The Ultimate Spider-Man Animated Series Discussion Thread

[Spider-Aziz]

Originally Posted by Spider-Gnome

Nope.

At least in this thread? Please

[Itsy]

This week's episode was almost... good. It's quite an improvement from last week, in which I wished Doc Ock would kill Spidey because Spidey was being such a tool, and apparently too stupid to live without constant supervision by SHIELD.

When Spidey paused to talk to us this week, at least it flowed a little better with what was going on. You know what would make it even more seamless? Drop that frozen b&w background crap and just have Spidey voiceover his thoughts without bringing the action to a screeching halt.

Could have done without the Chibis (Chibis are for people too lazy to draw, as far as I'm concerned), but at least there weren't many this week. And that stupid motorcycle was still featured prominently, but at least there weren't any fake declarations of how awesome the motorcycle is by fake children.

The best improvement of all was that it didn't feel so much like the show kept stopping to explain things to toddlers. It still stopped a little to explain things to grade-school kids, but hey, better than no improvement at all.

It's also possible that my expectations have hit rock bottom by now.

[SoNicRaDiATioN]

What utter contempt Marvel shows for this character. In comics, now in animation. He's been reduced to ashes. The plan it seems. Bendis-fail. Dini-fail. Disney-fail. Ratings-FAIL. Everyone get your shovels ready for a big heaping pile of season 2.

[Spider-Aziz]

Originally Posted by Itsy

This week's episode was almost... good. It's quite an improvement from last week, in which I wished Doc Ock would kill Spidey because Spidey was being such a tool, and apparently too stupid to live without constant supervision by SHIELD.

When Spidey paused to talk to us this week, at least it flowed a little better with what was going on. You know what would make it even more seamless? Drop that frozen b&w background crap and just have Spidey voiceover his thoughts without bringing the action to a screeching halt.

Could have done without the Chibis (Chibis are for people too lazy to draw, as far as I'm concerned), but at least there weren't many this week. And that stupid motorcycle was still featured prominently, but at least there weren't any fake declarations of how awesome the motorcycle is by fake children.

The best improvement of all was that it didn't feel so much like the show kept stopping to explain things to toddlers. It still stopped a little to explain things to grade-school kids, but hey, better than no improvement at all.

It's also possible that my expectations have hit rock bottom by now.

Welcome Itsy, nice first post

[Thor The Mighty]

The Strange episode was redeemed by the ending. It illustrated the reasons behind Peter being Spiderman in a mature way and I like the way Uncle Ben was handled. This is the first praise I've spoken for this show. That last few minutes were okay. Strange irritated me less than Spiderman for most of the show. But that's the case with this show's guest stars.

[Docker2.0]

Did anyone think that Dr. Strange look kind of like Johny Depp or was it just me? Episode was meh, just like this cartoon thus far. I can't believe Marvel thought it was a bright idea to make a series like Teen Titans but then again, Bendis is behind this so.................

That said, it would be perfect for Deadpool.

[Itsy]

Thanks, Spider-Aziz!

Thor The Mighty, I enjoyed the Uncle Ben stuff, too. Nice to see a fun side of Uncle Ben. And I'm glad they managed not to turn Uncle Ben into a chibi and/or have him make fart jokes.

Now if only Aunt May can be a mover and shaker in some story, and not just fodder for cut-away jokes. I kind of like the idea of young, hip Aunt May. If only they would make better use of her.

Explaining why Peter is Spiderman was done pretty well, but too bad the "I live with what happened to Uncle Ben every day" stuff is so inconsistent with the way this version of Spidey usually acts like a childish douchenozzle who gets bored easily and only uses his head on rare occasions. But hey, if they decide to suddenly change his personality so that he's more like the Spider-Man who defeated Nightmare in this episode, and less like the constantly-screeching-his-head-off Spider-Child he has been for most of this series, I wouldn't complain, I would welcome the change.

I know they keep saying "silly Spider-Man fans, cartoons are for kidz", but it's downright insulting how stupid they seem to think kids are. Kids like stories, they can follow plots just fine. The characters themselves don't have to act like children, kids are perfectly capable of enjoying stories with heroes that are more mature than they are. It's something to look up to.

Parents, which Spidey would you rather have your kids emulate: lazy, screechy, whiny ass Spidey, or the Spidey who is mature beyond his years (and still manage to be funny). And science whiz Spidey has such potential to be wonderfully educational for the kids, too bad the "Peter Parker is a scientist" stuff is just shoved off to the side because it has been deemed "too boring".

I love how someone's little nephew was yelling "I know! Stop telling me!" at the Spidey stops the show to over-explain parts. THAT's the stuff that's boring, not science and the quieter moments that are sometimes essential to good stories.

[bigdaddy313]

That was my nephew lol

[THUNDERSTRIKE]

Originally Posted by Itsy

Thanks, Spider-Aziz!

Thor The Mighty, I enjoyed the Uncle Ben stuff, too. Nice to see a fun side of Uncle Ben. And I'm glad they managed not to turn Uncle Ben into a chibi and/or have him make fart jokes.

Now if only Aunt May can be a mover and shaker in some story, and not just fodder for cut-away jokes. I kind of like the idea of young, hip Aunt May. If only they would make better use of her.

Explaining why Peter is Spiderman was done pretty well, but too bad the "I live with what happened to Uncle Ben every day" stuff is so inconsistent with the way this version of Spidey usually acts like a childish douchenozzle who gets bored easily and only uses his head on rare occasions. But hey, if they decide to suddenly change his personality so that he's more like the Spider-Man who defeated Nightmare in this episode, and less like the constantly-screeching-his-head-off Spider-Child he has been for most of this series, I wouldn't complain, I would welcome the change.

