Arthur Jr. writes...

Hey Greg, to follow up on someone's Montana/Shocker comment, Montana's real name is Jackson W. Brice. What is your reason for Montana becoming Shocker rather than using Herman Schultz.

Aldrius writes...

I was gonna post my ramble on the last three episodes of Spectacular Spider-man, but I get the feeling that the irreverent style in which I do them is mis-interpreted and not appreciated (not to sound like I'm 'bitching', mind you). So I might as well just write up ye olde fashioned review.

The Uncertainty Principle was a fantastic episode. Right from the opening scene with Green Goblin smashing into Hammerhead's car. I liked that completely incidental driver and her silenced gun. She was awesome. Which Spider-man character from the comics is she and (due to this being a non-wasteful Weissman series) when will be seeing more of her? Just kidding.

Though given the way the series is going, I wouldn't be surprised if the answer to both questions is 'yes'. But to move on, I really liked the dynamic between Tombstone and Spider-man in this episode. It's like Spider-man's got his own 6 foot tall walking slab of concrete of an amoral businessman for a side-kick. Tombstone has his own agenda, and Spider-man is part of that, but then Spider-man has his own agenda as well, and Tombstone can be part of that too, even though Spider-man is too naive to realize it. But maybe manipulating the Big Man's criminal empire is too much power and too much responsibility for the webhead.

But not too much for the goblin, of course. And what a goblin we have here. He didn't strike me as anything too special in Catalysts or Reaction (not to say he was bad). But here he was a beast. I loved the fight scenes in this episode, just to compliment you for one second, I think these are a vast improvement over any of the fight scenes in Gargoyles, and what little I've seen of Witch. There was some real energy to them, and the words meshed perfectly with the action.

Anyway, as I said, I loved the Goblin in this episode. He was both hilarious and dangerous, reminiscent of Batman: The Animated Series' Joker or Reboot's Hexadecimal. Even some very simple straightforward dialogue is brought to life by Steve Blum. (I love the part where he just expositioned who

And I of course, like everyone else, have my own theories and thoughts about the Green Goblin's identity. I think it's Norman who set Harry up to take the fall back at the mansion, but I would not be entirely surprised if it actually is Harry. Gotta keep an open mind when it comes to these things.

Then there was Persona. Another GREAT episode. If the Goblin is my favourite villain (regardless of who's behind the mask), then Black Cat is my favourite 'love interest' for Spider-man. I thought the actress did a fantastic job being sultry and dangerous. But still tough and resourceful.

I liked the Chameleon too, and the dynamic between the Black Cat and the Chameleon even though they don't have a single scene together. They're both 'using' spider-man to get what they want. Chameleon is using his identity as a cover and for some reason he's trying to incriminate him. I'm not going to pretend I understood why they were smearing Spider-man's reputation. I guess maybe, like the big man, he wanted him distracted while he pulled off his master crimes.

The quinten beck and the other guy cameos were fun too, and fitted well with the Chameleon's 'stage-esque' personality. It's all just smoke and mirrors, and the old school use of that was really fun.

I'm not a big fan of the movie-type black suit. I think the older one is a lot sleeker and looks much better on spider-man, but I liked his design regardless. You can barely see the lines, and I didn't notice any change, but apparently there was some in the latest episode.

Which brings me to just that. Group Therapy. This one was like two episode in one for me. One I loved, and one I almost couldn't stand. I loved the dynamic of the sinister six. They all had their goals, and they were all clear. But Doctor Octapus (who I found rather unmotivated in his original episode) made for a commanding and powerful presence to unite them against the spider-man. Though I'm still not sure I know WHY he's after spider-man. Though I do think the dynamic of the man who desperately wants to be noticed and lavished with attention (octapus) vs. the man who just wanted to disappear (octavius)is very clear, and maybe he just snapped. Still a great character and I love Peter McNichol.

