[7.4/10] I feel bad writing this episode off as toyetic, because I’m not a neutral observer. I had the spider slayer toy when I was a kid, so it’s really hard for me to see the triple-insectoid robot attacking Spider-Man and not think of the little black widow that squirted water, or the robo-tarantula that could grip with its middle legs, or the mecha-scorpion whose claws moved in time with its stinger.
But there’s not a lot of plot to this one. It’s pretty straightforward -- Alistair Smythe is trying to get revenge on everyone whom he feels is responsible for his father’s disappearance (I guess we can’t say death since it’s a kid’s show, see also: bad guys with lasers instead of bullets), and so he builds new spider slayers and sics them not only on Spider-Man, but also on J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson, and Norman Osborn, with a literal ticking time bomb in place to add to the stakes.
There’s some juice to the idea of Spider-Man having to race against the clock to save a trio of people who dislike him (or in some instances, have actively tried to kill him). But for the most part, this is an episode devoted to Spider-Man fighting the spider slayer bots in increasingly firework-filled ways. Each new robotic arachnid with different features just screams “we can sell this” alongside colorful tanks and helicopters. The show makes the most of it, with creative set pieces and some creative images like the spider slayer bots looking in different directions, or the scorpion bot clinging to the side of the bridge in vain before plummeting to the water below. But that can’t avoid the fact that this episode is mostly hollow, if well-done action.
Still, there’s an important beat at the end, where Peter feels like no good deed goes unpunished and he gets no reward from the universe for saving so many folks who hate him and risking his life in the process, only to find that his blind date is the inimitable Mary Jane Watson. It’s a little too “girl as prize” for my tastes, but there’s still a force from seeing the beginning of that iconic pairing.
Overall, plenty of fun in this one, though it’s a bit empty given how Toys R Us-focused it felt.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-01-06T06:33:07Z
[7.4/10] I feel bad writing this episode off as toyetic, because I’m not a neutral observer. I had the spider slayer toy when I was a kid, so it’s really hard for me to see the triple-insectoid robot attacking Spider-Man and not think of the little black widow that squirted water, or the robo-tarantula that could grip with its middle legs, or the mecha-scorpion whose claws moved in time with its stinger.
But there’s not a lot of plot to this one. It’s pretty straightforward -- Alistair Smythe is trying to get revenge on everyone whom he feels is responsible for his father’s disappearance (I guess we can’t say death since it’s a kid’s show, see also: bad guys with lasers instead of bullets), and so he builds new spider slayers and sics them not only on Spider-Man, but also on J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson, and Norman Osborn, with a literal ticking time bomb in place to add to the stakes.
There’s some juice to the idea of Spider-Man having to race against the clock to save a trio of people who dislike him (or in some instances, have actively tried to kill him). But for the most part, this is an episode devoted to Spider-Man fighting the spider slayer bots in increasingly firework-filled ways. Each new robotic arachnid with different features just screams “we can sell this” alongside colorful tanks and helicopters. The show makes the most of it, with creative set pieces and some creative images like the spider slayer bots looking in different directions, or the scorpion bot clinging to the side of the bridge in vain before plummeting to the water below. But that can’t avoid the fact that this episode is mostly hollow, if well-done action.
Still, there’s an important beat at the end, where Peter feels like no good deed goes unpunished and he gets no reward from the universe for saving so many folks who hate him and risking his life in the process, only to find that his blind date is the inimitable Mary Jane Watson. It’s a little too “girl as prize” for my tastes, but there’s still a force from seeing the beginning of that iconic pairing.
Overall, plenty of fun in this one, though it’s a bit empty given how Toys R Us-focused it felt.