New "Ultimate Spider-Man" Animated Series Coming to Disney XD For Fall 2011? - Part 2

[Scarecrow_King]

you really need to stop with green and the all caps thing.

We get it. You like Dr Doom.

 

[DrDoom]

IM GOOD, THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION THOUGH

-DOOM

 

[Nathan]

Ah, posters grow up to be annoying so fast these days.

 

[DrDoom]

WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE '04

-DOOM

 

[Nathan]

Ah, you're a late bloomer then.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

you realize it says your join date on your profile, right? 2012. 2 months ago.

 

[DrDoom]

BEEN DOING THIS SINCE '08

-DOOM

 

[DrDoom]

you realize it says your join date on your profile, right? 2012. 2 months ago.

WHAT?!? YOU'RE KIDDING ME?

HAVE MADE A COUPLE NAMES THROUGH THE YEARS

-DOOM

 

[Zoken]

Weren't you also frequently booted?

 

[Scarecrow_King]

can't imagine why...

 

[Sebastos]

HOWS HE STICKING TO THE WALLS?

-DOOM

He's not.

 

[DrDoom]

WAS BANNED ONCE CAUSE I WAS ACTING LIKE YOU TOWARDS JAL, JESSICA ALBA LOVER. OR SOME NAME LIKE THAT, THINK HE SWITCHED TO FRANKLIN RICHARDS.

-DOOM

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

Don't think your allowed back once your banned; I'd be careful saying it a loud.

 

[DrDoom]

He's not.

OH, LOOKED LIKE HE WAS ON THE WALL A LITTLE LONGER THAN POSSIBLE WITHOUT POWERS

-DOOM

 

[DrDoom]

Don't think your allowed back once your banned; I'd be careful saying it a loud.

MY FIRST NAME WAS BANNED. I MADE A NEW ONE AFTER THAT AND THEN ANOTHER NEW ONE CAUSE I WANTED TO CHANGE MY NAME. I'VE TALKED TO MODS AWHILE AGO AND THEY SAID ITS OK, JUST TO BEHAVE LOL

-DOOM

 

[Webhead2006]

That is a sweet tease for taskmaster.

 

[gkokujin]

I sat through all 65 episodes of THE BATMAN... and I have to say even its worst season one episodes were more enjoyable than this.

i am TRYING to like this.

but it feels like its saying "WE SAW WHAT TEEN TITANS DID AND WERE GONNA DO THAT, BUT NOT DO THAT AND WERE GONNA SHOVE CHARACTERS IN YOUR FACE EVERY EPISODE AND YOURE GONNA LOVE IT BECAUSE!"

i want to like this but screw this show and just give me an hour of Avengers EMH.

I am not a fan of treehugging surfer Iron Fist.

NOT a fan of this version of Nova.

NOT a fan of PowerMans design.

Spidey being the catalyst to actually make Venom? not bad.

thats ALL though.

 

[DrDoom]

I'LL PROBABLY JUST STICK AROUND TILL DEADPOOL MAKES AN APPEARANCE, WANT TO SEE IF THEY **** UP HIS CHARACTER. WOULD DEF SUCK IF HE'S THE ONLY ONE THAT DOESN'T BREAK THE FOURTH WALL

-DOOM

 

[Webhead2006]

Doom not trying to pick on you, but isn't there a forum rule on posting all caps. I am somewhat sure on that.

Again they wanted to do something different, and it is targeted for the young kids. Sure it looks like crap to us older folks who been around for many different types of shows. But for all we know the little kids could be eating this up and loving it. But again even for its bad, we could see things turn out better like with venom episode did ok. Whoes to say we couldn't get some more better episodes like it down the road.

 

[DrDoom]

HAVENT HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THAT RULE, SO UNTIL ONE OF THE ABOVE GUYS TELLS ON ME I'D LIKE TO KEEP POSTING THE WAY I PREFER.

-DOOM

 

[Dread]

The 4th episode of "ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN", called "VENOM", literally features a monster which arose from a toilet which nobody wants to go near. I cannot think of a better metaphor for this show if I tried.

Spoiler

As the one-the-nose title suggests, this episode introduces Venom to the audience and the show's dynamic. Let the record show that this is the first actual Spider-Man villain to be showcased on this show, and we're almost a 6th of the way through the first season. Spider-Man begins the episode riding his Spider-Cycle through the subway system trying to flee a tentacled robot which has attacked him off screen. It apparently seeks to gain a blood sample from him, and destroy him if possible. Spidey manages to destroy the thing, but not before it accomplishes it's objective and he gets a tear in his costume in a very uncomfortable place. The robot was naturally sent by Dr. Octavius, who has been tasked by Norman Osborn with obtaining a sample of Spider-Man's blood to mass produce to create a race of super-soldiers. By extracting all of the aggressive qualities of Spidey's DNA, Otto creates a "venom", which is a symbiotic ooze monster which jumps from host to host, ultimately seeking Parker himself. Meanwhile, Harry Osborn feels threatened and jealous now that Peter has other "friends" at Midtown High - his four SHIELD teammates in their civilian forms - and vents by turning what was supposed to be a movie marathon at his father's penthouse into a school-roster busting party. Promptly, the "Venom" monster oozes from a toilet (and "its" first line of dialogue is "NNEEERRRDDDD!", as if it were Ogre from "REVENGE OF THE NERDS", but even THAT is generous) and starts jumping from host to host, leading to a climatic final battle on the penthouse roof.

