THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN: A fitting name!
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Glory's mention of the school's theatre program obviously sets up MJ transfering there in the near future. I was a bit surprised at the lack of interaction between Peter and Gwen and Eddie at the prom; we just got a brief reaction.
MJ's portrayal in this episode was basically the exact opposite of every standard superhero girlfriend. Oh no, Flas mentioned the bet! Sure she'll be angry and ditch him? She doesn't. Oh no, our hero has to leave his date and run off to save the day! Surely she'll be petty and angry? Well, MJ isn't. She's been elected prom queen with Peter's arch-rival? She sticks around.
I really like the portrayal of Nerdy Harry's rise to the popular crowd; very surprised at Glory's leaving him at the ball, since they seemed to have been setting her up as someone with more integrity.
Intro of the Goblin was strong; I loved the 90s Goblin, and this one was a worthy successor. The Goblin is obviously Norman, though they're trying to trick kids into thinking it's Harry (on how many will that work, I wonder, given the popularity of the first Spider-Man movie?).
MJ's portrayal in this episode was basically the exact opposite of every standard superhero girlfriend. Oh no, Flas mentioned the bet! Sure she'll be angry and ditch him? She doesn't. Oh no, our hero has to leave his date and run off to save the day! Surely she'll be petty and angry? Well, MJ isn't. She's been elected prom queen with Peter's arch-rival? She sticks around.
I really like the portrayal of Nerdy Harry's rise to the popular crowd; very surprised at Glory's leaving him at the ball, since they seemed to have been setting her up as someone with more integrity.
Intro of the Goblin was strong; I loved the 90s Goblin, and this one was a worthy successor. The Goblin is obviously Norman, though they're trying to trick kids into thinking it's Harry (on how many will that work, I wonder, given the popularity of the first Spider-Man movie?).
That's actually pretty close to the original comics. On one of their very first dates (albeit an informal date at the coffee shop with friends), Peter was called away on a photo assignment, and not only did MJ not get mad, she cheerfully went with him (which made it hard for him to Spidey up). She was pretty much a carefree party girl who didn't let herself get upset at anything or take anything seriously (although we later learned that was her defense mechanism for coping with an abusive family background).
I also enjoyed this week's ep. I liked the midirection concerning Gobby's identity. As I recall, Norman did not show his face the entire episode. Also the Green Goblin shows up shortly after Harry leaves the dance. The only big hint they drop that he is Norman is when he confronts Tombstone. His knowledge concerning the Big Man and his gang makes it pretty clear that this is not Harry.
Regarding future storylines:
It appears we will see Doc Ock next week. I would love it if he said, " I am Doctor Octopus. You are like the buzzing of flies to me."
So, Ned Lee(ds) is going to be investigating Spidey. Will this eventually lead to him becoming the Hobgoblin? Thanks to the little research I have done, I know there have been at least three Hobgoblin's. But I have no idea who was first.
Regarding future storylines:
It appears we will see Doc Ock next week. I would love it if he said, " I am Doctor Octopus. You are like the buzzing of flies to me."
So, Ned Lee(ds) is going to be investigating Spidey. Will this eventually lead to him becoming the Hobgoblin? Thanks to the little research I have done, I know there have been at least three Hobgoblin's. But I have no idea who was first.
Well, that's quite complicated, because the writer who introduced the Hobgoblin intended it to be one person (Roderick Kingsley), but then he left and his successors went in a different direction, revealing that Leeds was the Hobgoblin. Which eventually got retconned by the original author, and it turned out that Leeds had only been brainwashed by Kingsley into being a red-herring Hobgoblin. So Leeds was the first character to be exposed as Hobby, but Kingsley was the first one to actually be Hobby.
Still, there's more to Ned's story than just being a Hobgoblin. He was a major supporting character for years before that got done to him. And I really hope this show doesn't go that route. I don't see any need to use the Hobgoblin at all. All you need are Norman and Harry.
Weisman has said he has plans for the Hobgoblin in a few seasons (presumably the Kinglsey version), I believe.
In the comics, Ned married Betty, which eventually led to a story where Peter became the Other Man in their marriage and they slept together while they were still married (though split).
