"Gangland" is the culmination of the current, well, Gang War story-arc for this season that in away began with the premire with Master Planner organizing super-villains and going about with grand scale plots to control New York and even the world. Naturally, said Planner was none other than Doctor Octopus, a mastermind and menace so grand in Spidey's world that he doesn't just sit back and let Venom or Green Goblin reign supreme as Nemesis #1 without a helluva fight. Just as it should be. Aside for Hammerhead showing up in the last Sandman episode where he reformed, the Big Man/Tombstone/ L. T. Lincoln has been quiet until two episodes ago when the arc came to fore. There was little quiet about this episode. It's some 23 minutes long and nearly two thirds of that is fighting. But it's not just sloppy combat, it is well paced, nuances, and interspliced with some comedic lines from other characters that put some sitcoms to shame. SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN will make you laugh before it yanks at the heart-strings.
It's Valentine's Day and Spidey would love to just grab flowers for Liz Allen for their hot date, but he's too busying having to web up two goons who are robbing the place and naturally are working for conflicting bosses, Silvermane for one and Big Man for the other. With Silvio "Silvermane" Manfredi due out of jail by the second and with Dr. Octopus still lurking about with practically every super-thug who isn't in jail or depowered (or Sandman), the pressure is mounting on the web-slinger to find a way to diffuse the situation or at least prepare for it without feeling like a bug caught in the middle of a fire-fight. He also is distracted from Liz by Gwen Stacy, and this is also the episode where that comes to a head.
It seems there would be two debates this episode may bring; the fate of Tombstone after some 15 episodes of build up, and the end of Peter's "relationship" with Liz and how he came off. And, yeah, how awesome the Four Way Dance was. I'll try to cover all that as I go along.
Peter manages to show up on time for his double date with Harry Osborn and Gwen; apparently the girl got a MJ-style make-over for the fancy dinner, and to say that Peter's "you look like an angel" is an understatement. The girl cleans up very well, to say the least. Harry, on the other hand, seems far less impressed by her looks and more so by her punctuality; he is very much his father's son sometimes. Makes you wonder what kinds of things exactly he and his mother go through on those "trips to Europe". In many ways the date would be between Gwen and Peter, but due to circumstances, mostly being Peter's inability to focus properly on women for very long, they both are with different dates right now. In this episode Liz begins to finally realize and experience how she is second fiddle in Peter's heart. One could easily claim that Peter is a cad at some moments to Liz, who honestly did nothing to deserve it. It isn't like she is a standard nagging, whine prone superhero girlfriend like many have been. She's been amazingly tolerant of Peter's latenesses and disappearances, part and parcel of being Spider-Man (or a newspaper photographer). It wasn't even as if all the moves in their relationship were hers; as some go, Liz never went anywhere with Peter she didn't feel invited.
There is a part of me who is almost waiting for someone to beg me to explain how I feel Peter is more sympathetic than Cyclops in WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, who often comes off as a needy dipstick with women issues. The answer is that Peter isn't doing this to Liz deliberately, and at 16 he has more of an excuse due to youth than Cyclops does as someone college aged. I'm a social worker by profession and the idea of a 16 year old boy stringing along two girls without being malicious or deliberate about it is more than possible. Alanna Ubach's Liz Allen in some ways is a tragic heroine; she isn't a bad character unto herself, and has gotten a slew of focus, but she isn't Lacey Chabert's Gwen Stacy, that "destined" love interest for Peter. But to me I LIKE that Peter in this show "dates around". He did that all the time in the comics. It wasn't like the films where he loved one girl from first grade to college and no one else, which is almost creepy in a way. Peter thought little of flirting with Liz Allen while dating Betty Brant in the comics, then stressing about it later, after all. While becoming Spider-Man didn't change Peter's character for the worse, it did give him some more cajones around women, whether intentional or not, that he never had before. How can Peter know that Gwen is something special if he's never dated anyone else before to compare her with or to? Besides, it's high school; everyone but me dated around.
(I was one of those shy reclusive nerds who never got a spider-bite to get any confidence. Long story.)
