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Anonymous writes...

if you only intended for there to be a handful of characters that are leads, why didn't you keep the cast small like season 1 instead of adding a bunch of characters you have no intention of focusing on? that way, people could have focused on the mains without being distracted by the characters who are background. can you really blame people for being disappointed when their favorite character shows up, only for the show to do nothing with them and move onto someone else?

Greg responds...

I don't blame people.

Why are you blaming me for making the show I want to make? (Or more accurately, the show that Brandon and I want to make, and which many, many, many fans seem to enjoy?)

I've already answered over and over again why we have always continued to expand our cast. Why some characters are leads in a given season. Why some are supporting. Why some are cameos. Why our spotlight moves around as it does. Feel free to go through the ASK GREG archives and get the lowdown. I'm definitely not in the mood to repeat myself.

But I will make these points:

Blue Beetle was a lead in Season Two. In Season Three he was supporting. In Season Three he only cameod. But should we have NEVER introduced him, just because we didn't make him a lead EVERY season?

Zatanna was supporting in seasons one, two and three. She became a lead for a chunk of Season Four. Should we never have introduced her either?

And if, for example, we made Wonder Girl a lead in Season Five (assuming we get a season five and assuming that's in our gameplan), should we have waited UNTIL Season Five to introduce her? Or might not her Season Five characterization BENEFIT from her having been introduced earlier and us having watched her grow at least a little from a Wonder Woman fangirl in Season Two, to the leader of the Outsiders in Season Four, leading up to whatever might be depicted in Five? And if we then dropped her back down to Supporting in Season Six, would that mean we should never have made her a lead in Season Five?

Different fans might disagree about their specific favorites, but I'd bet anything that NO FAN wanted us to have six heroes and NEVER introduce any more ever. It's a big DC Universe out there. And nearly every fan is frickin' greedy for their favorites to appear.

Response recorded on October 04, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Notice how in season 1, no one felt the need to bring up the fact that Aqualad is black? He just is, and he was a well-developed character. Same with Jaime in season 2 - he's clearly Latino by his name and appearance and sprinkles Spanish into his speech, other than that his character had a compelling storyline that had nothing to do with his race. That's how you do diverse representation properly.

Whereas with Halo and Khalid, the audience is outright told that they're Muslim instead of shown, and it's a big part of both of their arcs. YJ is a superhero show with an ensemble cast that doesn't go super deep into the character's personal lives, and religion is personal - that's why we don't know the majority of the characters' religion.

To harp on it so much with the two Muslim characters reinforces this idea that Muslims are "others," that we're not "normal" like white Christians and that we're all extremely conservative and ultra religious. It would have been nice to have a character that's visibly Muslim (Halo's hijab) or shown to be Muslim in subtle ways (like by saying certain Arabic phrases or mention celebrating a holiday) and just let them be a normal character with a compelling storyline.

You guys had representation down perfectly in the first two seasons, I don't know why you've changed the approach?

Greg responds...

Wow, I disagree with just about EVERYTHING you've written above.

For starters, you're not TOLD Halo is Muslim. You're shown that they're exploring whether Islam might hold some meaning for them. You're not TOLD Khalid is Muslim, you're shown what his Muslim heritage means to him.

And I think both characters have extremely compelling storylines. You don't have to agree, of course. But I don't have to agree with you, either. And I think you're just WRONG.

And we sometimes do go into religion for other characters. Zatara immediately springs to mind since we showed his faith in the very same episode in which we explored Khalid's religion - and in the one that follows.

I don't think either Khalid or Halo are presented as ultra religious, either. Certainly, Halo's not. They're not even certain they want to be Muslim yet. (They're exploring!) I don't even think Khalid's mother is presented as ultra religious, really, though I'll admit you could make that argument about her. And Gabrielle's mother is talking about religion ONLY because Violet asked her about it. She's not proslytizing.

Zatara's the only guy, actually, whom we see kneeling in church and praying. Why doesn't THAT bother you? Is he suddenly "other" and not "normal".

I mean, sure, he is. That's the point. WE ARE ALL OUTSIDERS. Everyone is different. With different needs and different wants. Faith being one of many, many, many variables worth exploring.

And we have other Muslim characters who NEVER mention their faith at all. Queen Bee and Noor Harjavti, to name a couple. One's a villain, and one's pretty minor. But my point is that we don't have any rules. We're doing what we think is right for each of our characters individually.

