Spectacular Spider-Man

[Silver Shocker]

We need a new Spider-Man thread, cuz you know the board archive thing. Anyway, The new season started in Canada today on Teletoon and I was lucky enough to catch it on tape.

Spoiler

The new episode played off the Peter/Gwen/MJ/Liz love square (?) from season one, mostly focusing on Peter's interaction on Gwen and Liz. The villain for this episode was Mysterio, who looked pretty much the same as in other comics or cartoons. He had this booming, over the top voice and really played up a "master of the mystic arts" angle, spouting Latin "spells" for each trick he'd do. It's not what I usually imagine with the villain and the other cartoons didn't do that, but I thought it worked pretty well, especially since out of costume Quentin Beck spoke the way you'd expect, giving his role as a common thug/henchman in this show (which is not forgotten this time around, in fact they acknowledge his S1 appearance in a clever and amusing way, IMO).  We also see some stuff with the Connors and Osborn, who apparently have dinner regularly with other science guys, namely Peter's science teacher, Miles Warren (which has me intrigued, especially with him mentioning an "assistant" of his, could Ben Reilly be in the works?) and some young girl who I don't believe was identified. Interesting stuff in the works, me thinks. So Osborn convinces the Connor's to rehire Peter as a intern, no doubt for his own sinister purposes, whatever they be.  At the end of the episode, it features a great "Xanatos Tag" (a term head writer Greg Weisman coined during his Gargoyles days) where The Tinkerer shows up, and we see that Spidey didn't capture Beck, but an android. The real Beck and Tinkerer (who is apparently voiced by the guy who voice Lexington from Gargoyles, which if so is awesome) then talk to a mysterious voice identified as......The Master Planner!

Before I watched Spectacular Spidey, I didn't know what to expect, except that I didn't really care for the animation style right away and Greg Weisman's involvement seemed promising, but when I actually saw season 1 I was really impressed. I quickly grew to love the show and this season opener didn't disappoint. It picked up plot elements from the previous season (previous episode, in fact) and gave a good idea of what to expect in future episodes. People who read the original comics would know

Spoiler

the Master Planner was revealed to be Doc Ock

, but knowing this show they'll probably pull a twist, as they've done before in the previous season.

[Previsionary]

Thanks for the summary/review, SS. One thing you forgot to note...MJ and Harry are no longer in the opening credits. They've been replaced with...Norman and Liz. *gasp*

[Silver Shocker]

Oh yeah you're right, I did forget to mention that.

Spoiler

I noticed that in the end credits, the Master Planner is voiced by Peter MacNicol, the voice of Doctor Octopus in the show. So that makes it a good deal more likely that they're going with the comic book identity of Master Planner. Either that or they're really going out of their way to trick us.

[Ajax]

Apparently Marvel really hates America cause we aren't going to see this for a while. Apparently Disney picked up the rights and will start on their new whatever they are calling it lineup. DisneyXD? Between this and Wolverine and the X-Men, which literally could have run through two seasons before it is suppose to air, Marvel needs to get their act together. Brazil got Wolverine and the X-Men before us! Brazil! -_- *grumble* *grumble*

[edit]: Just checked Disney XD launches mid feb, which is probably around the time the x-toon will start. 

[Previsionary]

uh, why are you blaming marvel for this? They don't really have that much of a say of when TV stations air their programming. Marvel doesn't own these stations and we knew spectacular spidey wouldn't air a second season on WB since it's folding its kids lineup. X-men airs on the 23rd on Nick.

[Ajax]

I blame marvel because it just feels sloppy to me and there is no way they have 0 control over their shows. One show is going to be aired on Nick the other on Toon Disney, what happens if the two are competing against one another? (Not sure of their time slots but it is a distinct possibility). Wouldn't it have been easier and make more sense to sell the shows to the same network? Plus why did Wolverine and the X-Men get held back till Feb when it was more than ready to be aired during the fall season? To be in sync with the Wolverine movie? No clue, since it would probably make more sense to air it before the movie comes out that way people already have a taste, instead of waiting just before the movie comes out, making the series look like a marketing thing. Oh well.