Having said that, all the other villains' motivations were very clear. Shocker feels a sense of responsibility to the Big Man, and wants to deal wih Spider-man for him, electro wants to be normal, and sees Doctor Octapus as a way to do that, plus he just doesn't like Spider-man. Rhino is an animal, and he wants revenge, wants to prove how tough he is. Sandman just wants money, doesn't really care about Spider-man. And Vulture wants to go after Osbourn. Like Octapus, he kinda just wants to be noticed and recognized I think.

Actually, in that regard Octapus and Vulture are very similar. They care a great deal about etiquette, about manners and recognition. They're like two scientists who wanted to get the noble peace prize (and deserved it) but were denied it.

Also want to comment on how fun it was seeing all six villains get equal screentime. The villains you chose allowed for a lot of 'doubling up' (with the shocker and electro both blasting Spider-man at the same time, stuff like that) and I'm glad Octapus got the final confrontation with him, being the lead bad guy and all that.

There were two lines I found rather strange in this episode. One was 'Lizard and Goblin have knick's tickets'. Considering the Lizard was his ex-boss (maybe Peter does capatalize off of the Conners' pain with jokes!), and the Goblin was his crazy best friend, that seemed in rather poor taste, but it was still funny so that made up for it for me anyway.

The other was 'peter is twice the man you are' by Mary Jane. If she knows he is spider-man then this line is perfectly understandable but as it stands it strikes me as a rather odd comment for a sixteen year old girl to make when she barely knows Eddie (not that he wasn't being a complete creep, but I'll get to that in a second) and she's gone on one date with Peter and run into him a couple of times afterwards, at least it seems that way to me. It works in regard to the story, but it seems weird for it to be coming from Mary Jane to me.

Whereas Mary Jane almost seemed to be a bit too insightful and too wise, Eddie just seemed to be a judgmental fool to me in this episode. Jumping to every conclusion without even letting Peter speak up for himself or explain himself. It's true to life, but for the narrative it struck me as rather sudden, and it was almost as if he went from 50 to 100 on the jerkometer in a single episode. While I feel that there could have been a 75.

At least that's how it seemed to me at first, but I've watched it a second time and it actually occurs to me that he wasn't really doing anything other than being a HORRIBLE conversationalist and a crazy driver. And if it wasn't for that 'funny little plane accident' comment complete with the 'I'm a psycho' look, I wouldn't say he was that out of line. I think it's more that comment earlier about making 'Peter suffer too' that made me think that he was going to kill Mary Jane or something. But in hindsight, looking at that scene again, he was just a frustrated guy trying to make what he saw as the cause of his frustration a little jealous who might have taken it a little too far in the moment.

In hindsight, I didn't dislike the Mary Jane and Brock scene as much as I did initially, but it was still probably the weakest subplot of the 10 episodes we have had thus far.

All in all, these are probably my three favourite episodes of the lot so far, barring Eddie in 10, but we're obviously getting some episodes on that over the next two weeks, so maybe it'll be put into perspective for me.

Algernon writes...

While I'm at it, more Spectacular Spider-Man.

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GROUP THERAPY

Another great episode, admittedly I was slightly worried that the story would be a bit crammed with both the Sinister Six and the alien costume story, but once again this you guys manage to make the most out of your allotted twenty minutes.

The six themselves were played fantastically. This episode does a good job of show casing what a villainous mastermind Doc Ock truly is. It's interesting how he's apparently taken Electro under his wing. I especially liked his warped sense of chivalry regarding May and Anna. Ock may be a homicidal maniac but he is also a gentleman.

Speaking of may, I really liked that she stood up to the Six for Spidey. The whole "that awful Spider-Man" routine in the comics always made her really unlikable to me. I do hope that they don't overdo May's ill health, it's okay here but in the comics it's devolved into a borderline running gag.

I really liked how you've been developing the symbiote, very creepy and very subtle. I especially liked the way Symbiote Spidey literally beat the Six in his sleep.

The only thing that did bug me was Eddies sudden turn from a seemingly okay guy whose understandably pissed at Peter to creepy psycho. I understand how losing you clan or crippling your brother might drive you round the bend. But Eddie thinking Pete is a jerk doesn't seem quite eternal vengeance worthy to me. Still I'll reserve judgment till the current arc is over.

