3x01 The Sins of the Fathers: Doctor Strange

[7.7/10] A nice way to kick off the season. There’s a lot going on here, as has become the norm, but it kind of works here. For one thing, having watched the Doctor Strange movie, the new characters are more familiar to me, which helps on a personal level. While Mordo, Dormamu, and The Ancient One are all pretty different than their film conceptions, that familiarity is enough to give me the lay of the land and ease the introduction.

It’s a little cliché, but I actually really like the fact that Mordo is going a bit like Sybok from Star Trek V here. The notion of a magical dude using people longing for lost loved ones to fuel his schemes is a potent idea, and while Spider-Man TAS tends to where its themes on its sleeve -- this episode being no exception -- the themes aren’t usually this deep. Mordo’s plan taps into that peculiarly 90s fascination with and fear of the idea of cults under our noses, and the image of people floating away and doing his bidding while imagining they’re with their long lost relatives is an unnerving one.

Hell, while it’s pretty rushed and tacked onto the end, I even appreciated that the emotional crux of this one was M.J. having to accept that her father was truly gone, and that rejection of Dormamu’s illusions being the only way to defeat him. It’s heavy stuff for a kids show, and while the episode doesn’t go very deep or complex with it, it’s still a strong theme that gives this one some extra oomph.

The magic stuff with Doctor Strange is well realized too. I have to admit, after having watched Venture Bros. it’s hard not for me to take Strange himself as an object of humor a la Dr. Orpheus. I’ll admit to chuckling when he casts some spell along the lines of “I summon the _____ of [made up name]”, but I laughed out loud when Spider-Man hears some magic-speak exchange between Doctor Strange and Wong and responds, “No offense, but you guys are really weird.”

Silliness aside, there’s some nice visual panache to this one. Dormamu’s a funky, silver age design kind of god, which I appreciate, and his realm is unique in terms of settings on this show, all floating islands and colored backgrounds, making this one feel unique. Plus, it’s neat to have guest stars like George Takei (even if he’s sadly reduced to being Strange’s Asian sidekick, which is a trope that probably should have died by 1996) and Tony Jay (who voices Megabyte on Reboot for you 90s animation fans). And there’s even a nice tease of (I think?) Madame Web at the end to set up an arc for the season as a whole.

Overall, this was high concept but a lot of fun, and points the show in a nice direction after the numerous misfires of Season 2.