Todd Jensen writes...

My comments on the season finale of "The Spectacular Spider-Man".

I enjoyed it, just like all the others. It had many fine moments in it. A few that I'll mention:

Spidey visiting Tombstone again to make it clear that the deal's off - after which Venom comes by, and Tombstone comments "I'll need to start locking the windows".

Venom's web with the words "Guess Who?" written in it (looking like a twisted version of "Charlotte's Web").

Spidey's spider-sense not working against Venom's attacks (which makes Venom all the more threatening).

The twist in making Venom's target Gwen Stacey rather than Mary Jane (which Peter and most of the audience would have initially suspected). And the part about Flash Thompson and his football buddies helping to rescue her.

The revelation that Aunt May had been writing a cookbook. (I definitely hadn't seen that one coming.)

Peter's disastrous attempt at cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and the consequences of his disposing of the gene cleanser. (I laughed at that last one - it fits Peter's characterization so well.)

Thanks for an enjoyable first season, Greg.

Algernon writes...

I wish I could keep a bit more up to date with these Spider-Man reviews but time is a tad scarce for me at the moment…

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INTERVENTION
One of the reasons it's taken me over a week to review this episode is that it was so mind blowingly fantastic that when I first saw it I was left in a state of mind numbing euphoria! If you had asked me my opinion at the time it would probably have been something along the lines of "spidey, good!". So I decided to put it off for a few days before putting my thought in some sort of order.

I really liked the way you handled Pete's turn to the dark side in this story arc. It's been a subtle and gradual change, symbolized by the black suit's often evolving appearance. But it truly reaches a crescendo here with Pete viciously lashing out at his friends and even asking Tombstone for a job.

The "Journey to The Centre of Peter Parker" portion of the story is the real heart of this episode particularly with the rather surreal take on the classic origin. It was also a neat surprise to hear Ed Asner as Uncle Ben, I'm amazed you managed to keep that under wraps in the age of the internet. Liked the way you gave the symbiote More of an actual character here, hearing it talk to Pete in his own voice was particularly creepy. And I found the battle between the symbiote and the memory of Uncle Ben very dramatic.

I know I complained about Eddie Brock last time but I thought he was well portrayed here. His descent into homicidal mania is put in context, between losing his Job, education and the not so subtle influence of the alien.

Other random bits I liked…

A more three dimensional flash.

MJ telling Gwen to go for it.

"even Sally feels sorry for you.", so she does have a soul after all!

Curt Conners' rather cavalier approach to science, "genetically engineered super spider on the loose? What could happen?"

Thanks again, I'm looking forward to the season finale.

Greg Bishansky writes...

"Nature Vs. Nurture"
So, a couple of days ago, I listened to a podcast interview of, perhaps my favorite Spider-Man writer, Roger Stern. Stern is perhaps best known for creating the original Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley), as well as the classic "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" story. He was also in the brainstorming sessions for the black costume story back in the 80s, and as a joke, suggested "it's alive." Stern then proceeded to apologize for Venom. As a non-Venom fan, that was very nice to hear.

So, drum roll...

I liked this. I liked it a lot. I actually liked Venom. I didn't expect to like Venom in this. I wasn't prepared to like Venom in this, but I did. I think that as long as this series avoids the traps the character in the comics fell into, he should be fine. So, no over-exposure. None of that "Lethal Protector" anti-hero nonsense, and we may have a winner here. He wasn't my favorite of the villains this season, but I liked him. Oh, and no Carnage. For the love of all that is holy, please, no Carnage.

So, in a sense, I think I finally get this version of Eddie Brock. Like he said, his and Peter's parents may have died together, but Peter had Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Eddie had no one, and from his point of view, Peter came off looking like this incredibly spoiled, petulant child who took all the good things he had for granted, and that was before he, from his point of view, screwed Connors over. I also think, that with the Connors' he was trying to fill a void, which is why he took it so damn hard. He wanted his own Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

I did enjoy the way Spidey beat Venom... right out of "Amazing Spider-Man #317." Nice homages to Venom's first two appearances in the comics, back when he was tolerable. Before Marvel decided to kill the golden goose... so to speak. The fanboy in me wishes that the Green Goblin was the first to unmask Spidey and use that to make his life a living Hell, but I am hoping for that in season two.

"We know who you love the most," yup, because we often tend to be the last people to realize when we're in love with someone. Peter/Gwen was built up really well over these thirteen episodes. Very subtly. I am sure some might complain that it came out of no where, but it really didn't. From my experience, a lot of people don't do subtle too well. I am also sure that the Mary Jane fans are upset, but to them I say, have patience. Gwen is the First Love. That is an important aspect of the mythos. While, MJ might be the one he is ultimately destined for, I think previous adaptions dropped the ball on it. She was The One in the 90s toon (with a tiny bit of Felicia Hardy as competition) and the movies declared MJ to be The One since birth. They'll get there, they just shouldn't be there yet. But in the mean time, I am definitely looking forward to seeing where and how things go with Gwen. The Gwen romance has never been done anywhere since the 1970s.