In the comics, Ned married Betty, which eventually led to a story where Peter became the Other Man in their marriage and they slept together while they were still married (though split).
This week: "Reaction," written by Randy Jandt, directed by Jennifer Coyle. I've never heard of either of them, but they did a good job. The Spidey action was lively and had plenty of nice touches as usual. (I liked the bit where he webbed the young lovers together face-to-face and said "You'll thank me later." Kinky bondage fun!) Coney Island was a fun place to set the climactic battle with Doc Ock, with lots of nice visual and action gags (Ock clocking Spidey in front of a "Hit the Freak" target, Ock ultimately being brought down in the octopus ride), as well as some historic significance to the pair. (I think it was the site of the battle where an ailing, powerless Spidey took on Ock and got unmasked, only for Ock to assume it was just Peter Parker pretending to be Spidey because there was no way the real Spidey could be so feeble an opponent.)
The one action bit I wasn't too crazy about was where they re-enacted the Spider-Man 2 train sequence with the runaway truck. That bit with Spidey clinging to the front of the vehicle and shooting webs at the buildings on either side as a giant sling always seemed to me like a poorly considered strategy -- wouldn't it be so much simpler just to gum up the wheels with webbing?
Storywise, the Doc Ock transformation also borrowed a lot from the movie, with Ock's tentacles having a similar neural control chip at the base of the neck, and with a similar element of the tentacles transforming Ock's personality (in this case releasing the nebbishy Octavius's repressed frustration and rage) rather than just amplifying his pre-existing arrogance and contempt for humanity. But Peter MacNicol did a good job portraying Otto's transformation; at first, his voice didn't sound too menacing, but it got increasingly rough and fierce as the episode progressed.
A lot was also happening on the character side, and it's amazing how huge a cast they're managing to juggle at this point. Peter learns that MJ isn't as exclusively into him as he thought, which could be a reflection of her fear of commitment, but it felt like a very natural young-male/young-female interaction, with the boy reading too much into the girl's friendliness. As for Liz and Peter, I'm not sure what was going on there -- I guess maybe she was jealous of MJ and Flash and was trying to make them both jealous by hitting on MJ's guy. Which came around to bite her, leaving Peter an unwitting accomplice.
Meanwhile, we have Gwen worrying about Harry. I realized that what they're doing, impressively, is adapting Harry's drug-addiction arc from the comics. I guess they were able to get it past the censors by making the drug the fictitious "Globulin Green" (not "Gobulin" as I thought the vial said last week), rather than anything real (I think it was amphetamines or something like that in the comics). Also by making it a red herring in the Green Goblin arc, setting things up so that it seems Harry may be the Goblin. In reality, it's most likely that Harry's just using the Green to enhance his athletic abilities, and that Norman is the Goblin. But it's clever of the writers to set it up that way -- comics (and movie) fans know that Norman was the original GG, but we also know that Harry was the second GG. So maybe it could go either way in this incarnation.
And the scene of JJJ watching his son's space launch is bound to be significant. What do you want to bet he'll encounter a black, oozing symbiote out there?
The one action bit I wasn't too crazy about was where they re-enacted the Spider-Man 2 train sequence with the runaway truck. That bit with Spidey clinging to the front of the vehicle and shooting webs at the buildings on either side as a giant sling always seemed to me like a poorly considered strategy -- wouldn't it be so much simpler just to gum up the wheels with webbing?
Storywise, the Doc Ock transformation also borrowed a lot from the movie, with Ock's tentacles having a similar neural control chip at the base of the neck, and with a similar element of the tentacles transforming Ock's personality (in this case releasing the nebbishy Octavius's repressed frustration and rage) rather than just amplifying his pre-existing arrogance and contempt for humanity. But Peter MacNicol did a good job portraying Otto's transformation; at first, his voice didn't sound too menacing, but it got increasingly rough and fierce as the episode progressed.