A few episodes ago I was sort of feeling the drag of Peter/Liz, but I understand why the writers included it. Just having Peter nab Gwen without any sort of soap opera drama past a few episodes is too easy. Liz and Peter never dated in the comics; here was a chance to be unique for something else beyond turning Kraven into a Tiger, which I appreciate. Sometimes unique relationships in comic book cartoons can be cooler than the real thing, at least for a while; it's been nearly six years since X-MEN EVOLUTION ended and I am STILL annoyed that Scott never returned poor Rogue's crush and instead fell into Jean's arms, almost literally. That's the power of handling these things right. It can get on your nerves that Peter doesn't just grab Gwen and make out with her in one of those epic 360 degree camera turns, but get it too soon and it's anti-climatic. Who expected Liz to choose Peter over Flash? What strapping 16 year old male would not even "try out" dating a cheerleader who was clearly and assertively into him who has none of that "friend tension" that Peter has with Gwen? If things run their course with Liz, Peter is no worse off with her than he was in Season 1; but making the leap from friend to lover with Gwen is a far larger one. Does it seem cad-ish from Liz's perspective? Sure. It's intentional. When Eric Lopez's Mark Allen stands up for his little sister's feelings at the end with Peter, you're not supposed to feel that Mark is WRONG. Quite the opposite, in a way. Peter Parker isn't Superman, after all. He's not supposed to be a moral paragon who can make no social or personal misstep.
Older teenagers likely could easily connect to this Peter and many in the cast of this show; a shame it is being almost exclusively promoted to younger kids. Hopefully positive buzz spreads.
But I am skipping all over the place.
The two couples meet up with Eugene "Flash" Thompson and his date Sha Shan, who was finally impressed with his moral courage exposing Harry's cheating to the school football commission last episode. There is another character who has really grown this season. He all but steals the episode here; his banter with Peter asking him for help with the date is sheer genius. It's perfectly written and acted between Josh Keaton and Joshua LeBar; the timing with the lines were incredible, and the animation makes it all flow well. The kids run into the rest of the posse, Kong with Gloria and Randy with Sally, who only agree to squeeze in from Liz's plea. It seems she wants anything to try to distract Peter from Gwen, to get his focus back on her. Sha Shan and Eugene ultimate end up trying to work through their "smart girl/jock guy" dilemma because she knows that Flash deep down is at least a good guy under his jockness.
But it isn't all ARCHIE style drama, is it? At Lincoln Center (I think), where J. Jonah Jameson is being drug along to the opera by his wife, the three crime cornerstones are all meeting in a private box. Hammerhead and Tombstone in one corner, Sable and her father Silvermane in the second, with Dr. Octopus (in his BEST cape from the Count Dracula collection) and Vulture in the third. Their perspectives seem rather clear and untenable. Big Man is a businessman and is willing to compromise for an alliance, with him likely still in control. Silvermane feels the streets are his by birthright, and Ock feels both are just cheap hoods compared to his Bond-villain-approach to things. It becomes clear very quickly, however, that Hammerhead, the perennial stooge for hire, is about to make a power play, albeit with unexpected help from a mysterious new party (or old party). The situation quickly deteriorates when everyone assumes the other invited them there, and Hammerhead escalates the situation by finding a hidden tranquilizer gun and TKO'ing Sable with it, which turns the meeting into a fight immediately.
If I had but one tiny, minor caveat about the spectacle that followed, it is that it seemed that Tombstone downed Vulture awfully fast. Sure, it was close quarters, little room to fly, and Adrian was likely caught off-guard. I know that the fight was good and insane enough with only four combatants; adding Vulture might have made it crazier. But I only say that because this show's version of Vulture is incredibly good and entertaining.
Faster than a speeding bullet, Hammerhead is painting Tombstone as the mastermind to the double-cross and Silvermane is busting out his trademark body-armor (rather than cybernetics from the comics, which I though worked nevertheless). The look is the same and they really helped make a somewhat generic cyborg design work for an animated show, and made Silvio, voiced by the reliable Miguel Ferrer, sound unique and intimidating by himself. You have Octopus thrashing things with his tentacles, Silvermane with his Mafia Iron-Man schtick, especially sonic forcefield blasts, and Tombstone with his stone cold physique. While Hammerhead watches the dons battle it out and expects to pick up what is left of the underworld, Foswell, undercover as "Patch", calls in the tip to J.J., who of course gets Peter involved for snaps at the end. The three criminals battle it out for a while just outside the opera before Spider-Man arrives, who quickly has to try to add to the mix while saving civilians caught in the middle, such as J.J. and a few kids from a field trip.
What makes SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN a great rather than merely good is not only an attention to detail, but a sense of class and distinction. Rather than give kids the same jazzy fight music as many past shows or even episodes, this episode chooses classic orchestra music, akin to crime movies. This of course includes the titanic "La Donna e' Mabile" at one point (yes, the song in THE PUNISHER (2004) where Frank battles the Russia, or even the song that The Tick starts to sing to the Thousand Year Bloom in "BLOOMSDAY"); how many "childrens cartoons" give you opera music alongside their comic book style fight scenes, and it all fits perfectly and elegantly? Peter MacNicol by now is really owning his role as Dr. Octopus and I can easily say that he's never been more exciting or more dangerous and dynamic as he is in SS-M. No longer is he a stale mad scientist or Kingpin's flunky. Spider-Man quickly finds himself overwhelmed by the trio's conflict as it moves outside, watched by the police (with Capt. Stacy of course leading them) and dozens of civilians, including Jameson and Foswell. Octopus at one point pins Spidey down and wisely suggests they continue their squabble after eliminating him, and I enjoyed how the arrogant, old-world-mobster-in-armor Silverman "isn't impressed" by the wall-crawler. Unfortunately for them, Lincoln's reputation as a sound businessman means he can't be seen publicly allying with criminals, so he aids Spider-Man only by obligation, much as when they both had to ally to stop Green Goblin's bomb in season one.
