THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN: A fitting name!
- Thread starter Christopher
- Start date
Everyone refers to him as "Big Man", and Foswell is mentioned by Jameson in the Bugle; and the Big Man was the original boss of the Enforcers.
True, a lot of animated shows refine their design styles after the first year. Men in Black: The Series springs to mind; the first-season designs were edgier, more angular, and they were smoothed out and prettified somewhat for the second season. (Also the writing staff was replaced and the show was thoroughly dumbed down, but that's another discussion.)
I kind of regretted losing that anime look of the early episodes.
As stated above, he's referred to onscreen as the Big Man, and online credits list David as playing "Big Man/Frederick Foswell."
Besides, Roscoe Lee Browne played a white Kingpin in the '90s series. Although, at the risk of stirring up complaints, I'd point out that this series is willing to change the ethnicity of comics characters.
While there are a couple of aspects of the art I have issues with, the animation is generally very fluid. My favorite animation in this episode was when the Lizard runs forward in the lab in the initial transformation and the drool/lizard goo on the woman followed by the subsequent bite.
The Shocker fight looks pretty good as well.
This week's episode was "Market Forces," written by Andrew Robinson (no, not the guy who played Garak) and directed by Dan Fausett. Spidey takes on the Shocker -- who, oddly, is a recostumed Montana from the Enforcers (see episode 1) -- and struggles to balance his Spidey-related business (crimefighting and photography alike) with his responsibilities to friends and family.
It wasn't quite as good as the previous three episodes, but that's praising with faint damnation. It was still quite a solid story, a classic early-Spidey tale. A lot of familiar Lee-Ditko beats -- Peter being torn between Aunt May's financial troubles and buying a new camera, Peter meeting and flirting with Betty Brant, Peter dealing with the everyday problems of superheroing that generally get overlooked (like the lingering smell from a fight in a garbage dump). And as I expected, we get the first mention of Mary Jane Watson, handled in the classic way -- May tells Pete that MJ has a "wonderful personality" and he immediately assumes she's a dog. Face it, Tiger, you're in for a shock.
Speaking of shocks, the Montana version of the Shocker was pretty interesting compared to other versions I've seen (which mainly means the version from the '90s series, who was never given any backstory or personality to speak of). This one wasn't given much backstory either, but he had an interesting personality, a laid-back, professional hired gun with no personal stake driving him, just a strong sense of responsibility that Spidey actually learns from.
The script was impressively literate -- we really got to see Peter's intelligence, and it didn't talk down to the viewer. Let's see, in just this one episode, Peter drops allusions to the Marianas Trench, Dante's Ninth Circle, and Mark Twain, and says "Carpe ropem" to tell Harry to get on with rope-climbing in gym class -- a nice double pun, since he's at once invoking the saying "Seize the day," i.e. stop wasting time and get to it, and literally saying "seize the rope." This is the approach to the Parker wit that I like -- not just a punk kid cracking wise, but a highly intelligent, literate smartass with a quick, versatile mind.
The voicework was pretty solid, though Daran Norris's J. Jonah Jameson is nowhere near as perfect as Ed Asner's or J. K. Simmons's version. Jeff Bennett was good as Montana/Shocker, even if it was pretty much his standard laconic cowboy voice. The cast also gains a couple of animation stalwarts, Phil LaMarr as Robbie Robertson and Grey DeLisle as Betty Brant. According to the credits, it turns out that Norman Osborne isn't Ron Perlman as I thought, but Alan Rachins, formerly the Clock King on Batman: TAS. I would've preferred Perlman, but Rachins comes pretty close. Also in the stalwarts category, we have John DiMaggio and Clancy Brown returning as Marko and O'Hirn, soon to become Sandman and Rhino.
It wasn't quite as good as the previous three episodes, but that's praising with faint damnation. It was still quite a solid story, a classic early-Spidey tale. A lot of familiar Lee-Ditko beats -- Peter being torn between Aunt May's financial troubles and buying a new camera, Peter meeting and flirting with Betty Brant, Peter dealing with the everyday problems of superheroing that generally get overlooked (like the lingering smell from a fight in a garbage dump). And as I expected, we get the first mention of Mary Jane Watson, handled in the classic way -- May tells Pete that MJ has a "wonderful personality" and he immediately assumes she's a dog. Face it, Tiger, you're in for a shock.
