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ASSURED MUSINGS 2022-09 (Sep)
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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.
Hayden Philyaw writes...
Hello I have another question!
I remember reading something about how there was some unused ideas for Young Justice Invasion! What were those unused ideas?
Greg responds...
There weren't unused ideas specifically for Invasion. Brandon and I simply have a TON of unused ideas for Young Justice and Earth-16, in general. But I'm not going to tell you what they are. Cuz I don't give out spoilers.
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?)
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.
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.
Freya writes...
Are Arsenal and Arrowette public heroes in Star City ?
Greg responds...
No. Not particularly.
Anonymous writes...
Why have there been multiple episodes where tim drake is involved in a scene but doesn't speak? In the season 2 episode before the dawn, he is on alpha squad with Barbara, but she is the only one who talks to nightwing and he just pulls faces the whole time. Same goes for that infamous season 3 episode antisocial pathologies where once again, only Barbara talks and he makes faces. Even when Beast Boy addresses him directly.
This isn't just due to him being a supporting character - Barbara is a supporting character too and she's allowed to speak. Even Stephanie Brown got a line in before the dawn, and she wasn't spoiler yet. These are scenes in which he's featured and it would make sense for him to at least say a few words. It looks awkward when he doesn't, it's almost like you're going out of your way to ensure he gets no lines.
Tim is the only Robin that has never been in an animated movie or series (the DCAU version doesn't count, it was Jason with Tim's name) but his traits are constantly stolen and given to the others. I was so excited to finally see him in YJ. I can accept that he's not a main character, but the way he's treated in the show is bizzare and to be honest, feels borderline disrespectful to the character and his fans.
Greg responds...
Sigh.
So, there's this thing. It's called a BUDGET. It forces us to make hard choices ALL THE TIME. And, I will admit that poor Tim has taken the brunt of that a few more times than I would like. But that's the reality. There's no disrespect intended toward either the character or his fans. I do feel bad for Cameron Bowen, who is immensely talented and does a great job playing Tim/Robin. And I'd love to give him more work as the character. But the fact is that him speaking isn't always essential to our story, and we do not have an unlimited voice budget.
But let me try to spell a few things out.
1. Stephanie Brown is voiced by the same actor who plays Wonder Girl. So if we're using Cassie in an episode, we get Stephanie for free. So why not give her a line or two? Note that, like Tim, we also didn't give Virgil a line in that episode, cuz we didn't have the budget for it.
2. We felt, in "Antisocial Pathologies," that we NEEDED Barbara to speak. She had a scene with Bruce that required her to speak. On the other hand, we felt we could get away with Tim not speaking in the episode. I'll admit it's a little awkward, but the audience still gets the gist of the thing. And by the way, neither Conner or M'gann spoke in that episode either. We'd have liked all three of them to speak, but the budget wouldn't allow it.
3. When Tim does have a significant role, such as in "Triptich," then of course we bring Cameron in, gladly, and give Tim lines. And if you look at that episode there are other characters who appear who do NOT get to speak. Because we chose to spend our budget on Tim and the other characters that did speak.
Now, with that out of the way, let's talk for a moment about disrespect. About the ASSUMPTION that just because you don't like something or it doesn't live up to your pre-conceived expectations, that characters and fans are being disrespected. Because I find that incredibly grating. You don't have to like my stuff - but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop assigning MOTIVES to me. THAT is disrespectful.
Anonymous writes...
Hi Greg, you previously answered that you needed to keep Halo's origin of Gabrielle being dead because that's built into the character in the comics: https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=24738
I have trouble accepting this reason, because you already changed the character's entire race and background from the comics. Moreover, you've changed the origins of Beast Boy and Oracle, and I get the sense you may have created a different story behind Jason Todd's death. You created an entirely different version of Aqualad. These characters are far more well-known than Halo, and you weren't afraid to change key things about them.
You could've easily made it so that the Motherbox resurrected Gabrielle instead of killing a teenage Muslim refugee and reanimating her corpse. You chose not to. Why?
Greg responds...
Agreed. We chose not to. We liked the basics of Halo's origins from the comics and wanted to keep it. I'm not disowning that. Why should I?
Verdragon writes...
What's the hardest casting choice you've had to make in your showrunner career?
Greg responds...
Hardest casting choice?
Not sure what that means in context. Like we had two people and couldn't decide which one to pick? I can't even think of an example of that.
