[7.4/10] A very nice start to the new season. Villain team-ups are a cliché, but it’s fun seeing the baddies introduced last season interact and squabble like you might expect. I particularly like that unlike the other goons, Doc Ock only throws in with Kingpin after he’s promised resources for science, and continually has friction with Chameleon over the way he calls Mac a dolt. Their escape is a fun setpiece, and watching the six villains coordinate and best Spider-Man really makes it feel like a challenge rather than a foregone conclusion to beat them.
That’s mangified by the way it seems like Spider-Man is losing his powers. Again, I wonder how much Sam Raimi was pulling from this in Spider-Man 2 versus both of them pulling from the comics, but it’s an intriguing story development to see Spidey losing his wall-crawling abilities at inopportune moments. I like that it often coincides with him feeling stressed or lonely, suggesting an emotional component, even if that’s just subtext or theme.
There’s also plot-heavy hints about his changing DNA, and the introduction of Morbius, with the competition to be Dr. Connors’s research assistant. It mostly feels like setup to insert Morbius into the proceedings at this point, but it’s promising enough.
The setpieces are all generally good, with Spidey’s combat against the Insidious (nee Sinister) Six featuring creative uses of everyone’s powers. Using Aunt May to lure him there is particularly neat (and Chameleon’s crazy version of her is legitimately creepy), and puts Spider-Man in a position of vulnerability at a time when he’s already not on his game.
Overall, an enjoyable episode and starts off the new season nicely.
(Oh, and I really enjoyed the wink of Spider-Man “chatting” with a gargoyle named “Bruce.” And the worldbuilding of the crime syndicate Kingpin’s a part of is intriguing as well.)
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-02-07T23:43:23Z
[7.4/10] A very nice start to the new season. Villain team-ups are a cliché, but it’s fun seeing the baddies introduced last season interact and squabble like you might expect. I particularly like that unlike the other goons, Doc Ock only throws in with Kingpin after he’s promised resources for science, and continually has friction with Chameleon over the way he calls Mac a dolt. Their escape is a fun setpiece, and watching the six villains coordinate and best Spider-Man really makes it feel like a challenge rather than a foregone conclusion to beat them.
That’s mangified by the way it seems like Spider-Man is losing his powers. Again, I wonder how much Sam Raimi was pulling from this in Spider-Man 2 versus both of them pulling from the comics, but it’s an intriguing story development to see Spidey losing his wall-crawling abilities at inopportune moments. I like that it often coincides with him feeling stressed or lonely, suggesting an emotional component, even if that’s just subtext or theme.
There’s also plot-heavy hints about his changing DNA, and the introduction of Morbius, with the competition to be Dr. Connors’s research assistant. It mostly feels like setup to insert Morbius into the proceedings at this point, but it’s promising enough.
The setpieces are all generally good, with Spidey’s combat against the Insidious (nee Sinister) Six featuring creative uses of everyone’s powers. Using Aunt May to lure him there is particularly neat (and Chameleon’s crazy version of her is legitimately creepy), and puts Spider-Man in a position of vulnerability at a time when he’s already not on his game.
Overall, an enjoyable episode and starts off the new season nicely.
(Oh, and I really enjoyed the wink of Spider-Man “chatting” with a gargoyle named “Bruce.” And the worldbuilding of the crime syndicate Kingpin’s a part of is intriguing as well.)