And I don't think we have "changed the approach." I think we've evolved it. We're going deeper. (Cuz, you know, we're in our fourth season.) Deeper in TONS of ways. Deeper into Beast Boy's mental health. Deeper into Artemis and Jade's difficult childhood. Deeper into Halo's sexuality. Why should religion be off-limits? Especially, since EVERY single Muslim we consulted with and who worked on the season liked what we were doing and helped us get there. This has a positive meaning to many people. I know cuz they've told me that. And again, that doesn't mean YOU have to like it. It just means you can't possibly claim to be speaking for everyone. Not even for every Muslim.

And while I'm at it, I wouldn't be shy about going into Jaime's Mexican heritage. Hasn't come up yet. But I'm not saying it won't. It could become a big issue, if and when we go deeper into his character. Might hit on his Catholicism. Might not. But I wouldn't shy away from it.

Kaldur's blackness is pretty much a non-issue in Atlantis, but we have dealt with his lack of "purity" to certain racist Atlanteans in our companion comics. It's a metaphor. And not a subtle one. So you are OBJECTIVELY WRONG when you say we didn't deal with race. We did. IN DEPTH.

But my real issue, is that I really, REALLY don't like you trying to rein us in and tell us what is and isn't worthy of our attention. It grates on me that you're speaking in absolutes, as if there's only ONE GOOD WAY TO MAKE A SHOW. And, again, I disagree. Strongly. (Or was that not clear?)

Response recorded on October 04, 2022

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Paul writes...

Hi Greg!

1) Is there any particular reason why Troia and Sergeant Marvel have their hair tied back? I ask because I don’t think this is the case in the comics, and because other superheroines in YJ do not have their hair tied back (Miss Martian, Zatanna, Wonder Girl). (I suppose maybe Artemis and Batgirl did though and I’m just not remembering that fact for some reason.)

2) How does Sergeant Marvel compare in terms of strength to Superboy, Troia, and Wonder Girl?

Greg responds...

1. Artemis did as Artemis. She doesn't as Tigress.

Out of Universe, it's a design choice, made in a three-way discussion between our character designer(s), Brandon and myself. In universe, chalk it up to each character's personal choice.

2. I've never liked these kind of comparisons, but of the four, Superboy is the strongest. The other three are all pretty close to equal. Although, everything is situational.

Response recorded on October 04, 2022

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Secret writes...

Questions about the Memorial Holograms
1. How long does it take for them to display the memorial hologram when a hero has died?
2. Do they do it immediately or wait sometime until it’s ready?
3. Who came up with the idea to display the holograms in the first place?
4. Who is responsible for setting them when they are ready?
5. When exactly did the Team display Wally, Conner and Tula’s holograms? Specially day and month!

Greg responds...

1. I'm not clear on what your asking. Like how long does it take to prep a hologram? Not long.

2. How could they do it before it's ready? It would be fairly soon after the funeral, I suppose.

3. No spoilers.

4. I dunno. I guess ultimately it is the responsibility of the League Chair. The buck stops with them. Doesn't mean they do it personally.

5. Again, it would have been shortly after the funeral. I haven't fixed a specific date for it.

Response recorded on October 04, 2022

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Freya writes...

Are Arsenal and Arrowette public heroes in Star City ?

Greg responds...

No. Not particularly.

Response recorded on October 03, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Is Brion fully mind controlled by Zviad? Does he not have his own will? Is every decision he makes really a Zviad decision?

Greg responds...

He has his own will. As STATED CLEARLY on the show, Zviad can only nudge him toward his own worse impulses. (Or occasionally toward any impulse, really.)

Response recorded on October 03, 2022

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Apollo writes...

How many people (roughly, by orders of 10, or you can confirm that it's a non-zero entity if the specific number is a spoiler) has Jade killed?

What kind of notoriety does Jade have as a professional assassin in the grander world? Was her zenith ever just "another shadow" or did she build up a bigger rep to the level of her father?

Greg responds...

It'a a non-zero number.

Most people don't know she exists. She had an impressive rep in the clandestine world she operated on, but she was never a Super-villain, per se, like Sportsmaster.

Response recorded on September 30, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

1-How durable are Martians in their natrual Form? miss martian was able to take a casual hit from superman so could she resist low calibr bullets with no physical damage? Or could she survive being hit by a bus?
2-Are atlanteans more durable than Martians in their natrual Form? (If comparing two races is not possible take martian manhunter and aqualad for comparasion)

Greg responds...

1. I doubt she could take any bullet - unless someone threw a bullet at her - without ANY damage, unless she was ready for it and used some combination of her morphing and telekinetic abilities to avoid injury. She might survive being hit by a bus, but I'm sure it would do damage.

2. Both are extremely dense, relative to your average Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Beyond that, I'm not interested in making hypothetical comparisons.

Response recorded on September 30, 2022

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Wysteria writes...