In short: 95% greatness and 5% "meh", still great stuff. The promo for the next episode looks creepy as hell.

TTFN

Greg Bishansky writes...

Group Therapy
In our latest misadventure, the Sinister Six comes to town.

First off, this was almost a Where's Waldo of previous characters. Let's see, who's in this episode?

Dr. Octopus; Vulture; Electro; Montana/Shock; Sandman; and Rhino. Our Sinister Six. But Hammerhead; Fancy Dan; and Ox also make appearances. I think Quentin Beck and Phineas Mason were also seen in Rikers Island.

Really, Green Goblin; Lizard; and Chameleon were the only ones missing. Goblin and Lizard apparently had Knicks tickets; I'm guessing Chameleon is a hockey fan, and hoping Black Cat is into jello wrestling ;)

Okay, first off, I loved the prison scenes. Especially Rhino and Sandman's cells. How does Rhino go to the bathroom? Kudos for the Dr. Ashley Kafka cameo. I enjoyed Electro and was glad to see he was the catalyst of their escape. I didn't expect Ox and Fancy Dan to join in the escape, but nice to see they're off with Hammerhead and I'm sure we'll see them again doing the Big Man's bidding...

... While I'm on the subject. One of the many things that annoyed me about the 90s series was that the Sinister Six.... er, "Insidious" Six (apparently, Sinister was a no no word for Fox Kids) were nothing more than Kingpin's glorified goon squad, with Doc Ock as the leading lackey. For a moment, I was afraid we'd see the same here, with Tombstone in the Kingpin's role. But, I'm glad that's not the case. While they may have coordinated, the Sinister Six is Doc Ock's show.

And what a show it was. Ock was cold, ruthless, sadistic and had all the best lines. Yup, that's the Doc Ock I know and love. I loved the dinner scene, hell, if I were locked up for a while, first thing I'd want is a four star meal at the best Italian restaurant in town. "Gentlemen, and Rhino," I loved that line.

The fight scenes were brutal. The first one, where Spidey got his ass kicked, and the second one where the Six got torn apart. Ock was just vicious, what with all the talk about impaling (heh, only character I foresee getting impaled wasn't in this episode) and peeling the symbiote off.

Finally, I'm glad the symbiote didn't make Peter over the top ruthless and vicious like the third movie and the 90s series did. While, I'm no fan of the story, I still liked the nod to the symbiote taking Peter out for a joyride.

The only thing about this episode I did not like was the Eddie Brock and Mary Jane scene. Okay, his first scene with Peter was fine. I can believe the guy drives like a maniac... he's crazy enough to tackle the Lizard. But, I just can't see the guy we have previously seen doing that to Mary Jane. I can't. Personally, I think this is an intrinsic problem with the character of Eddie that goes back all the way to his comic book debut. There is no logic at all to what he becomes. I hope I am proven wrong, and so far this show has done nothing but hit everything right as far as I'm concerned. But this here, by itself, just fell flat to me. Aw well.

Good show.

Algernon writes...

One more belated Spectacular Spider-Man Review

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Persona

Another jam-packed episode, giving us the alien costume, Black Cat, Chameleon & our first real look at Captain Stacy. I really don't know how you do it Greg, I have to check my watch to make sure these episode are really twenty minutes long.

I think it's interesting how you've chosen to go with the classic alien version of the black costume as opposed to the Ultimate "cancer suit". Particularly since your version of Brock draws heavily on his Ultimate incarnation. This show does a good job of blending elements from Spidey's various incarnations.

This episode also introduces two new antagonists into Spidey's world. Black Cat is a lot of fun. And before anyone else says it Felicia was doing the whole "amoral-cat-burglar-with-the-hots-for-our-hero" thing back when Catwoman's schemes mostly involved using black magic to turn Superman into a house cat. The Catwoman that Black Cat supposedly ripped off didn't really exist before Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, so there.

