still plan to get back to as soon as I possibly can.

Everything else falls into the category of it's just too hypothetical to differentiate. But I'm very fond of THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, W.I.T.C.H., ROUGHNECKS: THE STARSHIP TROOPER CHRONICLES, STARBRAND & NIGHTMASK, anything with the STAR WARS REBELS characters [especially STAR WARS KANAN], 3X3 EYES, DISNEY'S VILLAINS and many others.

And I'm sure Edmund Tsabard would love to finish Last Tengu in Paris.

Response recorded on December 05, 2016

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Aaron writes...

1 what do you think of the marvel and Sony Spider-Man agreement and do you think this could help spectacular spider man get season 3

Greg responds...

Anything's possible, but it doesn't seem likely.

Response recorded on November 30, 2016

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Daniel writes...

is there still any hope that Spectacular Spider-man could return as a tv show/comic book or movie or is 100% dead?

Greg responds...

I'd never say 100%, but unlike Young Justice, I don't see a path for the return of Spectacular. But I hope I'm wrong.

Response recorded on November 09, 2016

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Green Lantern's Nightlight writes...

Can you name anything noteworthy Stan Lee contributed to Spectacular Spider-Man, because no direspect to him, but it just seems he's credited by default simply because he's associated with the character and nothing more. He's even a producer on the Deadpool film! I did read once his time with Bryan Singer on the first X-Men film, and it seems he has an office at Marvel (well, at least it does when he gets these Marvel interviews from an office).

Anyway, back to Spider-Man, I am curious as to what his contribution was, whatever length it was.

Greg responds...

Stan's Executive Producer credit on The Spectacular Spider-Man was, I'm sure, contractual. But he did contribute.

(And, by the way, saying "he's associated with the character" is both a ridiculous understatement and does a disservice to Stan and his legacy.)

For starters, there's the obvious contribution that he co-created Spidey, and wrote a huge proportion of the stories and characters we adapted. That's why Vic Cook and I chose to give Stan and Steve Ditko the "Created by" credit, which was not contractual.

Then, of course, Stan Lee voiced the character of Stan in the episode Blueprints. He came in to record and it was an inspirational thrill to everyone.

In my career, there have been many people who received credits on shows who really did do nothing observable to justify said credit. But Stan Lee doesn't strike me as one of those. His contributions to SpecSpidey were invaluable.

Response recorded on October 27, 2016

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ShadowKiller2000 writes...

In Spectacular Spider-Man, Dock Ock's power source or battery pack or whatever was called the Megalo Pack. What made you guys use that name. Was it something from the Comics?

Greg responds...

I don't remember.

Response recorded on October 24, 2016

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Spectacular Radio

For fans of THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, I've been doing a podcast where we go through the series, episode by episode, with guest starts including Josh Keaton (Peter/Spidey), Ben Diskin (Eddie/Venom), Supervising Director Vic Cook and others. The entire first season of "SPECTACULAR RADIO" is up now, here:

http://www.spidey-dude.com/?cat=118

Plus, check out Spidey-Dude.com, which also does the podcasts Mayday Mondays (based on Spider-Girl) and Clone Saga Chronicles!


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RexBlazer1 writes...

Hi Greg,

I've asked before about a matter concerning storytelling in a general sense, and now I'd like to ask about a more specific one. Namely about the symbiote in "Spectacular Spider-Man." What I'm going to ask is not really spoiler-ish, I think, but is more of an issue that I didn't think about until recent months. And, to be honest, it's one that I don't see a lot of people noticing.

Simply put, why does the Symbiote costume look the way it does when Spidey first dons it in the show? The audience recognizes it because of how iconic it is, but what's the in-universe reason for its overall appearance? Admittedly, I may've missed something when I first watched the show, and it could be that I'm not thinking of any reason due to not having seen the full show in a while, but it's a question that I think needs answering. Plus, it's something that wasn't addressed in the 90s animated series either.

In the original comics where the Symbiote first appeared, the "Secret Wars" miniseries, the story did give an in-universe reason for the way Spidey's black costume appeared. The heroes had an alien machine that would repair their outfits or give them new ones. When it was Spidey's turn, he was subconsciously thinking about Spider-Woman's (Julia Carpenter's) outfit, which was mostly black and had the classic white spider symbol. There, it made sense.

Now, obviously, you guys couldn't do the Secret Wars stuff within "Spectacular Spider-Man," but in doing the Symbiote storyline, I respectfully don't think you explained its appearance. It just appears and almost instantly becomes a black suit not long after. Sure, the characters acknowledge the different outfit on Spidey, but, again, there wasn't any apparent reason for the costume's design to look the way it did, aside from it just being iconic to the audience.

So, again, I ask you; was there an in-universe reason within the "Spectacular Spider-Man" show for the Symbiote's costume look to appear the way it did?

Greg responds...

It was a black symbiotic, so it was a black costume. I think maybe you're overthinking it. Also, notice how it evolved over the four episodes it appeared in.

Response recorded on September 20, 2016

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safminako writes...

Do you think Keith David could voice any other of your characters? If so, which ones?

P.S
I am still a fan of the show and totally used jump off of an ironing board trying to fly when I watched Gargoyles as a kid.

Greg responds...

I don't understand what you mean. Keith is amazing, and has done a voice for me on nearly every series I've produced. The list includes Goliath (Gargoyles), Officer Morgan (Gargoyles), Thailog (Gargoyles), Mama (3x3 Eyes), Hades (Kidd/Hero), The Big Man (The Spectacular Spider-Man) and Mongul (Young Justice: Invasion).

Response recorded on September 16, 2016

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Kellen O'Rourke writes...

Hello again Greg,
A couple of things, I read the archives and I got a couple of answers to my previous questions. I'd like to ask your opinions on the Spider-Man film franchise, specifically the two The Amazing Spider-Man films.
1. Do you agree with the general response on those films or not. As you know none of those films were really loved much.
2. What do you think of it ending prematurly and the franchise getting a third reboot? Are you excited for that?
3. Also wondering, how did the sales go for the complete series of The Spectacular Spider-man on blu-ray? I got it as soon as it was released and let me tell you, it's one of the best investments I ever made.

Hope you're doing well and thank you for your time.

Greg responds...

1. I didn't see the second one and thus can't comment on that at all. I thought there was a lot to like about the first one, but felt I didn't really need the origin again.

2. I have no opinion on that specifically. But I did like Spidey's appearance in Civil War. So that's promising. Not sure about hot Aunt May. Seems ageist.

3. I have no idea. They don't give me that information.

Response recorded on July 19, 2016

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Kellen O'Rourke writes...

Hello Greg,
I have recently got into Gargoyles and it quickly became one of my favorite series and I think you're one of the most brillant people in the business. I saw your name in the credits and I looked up your other works and I noticed that you where one of main heads behind The Spectacular Spider-Man, which I think had the potential to be the definitive Spider-Man series. I've come across several interviews of you discussing the series, you covered most of the characters but you didn't really get into Harry Osborn. He was one of the most interesting people in the show.
1. How did you develop him from being one of Peter's best friends to ultimately passing him over for popularity?
2.If the show had continued, where did you see his character going?
3.What was the reason for having his mother being alive?
Thank you very much for your time.

Greg responds...

1. It's mostly all right there in the original Lee/Romita comics. Harry wants to win approval from his father and therefore makes a number of choices that he believes will help him achieve that.

2. No Spoilers.

3. It just seemed like we had too many single-parent families. For both Gwen and Pete, having the lone parent seemed essential. For Harry, it didn't. Plus we had long term plans for Emily.

Response recorded on July 19, 2016

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Anonymous writes...

I've been re-watching Spectacular Spider-Man, and I'm now sure that it's the greatest Marvel show ever. There are a few questions I thought of while watching.

1. What inspired you to have Green Goblin be in a "rhyming mood" in "Opening Night"? I thought it was a really brilliant way to showcase how over the top he is.

2. Since Punisher, Cloak, and Dagger all first appeared in Spider-Man's comics, were you allowed to use any of them?

3. You've talked about where heroes like the Fantastic Four were during this show, even if you couldn't use them, but did you ever consider where Moon Knight, Black Widow, Hawkeye, or Dr. Strange were? Would you have considered using any of those characters if you could have?

4. When you were doing research on Spider-Man to write the show, were there any characters, especially villains, who you discovered and immediately felt like you wanted to use?

5. What made you decide to have Silver Sable be Silvermane's daughter instead of a mercenary? I really liked the change because of her chemistry with Hammerhead and because I think Silvermane is a very underrated villain, so I'm curious about what made you think of making those changes to her.

Greg responds...

1. It was to further equate him with Puck.

2. It didn't come up, but I doubt it.

3. Moon Knight was probably not Moon Knight yet. Hawkeye was probably still a circus performer; Black Widow, a Russian spy. Dr. Strange was probably still in Tibet. Over time - and given enough episodes AND PERMISSION - I'd have used anyone and everyone.

4. Yep. Vulture, the Big Man, the Enforcers, Hammerhead, Electro, Lizard, Shocker, Sandman, Rhino, Tombstone, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Chameleon, Black Cat, the Sinister Six, the Burglar, Venom, Mysterio, Tinkerer, Kraven, Calypso, Master Planner, Colonel Jupiter, Silver Sable, Ricochet, Silvermane, Molten Man, Hobgoblin, Scorpion, Hydro-Man, Carnage and Kingpin.

5. Initially, their names.

Response recorded on July 12, 2016

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Cheston Bulgin writes...

Was Spectacular Spider-Man set in the same universe as Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes? I ask because when Spidey was brought in to make an appearance, Josh Keaton was suppose to voice Peter before they dubbed him with Drake Bell. I heard they changed up the animation too when Drake was voicing him.

Greg responds...

No to your question. I wasn't involved in what followed.

Response recorded on July 11, 2016

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DJ writes...

