Mike P. writes...

1. So now that Marvel/Disney has the rights to Spectacular Spider-Man could you, hypothetically speaking, use the Kingpin as a character now or does the Fox deal still prevent this? I'm confused on how it all works as I'd read before that you planned to use the Human Torch on an episode in the future, but wouldn't he also have been just as unusable due to the FF still being under the ownership of Fox?

*Spoilers*
2. Harry Osborne's character has developed from being the wimpy friend to the "steroid" using wannabe athelete to now being a vindictive schemer who enjoys watching his former friends (Gwen and Peter) suffer by keeping them apart. Often times it's easy to look at characters with rough upbringings and attribute that as the root of their personal defects, but I get the feeling that a good portion of Harry's actions are from inside regardless of the fact that he was raised by the Green Goblin himself. In your opinion: do you think it's just in Harry's nature to progress this way or has having Norman Osborne as a father figure slowly warped him into being just as Machiavellian and cruel?

spider man fan writes...

i hope you make season 3 and plus you guys are doing a great job at the spectacular spider man and i hope to see season 3

JJJ writes...

Why does Tombstone in Spectacular Spider-Man look the way he does? I know his origins in the comics, but he has yet to have an origin in the show - is it similar? I always wondered why the public does not question why he looks the way he does - does he tell them it's just a skin condition? Also, his strength is unbelievable - he took down Spidey for crying out loud! Will Tombstone's history be explored in the future if given the chance - or do you think it's best to keep it a mystery? I know that you said Tombstone with superpowers is left for us to interpret - I just would like to know if you have a definite answer for us in the future.

Thanks!!! I love the show!! Fingers crossed for a renewal!!!!

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

I couldn't understand why so many commentators were gushing about Hammerhead. He just seemed a generic, Dick Tracy villain type. Now I've seen Accomplices. FUN!

Akeem M. writes...

Hello again sir, in the episode of Spectacular Spider-Man Accomplices I was wondering something about what happened to Mr. Kingsley. When the police arrive to make an arrest for the distribution of the illegal expirement that made Rhino they clearly see that the man they are going to arrest is Kingsley, so would he be in hiding now because of his exposure to the police during the start of the Gang War?

DYlan Grant writes...

Hello, Greg!

I was wondering in that episode where spidey's villains escape from that prison, I saw most of them there except for one! Where was Dr. Octopus? Was he still in that prison "The Vault" or not? You included Ox, Molten Man, Sandman, Mysterio, but DR. OCTOPUS was missing. Also, what do you intend to do with Doctor OCtopus in the future?

Laura 'ad astra' Ackerman writes...

Please ignore this if it is a double posting. There was a paragraph I'm afraid my be flagged as an original idea. That isn't my intent, (and frankly, it wouldn't be a particulay original idea on my part), so I'm posting a slight altered version of the post (also fixed some typos;)-

More on Spidy, two slightly negative comments:

1- Mysterio's little 'gargoyles'. (I know they are homocu..., er, can't spell it.) Are they a direct lift from the comics? I know they are supposed to be funny, but giving them little personality type quips, generally right before they get destroyed, irks me. If they are autonotoms and get destroyed, (like Steel Clan robots) I'm fine with that. If they know enough to think 'oh crap!' before smashing into the wall, it is a little disturbing.

(Please correct me if I am wrong about each appearence being an entirely new homocu..er.. thing that looks like a mini gargoyle.)

2-I know you've defended this in the past, but I still don't see the Venom transition. When he first showed up I remember thinking, "How fantastic, he is destined to become this nasty personal villain, and yet he's such a fantastic stand up friend now!" It's not that I don't buy the transition could happen. And after the transition he is a great villain. But it seemed too sudden and out of the blue.

Your comments on the scene he took MJ on the motercycle helped a bit, but not completely. I was incorrectly reading it he was trying to kill her and not just being an ****. With that correction I think I can sum up my problem with the moment in that scene where he runs a red light. Running the red light and living dangerously to scare MJ makes sense. Almost running over the old lady in the crosswalk was too soon in his development.

Being nasty to Peter with his anger amped up by the symbiote makes sense. Like trying to scare the girl Peter seems to like. Jumping from that to nearly killing Gwen in the space of one episode... too soon. Gwen was his friend too, a close friend. I would have expected a transition period when he may be increasingly vicious going after Peter but rationalizing putting others he once cared about in danger.

IMHO

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Sneaking in a question or two at work lest I start falling far behind again. I apologize if I overlap anything already asked, I've been trying to avoid Spiderman spoilers. I have a stack of set aside responses for after the rest of the season airs. (Though I wonder if I should have bothered; what I didn't pick up just skimming I probably read checking the 'waiting to be asked' que. Oh well...)