[Podmark]

Actually I've heard from Greg Johnson, one of the head writers on Wolverine and the X-men, back when the show was first airing in South America, and he said he was very disappointed in the networks choices. So at the very least those involved in making the shows creatively have no control in their airings. 

[Previsionary]

semi-ninja'd by Pod.

I blame marvel because it just feels sloppy to me and there is no way they have 0 control over their shows. One show is going to be aired on Nick the other on Toon Disney, what happens if the two are competing against one another? (Not sure of their time slots but it is a distinct possibility). Wouldn't it have been easier and make more sense to sell the shows to the same network? Plus why did Wolverine and the X-Men get held back till Feb when it was more than ready to be aired during the fall season? To be in sync with the Wolverine movie? No clue, since it would probably make more sense to air it before the movie comes out that way people already have a taste, instead of waiting just before the movie comes out, making the series look like a marketing thing. Oh well.

guess you better go ask that question to every channel and station ever in existence. . There're tons of shows all over the world that get aired in advance in other places outside of their origin nation/country, but when the U.S. gets something first, we never complain. Why is that anyway? ^^.

It's NOT a marvel fault, it's a distribution/channel/station problem (Nicktoons). Did you even think of the many variables that could be at play like the channel's programming blocks being full or what channel wanted what and the offers made? If I can remember correctly, not many US stations even jumped at the show when it was first being announced and Nicktoons were the only ones to take it up after the Canadians and Brazilians. Heck, not even the UK'ers got it on time and BBC picked it up months ago. You're making it an open and shut case...it isn't. Marvel only produces it, they can't control when it airs and who WILL and WON'T offer to buy their programming. Now Spider-man going to disney XD where the other hero cartoons are is a much different issue and probably involved three parties, or more likely Disney and Time Warner, sitting down and making deals. Besides, Nick is known for their long delays in airing new content. Not to mention that once the writers at Marvel learned that Brazil were going through 4 episodes a week, they were shocked...yet they couldn't do anything about it.
=====

in other news, it blows my mind that there's more x-talk in here than spidey talk. So um...I'm excited to see where the story goes especially between Pete/Gwen/Liz/MJ and Pete/Norman!

[Podmark]

Oh forgot to mention I thought the new season started great. I had little interest in this show when it was annouced. I didn't like the MTV one much and I wasn't impressed with the animation on Spectacular at first, but honestly this show is great.

[Silver Shocker]

So um...I'm excited to see where the story goes especially between Pete/Gwen/Liz/MJ and Pete/Norman!

Pre, you shipping Pete/Norman? Freaky.

There're tons of shows all over the world that get aired in advance in other places outside of their origin nation/country, but when the U.S. gets something first, we never complain. Why is that anyway? ^^.

Because most of you guys live in America and get the American stations, put simply. I'm in Canada, and I was always frustrated when the US was ahead of Canada in JLU when it was on, particularly because by the time I saw the episodes, the discussion threads for them here were dead and buried. But when Canada was showing the episodes first and I was able to post about them on FR first, I was filled to the brim with a girlish glee. I'd rather both counties (and other English-speaking countries) get the shows all at the same time, but of course that's not up to me. As for non-English speaking countries, well they have to dub the shows before they can show the shows; not everyone is bilingual (I'm not).

[thalaw2]

Stan is the man!!!!

[BWPS]

but when the U.S. gets something first, we never complain. Why is that anyway? ^^.

You personally might not, but people complain about the US getting stuff A LOT.

[Previsionary]

but when the U.S. gets something first, we never complain. Why is that anyway? ^^.