Oh, and I loved the "Romita's Pizza" nod.

As for the first season as a whole? The best "Spider-Man" we have gotten in any medium in a very, very long time. The movies weren't this good. The comics haven't been anywhere this close in a while either. I knew when this was announced that this series was in great hands. When you have the mind that created "Gargoyles", perhaps the best animated series of the last three decades, how can you go wrong?

Overall though, I think as far as this season goes, Tombstone was the greatest surprise. A nobody character in the comics, who I never cared about, is now a major character. A real break-out star. The three-episode Green Goblin arc was perhaps the height of it all for me, though I think that will also be a lot better in hindsight once we have a lot more Goblin material. As far as single episodes go, I think "Group Therapy" did it for me with their portrayal of Dr. Octopus.

But the real treat was having fun and admiring the work of two of my best friends. Greg Weisman, of course; and Post Production Assistant, Jennifer L. Anderson. Excellent work, you two. Excellent work, indeed. I wish I had the time and space to name everyone who contributed to the series, because this was great and I don't want to leave anyone out.

It's a shame to be getting off the roller coaster, but I can't wait to get back on it in the next few months. I can't wait for season two.

Aldrius writes...

"Nature vs Nurture" The Review!

I loved this episode. I loved the 'creepy thriller' vibe the scenes at the parade had going. (With Spider-man searching the crowds.) And I loved each character's moment, I liked Liz, I liked Gwen (I really liked Gwen in this episode), I liked Mary Jane, I liked Peter and Flash, I liked Rand, I even liked Eddie. Well, no, I didn't like Eddie, but I understood Eddie.

Which is quite a leap from '*grumblegrumble*Eddie's an idiot.*Grumblegrumble*'. I got it in this one. The Connors are his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and Peter was the one guy he thought he could really count on and depend upon. And then Peter hurt his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and the symbiote manipulated him into being hateful and desiring nothing but solitude. After his 'Aunt May' turned him away (because he thought more of their relationship than was actually true), and after it seemed like Peter was no longer worthy of his friendship. A lot of the stuff in this episode made more sense, Peter calling Eddie to apologize about his job, after being responsible for him losing it. Eddie's comment about Peter saving Gwen to 'be the hero', clearly shows what he thinks of Spider-man's heroics: just another way to get glory and fame, by helping people. This was all stuff that I had considered before, of course, but for some reason it all clicked in this episode. It all made a lot more sense. I didn't need that 75 on the jerkometer anymore.

I am not a fan of the damsel in distress routine normally (even Lois Lane isn't really a 'damsel in distress' anymore), but here it kinda worked better for me. I think it was because Rand, Flash, Liz, Gloria, Mary Jane and even Sally helped out in rescuing Gwen. So she wasn't a 'damsel in distress', she was just someone who was in danger and needed helping out from her friends.

Loved the last scene too. Gwen finally works up her nerve and tells Peter how she feels (so to speak). All in the theme of 'responsibility' of course. Gwen not being able to date Peter has nothing to do with his ignorance, it has everything to do with her nervousness. She needed to take responsibility for her own feelings. And the theme of responsibility is prevalent in Eddie as well of course. He's allowed himself to be alone, because he's been too dependent on others for reassurance. He wanted the Connors to become his surrogate family, but they already had a family of their own. He wanted Peter to be his brother forever, but Peter had to grow up and branch out too. And that's Eddie's problem, really. He didn't look for another job after he lost his job at the lab. He didn't look for new friends after he 'lost' Peter. He just wallowed and wasn't proactive.

Where's Norman Osbourn to give an encouraging speech when you need him? "Man up!!"

And that really shows how different the stakes are here. With Gwen it's all about her romance with Peter. Her love of him. With Eddie it's all about his hatred, it's life or death. But both problems are equally important, because of the emotional stakes involved. It's just as important that Gwen tells Peter how she feels, as it is that Eddie kills Peter. And that's really good writing.

I did have some problems with this episode however. Nothing mind-shattering, as, as I've said before... I've enjoyed every single episode.

Problem 1 I had was that Peter still hasn't told Aunt May that he's Spider-man, but this is something that's always bothered me in any Spider-man story. The woman is supposed to be his surrogate mother, and yet he still won't be completely honest with her.

Problem 2 was that the 'Spider-man working for the Big Man' thing didn't really go anywhere, it just ended up being a set-up for Venom working for the Big Man. And now that Eddie's passed out on a roof top somewhere (was that resolved, by the way? If it was I must not have been paying close enough attention.) and the Symbiote is buried under a few feet of concrete, so that doesn't really seem to be going anywhere fast either.