A lot was also happening on the character side, and it's amazing how huge a cast they're managing to juggle at this point. Peter learns that MJ isn't as exclusively into him as he thought, which could be a reflection of her fear of commitment, but it felt like a very natural young-male/young-female interaction, with the boy reading too much into the girl's friendliness. As for Liz and Peter, I'm not sure what was going on there -- I guess maybe she was jealous of MJ and Flash and was trying to make them both jealous by hitting on MJ's guy. Which came around to bite her, leaving Peter an unwitting accomplice.
Meanwhile, we have Gwen worrying about Harry. I realized that what they're doing, impressively, is adapting Harry's drug-addiction arc from the comics. I guess they were able to get it past the censors by making the drug the fictitious "Globulin Green" (not "Gobulin" as I thought the vial said last week), rather than anything real (I think it was amphetamines or something like that in the comics). Also by making it a red herring in the Green Goblin arc, setting things up so that it seems Harry may be the Goblin. In reality, it's most likely that Harry's just using the Green to enhance his athletic abilities, and that Norman is the Goblin. But it's clever of the writers to set it up that way -- comics (and movie) fans know that Norman was the original GG, but we also know that Harry was the second GG. So maybe it could go either way in this incarnation.
And the scene of JJJ watching his son's space launch is bound to be significant. What do you want to bet he'll encounter a black, oozing symbiote out there?
Well, I was right over Peter being at Coney Island for a date. I just didn't think it would be with Liz.
Thought Sally's reaction to the entire incident was semi-hilarious, how absorbed can a girl be in her own little world?!
Slightly more credit to the idea of Harry being the Goblin.
John's off, and we know who he's bringing back...
Still no proper interaction between Gwen and MJ, nuts...
As for John, I still say they may adapt the John Jameson story from ASM 41-42 instead of just copying the TAS symbiote story . The one where John was infected by space spores that made him super-powerful and super-crazy, only this time it's not spores...
Thought Sally's reaction to the entire incident was semi-hilarious, how absorbed can a girl be in her own little world?!
Slightly more credit to the idea of Harry being the Goblin.
John's off, and we know who he's bringing back...
Still no proper interaction between Gwen and MJ, nuts...
As for John, I still say they may adapt the John Jameson story from ASM 41-42 instead of just copying the TAS symbiote story . The one where John was infected by space spores that made him super-powerful and super-crazy, only this time it's not spores...
Again, another nice solid episode this week that moved a few storylines forward. We saw John Jameson blast off into space, sowing the seeds for the symbiote/black costume/Venom storyline. Nice little cameo for the Goblin, who is responsible for creating Doc Ock (whether he intended for that to happen, or he just wanted Octavius dead is unclear, although I'll go with the latter). Ock himself was pretty well realised, and the interplay between him and Spidey was great. The "My fans expect a certain amount of quippage during a battle" line was a nice little dig at the lack of banter in the movies, I thought.
Here's what we're getting for the final five episodes...
Can't wait.
Here's what we're getting for the final five episodes...
1.09 - The Uncertainty Principle: Spider-Man comes up against the master of disguise, The Chameleon.
1.10 - Persona: Features Felicia Hardy/Black Cat (voiced by Tricia Helfer) and Quentin Beck (not sure if he'll appear as Mysterio though).
1.11 - Group Therapy: Six of Spider-Man's deadliest enemies team up together to get their revenge on the webslinger as the Sinister Six.
1.12 - Intervention: Spider-Man loses the black costume, inadvertantly creating Venom.
1.13 - Nature Vs Nature: Spider-Man must face up against his greatest enemy, and greatest friend - Eddie Brock/Venom.
1.10 - Persona: Features Felicia Hardy/Black Cat (voiced by Tricia Helfer) and Quentin Beck (not sure if he'll appear as Mysterio though).
1.11 - Group Therapy: Six of Spider-Man's deadliest enemies team up together to get their revenge on the webslinger as the Sinister Six.
1.12 - Intervention: Spider-Man loses the black costume, inadvertantly creating Venom.
1.13 - Nature Vs Nature: Spider-Man must face up against his greatest enemy, and greatest friend - Eddie Brock/Venom.
Can't wait.
Huh, since Blum voices Chameleon and the Goblin do you think it's possible that THIS Goblis actually Chameleon acting on orders from Norman, or Norman may use Chameleon to throw Spidey off his trail by having him impersonate him?