You personally might not, but people complain about the US getting stuff A LOT.

er...the U.S.ers don't complain, yet we complain when other countries get them. It was a general comment that was jokey in nature, didn't need to go over all the bases with it. :p

So um...I'm excited to see where the story goes especially between Pete/Gwen/Liz/MJ and Pete/Norman!

Pre, you shipping Pete/Norman? Freaky.

Don't be silly. Pete/Kong!

...

Yeah, I should stop before someone takes that seriously.

[Silver Shocker]

Well, there was a new episode on Sunday. Didn't get around to talking about it until now though.

Spoiler

This one featured Kraven the Hunter, who preferred to be called by his real name Kravenoff (pronounced with the a sound sounding like the a in "rat", I was used to it sounding like "rave" as it was in the 90s cartoon), who, per usual, hunts Spider-Man. The twist for this episode is that after his first fight with Spidey, he goes to see Miles Warren, who he believes gave Spider-Man his powers. Warren plays along and claims he did, saying Spidey paid him for the powers, so that Kraven will give him money. Warren mutates Kraven into a beastly lion-man, and he attempts to fight Spider-Man and loses. Also in the episode Flash Thompson gets injured playing football and has to be rushed to the hospital. Liz, who was among the friends of Flash who went to the hospital to see how he was doing, wanted Peter to go and see him, but he was too busy fighting Kraven at the time. At the end of the episode, we find out that Kraven was maintaining contact with the Master Planner, who was mentioned as being the one who told him about Spider-Man, and who now wants him to work in a group for him. I'm a little disappointed by that, because it sounds like the Sinister Six, which the show already did last season. I didn't really care for Kraven's voice.

I wasn't a huge fan of this episode. It was ok, and it did have some good subplot stuff and some good action, but I just didn't find it that interesting.
Also it seems the supporting characters shown on the opening now changes every episode to reflect which characters actually appear in the episode, as Norman Osborn was replaced with Flash Thompson for this one.

[Talavar]

Just saw the most recent episode myself, and didn't mind it.  I've always thought that "classic" Kraven was a lame Spider-man villain; given Spidey's powers he should be way out of the guy's league.  The cartoon borrowed the genetic upgrade after a humiliating defeat from Ult. Spider-man I believe (where Kraven's first defeat was a lot more humiliating).

Overall it was a solid episode, but not great.  Stand-up animation as always though - I wish Wolverine & the X-men's animation flowed & moved like this.

[thalaw2]

I thought this was a fun episode.  The fight between Kraven and Spidey was nothing compared to the good subplot.  I enjoyed that much more.

[TheMarvell]

can't say I liked this episode. Kraven just isn't that solid of a villain, imo, and I didn't really like what they did with him here. Turning him into a werewolf-like-cat man just seemed weird to me. Plus, Kraven having a lion that acted exactly like a dog was stupid. It was somewhat entertaining, but definitely one of the weakest episodes so far.

[Talavar]

I just saw the third episode of the season, Reinforcements...

Spoiler

And I think Dr. Octopus is still going to be the Master Planner, though they're doing a pretty good job of disguising it.

[Talavar]

Fourth Episode, Shear Strength:

Spoiler

This episode was a marked improvement over the last couple, not that they were terrible or anything.  Dr. Ock is revealed as the Master Planner immediately (which surprised me; sure, I thought it was him, but I also thought they'd try to hide it a little longer, or make the reveal more dramatic).  His plan involves using a kidnapped Gwen Stacy to blackmail her father into getting him access to a Homeland Security computer not on any network.  This of course brings Spider-man into the picture to save the day.

[thalaw2]

I think this series is doing a good job of making Peter Parker look like a typical high school boy.

Spoiler

Having him in a love triangle is much better than trying to go some romantic angle with him and Mary Jane...it's high school.  Everything is puppy love

[Talavar]

Fifth episode: First Steps

Spoiler

Peter & Liz are a couple, while Gwen agrees to go out with a newly-returned Harry Osborn.  Eddie Brock also returns, popping up often enough that Peter begins to think he has the symbiote back, all while the Sandman attempts a number of robberies, but ends up showing a more heroic side.

