[7.4/10] Well, this one certainly had Epiq going for it. Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin vs. Shield vs. Venom is a pretty big-time match up, and the fact that they wrecked up the high school, forced Coulson to go full Shield agent, and even destroyed the helicarrier adds to the “it’s a series finale, so we can go big” feel of the piece.
And on a nuts and bolts level, the episode is fine. The conflict is clear enough, with Norman having suddenly turned smart and articulate and manipulative in his Goblin form, Harry not wanting the heroes to hurt his dad, and Spider-Man trying to keep it all together. There’s a lot of convenient things that gets us from Midtown High to a rumble on the helicarrier to the East River, but the fights are solid and occasionally creative, and the premise is comprehensible.
There’s just a lot of thematic problems with this one. For one thing, it tries to set up Harry hating Spider-Man, except it gives the flimsiest reasons for it -- that Norman’s transformation came from Spidey’s DNA. Any blood-boiling grudge that could be solved with (an admittedly complex) explanation feels false. At the same time, Spider-Man’s rift with Shield, which was already a weak turn to start with, lasted about five minutes before he starts rattling off the usual trite pronouncements about who his mentors and his family are and how they’re who made him, not Osborn’s genetically-engineered Spider. The sentiment is nice enough, but there’s nothing new or interesting about it.
The one thing I do like is that after 2/3rds of the episode shows Spider-Man getting into one big fight with a puke-colored gargoyle, the climax of the episode sees him trying to save people rather than just fight people. Norman Osborne is kind of generic in his monstrous form, playing the usual mustache-twirling manipulator, but the core of Spidey is someone who wants to help people, not just fight things, so having him risk his life to save rank and file Shield agents is encouraging.
I also, as usual, liked the show’s visuals with Venom. The images of Harry trying to escape from the symbiote suit were once again fluid and visually striking, and the gradual build toward Venom erupting out of him was well done. I just wish that bit wasn’t over in about a minute. A lot of things in this episode were rushed, but such is the way of the half hour finale.
Overall, this wasn’t exactly a sterling capstone on Ultimate Spider-Man, but it raised the stakes and made some changes to the status quo, which makes it enjoyable enough as some nice popcorn cartoon action fare.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2018-12-01T04:21:50Z
[7.4/10] Well, this one certainly had Epiq going for it. Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin vs. Shield vs. Venom is a pretty big-time match up, and the fact that they wrecked up the high school, forced Coulson to go full Shield agent, and even destroyed the helicarrier adds to the “it’s a series finale, so we can go big” feel of the piece.
And on a nuts and bolts level, the episode is fine. The conflict is clear enough, with Norman having suddenly turned smart and articulate and manipulative in his Goblin form, Harry not wanting the heroes to hurt his dad, and Spider-Man trying to keep it all together. There’s a lot of convenient things that gets us from Midtown High to a rumble on the helicarrier to the East River, but the fights are solid and occasionally creative, and the premise is comprehensible.
There’s just a lot of thematic problems with this one. For one thing, it tries to set up Harry hating Spider-Man, except it gives the flimsiest reasons for it -- that Norman’s transformation came from Spidey’s DNA. Any blood-boiling grudge that could be solved with (an admittedly complex) explanation feels false. At the same time, Spider-Man’s rift with Shield, which was already a weak turn to start with, lasted about five minutes before he starts rattling off the usual trite pronouncements about who his mentors and his family are and how they’re who made him, not Osborn’s genetically-engineered Spider. The sentiment is nice enough, but there’s nothing new or interesting about it.
The one thing I do like is that after 2/3rds of the episode shows Spider-Man getting into one big fight with a puke-colored gargoyle, the climax of the episode sees him trying to save people rather than just fight people. Norman Osborne is kind of generic in his monstrous form, playing the usual mustache-twirling manipulator, but the core of Spidey is someone who wants to help people, not just fight things, so having him risk his life to save rank and file Shield agents is encouraging.
I also, as usual, liked the show’s visuals with Venom. The images of Harry trying to escape from the symbiote suit were once again fluid and visually striking, and the gradual build toward Venom erupting out of him was well done. I just wish that bit wasn’t over in about a minute. A lot of things in this episode were rushed, but such is the way of the half hour finale.
Overall, this wasn’t exactly a sterling capstone on Ultimate Spider-Man, but it raised the stakes and made some changes to the status quo, which makes it enjoyable enough as some nice popcorn cartoon action fare.