I know they keep saying "silly Spider-Man fans, cartoons are for kidz", but it's downright insulting how stupid they seem to think kids are. Kids like stories, they can follow plots just fine. The characters themselves don't have to act like children, kids are perfectly capable of enjoying stories with heroes that are more mature than they are. It's something to look up to.

Parents, which Spidey would you rather have your kids emulate: lazy, screechy, whiny ass Spidey, or the Spidey who is mature beyond his years (and still manage to be funny). And science whiz Spidey has such potential to be wonderfully educational for the kids, too bad the "Peter Parker is a scientist" stuff is just shoved off to the side because it has been deemed "too boring".

I love how someone's little nephew was yelling "I know! Stop telling me!" at the Spidey stops the show to over-explain parts. THAT's the stuff that's boring, not science and the quieter moments that are sometimes essential to good stories.

nice, Itsy... well said...

and welcome aboard...

[Sebastos]

From the Marvel TV Panel:

Ultimate Spider-Man is the #1 animated show on Disney XD, and season two will feature the Lizard, Rhino, Beetle, and Electro.

[THUNDERSTRIKE]

Originally Posted by Iron Fist

From the Marvel TV Panel:

uh huh... yeah, right...

I'll make sure to take that as undisputable gospel truth...


I'll NEVER believe the original but now deleted statement from the Marvel TV panel saying that USM is the #1 rated show on DizXD...

[socool]

From IGN

A Season 2 image from Ultimate Spider-Man showed new villains, who were much more classic Spider-Man characters than Season 1 – Kraven looked the most like his comic book counterpart, while The Lizard was a mixture of the comic book and The Amazing Spider-Man movie (longer snout, but no lab coat). What appeared to be Electro and The Rhino were joined by an armored man with wings who I initially thought might be a revamped Vulture, but on second glance seemed more likely to be The Beetle.

[SoNicRaDiATioN]

Unfortunately Loeb is still running animation and the writers are the same.

[Pepsiguy2]

I believe that about USM. I mean let's be real here, who watches DisneyXD and how many "current" animated shows are there?

[THUNDERSTRIKE]

Originally Posted by SoNicRaDiATioN

Unfortunately Loeb is still running animation and the writers are the same.

there ya go...

[THUNDERSTRIKE]

Originally Posted by Pepsiguy2

I believe that about USM. I mean let's be real here, who watches DisneyXD and how many "current" animated shows are there?

are you saying that the only reason that the Marvel TV panel would say that USM is the #1 rated show on DizXD is because everything else on XD is unoriginal and crap?

lol... never quite looked at it THAT way...

guess that means when it comes to unoriginal and crap, USM is #1...

but then again, there's the argument for A: EMH... that CERTAINLY wasn't unoriginal NOR crap... FAR from it...

you'll never get me to believe that USM's ratings ever surpassed A:EMH's ratings for any length of time... maybe the initial first episode, but that's IT... maybe...

[bigdaddy313]

How was today's episode?

[Sebastos]

I missed it, will have to catch the repeat.

[bigdaddy313]

This episode was very, very, ultimately very Stupid. Spell it with me S.T.U.P.I.D and what do you get? STUPID! lol.

Marvel should have a new motto, F##k the kids

[Thor The Mighty]

Originally Posted by bigdaddy313

This episode was very, very, ultimately very Stupid. Spell it with me S.T.U.P.I.D and what do you get? STUPID! lol.

Marvel should have a new motto, F##k the kids

I agree. Um ..so Spidey is irresponsible and has no integrity now? Wait I'm sorry that is nothing new with this show. I watched it in passing (waiting for the Avengers) but I picked up enough...

[bigdaddy313]

Yeah and other things where wrong in the episode

[Supa]

So, I used to be subscribed to Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man (which was pretty good), but when the show launched it got replaced with an Ultimate Spider-Man comic, and my subscription got changed to that.

And funnily enough, the comic is much better written than the show. Spidey is more in character, there's no fourth wall breaking every 5 seconds, no overly long gags, no random team up of the day. And it really only includes his stupid teammates once in a while, and their out of focus. So it's basically written like Spidey should be.

The most recent issue had Spidey and Electro getting sucked into Stark's 4D tv, and Spidey stopping a robbery by the Kangaroo squad, a team of stereotypes in mech-kangaroo suits.
Yeah, it sounds silly, but it's miles better than the cartoon

[zeptron]

Originally Posted by Itsy

I know they keep saying "silly Spider-Man fans, cartoons are for kidz", but it's downright insulting how stupid they seem to think kids are. Kids like stories, they can follow plots just fine. The characters themselves don't have to act like children, kids are perfectly capable of enjoying stories with heroes that are more mature than they are. It's something to look up to.

I really hate the "It's for kids!" argument. There is a way to aim a show at kids, but still make it enjoyable for an older audience as well. Batman TAS, Superman TAS, Spectacular Spider-man, Wolverine & The X-men, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Young Justice and Gargoyles are kids shows and yet they also catered to adults as well. It's really not hard to do . The whole "its for kids" (hey, its Spider-Man of course adult comic fans are going to want to like it) is just lazy talk. Especially if that kids cartoon stars a character that has never been made exclusively for kids for years now.

[nogap87]

I agree that USM is incredibly lazy. Most episodes are padded with gags that last far too long and aren't really funny, the characters are interchangeable with previous MOA cartoons, and each episode is self contained so writers don't have to deal with any icky character development issues which might force change or (shudder) progression.

[bigdaddy313]

The worst Marvel cartoon in history. I hope it gets cancelled, I don't even want it to be fixed. It has gotten many bad press and I check to see reviews and I can only find two written and two videos usually. If that's not a sign I don't know what is, especially for a high profile establishment.