Another quality episode - Peter's reactions and interactions as a teenage boy manage to be believable and avoid falling into cartoon simplicity or cliche.  Though I'm a little sad that Venom's about to come back apparently, as the character does nothing for me.

[Silver Shocker]

Yeah, hi, I've fallen behind in talking up the new episodes, thanks for bringing them up Talavar. Anyway, I'm still really enjoying the new episodes.

Spoiler

The stuff with the Sinister Six was pretty good, lots of fun subplot stuff, ect. One cool thing about the Doc Oct battle with Gwen being captured is, though the Gwen part was made up for the cartoon, the underwater base and Spidey having to lift up the rubble is a clear homage to the classic Master Planner storyline from the original comics. I appreciated the reference.

As for the Sandman episode, I liked that one too, they did good stuff with Sandman, both playing with his brief history as a good guy in the comics and being very creative with his powers. Another thing I found interesting is the show introducing Sha Shan, a very obscure character from the comics who was a love interest for Flash for a while. She was linked to Flash's time as a soldier in Vietnam, so with that storyline not being present in the cartoon, naturally the character's being used in a different way. I'm not sure, but I think she was the girl shown sitting at the table with Norman, Miles Warren, Conners, ect. Not 100% though.

[TheMarvell]

I have to say that I really enjoyed the last two episodes, especially the ones with Sandman. However, I think the season started off really weak, especially in comparison to season 1. I can't say I like what they did with Mysterio or Kraven, but then again, these are two "classic" villains I never really cared for that much to begin with.

I have to ask though, what happened to Shocker? He was part of the Sinister Six in this series and he seems to have been replaced by Mysterio and Kraven...

[Talavar]

I agree that this season started out weaker, but it's easily recovered its charm.  I can't recall what happened to Shocker though.

Sixth episode: Growing Pains

Spoiler

JJJ's son Colonel Jameson has been infected with alien spores, and they're causing him to grow, as well as increase in mass and strength.  Meanwhile, Venom is going around town committing crimes and people are blaming Spider-man.  When a Spidey/Venom fight sparks a fire in an apartment building, Colonel Jameson (dubbed Col. Jupiter) & Spider-Man team up to save its tenants, but when Spider-man won't stay to talk to the cops, Col. Jameson gets a bad opinion of him too.  Venom later attacks Col. Jameson in his apartment, causing the Col. to go a little nuts and decide to take out Spider-man once and for all.  He finds Spidey while Spidey is looking for Venom, and in the ensuing fight, Spider-man realizes large doses of electricity are killing the alien spores.  Col. Jameson gets de-powered, but ends up in Spidey-Arkham due to his unhealthy desire to have powers again.  Ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, so I won't give that away.

A strong episode - I don't care much for Venom, but the plot with Colonel Jupiter spiced it up enough to keep things interesting.  The touch of Shakespeare with the school-play auditions subplot was very Gargoyles, which is nice to see.

[crimsonquill]

I have to ask though, what happened to Shocker? He was part of the Sinister Six in this series and he seems to have been replaced by Mysterio and Kraven...

I agree that this season started out weaker, but it's easily recovered its charm.  I can't recall what happened to Shocker though.

Fancy Dan of the Enforcers was the character who initially wore the Shocker costume and he escaped with his old teammates when they were recalled by Tombstone. I believe that Shocker returns with the Enforcers once they get "upgraded" because The Master Planner decides to make a move at taking over being crime boss.

[Silver Shocker]

Actually it was Montana, not Fancy Dan. An easy mistake to make though.

