b1db43 writes...

I have checked the archives and I have not seen a response to this question, but with over 800 questions in the queue it hard to be sure.

My question is: why Artemis?

I would understand if you had chosen, say, Supergirl, but Artemis seems really obscure. With whom did the idea to use Artemis originate, and how did it develop?

(BTW, I'm not arguing with the end result. I love the character! You never know what she's going to say or do next. I hope DC will take the hint and introduce her in the comics. As far as I'm concerned, from now on Wally West will only be half a character without Artemis.)

Finister2 writes...

1) Why is Clark Kent not present at the Daily Planet in the implanted memory seen in Issue #6?
2) How is Professor Ivo affiliated with Artemis's father?
3) Why is Batman so concerned what Talia thinks of him?
4) Why did Ocean-Master want to rob Queen Mera of her powers?

Greg Bishansky writes...

Auld Acquaintance

It's hard to believe that we're finally here. "Young Justice" premiered with "Independence Day" on Black Friday, 2010. Finally, on April 21st, 2012, the show's premiere season comes to a close. Twenty-six episodes spread across three separate years. I don't know if this has ever happened before, but it's certainly the longest time I've ever spent watching one season of a television show. But right now, I can think of no better testimony for this series than to point that despite the constant delays in the airing of the series, and even losing some momentum because of it, the show never ceased to be engaging. Sure, in a perfect world, the season would have aired in less than one year, but we do not live in a perfect world. Neither does The Team.

I loved that cold opening. In fact, it almost feels that on any other DC show, Batman would have been so on top of things that they would have stopped Red Arrow, and subdued Vandal Savage. On any other DC show, Batman would have already known that Red Arrow had been compromised as a traitor. Hell, I've seen people demanding to know how Batman missed this after "Usual Suspects" aired last week. Well, Batman might be the world's greatest detective, but he is not omniscient.

The build-up to this episode started as far back as "Independence Day," everything mattered. Every action taken by every character since the pilot has built up to this. Every action had implications and consequences. It was all a slow burn to a boiling pot. Unlike the overrated "Justice League Unlimited" where you were lucky if anything had even short term consequences, and character development was non-existent unless you were named John Stewart or Shayera Hol. What were the long term consequences of the Annihilator armor created for Ares in JLU's horrid "Hawk and Dove" episode? Um, we got a pretty cool Suicide Squad episode where they infiltrated the Watchtower to steal it, and add it to Project Cadmus' arsenal. Quite a lot of build-up and then... Felix Faust took it on a joyride and it got destroyed in an episode that had nothing to do with their Cadmus arc. Not that I much cared for how the Cadmus arc ended... so much great set-up, and then when it got just a touch too nuanced, a convenient bad guy, without the slightest bit of hint or foreshadowing, showed up for them to beat up and no one again questioned whether the League could go rogue because they took down the big gun on the Watchtower (as if that was really the most powerful thing the League had). I, of course, bring all of this up because the acclaimed "Justice League Unlimited" may have attempted a story arc (something its predecessors never tried), but they didn't really succeed at it. They wanted to have their cake and eat it too, which is why nothing really disturbed the precious status quo. Hawkgirl betrays Earth to the Thanagarians (which was a GREAT story, by the way)? Yeah, she takes a sabbatical and comes back to the League, and the only consequences are an "I Hate Hawkgirl" chat room on the internet.

"Young Justice" knew what it was doing from the word go. Yes, there were times when I was frustrated with it, particularly early on, but it was a slow burn. The seeds were being planted. I was wondering how Red Arrow being the traitor was going to work, and in retrospect, boom, it was there since the pilot. There is not a single episode you can take out of the entire season without really losing something. It would be like removing a chapter from a novel, and that's what the first season of "Young Justice" is: an animated novel. While it did take me a while to warm up to some of the characters, hell it took some of the characters a while to warm up to each other, or in some cases warm up to themselves. But, in the end, it all came together beautifully and we got the best DC series since "Batman the Animated Series."

But how does the episode itself stack up? Pretty damn well. It's sidekick against mentor, and some of us discover whether Freud was right. I was wondering how The Team would be able to take on the League and defeat them in a manner that was credible, and they did it... thanks to the Starro Tech taking 0.16 nano-seconds to control the host, long enough for Red Tornado to arrange to save The Team. From there, it's a series of twists and turns, and all those months conducting stealth black-ops missions really would have paid off.