Spider-Man is throwing some fast and furious one liners which are consistently hilarious in this show, and gets an extended sequence against Silvermane, which I liked because I have to admit for a "C-List" rogue of Spidey's I always had a soft spot for him, same for Tombstone and Hydro-Man. As with everyone, Silverman's armor has a weakness; batteries that can be removed at the joints that cause the middle aged mobster to collapse. "You can't...do this...to Silvio Manfredi!" Once Dr. Octopus is caught off guard and defeated, Tombstone and Spider-Man have their showdown in the sewer.
And there will be some that say, "That's it!?" but I am not one of them. They fight on screen for a good 2-3 minutes, with no dialogue or even sound effects at one point, just more opera music, with even some different angles from Ock's POV as he tries to see who wins (likely wanting to at least witness Spider-Man die, even if not causing it). All that alone would have made for a fitting duel without the entire rest of that three way battle before hand. After that whole fight, Big Man was just exhausted, and Spider-Man capitalized at the right moment (after taking quite a beating from Lincoln). In many ways Tombstone is a unique enemy for Spider-Man. No fancy gimmicks or weapons to exploit, no distractions like insanity or a grandiose scheme of revenge or conquest. He's just a cool, cunning organized crime boss who is more than strong and swift enough to physically overpower Spider-Man with his bare hands if he is careless; like Kingpin without the baloney "I'm not superhuman, just am a sumo in a suit" theory. I thought Spider-Man's pledge as someone who "doesn't back down" was quite definitive and that was more than enough to satisfy me.
Besides, this show if anything proves that Dr. Manhattan line; "Nothing ever ends."
With even J.J. having to back away from siding with Tombstone via the press, all of the crooks are arrested. Tombstone is quickly released from jail, but with various government agencies watching his every move now, his criminal enterprise is very limited. He may be free, but his network is shattered, Hammerhead has double-crossed him, and he's likely lost a lot of his "street rep" having been taken down by Spider-Man. Without being in prison, of course, there is always the chance of a rise to power again in a theoretical Season 3 or 4, but I appreciate that this show knew it had two seasons and 26 episodes, and is bringing some things to a satisfying enough conclusion knowing it has one and only one shot to dazzle the network, either CW 4kids or Disney XD.
The scenes between Capt. Stacy and Spider-Man are of course very strong, with him sounding very much like a mentor talking to a hero he knows is a teenage boy at heart. Clancy Brown is really nailing the role here and while I know everyone is waiting with baited breath if the show ever kills his daughter, it is worth noting in the comics, George died first, and while network cartoons may be iffy about killing teenage girls on camera, middle aged men can be worked around.
Peter returns to the restaurant and gets a dressing down from Mark Allen, speaking for his sister and claiming she is better than to be "number two" in his heart to Gwen Stacy. While Gwen now acknowledges she understand that Peter "needs the job to help his aunt" (even if his aunt isn't as helpless as Peter frets; he's just responsible), it was never about the job to Liz. While of course Peter was the star, my liking for Mark Allen really grew here. I like his "non-date date" thing he has with MJ and it was good of him to stand up for his sister. It will be interesting when and if Mark ever becomes the Molten Man. Oh, who I am I kidding; this is a show that had Col. Jupiter for chrissakes; Molten Man is inevitable.
The true mastermind of the whole crime coup is of course revealed as Green Goblin, well rested and just as insane as ever. I have no clue how Steven Jay Blum switches from Wolverine to Goblin, but he always is incredible. The bigger question is, is Harry really THE Green Goblin? Or is he somehow a stooge or distraction for his father? Norman was tasked with creating villains to "distract" Spider-Man; what better than a villain who is his best friend, who also sometimes aids in Norman's dealings, who Norman can control? I am curious if Harry is the Goblin in body, but Norman is in spirit. The great Norman Osborn being a mere spectator is too small for this show. Maybe the two act as Goblins when each has to be seen in person, much as there was more than one Batwoman in BATMAN: MYSTERY OF THE BATWOMAN to throw people off? It certainly looks to be interesting.
And yes, that couple getting married was the one Spidey accidentally webbed up some time ago to save them. They totally owe him.