[Talavar]

New episode: Identity Crisis

Spoiler

In light of Venom's announcement last episode, the Bugle (and other media) are trying to figure out if Peter Parker is Spider-man.  When Pete manages to convince most of them that he's not (potential Pete=Spidey believers: Dr. Connors & his wife, Capt. Stacey, maybe Gwen), Eddie Brock gets his old job back at the Connors' lab only to steal a vial of gene-cleanser.  Venom attacks Spidey with the intent to unmask him to the press, then force him to drink the gene-cleanser, leaving him powerless.  After a lengthy fight, Pete manages to get the gene-cleanser away from Venom, and forces it down his throat.  It makes the symbiote flee Eddie, Eddie gets taken away by the authorities, raving, and the Bugle prints a story saying Peter Parker is not Spider-man.

I liked Flash's surprising dedication to Spidey in this episode; it would be easy to make Flash an all-around selfish jerk, but he puts himself on the line a couple of times to help his hero.

[Talavar]

This week's episode: Accomplices

Spoiler

The formula to create more super-mercenaries in Rhino armour is up for auction, and everybody wants it - Hammerhead & the Big Man, Dr. Ock, Silver Sable (representing Silvermane), Black Cat (trying to steal it to sell herself, presumably), and somebody named Kingsley.  Kingsley wins the auction, but can't hang on to his winnings when Silver Sable, Hammerhead, Spidey & the original Rhino all show up to try and take the formula from him.

This was a really good episode - even the villains have competing motivations, the Big Man plot, dropped for much of season 2 so far, comes back, and we even get a Spidey-Rhino fastball special.  My only complaint is that normal people - which Silver Sable & Hammerhead essentially are (a metal reinforced skull isn't that great as far as powers go) - should get their butts handed to them by Spider-man and Rhino.  Sure, they eventually lose, but they should have been short fights.  I don't blame the show though - Spider-man has a long history of having trouble with well-trained "normal" people, something that's never sat well with me.

[TheMarvell]

I agree with everything Talavar said. This was a really fun episode to watch with everyone going at eachother. Unfortunately there's one thing I'm starting to notice that I don't like, and I might be in the minority here, but I'm not a fan of the voice of J. Jonah Jameson in this series. It's really grating and annoying, and it really makes me miss Ed Asner from the 90's show. Asner actually acted out the lines, while whoever does the voice here just kind of screams everything.

[Previsionary]

Spectacular Spider-man #209: Probable Cause

Just mentioning that Australia will end this season's 13 episode run before the US and Canada. In fact, Australia will be done with the show by next Tuesday or Wednesday. Onto the episode...

Spoiler

This episode marks the return of Ox, Montana, and Fancy Dan (The Enforcers) with updated powers, so to speak. Over with Peter, his class is split into groups and assigned to police ride-alongs. Of course, Peter is late because of his Spidey work where he comes across the new and improved Enforcers.

Over with Norman and Hammerhead, Tombstone wants a new supervillain to keep Spider-man busy and Norman aims to give it to him. Meanwhile, on the ride-alongs, a few subplots are pushed forward. Liz and Gwen talk awkwardly in the car about their respective others, Pete and his partner, Sally, don't get along because he crossed clique lines, and Flash finally learns the reason Harry left for Europe (he was "juicing") and he's none too pleased.

Back to the Spidey/Enforcer plot, Spidey catches the updated team trying to steal some gold from a vault. The Enforcers make adequate work of Spidey, but he continues to follow them until they're underground on a subway fighting. The fight eventually comes to an end underground when the subway crashes. The enforcers make it above ground and try to escape. They don't get very far and it's revealed that Hammerhead betrayed them. The episode ends with Harry's juicing secret coming to light and the football team losing their title. On the bright side, Flash finally got a date, on the bad, Harry reveals he still has a stash of Goblin formula.

Overall, it's a good episode. It was interesting to see Spider-man fight a super speedster as, realistically, I think that's an archetype that could easily overwhelm Spidey. There's also the point of Cpt. Stacey constantly making hints to Peter that he knows who he really is. Also, Ox humming the theme song in the elevator was pretty cool to me.  With the return of Goblin hinted at, I can't wait to see the final few episodes.