Hi,
I noticed that you did a radio show that was basically a crossover between Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles, and I was wondering a few things:

1. I've looked all over the website for the final act, but I haven't been able to find it. Is there a way I can read it and find out what happens?

2. Did you write it as a way of considering trying to merge the Gargoyles universe with the Marvel universe, or were you doing it just for fun?

3. Would you be willing to allow the Gargoyles universe to become part of Marvel or DC if they asked you?

Thanks,
DJ

Greg responds...

1. The production itself is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95V2vAFJmKs
But you couldn't have searched ASK GREG too hard. It took me no time to find it: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=846

2. Fun.

3. It would never be up to me. But I'd recommend AGAINST it.

Response recorded on July 08, 2016

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Atelson Fitgerald writes...

By the time you answer this, I bet the movie is in quick production or you've been sworn to silence. With all the rumors of Marvel's untitled Spidey film coming up, there are tons of rumors saying that it's pulling from the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series including the title and teen dynamic. By any chance, are you involved in any way with the film?

Greg responds...

No. And that's NOT me being cagey. I'm not involved at all.

Response recorded on July 07, 2016

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CONvergence 2016

I leave tomorrow for CONvergence 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Okay, really Bloomington, MN, but close enough.) CONvergence is one of my favorite cons. And I have the honor of being their first fan-funded guest. Here's my schedule for the long weekend:

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016
GUEST RECEPTION 07:00pm - 09:00pm
Atrium 4

THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2016
"Why Gargoyles is Still Relevant" 12:30pm - 01:30pm
Atrium 6 w/Christopher Jones, Patrick Fisher, Alana Profit, Chandra Reyer.

RADIO PLAY AUDITIONS 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Plaza 3 w/Christopher Jones.

"Physics of Time Travel" 03:30pm - 04:30pm
Edina w/Renate Fiora (m), Dan Berliner, Melanie Galloway, Jim Kakalios.

"Fancy Bastard Pie Competition" 08:30pm - 09:30pm
Garden Court - Southwest w/GPS.

FRIDAY, JULY 01, 2016
SIGNING 11:00am - 12:00pm
Autograph Table B.

RADIO PLAY AUDITIONS 12:30pm - 01:30pm
Plaza 3 w/Christopher Jones, Khary Payton.

"Writing by Ear" 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Bloomington w/Patrick Marsh (m), Emma Bull, Aimee Kuzenski, Jim McDoniel.

"Don't Call Them Sidekicks: The Enduring Power of Teenage Superheroes" 03:30pm - 04:30pm
Bloomington w/ Christopher Jones, Jessa Markert, Khary Payton, Sylus Rademacher.

"Drawing with the Masters" 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Plaza 2 w/Christopher Jones, Ruth Thompson.

"Why Diversity Needs to be Deeper than Marketing" 08:30pm - 09:30pm
Edina w/ Trisha Lynn (m), Kate Norlander, Jonathan Palmer, Dirk Ykema.

"Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome Live Podcast" 10:00pm - 11:00pm
Edina w/Windy Bowlsby, Melissa Kaercher.

SATURDAY, JULY 02, 2016
"Building Worlds for Fiction" 09:30am - 10:30am
Plaza 1 w/Michael Carus (m), J.M. Lee, Melissa Olson, Lynne M. Thomas.

"Why We Need Representation in Superheroes" 11:00am - 12:00pm
Edina w/ Christopher Jones, Bri Lopez Donovan, Khary Payton, Lynne M. Thomas.

RADIO PLAY REHEARSAL 12:30pm - 01:30pm
Atrium 6 w/ Christopher Jones, Jim Kakalios, Khary Payton and a cast of tens.

RADIO PLAY PERFORMANCE 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Atrium 6 w/ Christopher Jones, Jim Kakalios, Khary Payton and a cast of tens.

"Superficially Strong Female Characters" 05:00pm - 06:00pm
Edina w/ Crystal Huff (m), Kathryn Sullivan, Chrysoula Tzavelas, Joan Marie Verba.

"One on One with Christopher Jones" 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Edina (m) w/Christopher Jones.

ANIMATION BLUE 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Atrium 6 w/Christopher Jones, Lyda Morehouse, Khary Payton, Jenna Powers, Edmund Tsabard.

SUNDAY, JULY 03, 2016
YOUNG JUSTICE 09:30am - 10:30am
Atrium 6 w/Christopher Jones, Khary Payton.

SIGNING 11:00am - 12:00pm
Autograph Table B.

RAIN OF THE GHOSTS 12:30pm - 01:30pm
Edina.

READING 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Rm 2201.

ONE ON ONE 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Atrium 6 w/Melissa Kaercher.


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Garrett writes...

If you had all the time in the world to work on the second seasons of your TV Series such as:

Gargoyles

Max Steel

Young Justice

and The Spectacular Spiderman,

What exactly (from the specifics to not-so-specific) would you change/alter them?

Greg responds...

Change or alter? Nothing. Even errors and missed opportunities are errors and missed opportunities I can live with.

Response recorded on June 23, 2016

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Rhino Venom writes...

What country did Kraven and Calypso live in before they came to New York?

Greg responds...

I don't remember.

Response recorded on May 04, 2016

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Todd Jensen writes...

I've read the synopsis of the radio play crossover you made for "Gargoyles", "The Spectacular Spider-Man", and "Young Justice" (it'd be neat if you could put up the script for it at "Ask Greg" as you did for "Religious Studies 101", and noted that, near the end, you had Batman asking Goliath to join the Justice League. Now, the obvious reason why you had Batman be the one approaching Goliath was for the joke about Xanatos trying to get both Batman and Iron Man to join his club for rich guys with fancy equipment. But I remember how, back when you were making "Gargoyles", you were concerned that people might see it as a rip-off of "Batman: TAS" (to the point where you even drew up a list of differences between the two series); did you choose Batman for that role as a sort of callback to that?

Greg responds...

Not consciously.

Response recorded on April 22, 2016

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Jacob Kilner writes...

As a fan of Spectacular Spider-Man (I pretty much hold it as THE gold standard for Spider-Man and indeed, adaptations in general) and Young Justice, I like many others were crushingly disappointed by their cancellation.

My question is; as well as focusing on current projects, do you still, if occasionally, look for ways to continue or even complete the stories you started in the past series cancelled?

Even if it has been years since cancellation, do you still hold out hope or even consider options for revival?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Yes.

Response recorded on April 13, 2016

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Anonymous writes...

Hi Greg,
I've really enjoyed all your work. Spectacular Spiderman s one of my "gateway" superhero shows! Thanks for that and Young Justice. This is a retype of my question because I forgot to mention how much I love Rain! I love big mystery/treasure hunts that build on themselves, and the way that Rain and Charlie save the day (no spoilers!) was so fun and cathartic. Rain's relationship with the other generations in her family is such a valuable dynamic that you just don't see elsewhere. :)

One thing still confuses me about Young Justice, though-I'm trying to understand some of the logic behind Dick's decision to keep Wally "hanging back," as you said.

Why would Dick feel there was "no shortage" of heroes? At the least, they were down the six most powerful heroes on Earth with most of the JL off-planet, and in the War World episodes, almost the entire Team was kidnapped. Why wouldn't he call Wally in then? (M'gann is really powerful, but that was a small planet they were fighting. Also, later, the Reach showed that they had an armada with hundreds of ships left over the fight with the War World - surely he'd want all hands on deck, particularly with so much of the League gone?

Why would Wally's appearance be able to catch the bad guys "off guard" after Bloodlines? Wally was already in the game; the nuclear bomb in Central was well publicized; why would his appearance be any more a surprise after that?

On the War World, Dick knew Artemis wouldn't be an issue because M'gann knew she was down under the ocean, so that wasn't a big concern. Even if Artemis did teleport to the alien world, it seems foolhardy in the extreme (almost unbelievably so) that Dick would attempt to take on a planet with only one other hero when another was supposedly waiting in the wings, ready to help whenever.

It doesn't make sense to me that Wally's appearance would be most needed and the biggest surprise only in Summit, when Dick had more backup than at any other point in the entire season and Wally had already showed up in Bloodlines. How was he more useful or a bigger surprise in a huge crowd than in a group of three on the War World, propotionally, when Dick was in the biggest trouble?

It also seems very, very strange that Dick wouldn't let Wally contribute to the efforts of bringing the people who nuked his hometown to justice. No one died that day, but their livlihoods were destroyed and there would be nuclear fallout. Even if Dick was too worried Wally would hurt himself (?), or whatever, Wally showed in Homefront that he was very capable of support - moral and technical - without necessarily getting into the fray. It seems just so strange that, if Wally really *wanted* to help, that he'd shut him out of something that had so ruined Wally's home. It seems strange that Artemis wouldn't have an issue with Dick forcing Wally to stay home, too.

As an aside, why would Dick initially try to keep the truth about Artemis's death from Wally if he *wanted* Wally to hang back for some reason? How would they guy who wanted to kill every alien robot dead in when he really believed Artemis to be dead in Failsafe be easier to control and tell to "hang back" if he REALLY thought Artemis was dead?

Logistically, to me it feels like Dick was more adept and logically minded when he was 13 than 19 with five more years of experience, which is strange. No real judgement against "Dick," really, but none of this seems to hold water at all.
I'm just trying to wrap my head around it.

I enjoyed the rest of the show a lot, though! And Rain is the best!

Thanks. :)

Greg responds...

Dick has learned the value of (1) holding heroes in reserve (for example, in "Failsafe") - and (2) of not making any single squad too big or unmanageable and (3) of keeping people who had trained together working together.

As for Summit, Kid Flash was certainly useful there, but mostly he was there because Artemis' undercover op was coming to an end, and Wally wanted to be there, which at that point was fine with Nightwing.

Beyond that, if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you. But it works fine for me, and I won't apologize for it. Nor do I agree with your interpretation of Dick's skills as a leader, season to season. But your mileage may vary.

Response recorded on April 06, 2016

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B writes...