Speaking of shocks, the Montana version of the Shocker was pretty interesting compared to other versions I've seen (which mainly means the version from the '90s series, who was never given any backstory or personality to speak of). This one wasn't given much backstory either, but he had an interesting personality, a laid-back, professional hired gun with no personal stake driving him, just a strong sense of responsibility that Spidey actually learns from.
The script was impressively literate -- we really got to see Peter's intelligence, and it didn't talk down to the viewer. Let's see, in just this one episode, Peter drops allusions to the Marianas Trench, Dante's Ninth Circle, and Mark Twain, and says "Carpe ropem" to tell Harry to get on with rope-climbing in gym class -- a nice double pun, since he's at once invoking the saying "Seize the day," i.e. stop wasting time and get to it, and literally saying "seize the rope." This is the approach to the Parker wit that I like -- not just a punk kid cracking wise, but a highly intelligent, literate smartass with a quick, versatile mind.
The voicework was pretty solid, though Daran Norris's J. Jonah Jameson is nowhere near as perfect as Ed Asner's or J. K. Simmons's version. Jeff Bennett was good as Montana/Shocker, even if it was pretty much his standard laconic cowboy voice. The cast also gains a couple of animation stalwarts, Phil LaMarr as Robbie Robertson and Grey DeLisle as Betty Brant. According to the credits, it turns out that Norman Osborne isn't Ron Perlman as I thought, but Alan Rachins, formerly the Clock King on Batman: TAS. I would've preferred Perlman, but Rachins comes pretty close. Also in the stalwarts category, we have John DiMaggio and Clancy Brown returning as Marko and O'Hirn, soon to become Sandman and Rhino.
I didn't like the Shocker episode as much. To me this is a strictly C-level villain not deserving his own episode. Not to mention the fact that Spidey got hit by the blast every single time! What happened to his spidey-sense? Is it because in a fair fight Shocker would be taken down in 30 seconds?
But most shockingly of all... Spidey attempted to murder the Shocker! He collapsed an entire building on top of him! How was Shocker expected to survive this?! We saw him have some limited ability to generate an electric shield, but he's just human! And this was a multi-story building!
But most shockingly of all... Spidey attempted to murder the Shocker! He collapsed an entire building on top of him! How was Shocker expected to survive this?! We saw him have some limited ability to generate an electric shield, but he's just human! And this was a multi-story building!
Those blasts spread out pretty wide. It's one thing to know something's coming, it's another thing to be able to move fast enough to dodge it, and the wider the blast, the harder it is to escape. And Pete's only been Spidey for four months or so at this point.
It's not an electric shield, it's a repelling force. As established, the Shocker's quilted outfit is designed to shield him from the very forces his equipment generates (vibrational forces in the comics, though they seem to be treating them a bit differently here). We also saw that the suit allowed him to brush off Spidey's blows effortlessly. Based on that, and based on the wrecking-ball magnitude of the blasts that hit him, Spidey made the logical conclusion that Shocker's suit would be able to shield him against the force of a collapsing building.
And since the "multi-story building" was a spacious theater, the total amount of material that landed on the Shocker was less than the phrase implies. Basically just the balconies and the roof.
An okay episode. Still building and building on top of each episode which is nice. Norman being the "super villain" maker is fine.
So next week we crank out Doc Ock and Sandman, it's like a condensed spiderman 2 and 3.
O'Hirn and Marko Spectacular Spiderman's version of beebop and Rocksteady.
You'd think with making Harry mad they're already setting up for Goblin 2 but please no hoverboard.
So next week we crank out Doc Ock and Sandman, it's like a condensed spiderman 2 and 3.
O'Hirn and Marko Spectacular Spiderman's version of beebop and Rocksteady.
You'd think with making Harry mad they're already setting up for Goblin 2 but please no hoverboard.
