I often think back to something; I think it was some interview or a reviewer commenting about the Joker in the Batman Animated show, where the Joker would use some gas on people that forces them to smile. The creator/writer/whatever said something to the effect of “In a kid’s show, you can’t show hardcore violence and stuff, so you have to get creative.”
One of my friends is following the story along, and he LOVES how terrifying these bubble things are, just conceptually. We haven’t even gotten to some of their most /interesting/ properties…