Here are some questions about M'Gann:

1. How did Martian Manhunter learn about the value of tolerance and acceptance? Given the fact that he went to Earth in the 1960's, he must have learned about Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. He probably even learned about the Holocaust. Was the Civil Rights Movement the reason how J'onn learned about acceptance?

2 Since Earth television was introduced to Mars in the 1960's, what classic TV series would the Martians have seen?
Did these include I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and Bewitched?

3. What about when M'Gann and Em'Ree started watching Hello Megan? Did the Martians watch series such as Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family and Happy Days?

4. Would the Martians be exposed to classic films, such as the Godfather, The Wizard of Oz, and Dirty Dancing?

5. Given the caste prejudice occurring on Mars, have the Martians ever seen TV series that deal with racism, such as All in the Family and some episodes of Little House on the Prairie?

6. In India, there is also a caste system that is quite similar to the one on Mars. The Indian caste system is based on one's surname. Like the caste system on Mars, there are four to five categories in the Indian caste system. There are also priests in the caste system that are similar to the yellow Martians. I would like to know if the caste system in India is an inspiration for the caste system on Mars?

If you don't know anything about the caste system in India, you may want to google it and learn more about it.

Greg responds...

For the record, please note that her name is M'gann. Not M'Gann.

1. There's no simplistic answer for me to offer here, and I'm not going to write a novel about J'onn's early adventures on Earth on an Ask Greg post.

2. I'm also not going to come up with anything like a comprehensive list. So feel free to use your own imagination for now.

3. Same.

4. To some, yes. I'm not going to give specific examples.

5. I'm sure they've had access to television that deals with racism, yes. I'm not going to give specific examples.

6. It was, in part.

Response recorded on September 30, 2022

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Apriel writes...

Why did superman not realize Garfield was also has depression over suberboy's death during the trip back to earth from mars?

Greg responds...

The trip back was on the Javelin, which can travel at post-light speeds, and thus took very little time to return to Earth. AND BOTH OF THEM were understandably down over Superboy's death. It's hard to notice any distinction between depression and mourning, especially in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy.

Response recorded on September 30, 2022

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FallenLegend writes...

Hey Greg, after watching the spectacular Spider-Man a thought came to me about Young Justice’s Mary.

Do you think her situation with power obsession is comparable to what happened with Eddie Brock? With him being obsessed about Being Venom,

The biggest difference I see is that the symbiotic is somewhat sentient, and the power of SHAZAM is not.

Second question was that power withdrawal /obsession Mary suffered something Black Adam, Billy or Freedy also felt?

Also, do you think Mary’s obsession with her power had to do with low self steem on her normal self?

Blank Adam is also transformed all the time, but he also has that rapid aging problem to have him don’t bother, doesn’t he?

It seemed like this only affected Mary of all the holders of Shazam we know so far. Unlike, say, Venom who was trying to corrupt the minds or both Peter and Eddie, The problem seems to be on Mary’s end completely,

Thank you Greg.

Greg responds...

1. It's an interesting thought.

2. No spoilers.

3. I don't want to oversimplify, but I think that's in the mix.

4. No spoilers.

5. No spoilers.

Response recorded on September 29, 2022

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Steve Hockensmith writes...

What happened to Dr. Strange before Economos became warden?
When did Courtney Whitmore become Stargirl?

Greg responds...

1. He freed everybody and ran.

2. Team Year Nine.

Response recorded on September 29, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Mr. Weisman,

How exactly did Granny Goodness know about Mary Bromfield's magic power-abusing problem, and what exactly does she have to gain by manipulating Mary into becoming Sergeant Marvel again?

Greg responds...

1. That's a very good question. Maybe she's following her on Twitter?

2. A lot. See episode 426 for starters.

Response recorded on September 29, 2022

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Friendly CIA Spook writes...

1. Since it seems original to this series, what influenced the decision to make Harm's sword specifically a sword of Beowulf? Was it possibly a reference to DC's 1970s sword-n-sorcery Beowulf book, just a personal fondness for the original poem, or some other reason?

2. Some DC properties drawn on the Juedo-Christian Bible- i.e., sometimes the Phantom Stranger is hinted to be Judas Iscariot, or Vandal Savage to be Cain. Without going into any specific future character plans, are you COMFORTABLE incorporating details like that, given... ah... possible contention? (I think you mentioned something like that being a concern when working on Gargoyles)

Anyway, I love all I've seen of work and hope you are well.

Greg responds...

1. So long ago... I'm guessing it seemed to fit our needs. Though I am very familiar with the Beowulf story, so that may have had an influence.