For The Spectacular Spider-Man, did you have any specific spin-offs in mind or ideas for other series set in its version of the Marvel Universe, and, if so, what were they?

Greg responds...

Well, it was less about spin-offs and more about occasional guest stars. Then if someone (in authority) had said, "HEY, DO THAT!" we would have.

I think I've mentioned we wanted to use Johnny Storm, so that could have led to a theoretical Fantastic Four spin-off.

We wanted to use Beast, Cyclops and Professor X, which could have lead to a theoretical X-Men spin-off.

We wanted to use both Hulk and Captain America, which could have lead to theoretical spin-offs for either and/or for the Avengers.

Oh, and I did have one other spin-off idea that really was a spin-off coming out of Season Three or Four, that would have largely featured characters that had already appeared in the series by that point, including (but not limited to) Flint, Hobie and Felicia.

Response recorded on March 31, 2016


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Raphael writes...

4. I was looking at the TV Tropes 'What Could Have Been' page after someone on Ask Greg mentioned it and I stumbled across this snippet about The Spectacular Spider-Man (SPOILERS for the end of second season pretty much go without saying after all of these years but whatever): "It was planned for a five-season run (ending with Peter's graduation from High School) - the timing of the Disney/Marvel buyout would have limited it to only three seasons, but because the show also switched networks, it only got two. And because of that, we wind up ending with the revelation that all of Peter's friends save Mary Jane are alienated from him, Harry hates Spider-Man, Gwen remains his girfriend after some emotional blackmail from Harry, and Peter didn't even stop the bad guy." Now I'm not interested if a longer run would have resulted in a happier ending because that seems like the kind of thing that you would interpret as SPOILERS. I know this is just a fan run site with no sources and It seems it makes a couple of assumptions right off the bat because it wasn't so much planned for a five-season run as much as there was a long term plan that could have spanned five seasons ideally. But I'm interested in if what it was saying about the switching of the networks limiting the show's run from three to two seasons holds any shred of truth.

Greg responds...

No. What limited us to two seasons was the fact that Marvel got the animation rights to Spider-Man back from Sony, but Sony still held the rights to "The Spectacular Spider-Man" work product. Sony couldn't make more seasons of Spectacular, because they no longer had the animation rights. Marvel couldn't make more seasons of Spectacular because they didn't have the rights to that version of the character.

It had nothing to do with the network switch between seasons one and two. And it had nothing to do with Disney buying Marvel either.

Response recorded on February 25, 2016

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Raphael writes...

Hi Greg, I wrote many months ago about the correct episode order for Gargoyles. I actually live in Australia so getting Gargoyles Season 2 Vol. 2 is hard and because I know I won't be able to finish it, I haven't watched all of what I have of Gargoyles yet. That information wasn't really needed but I figured I would put it there as a precursor to saying I'm practically obsessive about The Spectacular Spider-Man, (as a Spider-Man fan like yourself, albeit a much narrower breadth of knowledge as I am only a teenager) love Young Justice, particularly the second season, and am enjoying Gargoyles (I think I'm only just past City of Stone, which was epic in the literal sense) and Star Wars Rebels, that twist in 'Rise of the Old Masters' in particular was really well crafted, which as I write this is six episodes or seven episodes in, I'm slightly behind.
Before I get started, I want to make it clear that whatever I say in my first question, I have no intention to argue with you about what you put in the show as others have been about Wally West at the time I write this. I actually have a few different questions on Young Justice, one on The Spectacular Spider-Man and one about you which are split up and these two paragraphs sort of serve as an introduction to all of it.
1. I'm fairly certain there's an undeniable change of pacing and generally a slight tinkering in the type of storytelling from the first season of Young Justice to the second. In the first season the episodes were relatively self contained episodes that contributed to larger character arcs but in the second season almost every episode, if not every episode, contributed to a constant driving narrative. I've noticed something like this in all of your shows, between their first and second seasons before they all were sadly cancelled. Gargoyles felt like its first season set up the character dynamics and world before the second season expanded its universe, probably due to such a large episode order. And The Spectacular Spider-Man felt like it just grew more confident and ambitious. If you don't think these assessments are correct I'd be very different to hear why your shows evolved. I believe Young Justice evolved the most though. Was that planned from the start or was the show readjusted due to what direction you and the rest thought the show could best move in? Or was it some external factor like a change in writing staff, or a smaller amount of episode? In conclusion, why was the show's overall pacing changed? And if you think I've answered my own question can you elaborate?
2. Was there any break in production? I know there wasn't much space between the airing of Young Justice's first season and its second, but did you have any break between seasons?
3. I'm not sure if this has been asked before, and it seems like a fairly obvious question so I apologize if it has been, but how far into production of season 2 of Young Justice, if at all, did you know it was your last season and how sure were you? When I say you I mean everyone who worked on the show.

Greg responds...

1. I think much of what you says feels right. But that's a key distinction. It "feels" right. It isn't objectively correct. I do think that on YJ, the second season was without a doubt more driven by narrative than by character, as the first season was. This was in part intentional. We didn't need to intro concepts. But you may be overstating it a bit as well, since every episode was still designed to stand alone and tell a great story that could hook new viewers. One other factor, as you noted, that definitely contributed to this sense of momentum was the fact that we only got 20 episodes for the second season. That forced us to dedicate more episodes (and storylines within episodes) to the main "novel" we were crafting. With a larger order, we'd have had more plotlines that weren't directly tied to the main throughline, and the feel would have been more like Season One.

2. A short break. Nothing significant.

3. I don't remember exactly, but it was before we completed production. I think maybe even before we had completed the final script.

Response recorded on February 23, 2016

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Spectacular Spider-Man writes...

1. Why did Liz and Flash break up, and who broke up with whom?
2. How does Peter stick to walls through his costume? Wouldn't the hairs on his fingers be blocked? And how do his feet stick to walls, especially if he's wearing boots in his costume?
3. What is Hammerhead's real name (first and last)?
4. Were you allowed to use Marvel objects not related to Spider-Man? For example, could you mention Adamantium or Latveria?
5. How did Vulture, Sandman, Rhino, and the Mysterio robot escape from prison in Reinforcement? And why did they bother breaking the robot out?

Greg responds...

1. It was kind of mutual, since Flash was interested in M.J. and Liz was interested in Petey.

2. It's a thin costume (even the boots). That's why he's so cold all the time.

3. NO SPOILERS.

4. It never came up. If I had to guess, I'd assume Adamantium was okay and Latveria was not.

5. I don't recall.

5a. I don't think they knew it was a robot.

Response recorded on February 17, 2016

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

1. Where was Master Planner's lair? What was the building Spider-Man was looking at, how did he know he could enter underwater, how was it built, and how did the villains get in?
2. What did Black Cat do with the stolen jewel from the end of Persona?
3. How did Vulture fire the lasers from the back of his wings in Shear Strength?
4. Why did nobody at the racetrack notice the Green Goblin? It wasn't a very good disguise.
5. What experiment was Dr. Octavius working on that caused the arms to fuse to him? Was it a normal experiment or a supervillain one?

Greg responds...

1a. In the river.

1b. I don't recall.

1c. He got that info from Tinkerer, didn't he? (It's been a while, and my memory isn't the best.)

1d. I think that was more or less spelled out in the episode. At least to the extent one needs to know.

1e. In an elevator from that building, maybe?

2. Fenced it.

3. Hidden controls.

4. If you say so.

5. Define "normal".

Response recorded on February 17, 2016

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

1. Are the symbiote's webs living pieces of the symbiote, dead symbiote matter, or just waste produced by the symbiote?
2. Peter's costume gets ripped or torn in many episodes. How does he repair it?
3. In the Big Sky Billiard Room, there is a sign in the background that says "No gambling". Was this a joke, or does Montana not approve of or know about Blackie Gaxton being a bookie?
4. In Group Therapy, there is a sign that says "Jazzy Gianni: The Musical". In Gangland, the restaurant where the M^3 kids are eating is also called Jazzy Gianni's. Who is Jazzy Gianni, and why are a restaurant and a musical named after him?
5. What are those metal things Hammerhead wears on his hands? Do they enhance his strength?

Greg responds...

1. Fine question. I have no idea. I'll leave that to your interpretation.

2. With difficulty. (Also, he has two identical costumes.)

3. None of the above. What's legal and posted, doesn't always get respected - either by the owner or the help.

4. Jazzy Gianni was our code for Jazzy Johnny Romita Sr., the second artist (after Steve Ditko) to team with Stan Lee on Spider-Man. In universe, we imagined that Jazzy Gianni was a legendary man-about-town in New York City. And who's to say we're wrong?

5. They're the equivalent of brass knuckles. They don't enhance his strength, but they enhance the damage he can do with his fists.

Response recorded on February 17, 2016

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

Since Sony still has the film rights to Spider-Man, could they make a direct to video Spectacular Spider-Man movie? Or would it have to be theatrical? Or could it only be a live-action movie still set in the same universe? Or are they not allowed to do any of this?

Greg responds...

Marvel has the animation rights to Spider-Man. Beyond that, I'm not privy to what they've agreed on between the two companies.

Response recorded on February 08, 2016

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Christopher Rosa writes...

Hello Greg this is Christopher Rosa I have some questions for you,

1. I remember reading you saying that there are no original characters in Spectacular Spider-Man, that got me thinking, I remember in episode Reaction there other cheerleaders appear with Liz and Sally, one with light brown hair, another with black hair who was black, and finally one I think with brown or black hair, are these background characters base on canon characters, or are they nameless characters you just made, and if there are not nameless I like to hear there names?

2. I was wondering if you have a change to continued Spectacular Spider-Man, would you change any plans you had in 2009, like there are new supporting characters, villains, and allis Spider-Man has now that did exist, example L. Thompson Lincoln now has a daughter, Im not looking for a spoiler answer and I hope this is not a spoiler question but if you do start up Spectacular Spider-Man again would you consider using a character that did not exist in 2009?