We've had some roles that were hard to cast. Goliath and Elisa come to mind, but once we found Keith and Salli, respectively, the decision was easy.
There have been roles where my first choice was over-ridden by TPTB, but it's always worked out pretty darn well, anyway.
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.)
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.
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.
Matt Itelson writes...
Does Tim have stealth-tech in his costume or is he capable of sneaking without it like Dick?
Greg responds...
We generally play the Robins as not needing it, do to their training.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Marvelman writes...
1) Do Beast Boy & Miss Martian know that it was Queen Bee who murdered Marie Logan?
2) Do they want justice or revenge?
3) Have they not pursued justice because there just isn't a viable way of doing that - short of murdering a head of state?
Greg responds...
1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Who says they haven't pursued it?
Caleb writes...
Hey, Greg!
Some Zeta questions that hopefully don't cross the line into spoilers.
1. You've revealed that Jay Garrick and Bart Allen were given the Zeta designations A-13 and A-14 respectively, but we haven't seen those numbers used on screen. So how are they actually read out by the computer? Is it Flash A-13 and Impulse A-14, or Jay Garrick A-13 and Bart Allen A-14, or one codename and one secret identity?
2. Same question for Lucas "Snapper" Carr A-01. Is he Snapper, Snapper Carr, Lucas Carr?
3. Is there an in-universe reason why Dick, when assigning G-series designations, used the last name-comma-first name format when the A-series designations we've seen are just first name-last name?
And a couple that I think will be spoilers:
4. Did Eduardo Dorado, Sr receive a Zeta designation during/because of his work on the Erdel Initiative?
5. Were the Doom Patrol ever given Zeta designations during a hypothetical JL/DP crossover adventure?
Greg responds...
1. A-13 was Jay Garrick. A-14 was Impulse.
2. A-01 was Snapper Carr but was updated to Lucas Carr between Seasons One and Two.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.
5. No spoilers. (You had to push your luck, Caleb.)
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.
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.
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.
Michael Broder writes...
How old was General Lemar when he was murdered?
Greg responds...
Clement Lemar was born in 1912. He died in 1968. I don't have specific dates for either, so calculating his exact age is problematic, but he was about 56.
Cori writes...
Before Rita join the doom patrol did Rita and Garfield live in a house or an apartment in the young justice universe? Did the doom patrol live in a mansion in young justice universe?
Greg responds...
No spoilers.
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.
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.
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.
One Last HERCULES springboard
This last HERCULES springboard I can recall must have only been a verbal pitch, as I don't seem to have a document to cut and paste here. So, I don't remember too much about it. But it was a Western pastiche, based on the television series BONANZA, called "Hercules and the Sons of Poseidon".
The idea was to treat Poseidon like he was Lorne Greene/Ben Cartwright.
And he had three sons:
THESEUS (Pernell Roberts/Adam Cartwright)
POLYPHEMOS (Dan Blocker/Hoss Cartwright)
TRITON (Michael Landon/Little Joe Cartwright)
Polyphemos, of course, is the cyclops from the Odyssey. Triton was going to be the youngest brother, but he was going to be the Triton who would someday grow up to become Ariel's father in THE LITTLE MERMAID.
And that's about all I can remember about the idea. Mark and Bob didn't go for it. But somehow, we took Theseus and found our way to making him the Grim Avenger for the one episode I DID end up writing for HERCULES.
Another rejected HERCULES premise...
HERCULES
"Versus the Volcano"
(premise)
THE SET UP
CASSANDRA's twin sister POLLYANDRA is in town for a visit. Polly also has the "sight," but she’s the complete opposite of her sister. Where Cassandra predicts gloom and doom, Pollyandra predicts sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Her perky personality (she even thinks Icarus is cute) drives Cass up a wall, but everyone else seems to like Polly a lot. Worse yet, they believe her predictions and completely ignore Cassandra's. At the peak of her frustration, Cassandra's struck by a massive vision revealing that the local dormant volcano is about to blow. Everyone turns to Pollyandra. She pauses then cries out: "We’re all getting free food processors!!" The crowd cheers.
THE COMPLICATIONS
HEPHAISTOS, GOD OF THE FORGE, just doesn't get enough respect. So he decides to change his name to VULCAN and become the VOLCANO GOD. Unfortunately, he does this right after Cassandra's prediction. With everyone in full-out scoff mode, no one believes that a guy as creative and productive as Heph-- sorry, as Vulcan, would ever destroy a whole town. Well, Vulcan's gonna prove them wrong once and for all. He blows his stack. HERCULES and PEGASUS have to hustle to contain the boulders and lava that the volcano’s spewing. That leaves Cassandra, Icarus and Pollyandra to deal with Vulcan before his volcano destroys all of Greece.