Vandal Savage was in top form here as we learn what his motivation is for all of this. He believes in survival of the fittest, and as the Justice League preserves the status quo, they also slow down the evolution and development of the human race. The truth of the matter is this, he is not wrong. Evolution is come about through conflict. The United States split the atom to end the second world war. The United State went to the moon to beat the the Russians there. With eternal peace, with an eternal status quo, there is no reason to go anywhere. No reason to develop. Vandal Savage has been around for fifty thousand years, he's seen every human accomplishment, and probably had a hand in at least a few. He wants us to become a galactic power, and in a universe where aliens are known to exist, he's not wrong. Weakness can lead one open to invasion (see what I did there?). However none of this makes him the good guy, far from it. What is the price of the strength he wants to give us? Our freedom. But, I think this is a great motivation and plan for Vandal Savage... and much better than the Bond villain with a gimmick from "Justice League" and "Justice League: Doom." The latter especially, where his plan there was to kill off half of the human race, deprive technology to the other half so the survivors would depend on him and make him ruler. I prefer a Vandal Savage who sees the big picture, not one who is short sighted enough to think the plan from "Doom" is a good idea. This guy is the perfect arch-enemy for The Team... an ancient, immortal against young heroes.

Red Arrow? That poor kid. Yes, he may be a clone, he may be biologically eighteen years old, but eighteen is still a kid. He was probably the biggest victim out of anybody. While he was obnoxious and disrespectful at times, he still wanted to be a hero. He still wanted to do the right thing. He couldn't help what he was, what he was programmed to do. On top of all this, he learns that he is not who he thought he was. But he wants to do the right thing, and find the original Speedy. Speaking of whom, that shot where we see the Light clearing out of Cadmus and we see the original Speedy on ice, missing an arm... talk about high octane nightmare fuel. What did the Light do to him.....

... and it really stops to make you think that this is what the Light would have done to Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad in the pilot.

But, this episode is really about The Team, and this was their finest showing to date. They saved the League and handed The Light a real defeat (or did they?). Superboy finally bonded with Superman, and it looks like Superman will finally become the mentor that Superboy needed. Kid Flash and Artemis finally kiss at midnight, and I was even more amused by Zatanna pulling Robin into a kiss.

I will say that if any member of the Team got the short end of the stick, development wise, this season, it was Aqualad. But, we're now at New Year's. Queen Mera is due in February, and Ocean Master/Prince Orm is still at large, as is Black Manta. I suspect Aqualad's real shining moments are yet to come.

I suspected that the Light would survive this season as an organization, and I'm glad they did. Things should get really interesting now that the League and The Team know that the Light exists. But even worse, six of the League members are missing sixteen hours while under Savage's control. What did they do? Whatever it was, even in defeat, the Light accomplished something and I suspect the consequences will be dire... because in all great stories, actions have consequences.

Bring on the invasion!

Finister2 writes...

1) Why did Haly lie to Faraday regarding his troupe's whereabouts?
2) Why did Intergang want to create a black hole in Geneva?
3) Where did Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, and Sportsmaster want to take Superboy, Miss Martian, and Artemis from Santa Prisca?
4) How long ago was Roy Harper cloned?
5) Was the Zeta-Beam portal in Star City in "Insecurity" a deliberate cultural reference to the TARDIS in Doctor Who.

Finister2 writes...

1) Were the ice-villains really behind the snow storm?
2) Why did Queen Bee want to unite Qurac and Bialya?
3) Why were Hal Jordan and John Stewart so adamant to cut short any discussion on Guy Gardner's induction in the Justice League?
4) What happened to Genomorph City after Cadmus found it?
5) Why did Black Spider want to kill Bernell Jones?

Finister2 writes...

1) How is Professor Ivo capable of eluding telepathic probing?
2) Are Harm's scars self-inflicted
3) Were was Wotan held between his arrest and liberation?
4) Why is Artemis not a cat person?
5) What is Vandal Savage's history with Flash?

Finister2 writes...

1) Why did Queen Bee want Robin taken in alive in "Bereft"?
2) What caused strife between Professor Ojo and Icicle Jr.?
3) How did the Riddler manage to escape Belle Reve in "Terrors"?
4) Who assembled the Injustice League personally?
5) Did the real T.O. Morrow act on his own initiative to destroy the Justice Society of America, or did he do it at someone else's behest?

Finister2 writes...

1) What was Wotan's sun blotting distraction for?
2) Are Blockbuster and Mammoth's mutations reversible?
3) How did Ivo fake his death?
4) Why did the Light want to steal Intel form STAR Labs and Wayne Tech?
5) Why did the Ocean-Master attack Aquaman in "Downtime"'s flashback?

Miss Martian writes...