Greg responds...

1. They were probably nameless, but I don't recall.

2. Yes, I'd consider it.

Response recorded on February 08, 2016


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SpiderManFan writes...

I have a couple questions about Spectacular Spider-man so here goes
1) How is Ox, an ordinary human able to hold spidey in a bear hug without him breaking free? (spider-man is able to escape but only by pulling on Ox's moustache and forcing him to let go)

2)Why is it that sometimes spider-man's webs come out in streams and other times they come out like a net?

3) How was Eddie Brock able to make his own web-shooters?

5) How did Peter make the original web shooters? Is it like the ultimate comics where it was a formula his father had been working on and Peter finished it, or is it more like the original comics where he just came up with the idea on his own?

Thank you for taking the time to read all these questions . I recently tried to watch ultimate spider-man and I only made it through a couple of episodes before I gave up on it. Ultimate isn't bad only because they changed things, I understand that some changes are necessary and even enjoyed the changes that were made in spectacular. The reason I enjoyed your show so much is that despite the changes spectacular spider-man stayed true to the spirit of the characters, while ultimate spider-man has not. So thank you once again for making a show that was able to capture the spirit of the original spider-man stories while updating them to a modern setting.

Greg responds...

1. Ox is strong. Spidey is stronger, but he's no Superman. If he's got no leverage, he can't just shrug the guy off.

2. Depends on how he sets the shooters, which he can do by where he presses down with his finger.

3. I assume you don't mean as Venom. Keep in mind, he has all of Pete's memories from his time as Venom. Otherwise, NO SPOILERS.

4. There is no question 4.

5. No spoilers.

I haven't seen Ultimate, so I have no opinion on it. But I know a lot of very talented people worked on it. In any case, it's not a competition. But I am glad you enjoyed Spectacular.

Response recorded on January 22, 2016

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

1. Was the man with Donald Menken and Chameleon disguised as Norman when the glider was stolen Dr. Stromm?
2. How did Chameleon manage to get Stan Carter tied up, take his uniform, put it on, and get a Stan Carter mask so quickly? And did he have that mask the whole ime, just in case? Also, does he use a voice changer or just imitate people's voices?
3. Does Black Cat have any superpowers? It seems really unlikely that she could have navigated the Oscorp laser maze perfectly, but she might just be that awesome. Were these her probability affecting powers? If so, how did she get them?
4. Where did Dr. Connors get the Colonel Jupiter suit, and how did he know it would fit John after he grew?
5. Does Peter realize the Curt Connors that came into the lab when he was there in Persona was Chameleon? Does the general public think the Spider-Man who broke into the lab was Chameleon?

Greg responds...

1. No spoilers.

2. I'll leave this to your imagination.

3. She's just awesome.

4. He'd been working with John for weeks.

5. I'd have to watch the episodes again.

Response recorded on January 21, 2016

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

1. Do any villains realize that Spider-Man is a teenager?
2. How, if at all, will the Spider-Verse event impact the Spectacular Spider-Man universe?
3. In the Master Planner episode, we see that there are cameras planted all over the city that Doc Ock is watching. We're also led to believe that he's tracking Peter's phone, bu pt later find out he's tracking Gwen. Could Master Planner have seen Peter transform into Spider-Manthrough the cameras like the one near the demolished building, or track his phone?
4. In the episode where wer're introduced properly to Tombstone for the first time, he presses a button to call in Stan and Jean, who immediately burst into the room? How did they get there so fast?
5. In the same episode, Norman is waiting outside the elevator for Harry and tells him to man up. Then he goes back to talk with Hammerhead and apologizes for some reason and acts like he was interrupted. Why was he waiting if he was busy talking with Hammerhead?

Greg responds...

1. No.

2. No Spoilers one way or another.

3. Keep in mind that Doc was being opportunistic. These were existing cameras he was tapping into, not cameras he placed. So Pete's generally pretty careful. He also has the advantage that nobody was literally going through ALL the existing footage live.

4. They were right outside the door.

5. I'd have to see the episode again.

Response recorded on January 19, 2016

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Anonymous writes...

Will you ever post the Spectacular Spider-Man series bible?

Greg responds...

I might. But I don't have it here at my Nickelodeon office.

Response recorded on January 15, 2016

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Anonymous writes...

Was the Michael kid from Gangland Michael Morbius?

Greg responds...

No. He was a contest winner. A real person.

Response recorded on January 15, 2016

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Rhino Venom writes...

Hi again Mr. Wesiman. First of all, I wanted to thank you for creating such great backstories and designs for my two favorite villains: Venom and Rhino. I love how Alex O'Hirn's last name is an anagram for Rhino. I have a few questions, too.
#1. How did the symbiote pick up the spores? Were they from the symbiote's planet? And why was only John exposed? Weren't other people, like Foswell, near it too?
#2. I'm not sure about Sandman's last episode. What caused him to become a hero? Was your plan always to make him a hero eventually? And (sorry if this question bothers you) would he revert back to villainy?
#3. Would John Jameson have been fine if he was shocked with electricity before his transformation, or would it have killed him while not Colonel Jupiter?

Greg responds...

1. John touched the symbiotic, remember, so the spores transferred then. The rest is a mystery.

2. I'll leave the episode to your interpretation. It works for us, as it stands. If it works for you, great. If not, well... sorry? The rest are spoiler requests.

3. Depends how much electricity at what stage, I suppose. But that's a hypothetical. Impossible to answer for sure.

Response recorded on January 14, 2016

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

1. Where did the hospital get Electro's suit? It seems to be pretty high-tech. it can keep him restrained if he wants, but he can also mentally control the opening and closing of the mask and gloves. It also isn't conductive. How did somebody (in-universe) create this so fast?
2. How is Alex O'Hirn strong enough to keep all that titanium armor on top of him without being crushed?
3. In Destructive Testing, how did Kraven get away? The web he was caught in wasn't even broken, but he somehow ended up in his car being driven by his chauffeur. By the way, how did Kraven get the money to afford this and pay Miles Warren?
4. Is Pat Mulligan on the police force in the show?
5. What is the origin of Tinkerer? He is one of the most interesting villains in the series, but it never explains how he manages to make all these advanced devices (I believe you said he made Silvermane's armor) or how he ended up working for Chameleon. By the way, did Chameleon's flat face that can use a mask to impersonate anyone come from Tinkerer?

Greg responds...

1. Cartoon magic.

2. Cartoon science.

3. Calypso magic.

4. No spoilers.

5. No real origin, per se. He's really smart and immoral.

Response recorded on January 14, 2016

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

1. In Blueprints, Mysterio makes a sword appear out of nowhere on the bridge. Since we find out later that Mysterio was just using special effects, where did the sword come from?
2. Did anyone ever find out that George Stacy almost helped Master Planner take over the world?
3. Would Peter be able to save up enough money to buy another camera after his new one got detroyed due to the New Enforcers?
4. Liz's breakup with Peter. Is she over it and happy for him, does she hate him forever now, or will she try to get him back?
5. What does the general public in the show think about the symbiote? One day they discover alien life, then it's stolen, and it seems like nobody cares anymore about the significance of this discovery. (Also, you mentioned that the Fantastic Four were dealing with threats like the Skrulls. Wouldn't this mean that the symbiote is no big deal, or did the Skrulls come after the symbiote and is that why nobody cares? Is Chameleon a Skrull? What does the general public think of Skrulls? Sorry about these Skrull questions, it just opens up so many possibilities.)

Greg responds...

1. I'd have to watch it again to be sure. But basically, it's smoke and mirrors magic. And I'm no magician. How does any magician make stuff appear seemingly out of nowhere? Maybe the sword folds up? Maybe it was up his sleeve? I'll let you decide.

2. No Spoilers.

3. Eventually.

4. No Spoilers.

5. We didn't really show "the public," so the notion that nobody cared about the significance of the discovery doesn't seem supported - one way or another - by what was on screen. Certainly, some people cared. Certainly, others didn't.

5a. I haven't put together any parallel timeline for a Spectacularverse Fantastic Four, so I don't know when various FF events happened relative to stuff in Spidey's life, beyond the mere fact that the FF exists and has gone public before the start of Season One.

5b. The Chameleon is not a skrull. Unless he is. But he's not. Unless he is.

5c. See my answer to 5a. I don't even know if the public knows about skrulls yet. I don't even know if the FF knows about skrulls yet.

Response recorded on January 13, 2016

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Rhino Venom writes...

Hi Mr. Weisman! I recently got into your show Spectacular Spider-Man on recommendation from my friend. I've never been much of a Marvel fan, but thanks to the Amazing Spider-Man 2, LEGO Marvel, and this show, Spider-Man is my new favorite superhero. I'm really devastated that there is no season 3, and I hope that it will get picked up again someday. That being said, I have a few questions.
#1. Under what charges was Molten Man arrested?
#2. What circumstances led to Kraven moving to Africa and developing his skills as a hunter?
#3. How did Master Planner know about and contact Kraven before he came to New York?
Thank you for making such a great TV show! I hope that more seasons will eventually come!

Greg responds...

1. I don't remember. Public endangerment? Attempted murder? Arson? (I'd have to rematch the episode.)

2. That's a question worthy of a novel-length response. I'm not going to write a novel on the subject (unless Marvel decides to pay me to do that), so I'll leave that to your imagination.

3. In certain circles, Kraven is/was famous.

Response recorded on January 13, 2016

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Anonymous writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman. I am a huge fan of your show The Spectacular Spider-Man, and am still very upset that it was cancelled. I have wondered a few things about the series:

1) What was Mary Jane's old school like, and what was her reputation? It seemed like an easy decision for her to go to M cubed.
2) What is Gwen's new social status? I presume she isn't "Nerdette" anymore. Also, does Rand have a crush on her?
3) Why was Morris Bench a demolition expert? Did this have any significance?
4) What was Mary Jane told to get her to go to the dance with Peter? Did she want to go, or was she forced?
5) Does Peter have pheromone powers like Spider-Woman? Is this why Liz, Gwen, and Black Cat all love him?