We did see Octavius and his tentacles in the preview, but given this show's storytelling style, I wouldn't be surprised if he was just using the tentacles as a tool in his work in this episode, with his transformation into a full-blown supervillain coming later. In fact,
Wikipedia says the emergence of Doc Ock comes in episode 8. Next week is Sandman, then Rhino after that, then the first Green Goblin episode, then Doc Ock.
Octavius is being played by Peter MacNicol. That's quite a change from earlier versions, but MacNicol is an interesting character actor, so I look forward to seeing how he interprets the character.
Another good episode; given the steady attrition of Peter's friends (he's not on good terms with anyone, by my count), I'm assuming MJ is going to enter at the last moment (probably before that dance) when he's at rock-bottom.
A lot of Spidey fans are annoyed at making Montana the Shocker, but I could care less; he's a C-list villain; I will say, I think the 90s version was better (he had a more threatening voice). Incidentally, I like the setup given here for the next wave of supercriminals (sort of like what the 90s series did with a bunch of their villains getting an assist from the Kingpin).
We get the first prolonged Jameson appearance here; he's okay, but the Asner version from the 90s will always be my favourite; their Robbie is good, and Betty is actually in this one (the age difference between them has always been one of the stranger elements of the Lee/Ditko era).
A lot of Spidey fans are annoyed at making Montana the Shocker, but I could care less; he's a C-list villain; I will say, I think the 90s version was better (he had a more threatening voice). Incidentally, I like the setup given here for the next wave of supercriminals (sort of like what the 90s series did with a bunch of their villains getting an assist from the Kingpin).
We get the first prolonged Jameson appearance here; he's okay, but the Asner version from the 90s will always be my favourite; their Robbie is good, and Betty is actually in this one (the age difference between them has always been one of the stranger elements of the Lee/Ditko era).
That was what they said after fans complained that Betty was too old for Peter, a high school student; the idea of Jameson having a teenaged secretary is a rather awkward part of the mythos.
This week's episode was "Competition," written by Kevin Hopps and directed by Troy Adomitis, IIRC, and featuring the transformation of Flint Marko (John DiMaggio) into the Sandman. Not the best episode they've done, in part because there's a certain been-there, done-that quality to a Sandman episode in the wake of Spider-Man 3, especially since this Marko lacks the depth and sympathetic qualities of the film's version; he just wants to be a better bank robber and that's about it.
Also the action choreography isn't as impressive as it was in the early episodes; indeed, there was one part that didn't seem coherent to me at all. Sandman flowed under some girders at a construction site and then somehow they were flying way up in the air to hit Spidey where he clung on the wall; no doubt the idea was that Sandy tossed them there, but there was a disconnect in the imagery -- it just didn't look in the first shot like they were propelled with enough force to go nearly that high. And then Spidey inexplicably leaps straight down and just stands there while the girders fall on him and pin him there. That just didn't work at all. Overall, the only scenes where his spider-sense seemed to be engaged were the scenes of Peter trying out for football practice and using his abilities to come out ahead.
That part wasn't bad, but it was kind of by-the-numbers. Peter uses his superpowers to show off, he ends up crowding Harry out of his own dream to be on the team, and so Pete does the noble thing and takes a dive so Harry can come out ahead. Pretty predictable stuff. What salvaged it was the character interaction around it -- seeing how dismissive Norman is of his son's interest in football lends a greater depth to Harry's desire to succeed at it. If he can't get encouragement or appreciation from his own family, at least he deserves the chance to earn it from his peers. The other interesting character sidebar was the first hint of burgeoning romance between Gwen and Peter. Or at least of Gwen's interest in Peter; it's unclear yet whether he reciprocates it.
And the cast of this show continues to grow bigger, as the writers throw in virtually every character who's ever appeared in the comics. This week we meet Glory Grant, who bears the ever-sexy voice of Cree Summer. In the comics, she was a neighbor in one of the apartment buildings where Peter lived, and I think a prospective romantic interest for him before she ended up with Randy Robertson; here, she's a fellow student who takes more of an interest in Harry (which is odd, since one would've expected Liz Allan to fill that role). Also, one of the students trying out for the football team is Hobie Brown, who in the comics was the superhero called the Prowler. I read an interview where one of the producers said with pride that they haven't created a single original character for this show; everyone we see will be someone drawn from the enormous cast that the Spidey comics have accumulated over the decades (although many have been changed significantly).
