[8.0/10] It’s an odd specialty, but nobody does body switch episodes like Ultimate Spider-Man, and it certainly doesn't hurt to have DCAU impresario Paul Dini at the helm for this one. I like pretty much all sides of this. The idea of Spider-Man having to adjust to life with the Avengers, including Black Widow (finally!) and Falcon, and missing his old team as a strong one. There’s some shortcutting via montage and fun visual callbacks to the old Marvel vs. Capcom games, but the idea of him not being used to the Avengers lifestyle and having to learn to follow order and deal with skepticism and an overly friendly Hulk are all promising little bits.
But once the episode kicks into gear plotwise, it’s strong as well. Loki’s plan actually makes a lot of sense, with him using his powers to flip into Peter’s body, thereby getting the sample Doc Ock needs to make venom and give him his Earth-conquering army. There’s even a nice sop to why Loki doesn't just reveal Peter’s identity. I’m still not crazy about how the show has nerfed the symbiote, but things like Loki using Peter’s body to ruin Spider-Man’s already tenuous reputation helps make it work.
I also like things from Spidey’s perspective too. Having a 16-year-old have to figure his way around in an Agardian’s body is something the show gets a lot of mileage out of. Peter’s a body switch vet at this point, but the way he tries and fails to convince the Avengers of who he really is, has to take the bus in full Asgardian garb, and excuses it all as a getup for a comic book convention is great.
Plus the actual body switch material is, perhaps, the best yet. I like Loki and Spider-Man each trying to use the other’s powers and abilities and having trouble. And the complexity of the two of them fighting in each other’s body is played for laughs but also for good plot detail.
Overall, this was definitely a promising start to the two-parter and to the show’s third season.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-01-13T05:19:55Z
[8.1/10] This was basically one big excuse for Ultimate Spider-Man to do its version of the third act from 2012’s The Avengers. But I’m not complaining. The midtown brawl that pits the movie Avengers + the Shield cadets vs. Loki and Doc Ock is action packed and enjoyable from start to finish. Again, it’s not necessarily super plot-driven or groundbreaking, particularly when for most of the runtime, it’s just the superteam against some generic Asgardian mooks in venomous clothing (trolls, frost giants, and some griffin-like things). But the team-up is fun, everyone is in character, and the tone, excitement, and epic-ness of the whole thing rings true throughout.
I do appreciate that the show dispenses with the whole bodyswitch thing pretty quickly here. Peter seeking the recognition and help of his old team is (a.) a nice reason to include them in the proceedings (b.) a good excuse to have a bit of the inevitable hero-on-hero scuffling that happens in these crossover and (c.) a nice sign that despite achieving Avenger status, Peter still feels most known and understood by the folks he’s been fighting alongside for two seasons.
That’s a nice tack in the episode. The whole passage of time thing is a little tricky since we basically only have two episodes to cover a separation, but still, it works. The group expressing in their own unique ways that they miss Spidey is cute, and the ending, with Tony completely understanding and letting Spidey know he always has a place with them is very nice. Spidey’s return to the tricarrier and dogpile reaction from his teammates is pretty sweet, particularly from an episode that was almost nonstop superhero fireworks.
But I like that for all the punching and kicking and blasting in this one, the solution to the problem ended up coming down to Spidey’s wits rather than his fists. Doc Ock’s Asgardian armor made for a good excuse for why it was so tough for the multi-man team of good guys to beat him, but Spider-Man playing on Doc Ock’s well-established superiority complex in the context of his history with Norman Osborn to turn him against Loki is inspired. Sure, the whole “Villains never have enough trust or humility to work together” thing is a hoary trope, but it functions nicely here. And again, it’s nice to see actions that make Spider-Man seem like a leader and solid strategist, rather than just words.
Overall, a stellar kick-off to the show’s new season, which packs in the crossover thrills and shows Spidey at this best, both as a tactician and a friend.