[7.3/10] This was a perfectly fine finale to a perfectly fine show. There’s nothing to blow you away or knock your socks off, but it’s done well enough to pass muster, which is basically my review of the show itself.
I like the idea of Spider-Man having to cope without his powers. It’s a unique challenge we haven’t really seen before. Watching Peter having to repel to get down from a tall building or use a jetpack to get from place to place has a novelty to it, and makes for a distinctive set of obstacles. There’s two problems with it though (1.) Peter’s depowering lasts about 5 minutes and (2.) it’s all just a setup for a “the specialness was within you all along, Peter” message that’s trite as all hell.
The former doesn't bother me too much. Sure, it’s disappointing that for however momentous and serious it was for Doc Ock to rob Peter of his powers in the last episode, we’re back to the status quo by the middle of this one. But that’s just standard comic book storytelling. I’m less enamored with May and Norman’s lesson that Peter was the real key to Spider-Man, not a radioactive spider, because it’s just so generic. Dramatizing it through Peter’s old web-shooters isn’t bad, but using his special DNA as a proxy for his inherent specialness is a really weird choice.
It’s also not especially interesting watching him fight Doc Ock for the umpteenth time. I can appreciate the fact that they contrast the hero and villain thematically. Spider-Man does his latest version of the whole power/responsibility thing, and Doc Ock offers a contrasting view that power = fear = respect. But again, the dramatization of it so paint-by-numbers, with Ock’s standard-issue villain dialogue. And the fact that it culminates in Otto turning into a big giant slug/octopus after getting high on his own supply doesn't do much for me.
On the other hand, I appreciate that the end features Spidey making good on his promises to sympathetic villains like Rhino and Vulture (even if his ability to use Otto’s anti-powers serum for that purpose is pretty convenient). And I at least appreciate his true-to-character finish of helping Dr. Octopus despite everything. There’s a purity to this version of Peter, and while at times that feels naive and, frankly, a little annoying, it’s at least consistent for the character. I like him going out with the same ideals he started with. The fact that he uses them to coax Doc Ock to help save the day is true to form and a nice button for his and Otto’s arcs.
I especially liked the bookend scene, where Spidey quickly beats Trapster and gets his “how far you’ve come” speech from Nick Fury. Sure, like most of this finale, it’s on the nose, but it’s still a nice touch and bit of first episode mirroring.
On the whole, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with Ultimate Spider-Man. It’s rarely, if ever, been an outright bad show. But it also never really rises above being merely a pretty good one either. The series eventually tones down its cutaway gags and zanier humor. But for all the promise of writing an MCU-esque Spider-Man before there was such a thing, most of the conflicts and fights are fairly stock.
What’s more, despite having more than 100 episodes to work with and more than a few ongoing story arcs, the show isn’t big on narrative or character development. Sure, lip service is paid to such things here and there, or they’ll drop exposition about the last time Spidey ran into someone. But compared to even the 1990s Spider-Man animated series, there’s not nearly the level of serialization or character-building. That makes the show more episodic and disposable, making it feels like a loose collection of stories featuring the same characters rather than an ongoing story or world.
It’s particularly noticeable after the halfway point of the series, where any semblance of ongoing plot threads are basically sacrificed for standalone arcs and episodes and an overloaded cast of supporting characters. It doesn't help that this version of Spidey continues to be the best at most things, and lives a much more charmed lives than other version of the character, which makes it harder to warm to him.
Still, the show maintains a consistent, if not overwhelming level of quality over a long period of time, which is nothing to sneeze at. Some of the episode to episode inconsistency can be countered by the fact that the show at least tries to include throwaway lines or fig leaves to try to justify characters being shoehorned into different situations. And particularly in comedy episodes, the show can really shine with its lighter take on the Webhead.
Overall, I’m not sorry that I spent more than one hundred episode with this version of the wall-crawler, but I’m not sure I could really recommend that anybody who’s not fiercely devoted to the character do the same. At the same time, this finale does what it needs to in terms of trying to get at the core of who Peter Parker is regardless of the fact that he’s Spidey, but also speaks to the limitations of the show in dramatizing its ideas in an exciting or meaningful fashion. The show, and its ending, are a mixed bag, with noble intentions, variable execution, but a fun corner of the Marvel Universe to play around in for half an hour each day.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-04-09T01:53:09Z
[7.3/10] This was a perfectly fine finale to a perfectly fine show. There’s nothing to blow you away or knock your socks off, but it’s done well enough to pass muster, which is basically my review of the show itself.
