[7.3/10] This was more like it! I had some early skepticism about the monster mash squad, and the whole “you need to learn to be a team again, like us” material is pretty weak. But this episode is much more enjoyable visually and in terms of character and plot than the last one was.
I’ll say that I still don’t love the monsters themselves. Werewolf By Night is a generic team leader guy. Frankenstein’s Monster is another low language lug. And the Living Mummy is a fairly rote archetype for most of the episode. Hell, their “Monster Truck” is some of the most toyetic nonsense the show has put out since the Spidercycle (which, thankfully, seems to be mostly retired).
But once the group gets to Dracula’s lair, things pick up. For one thing, the Escher-like maze is visually interesting, and while the shadow vamps are rote mooks, the combat there is cool (if a little repetitive) with the benefit of that setting. The fight for the Egypto-macguffin has some cool elements to it, and I even like Spidey’s strategy of getting the “onk” into sunlight where Drac can’t get from it.
But things really take a turn in the third act. I love the unexpected twist that The Living Mummy wants the MacGuffin for himself. To be frank, I thought it was kind of odd that he mentioned that he was once a Pharaoh, and everyone took it for granted that he would take orders from Fury. The fact that the show makes good on that makes for an outstanding swerve. And while brief, the fact that he uses the Onk to turn giant and powerful and give us a nine-on-one battle worth its salt is pretty damn cool. I also loved Man-Thing, whose slime powers and monster mash in the streets of New York City made some enjoyably campy visuals.
Overall, I’m not exactly clamoring for a return appearance from the Howling Commandos, but this was a big improvement on the first outing, with some exciting turns and more visual excitement.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2019-01-05T21:41:08Z
[7.3/10] This was more like it! I had some early skepticism about the monster mash squad, and the whole “you need to learn to be a team again, like us” material is pretty weak. But this episode is much more enjoyable visually and in terms of character and plot than the last one was.
I’ll say that I still don’t love the monsters themselves. Werewolf By Night is a generic team leader guy. Frankenstein’s Monster is another low language lug. And the Living Mummy is a fairly rote archetype for most of the episode. Hell, their “Monster Truck” is some of the most toyetic nonsense the show has put out since the Spidercycle (which, thankfully, seems to be mostly retired).
But once the group gets to Dracula’s lair, things pick up. For one thing, the Escher-like maze is visually interesting, and while the shadow vamps are rote mooks, the combat there is cool (if a little repetitive) with the benefit of that setting. The fight for the Egypto-macguffin has some cool elements to it, and I even like Spidey’s strategy of getting the “onk” into sunlight where Drac can’t get from it.
But things really take a turn in the third act. I love the unexpected twist that The Living Mummy wants the MacGuffin for himself. To be frank, I thought it was kind of odd that he mentioned that he was once a Pharaoh, and everyone took it for granted that he would take orders from Fury. The fact that the show makes good on that makes for an outstanding swerve. And while brief, the fact that he uses the Onk to turn giant and powerful and give us a nine-on-one battle worth its salt is pretty damn cool. I also loved Man-Thing, whose slime powers and monster mash in the streets of New York City made some enjoyably campy visuals.
Overall, I’m not exactly clamoring for a return appearance from the Howling Commandos, but this was a big improvement on the first outing, with some exciting turns and more visual excitement.