Thank you.

Greg responds...

1. I don't think Mary Jane was happy at her Staten Island school for a number of reasons. I think the idea of starting over was appealing, as was the idea of going to a magnet program for the performing arts.

2. She's still nerdette. It's hard to change people's opinions once they've stuck a label on you. I don't see any evidence that Rand has a crush on her.

3. Why was Robbie Robertson an editor? Why was the barista a barista? I'm not sure I understand the question.

4. She was probably told Peter was a nice guy her age that needed a date. She wasn't forced.

5. No. He has other qualities.

Response recorded on January 13, 2016

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Caswin writes...

In the Spectacular Spider-Man episode "The Invisible Hand", when Tombstone makes his offer to Spider-Man... did he have a prior engagement with that briefcase full of money, or do you think he just likes to have a briefcase full of money handy?

Greg responds...

I think he had an inkling of what/who was coming.

Response recorded on November 11, 2015

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

1. Why is Rand so much nicer than Flash and Kenny? He never picks on anybody, and helps stop Flash from throwing water balloons at Peter. It also seems to be why he's still Sally's boyfriens. What is the reasoning for this?
2. Why is Liz interested in Peter, and how far dod she want the relationship to go?
3. Why does Roderick Kingsley work at a perfume company? This was very clearly pointed out, but I'm not sure why this is significant.
4. Why was Harry such a jerk in Final Curtain? He is manipulating Gwen into staying in the relationship with him, keeping Peter and Gwen apart, but he has never acted like this in previous episodes.
5. Do Peter and Gwen ever get together? Gwen is extremely intelligent, and will probably realize what Harry is doing soon, giving them a happy ending, but this seems too simple for at least three more seasons of subplots.

Greg responds...

1. I'm not sure I understand the question. That's his character.

2. I'll let you evaluate this from the episodes.

3. It would have been clearer if we had had more episodes, and I'm not one for spoilers. But if you want more info read the original old Spidey comics with Kingsley.

4. I believe what we did with Harry was perfectly in character.

5. No spoilers.

Response recorded on November 11, 2015

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Spectacular Spider-Fan writes...

What was the need for Gwen's redesign in Spectacular Spider-Man? I loved the original appearance and thought it captured the essence of the charachter perfectly. If the show had continued, would you keep the new look of Gwen, switch back to the old one, create an entirely different design, or switched between them?

Greg responds...

Gwen and all the characters would continue to evolve. (Keep in mind that most of the high school characters were only 15 or 16 when the series premiered.) I'm not going to speak to specific design decisions that we never had to make.

Response recorded on November 11, 2015

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Artists Anomalous writes...

This question's been bugging me for years. How did norman osborn survive at the end of 'final curtain'? I'd hate for that cliffhanger to be left unresolved!

Greg responds...

Does the HOW really matter? If it does, make something up. That's all I'd be doing. Cuz the how doesn't really interest me too much.

In any case, I'm not sure what the how has to do with resolving the "cliffhanger". And that's on top of the fact THAT THERE WAS NO CLIFFHANGER.

It's become one of my pet peeves, but the definition of a cliffhanger has been stretched beyond recognition to include any plot thread left unresolved or any little mystery left unexplained. But that is NOT the meaning of cliffhanger.

At the end of Season Two of The Spectacular Spider-Man, no hero was left in jeopardy so there was no cliffhanger. Period.

But again, I don't see how knowing how he survived would resolve anything about the threads we intentionally left hanging. The one thing has nothing at all to do with the other.

Response recorded on October 28, 2015

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Lexikon writes...

Hi Greg.

I saw you at Denver Comic Con on June 13-15 this year, and would like to thank you for answering the questions I asked you concerning Spectacular Spider-Man. I didn't go to your Gargoyles panel, since I hadn't seen the show for ages, but have recently gotten into it. Hopefully you and the crew will be back for the 21st anniversary ;).

Anyhow, after searching the archives, I saw you comment that you didn't want to give your opinion on Spider-Man 3, because you were working with Sony. However, since you are not working with Sony, would you be willing to let us know what you think of the Sam Raimi Spider-man films, both as Spider-Man adaptations and as films on their own? I noticed that in Spectacular Spider-Man there were many references and homages to Spider-man 1, 2, & 3.

Your opinion on the reboot series would also be appreciated, although I haven't seen Amazing Spider-Man 2 due to the bad reviews and being unimpressed by Amazing Spider-Man 1. Plus I'm disappointed that Sony is trying to copy Marvel by making an expanded universe with a Sinister Six and Black Cat movie instead of focusing on Spidey.

Thanks.

Greg responds...

There was tons to admire in Spider-Man 1 and 2. They got a lot right, as far as I'm concerned and even improved things here and there. I didn't love every single creative decision made, but they were both thumbs up movies to me.

I wasn't as enamored of Spider-Man 3.

I was okay with Amazing Spider-Man, but I thought it was a mistake to do his origin over yet again and so soon.

I haven't seen Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Response recorded on October 26, 2015

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Jim Zittlaw writes...

Hi Greg. I've got a question about Spec Spidey.

In a few different responses, you've acknowledged that your Eddie Brock is partly an original creation, with some influence from the Ultimate version. You've said that the show's Eddie Brock is "a little more revisionist" compared to the adaptations of other characters, and when asked if you like Venom, you've said that you "like [Spec Spidey's] Venom."

I find the great difference in the show's Venom is the complete posing of him as a dark mirror to Peter/Spider-Man - as you've put it, Venom has a "dark reaction to the [same] tragedies that Peter faced." Spec Spidey's characterization of Eddie Brock/Venom was the first time Venom worked for me.

Naturally I'm very curious about the show's Venom, as the characterization was unprecedented in some ways. So here comes my question, and I don't mean to ask for spoilers here: Do you see Eddie as a redemptive figure? By that, I'm not hoping to learn whether or not Eddie would have gotten some kind of happy ending. I just wonder if your vision of Eddie is a vision of someone who could have been saved from the darkness. If you'd prefer leaving that to interpretation, that's cool, of course.

Greg responds...

Mostly, I'll leave it to your interpretation, but the short answer is that, yes, redemption is at least possible. Doesn't mean it'll happen.

Response recorded on July 29, 2015

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Gray Dickson writes...

So from a strictly nerd stance, does spidey in your show rely on spider sense to web swing? I ask this because your spider sense abilities were so clearly defined.

Greg responds...

I'm not sure I know what you mean by "rely". I'm sure it helps.

Response recorded on July 28, 2015

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Jenna writes...

hey Greg, i've been a fan of Gargoyles since i was 11 yrs old, i was wondering, how did you come up with the distinct roars, growls and snarls for each clan member? (you can include Demona if you want)

Greg responds...

We worked them out on two levels. First with the various actors and voice director Jamie Thomason. Then with our sound effects editor Paca Thomas at Advantage Audio.

FYI - Advantage Audio is also where we did The Spectacular Spider-Man and where we are currently posting the Rain of the Ghosts AudioPlay.

Response recorded on July 27, 2015

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GAvillain writes...

Hey Greg, I just wanted to say right off the bat that I really appreciate your inclusion of a homosexual character (Lexington) in Gargoyles. I really appreciate that as a viewer and fan of your show.

Secondly, I really appreciate the work you did over in Spectacular Spider-Man. Definitely my favorite Spider-Man adaptation. I just wanted to ask you if there were any characters in Spectacular Spider-Man that you particularly viewed as being homosexual or bisexual.

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on July 24, 2015

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Larin Alexander writes...

Hello mr.Weisman.
  I'm a huge fan of your creations, your espetcially The Spectacular Spider Man, thanks to this show I'm right faith in you found!
  I do a huge fan of Marvel, especially I love spider man! And your the spectacular Spider Man was just manna from heaven, even when it began to show on the Disney XD, it was at that time the highest rating in the history channel!
But when your show is canceled, all dedicated fans mourned as I.Ultimate Spider Man did not meet my expectations and hopes. Show was not bad, but not for a modicum of revolutionary as yours. It does not matter watched it or not, A true insult to even little kids who watch it. The show is SO dumbed down and tries too hard to be funny. There's nothing worse than forced "humor".
We understand you do not want to because it was all over with your TV series, we remember that you told us that Sony returned the television rights "The Spectacular Spider Man'' Marvel back. But why sony retained ownership and all production elements, making for a show: the character designs, story lines????? They that film rights about Spidey was a little???? MR.Weisman What do you think?? - I do not see any sense!Disney's not guilty and Marvel, too, I think that Sony, even if they would have given all that is connected with a the spectacular man on film rights had no effect (and it is on the film rights they totally focused right now, and even threw a television and did not touch )! Disney and Sony are no longer competitors. I think you will not knowingly repeat your show on the Vortexx,and the ratings-your show does not become obsolete, and I think and believe that the show has a chance to be reborn. Well, I believe in your upcoming series of Star Wars Rebels and will definitely be watching!
Please Answer!!
And May the Force be with you and your chance to revive the animated series about Spidey!!!
(I'm from Russia, and sorry if what I have written is not so!)

Greg responds...

Larin, I'm honestly not clear what you're asking.

But as I've said over and over, Sony can't do Spectacular Spider-Man, since they no longer have the animation rights. And Marvel/Disney can't do Spectacular Spider-Man without paying Sony for the rights to do THAT version of the property. And that's NOT going to happen, because they can do their own version without paying anyone.

Response recorded on July 01, 2015

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Jason R. Carter writes...

Have you read this analysis of Eddie Brock?

http://inquisitivewordsmith.tumblr.com/post/60611499239/tssms-eddie-brock-a-nice-guy-or-a-nice-guy

If so, any thoughts?

Greg responds...

I hadn't. I have now. I'm not sure about the terminology, but I agree with the gist of the post.