But other than that, fantastic finale to a fantastic season, and I can't wait for next season. Let's hope it finds itself on a network that allows the show the same freedoms it was allowed on the KidsWB.

evr4 writes...

(spectacular spider-man questions)
first let me say you are too good (for Gargoyles and for bringing back interest in spider-man)!
anyway,
1) did you watch "Intervention"? it was amazing and passed all my expectations of venom's origins. It was the perfect weave (of THE story (second most known history behind Peter's back story) I would think everybody knows) with a beautiful stylistic approach. All episodes so far, but especially this one, showed an approach with "we are going this direction with the storyline, but wait you (the viewer) were wrong because we are going to make a 180 degree turn and make you say, 'I can't believe they just did that!'" Genious...Utter Genious! My friends and I agree we can only dream the SEASON FINALE WAS A 2 PARTER. An interesting statement one of my friends made was Uncle Ben reminded him of Ben 10's grandfather. But one thing felt weird to me....was the episode's animation rushed or was it exactly how it was suppose to be...I can get the "it's in your (Peter Parker/Eddie Brock) mind" sequence so it resembles that of a "dream/fantasy" sequence....but during the episodes some of the lines didn't seem solid...and there was a scene where I think a screenshot stood still on Flash emotionless (though I do understand where the story was going with this) for an entire 1.5 seconds (AWKWARD)..but yeah was it rushed?

2) when Green Goblin has his first serious encounter with Spider-Man (after Spidey just saved Tombstone from Gobby), there was a scene where the glider went right through a building and GG acrobatically jumped over the building and landed on his glider, I saw this scene and immediately said, "TOO GOOD," and lowe and behold Spidey, says, "Okay wow, just wow." any information on who came up with Gobby performing the feat, and who wrote the lines, "Okay wow, just wow"?

finally, let me say, my circle of friends are either 20 or 21, and we love the direction spec spider-man takes every episode. One of my friend's girlfriends younger brother immediately hated the show when it came out but then changed his mind with the great direction and writing of the show (ironically he hated The Batman at first, then fell in love with it). And let me say for myself for one who notices all the smallest details and little intricacies of all your shows (not just Garg and Spec Spid), I will continue to say Greg Weisman is TOO GOOD!

kyle tonarella writes...

well i actually have seen the joker episodes you've written and they are tureley works of art a shame that they could not make joker like that through the rrst of the series oh well anyone on to a new question i've heard molten man will be in the show and we he actaully have connections to Liz Allen like the comics is he part of the firs or second arc of season 2

Matthew Roye writes...

Dear Greg.

I am an 18 year old comic book nut, one who's often been criticized by my friends or others for having differing opinions on what makes something great (My tastes never really went into the 90's "everything must be bad ass and with GUNS" attitude, so i didn't cling to wolverine or venom much into my childhood, not to offend anyone who did) so I'm used to getting into arguments to defend my stance on what i enjoy, but boy, did Spectacular Spider-man ever change that!

Not a single person I've met can say anything negative about this show, including me! You and everyone involved have crafted, what i believe, is the single greatest rendition of spider-man the world has EVER seen. i was so happy that a show with great emotion, dialog, action, and acting has been so loved by all who have seen it.

So i should probably get to the question huh? Well this stems from the FIRST argument I've had with my best friend about a certain identity mystery on the show... Tombstone/ The big man, now, I'm not asking for a straight answer, I'm pretty sure you not only can't straight out say it, but you really wouldn't WANT too, but I'm pretty frustrated at being called naive in thinking that the big man may be someone else pulling the strings... like a certain daily bugle reporter perhaps?

If you could, all I'm asking for, and you can outright reject... but all I'm asking for is a clue, something small, I'm good at picking up on little details. you could outright tell me I'm absolutely wrong but throw in a strange word like BAGEL or something non-sequitur that'll let me know something is off. I'm BEGGING sir, with a smile, but still begging.

If not, i would just love to let you know that 'spectacular' has become my favorite show of all time... and I'm a LOST fan, so... theres that...

-Matt

Todd Jensen writes...

A few comments on "Intervention".

The symbiote's tightening hold on Peter/Spidey was handled effectively in this episode. I was increasingly unsettled as he yelled at his friends when they tried to help him - and then decided to accept Tombstone's offer after all. (Tombstone's conditions that Spidey had to give up foiling ordinary criminals but was still allowed to face super-villains didn't make things any better. The man who murdered Uncle Ben was an ordinary criminal.) I'm looking forward to seeing what the consequences of that meeting with Tombstone will be.

I wasn't expecting a look back at Spidey's origin story, or an appearance (at last) from Uncle Ben, but I thought they worked well - and especially since they played an integral part in the struggle with the symbiote.

