I like Spider-Man. I also like cartoons. I even like Spider-Man cartoons. Due to my overwhelming qualifications, I will be giving my thoughts on each new episode of the new Spider-Man series from Marvel called Marvel’s Spider-Man. Hm. This past Saturday, the series debuted with the episode “Horizon High: Part One” on Disney XD. I watched it and now I will give you my 5 thoughts on the episode and this new series.
Spoilers abound below so if you don’t your animated Spider-Man cartoon spoiled I guess stop reading here.
1. You Saw Homecoming, right?
Of course you did. Rightfully so Marvel and Disney are betting you did and decided to introduce this new series around the success and formula of the movie. From the first episode, it is pretty obvious they are going for that new MCU Spider-Man vibe. Peter is young, like really young, and still learning about being Spider-Man. I believe in this episode it has only been about 2 weeks since he was bitten by that radioactive spider. Which as a person who likes to over analyze unnecessary things, that makes no sense to me. In two weeks time, he has a homemade suit, fights his first big villain and has also presumably dealt with the events of Uncle Ben’s death. Like Homecoming, it starts and he is Spidey. He has made his own web shooters already! It took me two weeks to take out the garbage when I was in high school. They not so subtle hint at he was bitten by a spider and Uncle Ben is dead but outside of a flashback, it is not the focus of the first episode which is good.
Aunt May is the younger more “attractive” middle age aunt we saw in homecoming. This episode she gets one brief scene that establishes she is an aunt and is hip and might be sad or not. Max Modell is introduced who feels like a Stark avatar for this series. Cool science adult Peter looks up to who will take him under his sciencey wing. He is the found of Horizon High which Peter will attend which I assume will set up the relationships and culture of smart is the new cool we saw in Homecoming.
Oh and Vulture is the first villain so that.
2. Science, Science, Oh Right And More Science.
Homecoming also saw the realization of a truly super smart Peter on the big screen (I am looking at you, Maguire!). Remember in the comics Peter Parker is a genius and likes science stuff. Well if you forgot or were just not sure this episode beats you over the head with it. The episode starts off with an officer commenting in the middle of a shoot out at a robbery saying “Science is the new currency”. He says it really kind of jerky to his partner too. They were trying to steal vibranium and his partner says whatever happened to these guys just trying to steal money. The officer snarky delivers his science line. Again, dude is kind of a jerk also isn’t vibranium worth a load of money? Anyway, I digress yet again. Get used to it.
That science line is followed directly up but Peter monologuing about Albert Einstein. Then the rest of the episode if they can take any moment to remind you Peter is smart or that science is the new currency they will. Peter is talking about the PSI of his web shooters mid-battle, explaining the science of a brain freeze to Harry mid-brain freeze, and explaining out loud what he is doing to stop an overloaded vibranium reactor mid-stopping that explosion. He also is going to Horizon High which is kind of likes Miles’ school in the comics meets Max’s corporation in the comics. It all just feels very on the nose even for a show aimed at the younger demographic.
3. The Fun
Homecoming was a lot of fun. Peter was funny and charming. His friends were just as funny and charming. This episode does not do a great job of establishing that level of fun. Peter gives out a few quips here and there but they are not great. However, he is a kid and only been Spider-Man for 2 weeks. This gives the series room to grow that Peter.
Continued belowFor a series aimed at what I have to imagine is young kids to middle schoolers and maybe even high schoolers it does not seem to embrace the current culture of popular shows among that demographic. Peter talks a lot. Like the whole episode, he does not stop talking. No matter what he is doing he is explaining it and talking through it. While this helps to, I guess, develop his character it kills any jokes they do have.
I will be interested to see how far they go with this in the series though. I would not say this episode is very serious but it is not super light hearted either. It kind of falls in the middle. The last Spider-Man series was able to have a lot of fun. They had Spider-Ham, chibi Spider-man, and Saved By The Bell pause gags. None of that feels like it would work in this iteration so I am interested in seeing how they find their humor in this series going forward.
4. Spider-verse To The Max(Modell)?
This episode clearly shows the series is going to be an amalgamation of all Spider-Mans. It does not appear to be set in any specific universe and is going to draw from all of Spider-Man history. It is its own living Spider-Verse. Just in the first episode, we see Harry, Miles, the Smythes, Max Model, Liz Allen (not MCU version), Vulture (thinking MCU Keaton style), Flash (a jock so not smart bully MCU) and Anya Corazon (Spider-Girl). I am sure there was more I missed. For fans, this could probably go both ways. It is hard to pinpoint what or where this series is. For me, I love the possibilities of who they could bring in and see interactions we would’ve never thought we would get to see in the comics.
5. Uncle Ben Math.
So there is one flashback to Uncle Ben in the episode. In the flashback scene, we get it’s centered around science still. I mean they turned one of the most iconic lines in comics history, “With great power comes great responsibility,” into a math problem. W divided by G to the P power gives you G to the R power. That’s a real thing in here. Uncle Ben writes it down. Peter even has it as the wallpaper on his cell phone. It is beyond weird. I honestly can’t tell if he was joking.
There are many ways to change and modernize lore of a superhero. Again I will go back to Homecoming. Stark tech Spider-Suit is a cool and story relevant idea. The backbone of why Spider-Man does what he does and continues to be Spider-Man is because of what Uncle Ben instills in him with that line. Now it is a not real math problem Peter uses as his cell phone wallpaper.
Looking at these thoughts they all come across very negative. I’ll be honest it was not the best first episode. That said they put in place a lot of elements that given time and development could be insanely great.