I like the idea of Spider-Man having to cope without his powers. It’s a unique challenge we haven’t really seen before. Watching Peter having to repel to get down from a tall building or use a jetpack to get from place to place has a novelty to it, and makes for a distinctive set of obstacles. There’s two problems with it though (1.) Peter’s depowering lasts about 5 minutes and (2.) it’s all just a setup for a “the specialness was within you all along, Peter” message that’s trite as all hell.
The former doesn't bother me too much. Sure, it’s disappointing that for however momentous and serious it was for Doc Ock to rob Peter of his powers in the last episode, we’re back to the status quo by the middle of this one. But that’s just standard comic book storytelling. I’m less enamored with May and Norman’s lesson that Peter was the real key to Spider-Man, not a radioactive spider, because it’s just so generic. Dramatizing it through Peter’s old web-shooters isn’t bad, but using his special DNA as a proxy for his inherent specialness is a really weird choice.
It’s also not especially interesting watching him fight Doc Ock for the umpteenth time. I can appreciate the fact that they contrast the hero and villain thematically. Spider-Man does his latest version of the whole power/responsibility thing, and Doc Ock offers a contrasting view that power = fear = respect. But again, the dramatization of it so paint-by-numbers, with Ock’s standard-issue villain dialogue. And the fact that it culminates in Otto turning into a big giant slug/octopus after getting high on his own supply doesn't do much for me.
On the other hand, I appreciate that the end features Spidey making good on his promises to sympathetic villains like Rhino and Vulture (even if his ability to use Otto’s anti-powers serum for that purpose is pretty convenient). And I at least appreciate his true-to-character finish of helping Dr. Octopus despite everything. There’s a purity to this version of Peter, and while at times that feels naive and, frankly, a little annoying, it’s at least consistent for the character. I like him going out with the same ideals he started with. The fact that he uses them to coax Doc Ock to help save the day is true to form and a nice button for his and Otto’s arcs.
I especially liked the bookend scene, where Spidey quickly beats Trapster and gets his “how far you’ve come” speech from Nick Fury. Sure, like most of this finale, it’s on the nose, but it’s still a nice touch and bit of first episode mirroring.
On the whole, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with Ultimate Spider-Man. It’s rarely, if ever, been an outright bad show. But it also never really rises above being merely a pretty good one either. The series eventually tones down its cutaway gags and zanier humor. But for all the promise of writing an MCU-esque Spider-Man before there was such a thing, most of the conflicts and fights are fairly stock.
What’s more, despite having more than 100 episodes to work with and more than a few ongoing story arcs, the show isn’t big on narrative or character development. Sure, lip service is paid to such things here and there, or they’ll drop exposition about the last time Spidey ran into someone. But compared to even the 1990s Spider-Man animated series, there’s not nearly the level of serialization or character-building. That makes the show more episodic and disposable, making it feels like a loose collection of stories featuring the same characters rather than an ongoing story or world.
It’s particularly noticeable after the halfway point of the series, where any semblance of ongoing plot threads are basically sacrificed for standalone arcs and episodes and an overloaded cast of supporting characters. It doesn't help that this version of Spidey continues to be the best at most things, and lives a much more charmed lives than other version of the character, which makes it harder to warm to him.
Still, the show maintains a consistent, if not overwhelming level of quality over a long period of time, which is nothing to sneeze at. Some of the episode to episode inconsistency can be countered by the fact that the show at least tries to include throwaway lines or fig leaves to try to justify characters being shoehorned into different situations. And particularly in comedy episodes, the show can really shine with its lighter take on the Webhead.
Overall, I’m not sorry that I spent more than one hundred episode with this version of the wall-crawler, but I’m not sure I could really recommend that anybody who’s not fiercely devoted to the character do the same. At the same time, this finale does what it needs to in terms of trying to get at the core of who Peter Parker is regardless of the fact that he’s Spidey, but also speaks to the limitations of the show in dramatizing its ideas in an exciting or meaningful fashion. The show, and its ending, are a mixed bag, with noble intentions, variable execution, but a fun corner of the Marvel Universe to play around in for half an hour each day.