The ending is one of the most chilling moments yet: I can think of few things more dangerous for a super-hero than one of his adversaries finding out who his civilian identity is. That gives me one more reason to look forward to next week's episode.

Thanks for another great story, Greg.

Canus Shamus writes...

It's great watching how the episodes in "Spider-Man" build off one another and create one coherent storyline. I especially liked Peter's line in the Sinister Six ep about Lizard and Goblin being absent, as it lets us know that what we've seen so far has been the complete story; and I was positively geeking out when I heard the voice of "Gargoyles" alum Ed Asner as Uncle Ben. I can hardly wait for the Venom-based season finale. Now, a moment of your time for a few questions:

1. You said in an earlier post that the reason Kingpin wasn't used as the Big Man was because you "didn't have the rights to the character." What?! Marvel owns both characters, how could you not have the rights? (Don't get me wrong: I've always hated the Kingpin character, and I think Tombstone is a much better choice. I'm just curious about what prompted the change.)

2. As Electro left the asylum, he referred to his therapist as 'Dr. Kafka'. Now, even though I've been a Spider-Fan my whole life, I came to the comics themselves relatively late. As a result, I remember that Venom's therapist/love-interest from the 90s series was also Dr. Kafka, but I've never seen her show up in the comics. So: comic book reference that I missed, or sly nod to one of Spidey's earlier incarnations?

Thanks again for your time and for the great show!

Greg Bishansky writes...

Intervention
Okay, first off, if Pete is going to get that ruthless under the influence of the symbiote, I'm glad they built up to it slowly and subtly. Far better than the 90s series, which turned him into a monster within a single day, and the less said about symbiote Peter's depiction in "Spider-Man 3" the better. I especially like how my expectations were completely played. I expected Peter to punch out Flash, to do something nasty to Sally. To beat the snot out of Tombstone. But, nope, the people he's cruel to are his friends. Speaking of Tombstone, I am looking forward to the consequences of Spidey's deal with him. Spidey realizing he's saying "we" instead of "I" was well done, and it's nice to see the now, iconic cathedral scene. Hmm, Saint Damien's Cathedral, Greg? ;)

Flash Thompson was the voice of reason. Wow. I really liked that, it makes Flash a strong character and not just a stereotypical jock/bully. He dislikes Peter because he thinks Peter is an elitist jerk. Under the symbiote's influence, Peter proved him right. Now,

Flashback time. Okay, I'm sure some people won't like it, but I'm enjoying the black and white. But the most pleasant surprise is Ed Asner as Uncle Ben. That's perfect casting, and I'm glad that was kept under wraps. Really enjoyed it. This was also a great way to present the origin, a nice combination of the original comic book origin, and the movie's origin.

Uncle Ben as Peter's conscience, and the symbiote as the devil on his shoulder. I like it. Lots of flashbacks, almost like a clip show, and yet it wasn't. I know some people aren't into that sort of thing, but I loved this episode. It wasn't just an origin, it was a character study. A very solid character study.

Fanboy moment, I loved the homage to the cover of "Amazing Spider-Man #100"

Finally, Eddie Brock becomes Venom. Allow me, if you will, my own tangent here. I never liked Venom and mostly because of Eddie Brock. This is a character who has never been done well in any prior incarnation, even the original comic books. He was poorly conceived, poorly written, poorly characterized... and became a super star character. He's the Michael Bay of comic book villains. After he first appeared, everyone it seems, tried to create over the top muscle bound villains with no depth who could kick the hero's asses worse than any of their pre-established nemesis. For Batman it was Bane; for Superman it was Doomsday... when those stories would better be told with pre-established villains like the Joker, Ra's al Ghul, Lex Luthor or Darkseid. I could go further, but there are entire essays on this. Personally, I think Venom is the poster child for everything that was wrong with comic books in the 90s, from the lack of creativity to the internal politics.

Now, all that being said, I liked this. It was definitely the best origin for Venom I have ever seen, and while that may not be saying much, I really did enjoy it. The symbiote itself was very well depicted. While I had misgivings about Eddie's behavior last week, he made a lot more sense today. He lost his job, his education, his future. Not to say he's absolved of responsibility. If he didn't let his hatred for Peter get in the way, he could have made the best of it, found another job and really worked for it. There are people out there who scrub toilets to pay for their educations. But then, when everything seemed okay, and the symbiote wasn't dead, Eddie released it and bonded with it. So, in the end, Eddie really screwed himself over. But it was done well, certainly better than the Sin Eater retcon in the original comic books. I have never been a fan of Venom, but I have accepted a while back that he's here to stay. The Green Goblin; Dr. Octopus and Venom... the unholy trinity.

Brilliant script, Greg. Brilliant episode. I am looking forward to next week's. Make me a fan of Venom.