Response recorded on June 29, 2015

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Adaptation

Bruce Timm and I (and others) were interviewed for a cool little article on adaptation, here:

http://on.mtv.com/1dz9OM9


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WONDERCON 2015

I am fortunate enough to have been invited to be a spotlight guest at WonderCon this year at the Anaheim Convention Center in California from Friday April 03 - Sunday April 05. Here's my schedule for WonderCon 2015:

FRIDAY, APRIL 03, 2015
SIGNING
ARTISTS ALLEY - Table A-31, 11:30am - 12:30pm.

As usual, I will sign anything you bring for free. But I will also be signing and selling copies of my two novels RAIN OF THE GHOSTS and SPIRITS OF ASH AND FOAM. ($10 per book, cash only.) If you purchase both books (signed and personalized for $20 cash total), you get a FREE copy of Kuni Tomita's original development artwork designs from when we developed RAIN as an animated series back at DreamWorks in the '90s. I will also be signing and selling copies of my animation and radio play scripts (from GARGOYLES, MEN IN BLACK, STARSHIP TROOPERS, TEAM ATLANTIS, W.I.T.C.H., THE BATMAN, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, DC SHOWCASE: GREEN ARROW, BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN MEETS GARGOYLES, YOUNG JUSTICE, BEWARE THE BATMAN, GARGOYLES MEETS THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN MEETS YOUNG JUSTICE and KIM POSSIBLE). Each signed and personalized script is $20 cash. I'll also be giving away #RainoftheGhosts AudioPlay postcards for free!

WORKING IN THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE
Room 207 04:00pm - 05:00pm
I'm moderating this panel with panelists: Kevin J. Anderson, Sam de La Rosa, Braden Lamb, Mike Mayhew, Rebecca Moesta & John Ostrander.

SIGNING
ARTISTS ALLEY - Table A-31, 5:30pm - 07:00pm.

SATURDAY, APRIL 04, 2015
SPOTLIGHT ON GREG WEISMAN
Room 213, 11:30am - 12:30pm
Gary Mierianu interviews me about Gargoyles, Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Kanan: the Last Padawan, Rain of the Ghosts (novels and AudioPlay) and more. Plus we'll open it up to an audience Q&A at the end.

SIGNING
ARTISTS ALLEY - Table A-31, 1:00pm - 02:30pm.

SIGNING
Mysterious Galaxy Booth 908, 03:00pm - 03:45pm.

MARVEL: NEXT BIG THING
Room 300AB 04:00pm - 05:00pm
I'll be talking about Star Wars Kanan: The Last Padawan, but other panelists will include Sam Humphries, Will Moss & Rick Remender, talking about their stuff.

SIGNING
ARTISTS ALLEY - Table A-31, 5:30pm - 07:00pm.

SUNDAY, APRIL 05, 2015
WARNER ARCHIVE MORE THAN SIDEKICKS!
Room 300AB 01:00pm - 02:00pm
I'll be talking Young Justice and other sidekick stuff with J.M. DeMatteis, D.W. Ferranti, Loren Lester, Gary Mierianu & Matthew Patterson.

SIGNING
ARTISTS ALLEY - Table A-31, 2:30pm - 05:00pm.

That's it. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello!!!


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Anonymous writes...

From where did you get the idea for Electro's origin in The Spectacular Spider-Man? Was it the story team's original idea?

I ask because in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Max Dillon turns into Electro almost the exact same way (gets electrocuted and falls into a vat of special electric eels). I'm interested if the movie blatantly ripped off from the show or if there is some comic book/other source material that you would have gotten this origin idea from.

Thanks - I'm a big fan of your shows, and Star Wars: Rebels seems like it will be pretty great.

Greg responds...

We came up with it - probably inspired to some degree from the origin of the mutates in Gargoyles - to fit our Biology 101 theme for that particular arc. But I don't consider what they did in the movie to be a rip-off. Marvel and Sony own everything that was done in The Spectacular Spider-Man, so they can't rip-off themselves. Frankly, I'm glad they liked it. Though I do wish that if they liked it that much, they would have hired me to write the movie. ;)

Response recorded on February 17, 2015

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Bethany Baldwin writes...

Hey there. I'm a huge fan of The Spectacular Spiderman and I've spent time trying to find out how I can contact one of the writers about a question I have for the show. For the Daily Bugle newspapers on the show, I've noticed they are are the same message but have parts cut off. I've spent my evening trying to figure out the full article but it seems I have hit a dead end.

This is what I have:
"In the opinion of this unassuming and civic-minded publisher and humanitarian, the question is not whether the so-called Spider-man is a hero or vigilante. The question is whether he is a THREAT or a MENACE! How a civilized society can allow a glory-seeking, masked scofflaw to swing through our city - littering it with his sticky leavings - with no fear of the repercussions is beyond the intellect or your humble servant, J. Jonah Jameson. Is it not a fact that criminals like the Vulture, Electro, the Lizard, Shocker, Sandman, Rhino, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Venom did not exist until the presence of the Web-Head created a void that summoned them forth like a plague into our fair town, striking terror into the hearts of our citizenry? Does Spider-man make our city safer? Balderdash. Humbug. Nonsense. Spider-man creates the danger threatening our lives, liberties, and pursuits of happiness. Banish the Web-Slinger, and with him you banish those who seek to knock him from his web - making us all quantitatively safer. As for heroes, we have plenty to inspire us, if only we are willing to seek beyond the showy primary colored carnival suit of the Spider."

I can't figure out the rest from here and I was wondering if you wrote this or know who did and can give me a lead on the full thing. Anything would be appreciated, thankyou.

Greg responds...

I wrote it, and I think you got most of it:

In the opinion of this unassuming and civic-minded publisher and humanitarian, the question is not whether the so-called Spider-Man is a hero or a vigilante. The question is whether he's a THREAT or a MENACE! How a civilized society can allow a glory-seeking, masked scofflaw to swing through our city - littering it with his sticky leavings - with no fear of repercussions is beyond the intellect of your humble servant, J. Jonah Jameson. Is it not a fact that criminals like the Vulture, Electro, the Lizard, Shocker, Sandman, Rhino, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Venom did not exist until the presence of the Web-Head created a void that summoned them forth like a plague upon our fair town, striking terror into the hearts of our beloved citizenry? Does Spider-Man make our city safer? Balderdash. Humbug. Nonsense. Spider-Man creates the danger threatening our lives, liberties and pursuits of happiness. Banish the Web-Slinger, and with him you banish those who seek to knock him from his web - making us all quantitatively safer. As for heroes, we have plenty to inspire us, if only we are willing to seek beyond the showy primary colored carnival suit of the Spider. One need but cast a glance toward the policeman, the fireman, the soldier overseas. The astronaut and the crusading publisher-journalist provide legitimate role models for our children and ourselves. What need have we of the cursed arachnid? A deadline should be set - sixteen seconds seems appropriate - for the Web-Head to end all activity in New York. After that, he must be apprehended and placed in Ryker's alongside the "villains" he claims to have defeated. On this point, I'm sure we all agree. The Spider-Man must go!

Response recorded on February 17, 2015

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Sebastian Vota writes...

Did you happen to see the reinterpration of famous comic covers on CBR today? There is one that was just amazing which you may appreciate.
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/line5-16-9.jpg

Greg responds...

I did, yeah. It's flattering... and a little ominous.

Of course, the reason listed for YJ's demise isn't quite right. If I had to (oversimplify and) pick only one cause, it was the failure of the toy line.

Response recorded on February 03, 2015

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Anonymous writes...

1) Would you be open to work on other new shows that focus on characters you've already worked on? For example, if you were approached by Disney to work on a new Spider-Man show that isn't in the same continuity as The Spectacular Spider-Man, would you accept? Or would you rather move on to different characters?

Greg responds...

Everything is situational. I'd love to do Spider-Man again in almost any form. (I wrote one issue of Amazing Spider-Man that wasn't in continuity with Spectacular, and would be happy to write more.) But the question's almost too hypothetical to answer. Readers familiar with this site know I'm not big on hypotheticals.

Response recorded on January 28, 2015

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Anonymous writes...

Hey Greg, did you guys ever plan to give Kenny Kong a more significant role in The Spectacular Spider-Man, or was he already given one without the audience knowing? I ask this because to me he seemed considerably downplayed compared to his Ultimate counterpart.

Greg responds...

As with all the supporting characters, we had additional plans for him. But Pete/Spidey was always the lead.

Response recorded on January 28, 2015

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Magic City Comic Con

I'm leaving in a few minutes for Magic City Comic Con in MIAMI at the Miami Airport Convention Center!!

Here's my schedule:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015
SPOTLIGHT Q&A 02:30pm - 03:20pm
Ballroom 1.

ADAPTING MEDIA FRANCHISES FOR COMIC BOOKS 04:00pm - 05:00pm
Ballroom 2 w/Mike W. Barr, Terry Cronin, Dan Slott.

SIGNING 05:00pm - 06:00pm
Booth #???? - 900 Aisle

AUTOGRAPH SESSION 06:30pm - 08:00pm
Celebrity Autograph Area,
West Hall - Exhibition Room.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015
SIGNING 10:30am - 11:30am
Booth #???? - 900 Aisle

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND WRITE YOUR
FIRST NOVEL 11:45am - 12:45pm
Ballroom 2 w/Mike W. Barr, Terry Cronin, Philip Lee McCall II.

AUTOGRAPH SESSION 01:45pm - 03:00pm
Celebrity Autograph Area,
West Hall - Exhibition Room.

WRITING SPIDER-MAN 03:15pm - 04:15pm
Room 210 w/Dan Slott.

WRITING: FROM TV TO COMIC BOOKS
Room 202 05:15pm - 06:15pm
w/Mike W. Barr, Terry Cronin.