First- Love the show.

I did have that first reaction to still art some did thinking it looked a little young, but between prioritizing fluidity of motion for the web slinger on the one side, and not getting that overly static look from being too faithful to the comic art on the other, I am completely won over.

Also, I am not terribly well versed in Spidy lore. (It's too expensive to get hooked on two major comic universes and I started on DC first.) Despite not getting all the references, the deference shown to the history, right down to mining the comics with the intent of not creating a single new character, really shows. Very impressive.

Second-
I thought it was particularly classy to post the credits of the episodes because they went by too quickly to be seen on screen. I assume people like working with you because they know they are not taken for granted. (Just like changing the "Staring..." in the opening credits shows respect to the characters. Love that.) I do wonder -

1- If each episode is written by a particular person or team, what do the staff writers do?
2-If you already have a voice director, what does 'casting' do? Or does the voice director not choose talent too? (I think this question was more involved when I scribbled it on my note sheet months ago, but I didn't write out the details and no longer remember.)
3- How did Cheeks Galloway end up with that nickname? I took a glance at his website and saw his autobigraphy is named "Cheeks Unclenched" Much mirth followed.

SpiderFan89 writes...

Hi, Greg. Two Spidey questions:
1) Since Norman stole Toomes' tech flight technology, did he used it to create the Goblin glider?
2) Do you have plans for Peter's parents?

Derek writes...

Was it a conscious decision to not give Black Cat bad luck powers in Spectacular Spider-Man?

Anonymous writes...

I just got in to SSM when Season 1 hit DVD, so I'm a bit sad to learn that S3 is basically a big *IF* at this point. I've done what I can-- I've bought the Season DVD and the other 4 DVD releases, and I'm going to watch the new episodes when they hit. Is there anything else I could do? I'd like to write a letter (postal or email) if it would help, but I wouln't know where to send it. Disney is a pretty big place, after all. Would you be willing to ask for and provide an address / email address / fax number / anything where fans could send notes of their support for the show? I think you've got an army of people watching this Q&A and wishing we could do more. Maybe if you pointed us in the right direction, we could help.

Todd Jensen writes...

In your Gargoyles/Spectacular Spider-Man crossover Radio Play, the Spear of Destiny's head was buried beneath Ravencroft Institute. While this obviously suited the needs of the story, was this also intended as an in-joke reference to Trevor Ravencroft, who wrote one of the best-known books about the Spear?

David B. Jacobs writes...

Hey Greg!
Just wanted to say - please don't be frustrated and upset that I saw Season 2 on YouTube and am not watching it on Disney XD! I don't HAVE Disney XD! :(

Merc with a Mouth writes...

I read that Carnage will appear in Season 3 of The Spectacular Spider-Man voiced by Quinton Flynn. Is this a rumor because there was nothing about who will voice Scorpion and Hobgoblin ands they're the only villains you confirmed. Thanks Greg!

Graham writes...

Hey Greg, love the show! Anyway, I wanted to know what the guitar chords were for the Spectacular Spider-Man theme, because I searched for them online, I couldn't find them anywhere, and would love to learn the song. I really hope you guys can get the show renewed, it's the best animated show I've seen in a long, long time.

A Big Fan writes...

Hi Greg, I have a Spider-Man question.

Do you have a storyline planned about Peter's parents, Richard and Mary, or have you not thought that far ahead?

Matt writes...

What was Sandman talking about when he said "I've had bad experiences with cats" upon meeting Kraven? Something in the show that I missed or something from the comics or something you are not revealing yet or what?

Incidently, this is my first Spectacular Spider-Man question. I want you to know that I'm a big fan of this series as well, though I don't talk about it much. Great stuff!

Thanks Greg!

DarkZide writes...

Hi! I had a difficult time making out if this question already had been questioned in the archives so...

Who raised Eddie Brock? In the last episode of season 1 Eddie mentions that Pete always had his precious uncle and aunt while he had nobody. Could that really be true? Wouldn't Eddie have to be a little boy when his parents died?

Red_Aviary writes...

First, let me say that SSM is probably the best adaptation of the comic and film mythos there is. It's definitely surpassed the nineties Spider-Man show in terms of animation and storytelling - and that's the show that got me into superheroes (with Batman: TAS :D) in the first place. I wanted to thank you for your work and dedication to Spider-Man.

I have a few questions, actually.