We also meet Chameleon. I liked that you went with the more old school master of disguise version, as opposed to the more Mystique style shape shifter he's become in recent years. He's also the man behind my favorite line in the episode…

"My insectoid early warning system is tingling!"

I'd go on but there are only so many different ways to say "I liked that" without it sounding repetitive. Looking forward to the Sinister Six.

Todd Jensen writes...

My ramble/review of the most recent episode of "The Spectacular Spider-Man".

This is a minor detail, but I was astonished when Aunt May and Anna Watson were talking about Falstaff in the play that they were going to see. I can't fully explain why at present (because of the "no ideas" rule), but we were discussing "Bad Guys" a couple of days earlier in the comment room, and part of the discussion turned on Dingo's real name being Harry Monmouth (a name also borne by Prince Hal) and its implications. (Though the play that Aunt May and Anna Watson were going to see was apparently "The Merry Wives of Windsor" - which I like to think of as the Falstaffian equivalent of the "Goliath Chronicles", incidentally, except that Shakespeare wrote that one - rather than one of the Henry IV plays.) At any rate, I was surprised at the timing.

I hadn't thought at first that Peter's sleepiness, and his silence during the final battle with the Sinister Six, was due to the alien symbiote, but that made a great revelation at the end. I'm looking forward to seeing how that develops in the upcoming episodes.

J. Jonah Jameson had another human moment when he discovers that Aunt May had a heart attack (I'd suspected, incidentally, that we'd see that coming when she had a faintness spell at the start of one of the earlier episodes - I think it was the Chameleon one).

The Sinister Six definitely came across as a threat - and I liked how they were all handled with their familiar characterizations (Sand-Man is still more interested in making a big haul than in getting revenge on Spidey, for example).

kyle tonarella writes...

sorry to bug you once again but i need questions answered will be seeing green goblin in season 2 and more crime bosses such as silvermaine in the gang war storyline you said you were doing for season 2
and will we be seeing more of black cat in the series as it goes on and last but not least will the lizard return

Algernon writes...

Sorry this took me so long, I've been up to my neck in exams. Fortunately that's all behind me now and I can finally play catch up with these reviews.

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The Uncertainty Principle
First off, I liked that this was a Halloween episode. It's always been my favorite holiday and it's particularly appropriate considering who this weeks villain is.

Speaking of which, this episode really did a good job of illustrating what always made the Green Goblin such a menacing villain. Behind that apparently deranged visage there lurks a cold and calculating intellect. Steven Blum's voice work was again top notch. I especially liked the "lets see which breaks first" line, the Goblin has an appropriately ghoulish sense of humor.

On the civilian front we see Harry descent into self-destruction reach a climax. A pity that Pete's too busy trading punches with costumed lunatics to really notice. Fortunately Gwen's still there to try and save Harry from himself. I have to admit I never really cared for the comic book incarnation of miss Stacy but you guys have done a great job of investing the character with a lot of strength, nicely done. On a lighter note, was anybody else suprised by how comfortable Flash seemed in that cheerleader outfit?

As for the mystery of the Goblin, personally I think that this "revelation" still leaves too many questions unanswered. How did Harry get his hands on the goblin juice in the first place? What the heck is Norman hiding behind that secret passage? I definitely think we haven't heard the last of the Green Goblin.

Arthur Jr. writes...

Hey Greg, I have a bunch of questions for you that are Spider-Man-related:

1. If "The Spectacular Spider" is successful, will there be any plans for a season where Spider-Man will meet other heroes and even help them face off against some of their enemies in the episode he first encounters them in?
2. Why use Montana of The Enforcers as the Shocker instead of Herman Schultz? That's what I've been wondering.
3. If Kingpin isn't going to be included in the show, what will this mean if there are plans for Silvermane, Owl, and Caesar Cicero since Kingpin is much powerful than them? I didn't mention Hammerhead since the series has him a servant of Tombstone and I'm not familiar with Top Man (whom Hammerhead succeeds over)!