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skeeJay writes...

A lot's been said about how great season 1 of SSM is. I'll try to be quick about it.

Background: I wasn't old enough to follow the source material the first time around, but my dad was. He likes to tell how his favorite issue was ASM #6, notable for the return of the Vulture and some classic Spidey quippage. We were both watching SSM.

SSM really made me sit forward for the first time with the introduction of Mary Jane, who nails her first line ("Invisible Hand"). Was great to see the continuity lead this right into Spidey's first Green Goblin encounter on the very same night for Peter in the following episode; handoffs like this make it feel like you're "watching" a comic book on the screen, and it's a fun effect.

I love to see a Saturday morning cartoon using in medias res ("Catalysts").

Really appreciated the way the Sinister Six are used. By pairing up their introduction with Spider-Man's "black period," you implicitly suggest he needed the black suit to defeat them ("Group Therapy"). Thus, the threat is greater when they (inevitably) return.

It's clear "Intervention" was crafted with care; the times Peter uses "I" versus "we," the way the symbiote moves from an "evil" version of Peter's voice to its own, the decision to wait until the end of the season to retell the origin story.....arguably after the biggest battle of the season against the Sinister Six. It's an impressive move that reminds me of something the excellent Farscape used to do; the climactic, balls-to-the-wall, stuff-blowing-up spectacle wouldn't be the last episode, but an episode or two before the end of the season. The final episode would be low-key, much more personal, and it opens the door to a different kind of cliffhanger, a more emotional one.

Season 1 ended how I hoped it would, and it emboldens me to make a prediction to myself about how far season 2 will go.

Some classy animation that cought my eye: Spidey firing his webbing at the camera during freefall (Nature vs. Nurture).

In general, high marks from both a twenty-somthing Gargoyles fan and a fifty-something Spider-Man fan. Looking forward to season 2.

Greg responds...

Thank you. It's great when all those little touches are noticed.

Response recorded on October 08, 2008