1) Harry's mom. We barely ever see her. As far as I know, she gets very little time in the comics as well, and she was killed off early in Ultimate Spider-Man. Is she a kind of trophy wife for Norman? Does she resent him at all? Does she care at all for Harry?

2) Peter's web fluid. He mentions that it costs a lot a few times, as I recall, but where did he get the formula for it? I don't really know where he got it in the mainstream comics. He seemed to just know how to make it. But, as I'm sure you're aware, in Ultimate Spider-Man he based it off of a formula his dad had been working on. Something similar here?

3) We know Peter's a science nerd and all. And that he makes quite a few pop culture references when he's bantering. I know he's probably limited from making too many references on the show and all, and that the episodes are really just flashes of Peter's life, but... how much of a geek is he, in your version? Does he play video games or use the internet a lot in his downtime? Is he a science-fiction or fantasy novel fan or anything? And to what extent? Being a geek myself, I'm interested. >_>

4) And a big one... you've said numerous times that you're not allowed to use the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the Punisher, Daredevil, etc. in the show. Not even a little bit. I get that, despite how much it kills me inside. But if you could, hypothetically, use them... HOW would you use them? Would the Fantastic Four be based more off of the mainstream version, or the Ultimate version? How would you go about handling Spider-Man's relationships with these heroes? Would Daredevil disapprove of Peter's activities when he's so young and inexperienced, as in the Ultimate universe? Would Nick Fury be black and the Avengers/Ultimates a government project?

I'll understand if you can't/won't answer them. I just thought I'd ask anyway. And I did consult the archives before I posted, but, well, they're big and I might have (probably) missed something. So, sorry in advance.

David B. Jacobs writes...

Just felt like throwing this out there:
TSSM's cast are all BRILLIANT Shakespearean actors! Pass it on.

Anonymous writes...

How come The commission for further episodes relies solely on Disney XD's season 2 ratings?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spectacular_Spider-Man_(TV_series)

At this time can somebody else commission more seasons of more spectular spiderman tv series?

Will The Spectual Spiderman Tv series end after 65 episodes?

H.E. Jovel writes...

My dad recently passed away and I wanted to thank you for this brilliant show and for reminding of the memories I shared with my dad, who loved Spider-Man. He did watch a couple of episodes and loved your take on the Rhino, his favorite villain. Thank you Greg and Co., here's hoping for a third season.

Mark writes...

Hi,

Longtime Spider-fan over here, and I wanted to let you know that after finishing the season one DVD set I think Spectacular Spidey is by far the best interpretation of the character in any medium since the heady days of Lee/Ditko/Romita. I've read reams of the comics, watched the various cartoon series, seen the movies, and I really do believe your take is the best in a long while. Bravo! The first two Spidey movies came close to being perfect distillations of Spidey for me but you guys outdid them in my opinion by remembering that Pete's romantic *journey* is more fun to watch than the destination; I love the fact that Gwen, MJ and even Liz have all been presented as possible romantic interests and you guys are simply keeping all your options open.

Which segues into my question: without looking for spoilers, how locked into the comic book mythology do you intend to be? I don't want story specifics, I'm just wondering about your "creative philosophy" I guess; I'm wondering if you would be willing to take a hypothetical big left turn where the comics took a right. There have been signs already that you're willing to think outside the box and play with the mythology and the continuity: I thought combining Montana and Shocker was a deft move that made him a much more interesting character, and I also enjoy the Rhino/Sandman friendship. But these are still comparatively minor alterations. To give an example of the kind of big left turn I'm talking about, I was fooled for a bit when Harry was "revealed" as the Goblin, but I have to admit I was disappointed with the eventual reveal that no, it was Norman after all; I say this not because the story wasn't satisfying but that it was thrilling to consider a Spidey mythos where anything can happen: where we're not locked into Pete/MJ, where Gwen doesn't necessarily have to die, where Harry could've been the Goblin instead of Norman (and I would argue, at least based on season one, that Harry made just as much sense psychologically as Norman to be the Goblin.) Again, I don't want story specifics, just wondering if (assuming the show lasts a good long time, fingers crossed) you'd be willing to make major changes to the story of Pete's life as we have all known it for the past 45 years, or if you feel that you must follow the major story beats laid down by the comics.

Thanks, and here's hoping for lots more Spectacular Spidey seasons to come!

--Mark

Anonymous writes...

Dear Greg,
Did you know that a third season of The Spectular Spiderman can occur if royalties are paid lets say by a tv station or another production company to use The Spectular Spiderman name and use all real spiderman characters and other material as long as they are different enough to make sure that you are going to not be considered copyright infringement and if need be find another production company that would be willing to produce The Spectular Spiderman?