SIGNING 07:00pm - 08:00pm
Booth #???? - 900 Aisle

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2015
SIGNING 10:30am - 11:20am
Booth #???? - 900 Aisle

LEGACY OF GARGOYLES 11:30am - 12:30pm
Room 210

WRITING BATMAN 01:45pm - 02:45pm
Room 210 w/Mike W. Barr, Francis Manapul.

AUTOGRAPH SESSION 03:15pm - 04:30pm
Celebrity Autograph Area,
West Hall - Exhibition Room.

THE BUSINESS OF ANIMATION
Room 210 05:30pm - 06:30pm
w/Christy Karacas, Chris Prynowski, Melissa Warrenburg.

I will be selling personalized signed copies of my two novels RAIN OF THE GHOSTS and SPIRITS OF ASH AND FOAM for $10 in cash each. If you buy both books, you get signed copies of the original development artwork by Kuni Tomita from when we attempted to sell RAIN as an animated television series back in the 90s.

I'm also selling signed copies of my animation scripts for $20 in cash each from series including GARGOYLES, THE BATMAN, BEWARE THE BATMAN, ROUGHNECKS, MEN IN BLACK, TEAM ATLANTIS, KIM POSSIBLE, DC SHOWCASE GREEN ARROW, W.I.T.C.H., THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, YOUNG JUSTICE and more - including scripts from a couple of convention radio plays.

Autographs from me and photos of or with me are always free.

If you're in the Miami area, I urge you to stop by and check it out!


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Paul writes...

I think you once hinted that you 'didn't get enough episodes' to do a musical episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Was a musical episode part of your 5 season plan? And if so, which season did you plan to include it in: 3, 4 or 5?

Greg responds...

I don't think I ever hinted that. Coming up with a legit story excuse to do a musical episode is usually the biggest challenge. Puck would have made a great excuse on Gargoyles, but it's harder to figure out how to do that on SpecSpidey. Nevertheless, we had an index card on my board for the run of the show that said, "Spectacular Spidey - The Musical". It was mostly a joke, but if I could have figured out a solution...

Response recorded on December 19, 2014

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Mike writes...

How was it working with Peter MacNicol? What brought him to mind when it came to playing his characters from Young Justice & The Spectacular Spider-Man? Do you plan to work with him again when possible?

Greg responds...

I love working with Peter. He's a consummate professional, who makes constantly interesting choices. I've been a fan of his since Dragonslayer, and have loved his various T.V. work. Though I had never worked with him before, I suggested him for Doctor Octopus in Spectacular Spider-Man, because I thought he could capture both sides of the Doctor Octavius we were creating, i.e. the shy, nervous man we first meet, and the megalomaniac he becomes. That worked out so well, that I knew he'd give us a great Professor Ivo on Young Justice and a great Tseebo on Star Wars Rebels. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat. Just need a show. ;)

Response recorded on December 17, 2014

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Jack Johnson writes...

Hi Greg,

I noticed that, in one of your previous posts, you answered a fan question by including a schematic of your "pie-in-the-sky" fantasy for the Spectacular Spider-Man (including how you wanted to do movies, certain numbers of seasons, etc. to tell your intended story with a specific road map) and I was wondering if you would do the same for Young Justice (I'm not asking for spoilers or specific details, just information such as how many seasons you would have done, if you would have, like with Spider-Man, done movies or spin-offs, etc.).

Greg responds...

We didn't have the same kind of "Business Plan" for YJ as we had for TSS-M. But we had definite plans for a Season Three and many, many, many story lines for either the show or the comic.

Response recorded on December 11, 2014

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Paul writes...

Hi Greg, I know that one of your goals on The Spectacular Spider-Man was to increase the ethnic diversity in Spidey's cast of characters.

With that in mind, why did you change Rhino from (presumably) eastern-European (since his name in the comics was Aleksei Sytsevich) to American (or Irish-American, since his surname became O'Hirn)?

I felt like it went against what you were trying to accomplish by mixing things up with characters like Liz Allen and Ned Lee(ds).

Greg responds...

We felt we had enough Russian villains without adding Rhino. At some point you gotta wonder why all these Russian natives hate Spidey. It made sense in the Cold War context that Spidey - and much of his rogue's gallery - was created in. Made less sense in a modern context.

The O'Hirn name came from the comics; we didn't create it. I seem to recall it was an alias Rhino used at some point.

For good or ill, it had nothing to do with my desire to add diversity. Again for good or ill, all I did was trade one caucasian male for another. A wash.

Response recorded on November 19, 2014

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Anonymous writes...

First of all, I'd like to thank you for two great seasons of Spectacular Spiderman. I haven't loved an animation this much since BTAS; the character development, story and animation were all of a high standard.

Now onto the questions.

1. In regards to Spectacular Spiderman's cancellations due to complications, did you or anyone part of the creative team attempt to ask Sony or Marvel to reconsider their decision?

2. With the upcoming Bluray release of all 26 episodes of Spectacular Spiderman, do you think sales and new reception may be able to persuade Sony or Marvel to continue production for a Season 3, and perhaps more?

3. Did the ratings and/or toy sales for Spectacular Spiderman impact its eventual cancellation or was it purely based on specific ownership rights?

I really appreciate you and your partner's work on Spectacular Spiderman, and your contribution and willingness to interact withe community.

Thank you.

Greg responds...

1. Yes. But at the time, it was almost corporately impossible.

2. I think it's unlikely. But I hope I'm wrong. And certainly if it sell poorly, that'll doom it for sure.

3. Mostly the latter. Our ratings were stellar during Season One on Kids WB. Less stellar during Season Two on Disney XD, though I believe there were extenuating circumstances to explain that. Toy sales were okay but not great, which didn't help either. But mostly it had to do with Marvel having the rights back to make an animated Spidey series, but Sony still holding the rights to the specific Spectacular version.

Response recorded on November 14, 2014

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Jordan writes...

1. In the spectular spider-man what would've been the legal status/civil rights of mutants?

2. Did you have any idea for magneto backstory in the spider-man story?

Greg responds...

1. Early days in the Spectacular version of the Marvel Universe. First someone would have had to have heard of mutants.

2. Nothing specific. There were no plans to bring him in back in the day. Did have plans for Professor X, Cyclops and Beast.

Response recorded on October 23, 2014

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SBluemonkey writes...

Hi Mr Weisman

Out of curiosity, given your response about handling Spectacular Spider-Man's school term timeline here: http://s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=19596

One of my favorite things about Spectacular was the approach to episode names (along with everything about the show), each individual episode serving as the "Lesson Plan" for a "Subject". Biology 101, Economics 101, Psych 101 etc.

Since you were planning on factoring M³'s scheduled breaks and other holidays into the show, if more episodes had been possible would they have factored into the name scheme as well as other or "Advanced subjects"? As an example if the movie hadn't gone through would season 3 have started with "Spring Break" before moving onto the next subject? And later on would there have been "Winter Break" or "Fathers Day" episodes in between Peter's senior year subjects?

Greg responds...

The short answer is yes. I like title schemes. I wouldn't have abandoned this one.

Response recorded on October 16, 2014

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Presto writes...

So I asked Jeph's assistant about what went down. Would Sony have been able to negotiate Spider-Man's animation rights had they shown evidence to Disney that the show had a viable audience and keep the show on the road? I mean did Sony even try to appeal on that matter or did they just outright give them up.

Greg responds...

I don't pretend to know what went on behind closed doors at a level WAY above my paygrade. All I know is that Sony gave the animation rights to Spider-Man back to Marvel. Sony, however, retains the rights to the specific version of Spidey that we did on the show (those stories, those designs, etc.). Marvel was never likely to pay Sony to do a show with MARVEL's signature character, when Marvel had the resources (and desire) to do their own version. Add in the fact that Marvel was purchased by Sony's competitor Disney, and the problem is exacerbated.

Response recorded on October 16, 2014

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Avi writes...

Hi Greg, How are you? You may know me from twitter as I tend to have converstations with you at times.
1. Spectacular Spider-man has gotten me into Spider-man. Other than Stan Lee's run, what Spider-man stories do you recommend? I have Kraven's Last Hunt, Death of Gwen Stacy, and all of Lee/Ditko, and will get the rest of Lee's run with Romita soon. Just wanted to get your thoughts on which Spidey stories to buy as you are a big Spidey fan.
2. Did you like the Peter/MJ relationship from the comics? I ask because some writers accuse that relationship as causing sales and quality of Spidey titles to drop, so I wanted to hear your opinion.
3. Since you said you are now working on the third book in the Rain series, did you get the green light for the third book or are you just working on it, in hopes it will be greenlit?
Thanks and hope everything is well!

Greg responds...

1. I can't pinpoint things for you. Might have been able to when I was in the thick of writing/producing SpecSpidey, but that was years ago. I always start at the beginning and work my way forward.

2. I like how some writers/artists/editors handled it. Didn't like how others did. It's all about execution.

3. I have not gotten a green light from St. Martin's Press on Masque of Bones (i.e. Rain of the Ghosts, Book Three). And I have NOT started writing it. I have begun doing some of the research.

Response recorded on October 14, 2014

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Presto writes...

I am meeting with Kaitlin Dahill Jeph Loeb's assistant. Anything I can say which would help the Spectacular Spidey cause in any way?

Greg responds...

I doubt it.

Marvel Entertainment has its own Spidey show now, which is doing VERY well. They don't need Spectacular. Plus they couldn't do Spectacular without paying Sony for the rights to it. And you can imagine how enthusiastic they'd be to pay Sony to do Spidey.

Response recorded on October 09, 2014

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Matt writes...

Hi Greg, I am a huge fan of spectacular spider-man. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of a companies called telltale games, if you haven't maybe take a few seconds to check out their work. I think a game developed by them would be the perfect way to continue the series, seeing as this is a little to none possibility, hypothetically would you ever consider continuing the show in that way?

Greg responds...

I'd be interested, but you have to understand that it's not up to me. I own neither Spider-Man (obviously) or the rights to The Spectacular Spider-Man series.