2. We haven't hit any walls in that regard so far. And I doubt we would on HBO Max. So, the short answer is, yes, I'm comfortable.

Response recorded on September 29, 2022

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walkie writes...

In episode 4x11,

1. Was the version/appearance of Billy Batson seen by Mary his 2010 appearance? Or was it meant to mimic his hitherto unseen 2014-ish appearance that he would have looked like the first time he convinced Mary to stop transforming? And whichever the answer is, why did Mary/Nabu (whoever conjured the illusion) choose to make him appear that way?

2. Is there a reason besides availability that Eric Lopez voiced Billy here and not one of the previous voice actors? I thought it was good, but you could kinda tell that it was an adult trying to be a child.

3. Is the fact that she needed outside intervention (if an illusion of Billy even counts as outside intervention since she may have conjured it herself) a sign that she kinda cheated the test and was not in fact ready for the fight?

4. Previously, as far as I can find, the only descriptor given by you of the Marvel family's relationship has been that the other 3 are Billy's "three best school friends". Is there a reason beyond that that he referred to her as sis, or are they just that close of friends?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

1. It seems it was supposed to be his 2011 appearance. I can't remember why.

1a. Her subconscious brought forth this young version of Billy. I'll leave it to each viewer's interpretation as to why she chose that specifically.

2. In nearly ALL animation, adults play children. YJ occasionally was the exception to that rule. Robert Ochoa, the original actor for Young Billy is no longer that young, so it didn't make too much sense to bring him back and have him pretend to be young. I'm very happy with the job Eric did. And it saved us money on our budget, which is always a concern.

3. That was our thinking, yes.

4. I think I've revealed before that Billy and Mary are biological twins, separated at birth. They eventually learn that they're siblings.

Response recorded on September 29, 2022

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Manny writes...

Hi, Greg. Amazing show, loving Phantoms so far (ep. 13, waiting for the date for the 2nd part of the season).
Why you can say that Robin (Tim) and Wonder Girl (Cassie) are done for but not if Zatanna and Dick are done for? It’s because Tim and Cass are not as important as Dick and Zee?
Did you expect for your new relationships to be as well accepted as they were or they surpass your expectations? I’m talking about Spitfire, SuperMartian and Chalant that became fan favorites in no time.
Anyway hope you and yours stay whelmed and much health to all of you.

Greg responds...

1. This is exactly why I shouldn't ever say anything. Because fans compare responses to different questions and then make assumptions based on those comparisons. Cassie and Tim are very clearly over in the show. Dick is very clearly with Barbara. Beyond that... write your own fanfiction, I guess.

2. Everyone forgets. Back in the day, I got a TON of negative feedback on both the Superboy/Miss Martian relationship and on the Artemis/Kid Flash relationship. Now, they're held up as perfection and used to attack what we've done since. It's a head shaker, mostly.

Response recorded on September 28, 2022

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Crossoverparinglover writes...

Hey, follow up to an earlier question.

https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=25376

This one, specifically two where you were confused. By Stellar Geography I had meant a map of the Milky Way Galaxy in the verse, like this one that Transformers Animated has.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d3/c8/1f/d3c81f1674ad458e634f4fa1a597e0d0.jpg

You also see them in series like Star Wars and Star Trek, where there are maps to show you how close planets are and where they are relative to each other. Do you have anything like that for Earth-16?

Greg responds...

Nope.

Response recorded on September 28, 2022

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Mark writes...

Is the Klamulon Commander from "Nightmare Monkeys" Der'Chow, or a different character also played by Harvey?

Greg responds...

A different character also played by Harvey.

Response recorded on September 27, 2022

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Fallenlegend writes...

Hey Greg, got some multiverse questions. Not going to ask about earth 17 as I know that:s a spoiler…but ignoring that:

1.- How open would you be to earth 16 interacting with other universes?
2.- How open would you be to the idea of Canon crossovers with other shows for earth 16 ? I know there are plays, but those aren’t canon. Say Teen titans and the team of Young justice meeting for real instead of that Beast boy nightmare.

2b Also how do you feel about the ides of canon crossovers between other shows with Gargoyles (not counting your planned spin-offs like Bad guys’’
3.- Do you view Earth 16 as being isolated from the multiverse? As in part of the multiverse, but more bound to interact with other universes?

Thanks Greg

Greg responds...

1. Not very. It all sounds like fun in any individual story, but I think it's extremely ripe for abuse. EXTREMELY RIPE FOR ABUSE.

2. Same answer.

2b. I don't much care for the idea on the surface. But we did have plans to cross over with the Team Atlantis Universe. Or rather a version of Gargoyles existed in the Team Atlantis Universe. And a version of Team Atlantis exists in the Gargoyles Universe.