As for the titles, I'm guessing "Intervention" will likely have Gwen or someone try to talk some sense into "Venomized" Peter and get him to ditch the symbiote.
As for the titles, I'm guessing "Intervention" will likely have Gwen or someone try to talk some sense into "Venomized" Peter and get him to ditch the symbiote.
The episode titles on this series are interesting. They're all technical terms from science, psychology, etc.
Except for the last one which is...
...Nature Vs Nature, as oppsed to Nature Vs Nurture.
You're right though, it is an interesting theme.
I can't imagine how he'd web up the wheels on both sides simultaneously, if he webbed up just one side the truck would spin out of control.
Logically and visually a neater trick would be to "cross-spin" his webs, how can I describe this? Shoot from your right hand toward the left, and left hand toward the right. The webs can then join and stick together right in the middle. The webs stretch, keep adding layers until the vehicle stops. Anyway, I agree, I wouldn't want to stop a truck or subway the way Spidey's done it.
I didn't see it this way at all. I thought they telegraphed it pretty good, in the Electro episode, Gwen has obvious jealousy of Liz when Peter brings her to the lab. This also is where Eddie sees his opening to ask her out later, the nuances in the reactions and emotions here are what sets this cartoon a step above the rest. At the end, Liz's guilty look when she blows Peter off in front of Flash. Then in the Sandman episode, we see Liz and Gwen are the ones cheering Harry and Peter on, Sally looks grim, and Glory is pissed at her meathead boyfriend. Up to that point, I was really getting suspicious of where they were going with Liz, and it seemed like Pete had potentially 4 girlfriends lined up, Liz, Gwen, Betty and the mysterious Mary Jane that May kept pushing on him.
I'll pass on that bet, it's easy money for you! I'll note here that JJ is the one character that I wish they handled a bit differently, he's too much of a blowhard. Spiderman TMP caught his style perfectly, I loved the scenes in the movie where he's sitting with (freelance, not salaried) Peter in his office, basicly filling him in on the facts of life. They caught this wonderfully in a few seconds of film, and it captured JJ and Pete's relationship perfectly. This is the one thing I'm kind of missing from this otherwise outstanding cartoon series.
Triple-J is a bit more manic than I like my Jameson, but I like him; one scene where they really subverted my expectations was last episode, when John admitted he was hoping to just spend time with him instead of going to Tombstone's party, and JJJ immediately decided they should get up and go; the obvious joke would be for him to absentmindedly insist they were having a great time at the party.
Okay, that makes sense where the truck is concerned. But I still think it would've worked with the train in the movie.
Well, Daran Norris's performance as JJJ pales in comparison to Ed Asner in the '90s series and J. K. Simmons in the movie. But I don't have much of a problem with the way the character is written, because they're going for a very Lee/Ditko-era sensibility with this show, and JJJ was very broad back then.
I still think they may go with a slightly different take on the symbiote origin: They may adapt the story from ASM 41-42 where John Jameson was infected by space spores and became super-strong, but super-violent and Peter had to stop him.
Only in this version it isn't spores making him tough and crazy...
Only in this version it isn't spores making him tough and crazy...
"The Uncertainty Principle," written by Kevin Hopps, directed by Dave Bullock:
Wow. Whoever thought a story revealing the Green Goblin's identity would be so surprising? I mean, sure, I suspected that maybe the red herrings weren't red herrings after all, that Harry really would be the Goblin. But the real surprise was in how it was executed, in what came after the revelation, in that final scene between Spidey, Norman, and Harry. Hopps built on the established mythology, but gave us something new and compelling in the process. We even get to see a more caring, paternal side to Norman than we've seen before, on this show or elsewhere -- although I somewhat suspect that Norman was as much concerned with protecting the family's reputation as protecting his son.
