[7.4/10] I gotta admit, I was kind of ready to hate this episode. I rolled my eyes at this storebrand Tarzan who speaks in stilted English and lives in the equivalent of The Lost World. But at the end of the day I certainly enjoyed myself. For a while, it seemed like the episode was going to take itself too seriously, but eventually it leaned into the silliness and action/adventure side of what it had going on, which won me over.
For one thing, I loved the interlude with Man-Spider (er, “The Savage Spider-Man”). Seeing Peter going from running panicked from a T-Rex and freaking out about bugs to trying to chow down on them and giving the dino the ol’ what-for was a hoot. It doesn't have much to do with anything else really (beyond just giving Wolverine an Ka-Zar something to do while Taskmaster and Kraven escape), but it’s entertaining, well-animated, and fun.
I also appreciated the theme of both Spidey and Ka-Zar being out of their elements and having to adapt. They laid the “New York City is just a concrete jungle” thing on too thick, but the theme of each hero having to step outside of their usual environment and still do what they do best despite that is a solid thematic spine.
Kraven wanting to sacrifice Ka-Zar’s “brother”, a sabertooth tiger named Zabu, made was a solid enough plot to carry the episode. I was frankly pretty impressed at the pacing and structure of this one, which managed to balance enough separations and saves to keep up the tension, excitement, and surprises. This is the best I’ve seen Wolvie be used on this show, and combining the vaguely jungle/tracker-ish heroes and villains made for a nice mixture. Even the little things clicked in this one, like Wolvie’s attaboy to Spider-Man coming off better than most of those episode-closing back-pats, and Spidey’s quips and fourth wall asides being funnier than usual. (I got a particular kick out of his “how many knives do you carry?” line to Kraven.)
Overall, this one had a silly premise and some heavy-handed morals, but turned up the excitement and fun to compensate, which ended up working out.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2019-01-21T04:12:29Z
[7.4/10] I gotta admit, I was kind of ready to hate this episode. I rolled my eyes at this storebrand Tarzan who speaks in stilted English and lives in the equivalent of The Lost World. But at the end of the day I certainly enjoyed myself. For a while, it seemed like the episode was going to take itself too seriously, but eventually it leaned into the silliness and action/adventure side of what it had going on, which won me over.
For one thing, I loved the interlude with Man-Spider (er, “The Savage Spider-Man”). Seeing Peter going from running panicked from a T-Rex and freaking out about bugs to trying to chow down on them and giving the dino the ol’ what-for was a hoot. It doesn't have much to do with anything else really (beyond just giving Wolverine an Ka-Zar something to do while Taskmaster and Kraven escape), but it’s entertaining, well-animated, and fun.
I also appreciated the theme of both Spidey and Ka-Zar being out of their elements and having to adapt. They laid the “New York City is just a concrete jungle” thing on too thick, but the theme of each hero having to step outside of their usual environment and still do what they do best despite that is a solid thematic spine.
Kraven wanting to sacrifice Ka-Zar’s “brother”, a sabertooth tiger named Zabu, made was a solid enough plot to carry the episode. I was frankly pretty impressed at the pacing and structure of this one, which managed to balance enough separations and saves to keep up the tension, excitement, and surprises. This is the best I’ve seen Wolvie be used on this show, and combining the vaguely jungle/tracker-ish heroes and villains made for a nice mixture. Even the little things clicked in this one, like Wolvie’s attaboy to Spider-Man coming off better than most of those episode-closing back-pats, and Spidey’s quips and fourth wall asides being funnier than usual. (I got a particular kick out of his “how many knives do you carry?” line to Kraven.)
Overall, this one had a silly premise and some heavy-handed morals, but turned up the excitement and fun to compensate, which ended up working out.