3. I really am not sure I understand either way that you phrased the question.

Response recorded on September 27, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

For Young Justice why did you guys have damian so young? By season 4 if everyone aged right shouldn't damian be around 10-15 because during the new 52 movies he is apart of the teen titans. I guess what I'm trying to ask without spoiling the plot of the show is why wait till now to introduce damian and why at such a young age?

Greg responds...

We have NOTHING to do with the New 52 movies. Nothing. NOTHING. I mean, we don't even have a team called the TEEN TITANS. Anything relating to other media interpretations of the character is completely moot, unless Brandon or I state clearly that something is either canon or canon-adjacent to Earth-16.

Damian is a baby in Season Three. How would it make any sense for him to be 10-15 in Season Four when so little time passed between seasons.

I really can't win. Some folks complain about the time skips. You're complaining that we didn't skip 9-14 years. If we did, Dick Grayson would be somewhere between 32 and 37 years old already. Is that what you want?

As for why we started Damien out so young, it's because we want multiple generations and sub-generations of characters. Not everyone needs to be the exact same age or appearing at the exact same time.

Still, you'll note that Jonny Kent is close in age to Damian. Artur, Lian and Amistad are just a bit older, etc. So down the road - WAY down the road - that does create possibilities, at least.

Response recorded on September 27, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Mr. Weisman,

Since Vandal Savage has taken numerous aliases of famous historical figures, does that mean that, in Earth-16's historical records, the birthdates of these figures are actually FALSE; while the dates of their "deaths" are technically TRUE in some sense (assuming Vandal Savage disappeared during each "death.")?

Greg responds...

Stands to reason, I suppose.

Response recorded on September 27, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

If Icicle Jr. was technically still in love with Tuppence Terror (despite the fact that Miss Martian having posed as her), than why haven't asked her out yet? Is because he's worried that her twin brother, Tommy, will beat Icicle, Jr. up if he tries to date his twin sister?

Greg responds...

I think it's clear he HAS asked her out. Multiple times. Probably an inappropriate number of multiple times, knowing Junior. I don't think he's worried about Tommy. I don't think Tommy's worried about him. And Tup can handle herself.

I also don't think Junior really is "in love" with Tuppence. He just wants to be in love.

Response recorded on September 21, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Mr. Weisman,

In “I Know Why the Caged Cat Sings,” Lois believed that if Clark had gotten to Mars five minutes sooner, then Clark likely would've died alongside Conner. Just between you and me, would that have actually happened in such a "what if?" scenario, and, if so, then why would that be the case even if Clark would've been at full power due to just arriving; whereas Conner was already becoming increasingly vulnerable due to spending time on Mars?

Greg responds...

I'm not big on hypotheticals. He clearly would have been at risk. Look what happened to Lor-Zod, after all. I mean, you've literally got thousands of microscopic bits of Kryptonite shrapnel, which you're neither immune to or invulnerable from, headed your way.

Response recorded on September 21, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Questions in Regards to Earth-16's Martha Kent:

#1. Is her current full name Martha Clark-Kent; since Clark is her maiden name?

#2. Did she and her husband (Jonathan) tried to have a child of their own before Kal-El eventually came into their lives, and if so, how many times did they tried and what was the medical reason why Martha was ultimately unable to have a child?

#3. Since nothing is known at all about her own family in the comics, does she have any siblings (brothers or sisters or both) on Earth-16, or was Martha an only child in her family?

Greg responds...

1. No. Clark is her maiden name. But she did not hyphenate. Her name is Martha Kent now.

2a. No spoilers.

2b. How many times did they try? Is that a serious thought-out question? Are you seriously asking me how many times the Kents had unprotected sexual intercourse? Cuz I'm not answering that. Yeesh.

2c. No spoilers.

3. No spoilers.

Response recorded on September 21, 2022

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Anonymous writes...

Questions in regards to Earth-16's Lois Lane:

#1. Is her current full name Lois Joanne Lane-Kent?

#2. Is her father General Samuel "Sam" Lane?

#3. Is her sister Lucile "Lucy" Lane?

#4. Does she have a younger paternal half-brother named Leonardo "Leo" Lane; like in the comics?

#5. Are she and her husband (Clark) currently taking sabbaticals from the Daily Planet in order to raise their son, Jonathan "Jonny" Samuel Kent?

Greg responds...

1. I don't know her middle name. I'd have to research that. She did not hyphenate her last name. She's still Lois Lane.

2. Her father is Samuel Lane.

3. No spoilers.

4. Never heard of him. But no spoilers.

5. Define "currently"?

Response recorded on September 20, 2022


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