Response recorded on October 09, 2014

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Presto writes...

Spider mans usually 5'9"/5'10" yet in your series he's around 5'6". Was your intention to have him eventually get to this height as the years progressed?

Greg responds...

I'd question the premise of your question to begin with.

In any case, he'd have gotten a bit taller, but I personally think it's a mistake to make Pete a big guy. That seems to miss the point.

Response recorded on October 07, 2014

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GAvillain writes...

This has been bothering me for a while, but, in regards to Rhino in SSM, how does he use the bathroom with that suit grafted to his body?

Greg responds...

I've answered this before. (Checking the archives gets your question answered faster.) Plumbing is built into the suit. The results are voided through the bottom of his feet.

Response recorded on October 03, 2014

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13th Dimension Interview

In anticipation of my FIVE panels at Long Beach Comic Con, here's a nice little article/interview on 13th Dimension:

http://13thdimension.com/greg-weisman-from-gargoyles-to-young-justice-to-novels-and-more/


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Azon writes...

How old is Adrian Toomes in Spectacular Spider-man?

Greg responds...

If I ever set a specific age for him, I don't recall. I did not create an entire timeline for The Spectacular Spider-Man the way I did for Gargoyles and Young Justice. Mostly, because SpecSpidey was more contained and easier to keep track of.

Response recorded on September 24, 2014

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Preston writes...

Spider-Man question. Why didn't Spidey just tell Eddie and Gwen he was going to die on the streets if he didn't have the money to pay off the bills from the pictures of the lizard and spidey fight?

Greg responds...

"Die on the streets"?

Gwen knew about his financial trouble, and ultimately forgave him. Even Eddie was willing to forgive him at that early stage. But neither felt that that excuse justified how he behaved.

Response recorded on September 24, 2014

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Hulkie writes...

1. How far did you get to making Spectacular Spider-Man season 3? Were you writing scripts or doing concept art?

2. Will there ever be a time where you'd reveal the full story of what could have been with season 3 of Spider-Man or will you leave it to our imaginations?

Greg responds...

1. Neither. We never began. But we had plans.

2. Probably the latter, unless I get the opportunity to return to that world in some medium or another.

Response recorded on September 24, 2014

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My Long Beach Comic Con Schedule

Stop #6 on the Gargoyles Twentieth Anniversary Tour is LONG BEACH COMIC CON: http://longbeachcomiccon.com/

The full schedule can be found here: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=55700

But here's MY schedule. I'll only be there the one day - Saturday, September 27, 2014 - but as you can see, I'm certainly keeping busy, with five panels and three signings!

LONG BEACH COMIC CON
Saturday, September 27, 2014

11:30am - 12:20pm - Room 102B/C
GARGOYLES TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Moderator: Greg Weisman (Creator, Producer, Writer)
1. Thom Adcox-Hernandez (Voice of Lexington, Brentwood)
2. Vic Cook (Storyboard Artist)
3. Elisa Gabrielli (Voice of Obsidiana & Maria Chavez)
4. Frank Paur (Producer, Director)
5. Dave Schwartz (Development Art Director)

12:30pm - 01:30pm - Signing Area
GARGOYLES SIGNING
I won't be attending this signing (because I have to rush off to another panel), but the rest of the Gargoyles panelists will probably be there.

12:30pm - 01:50pm - Hero Complex Theater, Room 104A
WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION PRESENTS YOUNG JUSTICE
Moderator: Jevon Phillips (Los Angeles Times)
1. Phil Bourassa (Emmy Winning Character Designer)
2. Cameron Bowen (Voice of Robin/Tim Drake)
3. Kris Carter (Composer)
4. Nicole Dubuc (Writer, Voice of Iris West-Allen)
5. Oded Fehr (Voice of Ra's al Ghul)
6. Kevin Grevioux (Voice of Black Beetle)
7. Kevin Hopps (Writer)
8. Bryton James (Voice of Virgil Hawkins/Static)
9. Josh Keaton (Voice of Black Spider)
10. Curtis Koller (Talent Coordinator)
11. Eric Lopez (Voice of Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, Scarab)
12. Michael McCuistion (Composer)
13. Jay Oliva (Director)
14. Mark Rolston (Voice of Lex Luthor, Jonathan Kent)
15. Jason Spisak (Voice of Kid Flash/Wally West)
16. James Arnold Taylor (Voice of Flash, Neutron, Topo, Burton Thompson)
17. Brandon Vietti (Producer, Writer)
18. Greg Weisman (Producer, Writer, Voice of Lucas Carr)
19. David Wilcox (Line Producer)

02:00pm - 03:00pm - Signing Area
YOUNG JUSTICE SIGNING
I plan on being here for only the first twenty minutes or so - before I have to run off to yet another panel. But for as long as I can stay, I will sign for free, anything you put in front of me. I will also be signing and selling copies of my animation teleplays for $20 cash. Among the series you'll have to choose from are Gargoyles, Men In Black, Team Atlantis, W.I.T.C.H., The Batman, The Spectacular Spider-Man, DC Showcase/Green Arrow, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Young Justice, Beware the Batman and two radio-plays: The Spectacular Spider-Man Meets Gargoyles and Gargoyles Meets The Spectacular Spider-Man Meets Young Justice. All while supplies last, and for as long as I can stay. So show up promptly at 2pm.

02:30pm - 03:20pm - Room 102B/C
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN
Moderator: Greg Weisman (Supervising Producer, Writer, Voice of Donald Menken)
1. Kevin Altieri (Director)
2. Kris Carter (Composer)
3. Victor Cook (Supervising Producer, Supervising Director)
4. Nicole Dubuc (Writer)
5. Elisa Gabrielli (Voice of Ashley Kafka)
6. Sean "Cheeks" Galloway (Lead Character Designer)
7. Kevin Hopps (Writer)
8. Josh Keaton (Voice of Peter Parker/The Spectacular Spider-Man)
9. Andrew Kishino (Voice of Kenny Kong, Ned Lee)
10. Phil LaMarr (Voice of Fancy Dan/Ricochet, Joe "Robbie" Robertson, Rand Robertson, Homunculus)
11. Joshua LeBar (Voice of Flash Thompson)
12. Eric Lopez (Voice of Mark Allen/Molten Man)
13. Michael McCuistion (Composer)
14. Daran Norris (Voice of J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson/Colonel Jupiter)
15. Deborah Strang (Voice of Aunt May Parker)
16. James Arnold Taylor (Voice of Harry Osborn, Frederick Foswell/Patch, Alan O'Neil, Homunculus)
17. Wade Wisinski (Line Producer)

03:30pm - 04:20pm - Room 102B/C
DISNEY AFTERNOON: THE CONTINUING LEGACY
Moderator: Aaron Sparrow (Writer of Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns)
1. Jim Cummings (Voice of Darkwing Duck, Bonkers, etc.)
2. Jymn Magon (Creator/Producer Talespin)
3. Greg Weisman (Creator/Producer Gargoyles)
4. Mark Zaslove (Story Editor/Producer Talespin)

04:00pm - 05:00pm - Signing Area
SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN SIGNING
I'll have to miss this one too, as I'll be in the Disney Afternoon Panel, followed by the Disney Afternoon signing.

04:30pm - 05:20pm - Disney Afternoon Reunion Booth/Signing Area
DISNEY AFTERNOON SIGNING
I'll be at this one for the entire signing. Again, I'll sign anything you bring along for free. And I'll also be signing and selling my teleplays.

05:30pm - 06:20pm - Room 102B/C
RAIN OF THE GHOSTS
Greg Weisman (Author)

06:30pm - 7:30pm - Booth 104 on Show Floor
MYSTERIOUS GALAXY SIGNING
I'll be selling and signing copies of my two novels, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS and SPIRITS OF ASH AND FOAM.

(Whew!)


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LONG BEACH COMIC CON - The Full Schedule

The Full Schedule for Long Beach Comic Con can be found here:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=55700

Note the Gargoyles, Young Justice, Spectacular Spider-Man, Disney Afternoon and Rain of the Ghost panels. More details coming soon. Because as many panelists are already listed at the above CBR website, that's NOT everyone!


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More LBCC NEWS!!

I'll put up a big master-ramble on Long Beach Comic Con soon. (Monday at the latest.) But there's more information on the FIVE panels I'm doing on Saturday, September 27th, 2014 at the convention here:

http://13thdimension.com/animation-maven-greg-weisman-talks-young-justice-spidey-more-at-lbcc/

and here:

http://longbeachcomiccon.com


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Presto writes...

Spectacular Spider-Man Blu-Ray box set got announced yesterday. If we make those sales skyrocket, is there any chance we can bring it back or are we done? Let us fans know and we will get on it.

Greg responds...

Let me put it this way: if the BluRay set doesn't do well, that's another nail in the coffin.

Response recorded on September 18, 2014

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Animation Fascination Podcast

Did another podcast with Mark and Tom at Animation Fascination. We talk Gargoyles, Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice, Rain of the Ghosts and Spirits of Ash and Foam. Here's the link:

http://animationfascination.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/animation-fascination-episode-75-the-spectacular-greg-weisman/


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Miikka writes...

Before I ask my question, I should warn you that I'm from Finland and while my English is pretty good, I make mistakes all the time. So excuse me, if my text is completely unreadable. Anyway, onto my question!

You have always said that SSM takes place in the larger Marvel Universe, even thought you couldn't do any direct references to that in the actual show. So I was wondering, that while the concept of Venom Symbiote makes perfect sense in the universe full of Cosmis beings, time travel, made-up science, magic and whatnot, it kinda sticks out like a sore thumb when you place it to Spidey's more down to earth (pun not intended) "personal universe." So were there ever any plans (even in very early development) to update Venom something more realistic?

Greg responds...

Well, first off I don't agree with the premise of your question, but basically, what you saw on Spectacular Spider-Man, is what you got.

FYI, your English seems pretty flawless.

Response recorded on September 03, 2014


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