So a weak installment for this show, but still reasonably entertaining. A routine episode in a series that's been far more than routine so far.
Also the action choreography isn't as impressive as it was in the early episodes; indeed, there was one part that didn't seem coherent to me at all. Sandman flowed under some girders at a construction site and then somehow they were flying way up in the air to hit Spidey where he clung on the wall; no doubt the idea was that Sandy tossed them there, but there was a disconnect in the imagery -- it just didn't look in the first shot like they were propelled with enough force to go nearly that high. And then Spidey inexplicably leaps straight down and just stands there while the girders fall on him and pin him there. That just didn't work at all. Overall, the only scenes where his spider-sense seemed to be engaged were the scenes of Peter trying out for football practice and using his abilities to come out ahead.
That part wasn't bad, but it was kind of by-the-numbers. Peter uses his superpowers to show off, he ends up crowding Harry out of his own dream to be on the team, and so Pete does the noble thing and takes a dive so Harry can come out ahead. Pretty predictable stuff. What salvaged it was the character interaction around it -- seeing how dismissive Norman is of his son's interest in football lends a greater depth to Harry's desire to succeed at it. If he can't get encouragement or appreciation from his own family, at least he deserves the chance to earn it from his peers. The other interesting character sidebar was the first hint of burgeoning romance between Gwen and Peter. Or at least of Gwen's interest in Peter; it's unclear yet whether he reciprocates it.
And the cast of this show continues to grow bigger, as the writers throw in virtually every character who's ever appeared in the comics. This week we meet Glory Grant, who bears the ever-sexy voice of Cree Summer. In the comics, she was a neighbor in one of the apartment buildings where Peter lived, and I think a prospective romantic interest for him before she ended up with Randy Robertson; here, she's a fellow student who takes more of an interest in Harry (which is odd, since one would've expected Liz Allan to fill that role). Also, one of the students trying out for the football team is Hobie Brown, who in the comics was the superhero called the Prowler. I read an interview where one of the producers said with pride that they haven't created a single original character for this show; everyone we see will be someone drawn from the enormous cast that the Spidey comics have accumulated over the decades (although many have been changed significantly).
So a weak installment for this show, but still reasonably entertaining. A routine episode in a series that's been far more than routine so far.
It was okay today maybe the excitement has died down a bit but i'm still DVR'ing.
Shades of Spiderman 3 with the bank truck
Nice to see they brought in Harry's mom. It was getting too Lionel and Lex.
Doc Ock already with the arms minus the fussing part(soon) nice
Shades of Spiderman 3 with the bank truck
Nice to see they brought in Harry's mom. It was getting too Lionel and Lex.
Doc Ock already with the arms minus the fussing part(soon) nice
I don't remember there being a Mrs. Osborn in the comics. Yes, according to Spiderfan.org, Emily Osborn died shortly after Harry was born. So they've made a significant change here; I wonder why?
Uhh, did you mean "fusing?" Because he did seem to be pretty fussy here.
It was OK, but I'm not crazy about Sandman stories, his powers are so amorphous and Spidey's are so physical and tangible in nature that the stories always seem outmatched and/or gimmicky. I haven't read many Spider-Man stories so I don't know how it plays out in those so maybe they have other tacks I'm not familiar with. Plus, I had to shift gears from LSH which was in dark epic mode today.
And wow, angst between friends doesn't have to last forever? Kind of refreshing. We'll have to see how they handle MJ but I think many of us geeks will be pulling for Gwen. It's also kind of odd having a less geriatric Aunt May (at least from one who doesn't know contemporary comics as that might have changed in the last 20 years
).
And wow, angst between friends doesn't have to last forever? Kind of refreshing. We'll have to see how they handle MJ but I think many of us geeks will be pulling for Gwen. It's also kind of odd having a less geriatric Aunt May (at least from one who doesn't know contemporary comics as that might have changed in the last 20 years
).Similar threads
- Poll