IN THE END
Cassandra and Pollyandra have to work together to both reach Vulcan and calm him down. Each one learns a bit from the other. Vulcan sees the error of his ways, stops the eruption and helps Herc to contain the damage. In fact, Vulc -- I mean Hephaistos -- feels so guilty he gives everyone a free food processor. The crowd cheers!!
CASSANDRA ISSUE
Some people are glass half-empty types. Some are glass half-full types. It takes all kinds to keep the world spinning.
Hercules Premise
Just as a change of pace, here's a [rejected] premise that I wrote for Disney's HERCULES animated series:
HERCULES
“Clean & Jerkâ€
(premise)
HERCULES is doing his strongman/hero-in-training thing. He’s showing off a bit for this new girl in town. A very pretty young lady named DELILAH. Delilah seems impressed, and Herc is fairly pleased with himself, until Delilah says, “That was great, Hercules. You’re almost as strong as SAMSON.†In fact, no matter what Hercules does, Delilah continues to damn him with faint praise in comparison to Samson.
Herc’s had all he can take, and we’re off on a road trip to JUDAICA to prove once and for all who’s stronger, Herc or Sam.
Samson, who’s just finished holding off the PHILISTINES with the jawbone of an ass (and there’s a running joke in there somewhere), is a good ol’ boy, happy to oblige in a contest of strength. But the boys are pretty equal, and no clear victor emerges. The contest culminates with a bit of arm wrestling: the combatants wind up holding hands all weekend, uh... that is they’re locked in conflict for three days and three nights. And still, no winner is declared.
Finally, Samson gets word that the Philistines are attacking again. He has to break off the contest to stop them. By this time, Herc is pretty worked up (thanks at least in part to Delilah). He wants to prove once and for all that he’s the top dog. He insists that Samson fight him, really fight him. Samson refuses. He’s a Judge. Not much of a Judge, he’ll admit, but at least he knows enough not to waste time fighting a buddy when there are real enemies to do battle against. He departs. Herc’s fuming, and Delilah gives him a tiny little “nudge.â€
Samson prepares to do battle with the Philistines. The guy Sam’s most worried about is this new kid, a nasty punk GIANT named GOLIATH. But Goliath isn’t alone. He’s got a new partner. Hercules.
Herc and Samson fight, but eventually Herc realizes what a jerk he’s become. He switches sides and helps Samson defeat Goliath and the Philistines. In the end, it doesn’t matter who’s stronger, as long as they work together.
Oh, and Delilah, who turns out to be a Philistine herself, gets her comeuppance from Herc. Although as soon as Herc departs, she’s already working on getting back in Samson’s good graces. She particularly admires his gorgeous long hair.
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.
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.
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.
Anonymous writes...
In "Home Fires," did I hear correctly that Iris West-Allen called her son, Don Allen, by the nickname, "Donnie"?
Greg responds...
You did. Although, I can't remember if we spelled it Donnie or Donny in the script.
Anonymous writes...
Mr. Weisman,
Are the full names of the known members of Earth-16's Flash family correct?
Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick
Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen
Iris Ann West-Allen
Robert Rudolph "Rudy" West
Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West
Bartholomew Henry "Bart" Allen
Greg responds...
Again, I'd have to do research to confirm any of these in full, particularly middle names, which I have not studied and/or don't remember.
But I lean toward Jay and Barry being their actual first names and not short for anything.
Wally, on the other hand, is indeed short for Wallace.
And I can confirm that Iris currently goes by the surname West-Allen. In fact, I can confirm all the surnames.
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"?
Anonymous writes...
On Earth-16, is Shazam's full name William Joseph "Billy" Batson?
Greg responds...
I don't know his middle name. I'd have to research that. His first and last name is William Batson. Billy is a nickname.
Anonymous writes...
Questions In Regards to Earth-16's Nightwing:
1. Is his full name Richard John "Dick" Grayson?
2. Because his father and cousin shared the same first name (John), did he address his cousin by any nicknames, and if so, then what were they?
