INTERVIEWS

To celebrate the Blu-ray release of The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete Series, hitting shelves April 22nd, 2014, Marvel Animation Age has caught up with writer Kevin Hopps to talk about his work on the show, his thoughts on the characters and his upcoming projects. Take it away, Kevin!

MAA: You've had a long and diverse career in TV animation. How did you come to work on The Spectacular Spider-Man? include?

Hopps: BG (Before Gargoyles), Greg Weisman was a development executive at Disney. I was working as a writer and story-editor and we became friends. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to write on many of Greg’s shows. When he started on The Spectacular Spider-Man, Greg called and asked if I’d like to be the staff writer on the show… naturally, I said 'yes!'

MAA: The show used long ongoing arcs for its characters and stories, rather than villain of the week, standalone episodes. Which do you prefer from a writing point of view and why?

Hopps: I like ongoing arcs. Often, even with standalone episodes, there is an ongoing arc. Of course, with The Spectacular Spider-Man (as with most of Greg’s shows), the arcs are quite elaborate and multi-layered, which sometimes makes writing them more difficult, but which always makes the final shows more interesting.

MAA:You wrote both season finales for The Spectacular Spider-Man - Nature vs Nurture, the Thanksgiving episode featuring Venom, and Final Curtain, the reveal of the Green Goblin. Was there any additional pressure writing these?

Hopps: There probably should be, but the honest answer is 'no.' That’s because I feel enough pressure, no matter what episode I’m writing, to last through the whole season. You’re always trying to outdo yourself, trying to keep Greg from firing you, trying to figure out how this episode’s Green Goblin story will be better than the last Green Goblin’s episode you wrote.

MAA: The Spectacular Spider-Man had a show long mystery as to the true identity of the Green Goblin. How did this storyline come about and was it difficult not to show your hand too early?

Hopps: I don’t remember exactly how the Green Goblin storyline came about, but I would guess it evolved as most of our stories did. Greg would come up with the basic idea, and then all the writers working on the series would brainstorm with him. And, of course, even though Greg works out the basics of all the episodes at the start of the season, the arcs change as the season progresses. Each script impacts the next. And because we know where we are heading (in this case: the identity of the Green Goblin), it actually makes it easier and more fun to write episodes, laying in hints and multiple misdirections.

MAA: The show had a large amount of love triangles and romantic subplots, irregular for children's animation. Any particular couples you were fond of writing?

Hopps: I enjoy writing relationships, but don’t really have any favorites. And with regard to relationships, it doesn’t have to be a traditional couples relationship. Whether it’s Peter and Gwen or Peter and Norman, the characters’ relationships are what I enjoy most about writing. Although I write a lot of action shows, it’s not the fight scenes that keep bringing me back; it’s the relationship scenes. Now that I think about it, even the fight scenes, for me, are relationship scenes. Fortunately, Greg is big on relationships, and is always coming up with terrific character arcs, which intertwine with each other, creating the fun-to-write (and, I hope, fun-to-watch) subplots.

MAA: In the finale "Final Curtain," Peter and Gwen reveal their true feelings for each other. In your mind, would this have led to the eventual death with Gwen or could she had been "the one" as it were, had the show continued?

Hopps: Gwen could have been “the one.” Of course, writers are really nasty people, who like to stir things up, who never like to keep their characters too happy for too long. Odds are, there could never be a happy "ever after.”

MAA: "Blueprints" features the debut of Mysterio, one of the kookier Spider-Man villains. Given his gimmick and powers, was he difficult to write for without going too corny and lame?

Hopps: Magical characters do sometimes pose a problem for me. Trying to figure out their limitations - so they’re not too powerful, so they have some weaknesses (but not too many) - makes the writing more difficult (at least for me). Usually, I never think of a character as corny or lame, since I tend to write them as “real” as possible. I have to make myself believe that these characters actually exist (which is easy, since they really do exist… they do exist, right?).

MAA: What would you have liked to have written in season three, had the show continued?

Hopps: I have no specific characters or stories that I feel I wanted to write, but I know would be eager to jump into a third season, exploring more relationships, going deeper into the characters’ arcs. Maybe do some team-ups, some betrayals, some unexpected alliances… those sort of stories.

MAA: What are your final thoughts on the The Spectacular Spider-Man?

Hopps: The Spectacular Spider-Man was, well, spectacular to work on. And, thanks to all the terrific writers, artists, and crew, it was just as spectacular to watch. I think the pairing of writer/producer Greg Weisman with artist/producer Vic Cook worked wonderfully, and Sean Galloway’s character designs only added to the magic.

MAA: What are you working on now?

Hopps: Just finished writing on the first season of the upcoming Star Wars: Rebels series… once again, working for Greg Weisman, who co-produced.

Marvel Animation Age would like to thank Kevin for his participation in this interview, and his amazing work on the show. He can be found on Twitter @kevinhopps. Cheers, Kevin!