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Five Thoughts on Marvel’s Spider-Man: Maximum Venom‘s “Amazing Friends”

By | May 21st, 2020
Posted in Television | % Comments

Hello there, true believers! Thanks for swinging by for another installment of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Maximum Venom on Disney XD. After defeating the Goblin Nation (at the cost of an enemy turned friend) Peter Parker prepares for a nice normal semester at Horizon High. Just kidding! It’s business as usual for everyone’s favorite web-slinging superhero. Being a teenage superhero can be hard, especially when you have to take care of a meddling Guardian of the Galaxy! Pull up a web and enjoy as we give you five thoughts on season 3, episode 2, “Amazing Friends.”

1. I am Groot? I AM GROOT! (Some translation required)

After saving the world from a new strain of Venom, things seem to be going ok for Peter. His teamwork with Miles is improving, he’s not entirely sure about what comes next, but the superheroics are going well. But in “Amazing Friends,” a certain baby tree alien has come to Earth with an important message from Starlord. Recorded on a Walkman. A Walkman that breaks immediately. So now Peter is confronted with two problems, taking care of toddler Groot, while also trying to decipher the message he brought with him.

Groot is incredibly entertaining in this episode, a little bundle of gremlin-esque mischief. Most of the humor of “Amazing Friends” comes from Peter, Miles, and the rest trying desperately to prevent Groot from destroying too much. In fact, the first section feels very similar to the beginning of ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ as Peter attempts to prevent Groot from destroying a get-together Aunt May is throwing for their next-door neighbor and her new niece, Mary Jane (also, hey there Felicia Day!) Miles and Peter also attempt to translate Groot’s language, in possibly the most fun segment of the entire episode. It doesn’t matter if you try writing, charades, or a high tech alien translator, it’s pretty clear what he’s saying, “I am Groot!”
Connor Andrade does a great job of making Groot’s delivery full of joy with just a little bit of a devilish grin.

2. Making some super friends.

While Peter has his little crew of Miles, Gwen, and Anya, it can still be pretty lonely being a teen superhero. This week, though, we are introduced to the “Avengers Intern Program,” which gives some more teen superheroes for Peter and his gang to interact with. This week we meet Riri William aka Ironheart, and Amadeus Cho, seventh smartest person in the world and also a Hulk. Riri and Peter bond pretty quickly, both of them are incredibly intelligent and a little socially awkward. The only difference is that Riri is very “by the books,” (although she is not above criticizing Peter for his horrible jokes.) Amadeus Cho, on the other hand, is arrogant and boisterous fun. He claims to be a natural leader and it’s clear that while he and Riri are on the same team, they don’t quite get along.

While it takes some heavy motivation from Peter, the three of them begin to work as a pretty well-oiled machine, with Peter acting as a mediator and filling the role as a leader. While Peter is more than a little upset that he wasn’t asked to be part of the Avengers Intern program, the true purpose of the episode is to show that Peter wasn’t asked because he didn’t need it. He’s already a true hero. The inclusion of these next-generation heroes is pretty exciting, setting up a bigger universe for Peter and the Spider-Friends to interact with. Plus it’s always fun to have more teen heroes to set up some silly high school drama.

3. Things get Strange when a certain doctor shows up.

On paper, “Amazing Friends” kind of looks like a bloated mess. You have Groot, some new superheroes, and then before you know it Baron Mordo and Dr. Strange show up to further complicate matters. Dr. Strange is the only person with the ability to translate Groot, or more correctly show a vision of what’s to come, and decides to help. Mordo, on the other hand, wants to take Groot’s DNA for some nefarious reason, recruiting the Advanced Idea Mechanics to combine science and magic, Banishing Strange and Miles in a mirror dimension of New York.

Continued below

Dr. Strange and Mordo’s magic translates pretty well to the animated world, giving the spells incredibly impressive dimensions. There is a particularly cool shot of Riri and Peter trapped in a huge geometric spell. There are also some pretty interesting and entertaining conversations between Miles and Dr. Strange as Miles tries to piece together the situation they’re currently trapped in. The alternate dimension they’re trapped in is shrinking, and Dr. Strange can’t figure out why, dismissive of Miles’ scientific solutions. In the end, the combination of magic and science is successful, and it seems that Strange has learned a bit more about his world. The animation, also, of the mirror world really helped to make the magic of Marvel feel foreign and unique, while it was some simple recoloring, it worked well to make everything feel uncomfortable.

4. Even a combination of mad science and evil magic can’t beat instinct.

A.I.M. and Mordo’s goal is to create Groot Golems, brought to life with evil magic, and doing the bidding of Baron Mordo to destroy the Earth with the ability to control plants. These creatures are incredibly powerful, possessing the raw strength and ability to root themselves much like Groot. They even only know how to say “I am Golem!” These foes are practically indestructible breaking through Peter’s webbing, anchoring themselves against Amadeus’ attacks, but thankfully Miles and Dr. Strange (literally) fall right into the action with a portal that will be able to destroy them.

The resolution of “Amazing Friends” is quite ridiculous, but also just feels right. These creatures not only posses Groot’s DNA, but they also posses his personality as well. Right down to his love of ice cream sandwiches. With some quick thinking on Peter’s part, and Riri’s ability to create projections of a giant ice cream sandwiches which drives them to fall to their doom. Is it silly? Yeah. Is it a fun resolution? You bet!

5. A big threat is coming and Earth is going to have to rely on some fresh faces.

After all the fun of Baron Mordo and the Groot Golems, the message is finally revealed. Starlord is sending a warning, the symbiote is on its way. The flashback has a cool look to it, with an almost three-dimensional quality, giving it the feel of an astral projection. There’s also a pretty gruesome moment as Peter is attacked by the symbiote mere moments before Groot is launched into space.

The threat can’t be overstated. One bit of the symbiote is already difficult to defeat, the threat coming to Earth is potentially devastating. There’s one more thing, too, the Avengers are not on Earth, meaning that it falls to Peter and the interns to keep Earth safe from this huge threat. It seems like the days of being an intern are rapidly coming to a close.

So there we have it. This episode was a LOT of fun, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. What did you think? Sound off below, and see you next time, true believers!


//TAGS | marvel's spider-man

Joe Skonce

Joe Skonce was born, raised, and currently resides in Ohio, but has been exploring fantastical and imaginary worlds for as long as he can remember. He loves big guys and barbarians, pirates and puppets, and is always down to find nerdy new things. Come say hi to him on twitter @tunabellgrande.

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