Why couldnt Miss Martian capture Starro on the minds of Batman and RT?

Reaper writes...

In the season 1 finale, Robin said that starro tech could control 4 kinds of aliens. The Justice League has only 3 kinds alien species; a Kryptonian, a Martian, and Thanagarians. And Atlantians don't count because they are from earth. What was the 4th type of alien he was referring to?

Rebel writes...

Okay, here's hoping my post won't be deleted this time. To avoid posting about multiple topics in one post, I'll be leaving out the white martian stuff and just posting about Doctor Fate. This'll be more of a ramble with my thoughts and suspicions followed by some numbered questions.

What I've been curious to find out is more information about the nature of Nabu / Doctor Fate. Specifically, about what Nabu and Kent Nelson's relationship was like back when Kent Nelson was Doctor Fate. In the show, Kent Nelson says something about how it's been 60something years since he put on the helmet. That line, plus the fact that Kent Nelson had a wife, would seem to suggest that he was frequently putting the helmet on and taking it off during his tenure as Doctor Fate, which would suggest that Nabu / Doctor Fate liked Kent Nelson and trusted him not to abandon the helmet. And in "Denial" Nabu says something about the 60 years of the helmet not being put on made him feel isolated. This suggests to me that prior to that 60-year isolation, Nabu trusted humans to put the helmet on and take it off as Doctor Fate was needed. But after that time period, he no longer trusts humans to put the helmet on after it's been taken off, which is why it was so difficult to get Doctor Fate to relinquish control of Wally, Aqualad, and then Zatanna. In a way, there's a sort of mutual trust involved. The human has to trust Nabu to take the helmet off when Doctor Fate is not directly needed. But Nabu has to trust the human to put the helmet back ON and not leave him all alone forever.

Anyway, time for questions.

1. So, what was Nabu and Kent Nelson's relationship like? Did they trust each other? Are my suspicions about their relationship correct?

2. What made Kent Nelson stop wearing the helmet? My suspicion is that something went wrong in their relationship, which is why he ended up wearing the half-helmet that he made. But maybe it's something much less dramatic than that.

3. If it's true that Nabu has lost his faith that humans can be trusted to re-don the helmet from time to time to give him something to do so he can feel useful, do you think this faith can be regained? In other words, do you think Nabu could ever "heal" so to speak?

4. While Nabu is more-or-less one of the "good guys" in the sense that he does heroic acts, that shouldn't justify coercing a member of the Justice League into giving up his freedom, so why hasn't anybody on the Justice League tried to get that helmet off of Zatara?

5. I doubt Nabu really *wants* to enslave anybody but I think his desire to not be left alone and isolated outweighs that. Do you think this is correct? Would Nabu be happiest if he had a partner who would frequently put the helmet back on and take it off, or is he happiest being in constant control of his host?

???? Thanks for your answers Greg! If there's any additional light you'd like to shed on Nabu beyond the scope of my questions, feel free!

Anonymous writes...

Would you please post a list of all of the episode titles for Invasion (or at least the first 10-13, if you're reluctant to post any more)?

Reiena Grayson writes...

I wanted to comment about the disgruntled (former) fan.

I think you did the right think changing the limit on the question. I read some of them and well, I could answer those, just common sense. I think Ask Greg is great and a wonderful way to know how your shows touch the fans.

Okay subject change:

ROY WAS THE MOLE!!!!! I did not see that coming until last week,I was sure it was Conner, M'gann, and Artemis. Can't wait for today's finale and next week starting Young Justice INVASION. I've been a fan of DC Comic Shows and movies since I was 7, so I'm about to hit my 20 year anniversary. I hope there's a season three of Young Justice.

Last thing before I close this out. LOVE the job you did on Dick Grayson, Robin's been my fav since I was 7, and this one, I really love. With the hacking, and the cackle that was great but add in his messing with the english language and it's even better. Thank you for the show and keep up the good work.

Ben writes...

superboy and icicle jr understood each other and got along well in prison,
so i was wondering how do superboy and icicle jr feel about each other after the events in belle reve?
does jr only commit crimes to get his fathers approval or does he enjoy it as well?

maskedmax writes...

I noticed that you you used atomic skull in the injustice league episode, my question is which atomic skull is this, Albert Michaels or Joseph Martin?

Guy Gardner writes...

Hi! I'm sure it'll be a while before you get to it, but I wanted to get this in now.