And we get a nice parallel, also seeing a more sympathetic side of Jonah as he worries about his son. And yet he still remains quintessentially Jonah. I haven't been impressed by this show's version of Ol' Pickle-Puss before, but he became a much richer character this week. And we get to see a new version of a classic dynamic from the comics. In The Amazing Spider-Man #1, Spidey saved John Jameson's life, and thereby earned Jonah's resentment for "upstaging" his hero son. Here, Spidey is uninvolved in John's salvation, so Jonah has better grounds for being angry at the upstaging, even though it's the sensation-hungry tastes of the newspaper-buying public that are to blame rather than Spidey himself. But it certainly seems that Jonah's vendetta against Spidey has escalated to a new level. When he announced the classic headline, SPIDER-MAN: THREAT OR MENACE, I cried, "Yyes!!" It's on now, folks. And just in time for
Meanwhile, I wonder what's in the future for the Green Goblin. I wouldn't be surprised if he returned, Spidey thought it was Harry, and it turned out to be Norman picking up the mantle for some reason.
I also like the fresh way they handled the "superhero shows up on Halloween in his real superhero garb" cliche. Rather than being planned, it was an accident. I liked the comedy bit where he asks Gwen "Where are you?" on the phone, then drops down to the ground and she's standing right there.
And for a kids' show, Hopps managed to work in a lot of innuendo. The football players in drag and falsies were just... so wrong. But it generated MJ's line "Keep your pom-poms to yourself" as she pushed on Flash's, err, amplified chest (which went squeak!). Not to mention Liz's line to Peter-as-Spidey: "You can web me up anytime."
And I thought last week's "You'll thank me later" was the most blatant bondage reference the censors would let them get away with!
Ooh, and did you notice? At the Halloween party, the Black Cat walked by in a cameo. Nice foreshadowing.
This is definitely the best animated Spidey show ever, even edging out the '90s series. I really hope its second season finds a good home, and that it has a long run.
Wow. Whoever thought a story revealing the Green Goblin's identity would be so surprising? I mean, sure, I suspected that maybe the red herrings weren't red herrings after all, that Harry really would be the Goblin. But the real surprise was in how it was executed, in what came after the revelation, in that final scene between Spidey, Norman, and Harry. Hopps built on the established mythology, but gave us something new and compelling in the process. We even get to see a more caring, paternal side to Norman than we've seen before, on this show or elsewhere -- although I somewhat suspect that Norman was as much concerned with protecting the family's reputation as protecting his son.
And we get a nice parallel, also seeing a more sympathetic side of Jonah as he worries about his son. And yet he still remains quintessentially Jonah. I haven't been impressed by this show's version of Ol' Pickle-Puss before, but he became a much richer character this week. And we get to see a new version of a classic dynamic from the comics. In The Amazing Spider-Man #1, Spidey saved John Jameson's life, and thereby earned Jonah's resentment for "upstaging" his hero son. Here, Spidey is uninvolved in John's salvation, so Jonah has better grounds for being angry at the upstaging, even though it's the sensation-hungry tastes of the newspaper-buying public that are to blame rather than Spidey himself. But it certainly seems that Jonah's vendetta against Spidey has escalated to a new level. When he announced the classic headline, SPIDER-MAN: THREAT OR MENACE, I cried, "Yyes!!" It's on now, folks. And just in time for
the alien-costume saga, which is sure to feature Spidey Behaving Badly and giving JJJ much grist for the mill.
Meanwhile, I wonder what's in the future for the Green Goblin. I wouldn't be surprised if he returned, Spidey thought it was Harry, and it turned out to be Norman picking up the mantle for some reason.
I also like the fresh way they handled the "superhero shows up on Halloween in his real superhero garb" cliche. Rather than being planned, it was an accident. I liked the comedy bit where he asks Gwen "Where are you?" on the phone, then drops down to the ground and she's standing right there.
And for a kids' show, Hopps managed to work in a lot of innuendo. The football players in drag and falsies were just... so wrong. But it generated MJ's line "Keep your pom-poms to yourself" as she pushed on Flash's, err, amplified chest (which went squeak!). Not to mention Liz's line to Peter-as-Spidey: "You can web me up anytime."
And I thought last week's "You'll thank me later" was the most blatant bondage reference the censors would let them get away with!Ooh, and did you notice? At the Halloween party, the Black Cat walked by in a cameo. Nice foreshadowing.
This is definitely the best animated Spidey show ever, even edging out the '90s series. I really hope its second season finds a good home, and that it has a long run.
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