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Greg Bishansky writes...
Thank you for your informative reply on my Betty Brant post. Now, and this is a question I've been pondering for a while, how did you go about your approach to Aunt May?
I love Stan Lee's run on Spidey, but this is one of the few cases where I have to admit that I greatly preferred other writers' takes on the character. Stan's Aunt May was constantly in and out of the hospital... and constantly, dimwitted. I preferred Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco, J.M. DeMatteis, and J. Michael Straczynski's takes on the character.
I can forgive and understand her being overprotective. It's been mentioned later that she had lost a child, and Ben's death was just as traumatic for her as it was for Peter. But what always seemed unreasonable for me was how she thought Dr. Octopus was a good and nice man. She didn't realize that she was being held hostage, that he was a dangerous supervillain, or even that he had these giant metal arms attached to him. And then there was the story where she took him on as a border. I'm not even going to get into that weird story where she almost married him... but that wasn't Stan, that was Gerry Conway.
Your Aunt May, while being protective of Peter, wasn't overprotective to the point of absurdity. And one of my favorite Aunt May scenes was in "Group Therapy" where she stood up to the entire Sinister Six to prevent them from attacking Spidey. And Ock's almost gentlemanly approach insisting that she step aside was, I think, a nice nod to Ock liking her in the comics. I also loved that she never referred to Spidey as "that awful Spider-Man!"
So, what did you think was the core truth of Aunt May? How did you go about interpreting her in your show?
Greg responds...
Our May Parker was a single parent due to a couple of horrible tragedies. That informed how she behaved both in her own life and toward Peter.
We leaned toward making her a little more savvy... but also somewhat unprepared. Uncle Ben did not leave her in a great financial position. (Because if he did, why would Peter constantly need money?) We kept a bit of her naivete, but tossed in some inner strength and acuity, especially when it came to Peter's love life. She could take action (or give solid advice) - not just relative to the Sinister SIx, but more relevantly when it came to some of the ladies in Peter's life: Betty Brant, Mary Jane Watson, Liz Allen and Gwen Stacy.
She wasn't a young woman - certainly older than the parents of most of Pete's friends - but we didn't want to make her ancient. And we figured one trip to the hospital was plenty, i.e. once she had one heart attack, she would begin to take better care of herself.
And since she was always a great cook, we figured she'd build on that when she needed money, which gave us the cookbook that she authored.
Her life did revolve around Peter but wasn't exclusively his. So she had her friend and her theater and her cooking and her work, etc. We just tried to make her a fully realized character.
And... I should give a TON of credit to DEBORAH STRANG (as directed by Jamie Thomason), for truly bringing May to life. Couldn't have done it without her.
Jules Verdonck writes...
Hey Greg,
first I wanna thank you for doing this for us fans.
Now my question: Why didn't Artemis put on the Helmet of Faith in "Homefront"? That would have made her stronger
Greg responds...
That would have completely given up control of her body - with a risk that she'd never get it back.
Would you take that risk?
Demi writes...
HEY again!I saw Home Front and I loved it.It was my favorite episode and i keep watching it. I was just wondering why Artemis closes her eyes or covers her eyes when theres a flash of light in front of her.This happened twice in the episode and i want to ask if this was shown for a reason to point out something that will be revealed in the future.Why are her eyes so sensitive?(if there is a reason)
Greg responds...
Um... I'd have to look again, cuz I really don't remember to what you are referring.
But if you're asking why she closed her eyes when a BRIGHT LIGHT shone on them, I'm not sure why you're even asking the question. What else would one do?
Anonymous writes...
Will Paul Dini be writing any episodes for Young Justice? He wrote some true gems for Batman: The Animated Series and the other DCAU shows.
Greg responds...
Nope. Paul's great, but I think he's pretty busy on the new Spider-Man series.
And we've got a bunch of great writers on YJ already.
Chuck writes...
Hey Greg I was wondering:
1) I was rewatching "Welcome to Happy Harbor" and I noticed when Miss Martian was masquerading as Red Tornado when she was blasted by fire instead of shapeshifting she emitted electricity. How was that possible?
Greg responds...
I'd have to look at it again. It's not fresh in my mind.
Anon writes...
Regarding the latest YJ episode, did Dick skip a grade or have a birthday recently, since he was called a freshman?
Greg responds...
No. He's 13 at the start of Ninth Grade. He'll turn 14 before the school year is out in June.
That's not even particularly uncommon.
Havok writes...
Is there going to be a title list of episodes for young justice season 2?
Greg responds...
Maybe eventually, but, jeepers, we haven't even gotten through Season One yet.
Dew writes...
Oh My Gosh! Home Front was the best Young Justice episode so Far!!!! I <3 <3 <3 This show!!!!!! I can't wait for more episodes! When I think this show is getting good, it just gets even more amazing! This is my Favorite show and I would like to thank you and everyone else who works on Young Justice for 1. Making such an Awesome show and 2. Bringing out the inner fangirl in me! THANK YOU!!!!!!
Greg responds...
You're very welcome!!!
Matthew writes...
Just saw Homefront. Like every other episode of YJ, it was great. I was glad to see a story focusing on Robin and Artemis. I've always had a preference for non-powered heros: Batman, Green Arrow, et cetera. Fighting crime always seemed less heroic when bullets bounced off you. I was also glad to see Barbara Gordon. For some reason, I never considered whether she was in the YJ universe, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that she was.
The final part of the episode was a real shocker or at least it would've been if I hadn't been spoiled on the internet about Red Tornado. Except, I remember the final episode of Spectacular Spiderman, so maybe things aren't as they see?
Greg responds...
Hopefully, by now you know they are not.
Misty writes...
Is Barbra, in young justice, dating Robin? Or are they just friends?
And is she still Batgirl in young justice?
Greg responds...
They're not dating, but she's interested.
She's not Batgirl. And before you ask, SPOILER REQUEST, NO COMMENT, on whether or not she will be some day.
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