3. Does he have a older paternal half-sister named Melinda; just like in the comics?
4. How did he come up with the name Nightwing for his current superhero code name?
Greg responds...
1. Anonymous, based on your previous questions, where you put the nicknames in quotation marks and then treat them as if they are some kind of official part of a character's name (even to the point where you seemed to care whether or not the nickname came before or after the middle name), I'm hesitant to answer your question as you've written it, for fear of misinterpretation. I will say that "Dick" is short for Richard.
2. Dick addressed his cousin as Johnny. He addressed his father as Dad.
3. No spoilers. But I'll admit to being allergic to long-lost close relatives that we've never heard of before suddenly showing up. Still, no spoilers.
4. No spoilers.
Anonymous writes...
On Earth-16, are Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake considered to be the legal wards or the adoptive sons of Bruce Wayne? Also, do Dick, Jason, and Tim consider each other to be adoptive brothers?
Greg responds...
They definitely consider themselves to be brothers.
As to the legalities, that amounts to a spoiler question - except for Dick, whom we've already clearly established to be Bruce's legal ward. It's not that I don't have an answer, it's just that it hasn't come up yet, and I don't want to put anything definitive down without making sure Brandon and I are in synch on the subject.
Anonymous writes...
Questions In Regards To Earth-16's Robin III:
#1. Is his full name Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake?
#2. Are his parents' names Jack and Janet Drake?
#3. Did Tim and his parents went to the Haly International Traveling Circus to see the Flying Graysons when Tim was a young boy?
#4. After Jason's death in early 2015, what exactly did Tim have to do in order to convince Bruce Wayne to allow Tim to become the third Robin?
Greg responds...
1. I'd have to research his middle name to confirm this. My memory is not what it once was.
2. I'd have to research his parents' names to confirm this.
3. No spoilers.
4. No spoilers.
Anonymous writes...
Two Questions In Regards To Earth-16 Black Canary:
#1. Is her full name Dinah Laurel Lance?
#2. Does she have a sister (Sara Lance) like her Arrowverse counterpart?
Greg responds...
1. Not committing to that.
2. I doubt it. I don't think that fits our history for her. But I'm not committing to this either.
In general, though, I'd avoid looking to other media versions of these heroes as reference points. Each series or movie generally goes its own way.
Anonymous writes...
Hello "waves"
Season 4 has been amazing so far and I really do look forward to what happens next (what a cliffhanger!). I'm curious about something, though.
During her final fight with everyone, Child's forehead cracked and showed her energy form beneath it. Was that because she was straining to use a lot of power or something else? For that matter, would something similar happen if Klarion strained?
Greg responds...
I really don't know what you mean. Child took on her quote-unquote demon face. Is that what you're referring to? I'm sure you've seen Klarion's demon-face.
Suzie writes...
These are questions from season 2 that I wanted to make more clear.
1. When M'gann was kidnapped and healing Kaldur's mind, did she ever tell him and Artemis the truth about her and Conner's break up? that he tried to warn her, but she wouldn't listen and if she did tell them, how did they react and did they give her advice on how to mend things with Conner?
2. When M'gann was kidnapped, I was wondering if the Team had come up with an excuse for her absence from Ivy Univerity since her friends and teachers would wonder why she was absent. It was never addressed?
Greg responds...
1. For the time being, I'm happy not to clear that up.
2. I'm sure there was some cover story.
alex writes...
in gargoyles how come nokar the alien sentinel didnt protect the natives of easter island from the europeans
Greg responds...
Are you asking how come he didn't protect them or how come he didn't succeed in protecting them?
In either case, the answer would be a story, and I don't tell stories in this forum.
Pence writes...
What USA state was Rita Farr's home in before she join the doom patrol? What USA state had the doom patrol HQ ?
Greg responds...
I dunno. That hasn't come up yet. I'd have to do some research to answer definitively.
Spikeman writes...
How was beast boy able to commutate with his doom patrol teammates on missions in animal form or work with the other doom patrol members on missions if he could not commutate in animal form on missions?
Greg responds...
He couldn't, largely, without going human in between shape-shifts to various animals. Though a surprising amount can be communicated with a grunt, as Mallah has demonstrated.
Taylor writes...
When was Garfield given his first Martian bio suit why he not given speakers so he could speak when animal form like he has in young justice outsiders?
Greg responds...
He got his first bio-suit sometime between season one and season two. The speakers - adapted from the Brain's technology - didn't exist for the heroes until after Season Two.
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