First off, I want to say that I'm a huge fan of the show. I'm a massive DC Comics guy who started off watching the animated Batman and expanded out from there, and no show has gotten me as pumped as this one has me. Also like the music on the new trailer; reminds me a lot of Alien/Aliens/Prometheus, which makes sense considering you guys are going out into space. Hopefully these questions will be quick, easy to answer, and aren't asking you to give anything away prematurely.

1) From the comic and the show, we know that there are still some JSA members running around and that they do have contact with JLA members. Were these members consulted/give advice on the formation of the League and how it was structured, or was this a completely internal thing?

2) We already know that Atlantis is a constitutional monarchy. So do they have a Parliament or Senate based around the various City-States you mentioned in the comic book? I know it's a rather dorky question, but the depth (no pun intended) you've given this version of Atlantis makes me interested.

3) Probably the question that is closest to a spoiler, and I hate asking it... but I just have to. We see an image of Blue Devil for a few seconds in "Agendas", and attached to his belt on the left side is what looks like a law enforcement badge. Am I correct in that assertion? I won't ask for any more beyond that.

4) When the other Lanterns said "No" regarding Guy Gardner, was it because of his good looks, his chiseled abs, or because they knew his ring-slinging skills would make them obsolete? All of the above is an absolutely acceptable answer.

Thanks, and I look forward to the new season!

Kendall Jones writes...

Does Topo have six or eight tentacles? He has six in Down Time, but eight in issue fourteen.

Anonymous writes...

I’m guessing Superman might not be married to Lois Lane on Earth-16 just yet (it's probably still too early), but do they have feelings for each other at this point in time (or at least they’re starting to)?

Fluttershy writes...

Hey Greg before asking my question I would like to praise your exellent characterization on the show. I have become fan of characters i would have ignored otherwise thanks to you (miss martian, superboy artemis Aqualad) Sure you didn't invent them but yo made them actually interesting for the casual viewer imo.

I have only have two question this time, regarding the Zeta beam portal

Due to the fact that it's technology is able to recognize the heroes (ex recognized superman 01), could that technology be abused to identify the heroe's out of their customs and their secret identities?

Is there a failsafe for that technology not to be stolen and be used to find for instance batman's secret identity?

Thanks for your time

Tomato writes...

So, this is not really a question, so much as a statement, one that a lot of people may not like me for, but whatever. As someone who has been reading Ask Greg, who currently has his own question in the queue, and who loves pretty much every show you've made: If this section has become an unnecessary burden on you, if it no longer holds any value or fun, you need to stop. I'm not saying you need to close the section down or anything, but if it comes down to a choice between you taking a step back for a month or so or letting things get so out of hand here that you shut it down permanently, then take a step back. Those of us who are loyal, truly loyal, to you and your shows will wait, and those that aren't can go off and whine elsewhere.

Truthfully, I don't think I've ever seen a creator involved with his or her fan base to this extent. It says a lot not only that you take the time to answer our questions, but that you WON'T answer all of them. It shows that you care enough to let us experience the narrative the way it's supposed to be experienced, even if we'd rather worm our way around it.

So yeah, if you need to, let the moderators handle things for the time being. They might have to skip over a few questions here and there, but they've already proven capable of typing "SPOILER REQUEST, NO COMMENT" and really, that's 90% of the answers you give right now anyway >P

Matthew writes...

Not a question just a comment. I found those long posts with tons of questions annoying as get all so I was glad about your decision to ban more then ten questions. Often, half the questions were things that you already answered (not that I haven't repeated a question once or twice.) So not everyone is disgruntled about this.

Anonymous writes...

I only have one question to ask... sort of.

1. How did you come up with Kaldur's character, going beyond his design and parental origin?
2. Did you originally envision him as calm and collected as he has been seen in the show, or did you have any other ideas regarding his personality?
3. When you were planning the show, was he one of the first characters you started 'fleshing out', so to speak?

Ms. Spoiler writes...

Hey Greg, just say the new invasion promo and while I'm happy to see all these fresh faces I was kinda hoping we would see Donna Troy as wondergirl, not Cassie Sandsmark. So, I was wondering why did you choose Cassie or Donna?

Hugin writes...

Hey, huge fan of the show. It's probably the only thing that gets me out of bed on Saturdays.
You've clearly been pushing Wally and Artemis together since Denial, with the "Spitfire" comment, and while it's been clear that Wally has an interest in Artemis, I can't honestly see why she'd reciprocate. Could you elaborate a bit on what aspects of her character and what actions on Wally's part you think would make her interested in him?

Anonymous writes...

1. How old is Brom Stikk?
2. How old is Count Vertigo?
3. How old is Ultra-Humanite?
4. How old is Uncle Dudley?
5. How old is Wilcox?