To a degree reviews about this show are starting to bore me about as much as the show itself, because the same flaws remain in the narrative structure. The show seems to be produced and written by people who have a low regard for the attention span of their audience. No moment - whether terrible, stupid, serious or genuinely funny - is allowed to speak for itself without something louder and more over the top heaped upon it. We can't just get a moment where Spidey uses his science knowledge in the battle; he needs to stop in the middle and make a lame joke to the camera as if to remain "in character". We learn that despite the serial format, the characters don't seem to learn from week to week; Nova is still the same idiot he was in "DOOMED". Tom Kenny's Doc Ock has some mildly amusing lines, but it doesn't help that the Osborn he is working for is a fairly bland and generic mastermind villain - he makes me yearn for the Shredder from TV animation circa 1988. The gimmick of Venom possessing different characters becomes obvious and worn through very quickly - and while it is possible to make lame jokes about a monster that is also supposed to be seen as a serious threat, this show is too crude and incompetent to pull that off.

In fairness to the show's creators, the version of Venom as depicted is closer to his incarnation from the ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN comics crafted by Brian Bendis, so things such as being an alien were never supposed to be there by design. The problem is without building up an Eddie Brock character, all Venom becomes is what some critics have long berated him for being - a generic opposite number monster that doesn't know when it has worn out its welcome. In USM, the "symbiote" was an attempt to make living armor which could cure illnesses gone horribly wrong, but this version even makes that look inspired. The monster is simply a gimmick; even the metaphor of it representing Spider-Man's dark side (which the third film utilized) is done in a cheap and nearly non-existent way. It may be surprising that Venom is depicted as merely a gimmick who exists as the source of combat or jokes, but most of the characters in the cast exist for this purpose. I have long heard Venom as a character criticized because Eddie Brock wasn't originally a long term character and how he needs to be "fixed", but every time some new incarnation seeks to "fix" him merely makes Venom more crude and simplistic. The very notion of Spider-Man driving a hi tech motorcycle in high school and having SHIELD weaponry seems to strip away some of the appeal of the character.

Highlights? As usual, I like that Spidey's design has a hint of John Romita Sr. involved in the mask. Iron Fist has a few decent moments, and the show gets slightly less annoying when the other heroes are on screen as opposed to Peter and his high school cast. This is perhaps the first show where I agree with J.J. about how much of a reckless menace Spider-Man is.

This show is a show only in the technical sense. It seems to have no life, no ambition, no respect for its audience or the source material, and no self respect that even some of it's decent bits can stand alone without attempting to over and triple compensate for them. Everything is a gimmick atop a gag atop a pun atop a reference atop a fad. Every instant seems to have been approved by a dozen contrasting focus groups of howler monkeys and mental patients. It is a box wrapped with 27 different types of wrapping paper and scotch tape in awkward places which has nothing at the center for a reward. Yet none of this surprises or disgusts me anymore; I know what I am getting and my expectations are thus that at BEST, an episode may attain mediocrity. I genuinely feel sorry for all the talented people whose time is wasted producing this, much less those of us wasting our time watching it. There is no point to comparing it with "TSSM" - after this episode, comparing it with "SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED" (the last Spidey show with a crappy version of Venom) is far easier. I made it through 12 episodes of that show; I don't think my nerd stamina can take as much of thus. If Marvel Animation seriously believes Jeph Loeb will be their Bruce Timm, then hope seems futile.

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Excellent review as always, Dread, even if it seems that you are becoming more and more fed up by this show's nonsense. Don't blame ya, I'm pretty much stopping regular viewings.

A thought I had, though, about this show's Venom: What if Harry ends up becoming Venom? After all, he does keep a piece of it at the end. He does have some motivation to do so (Peter and Spidey both take Norman's attention from Harry, which clearly upsets him, shows some slight fascination over how powerful it is when it's fighting Spidey), apparently, he is credited as "Harry Osborn AKA Venom" in this episode, and it would be FAR more ideal than a hostless, mindless, boring monster Venom.

Or I could be giving this show too much credit. Who knows.

 

[Dread]

Excellent review as always, Dread, even if it seems that you are becoming more and more fed up by this show's nonsense. Don't blame ya, I'm pretty much stopping regular viewings.

A thought I had, though, about this show's Venom: What if Harry ends up becoming Venom? After all, he does keep a piece of it at the end. He does have some motivation to do so (Peter and Spidey both take Norman's attention from Harry, which clearly upsets him, shows some slight fascination over how powerful it is when it's fighting Spidey), apparently, he is credited as "Harry Osborn AKA Venom" in this episode, and it would be FAR more ideal than a hostless, mindless, boring monster Venom.

Or I could be giving this show too much credit. Who knows.

Thanks for reading.

Under normal circumstances I might say that Harry Osborn becoming Venom could be interesting. Knowing the show, though, any decent twist or dramatic weight will be lost to desperate pop culture references and pandering jokes. And to think, only a few short years ago some people were annoyed that the "TSSM" version of Venom said "Bro" a lot.

Given that this show is loosely based on the USM comics, where Harry becomes Hobgoblin, though, it is up in the air whether that would happen. But it is possible.

I will say that the Ultimate Spidey comic version of Green Goblin was essentially Norman Osborn using a steroid (his "Oz" formula). Played straight, it is a rip of The Hulk at worst and at best some modern day Jekyll/Hyde thing. I've never been a fan of it, though, so I wouldn't mind seeing it be the butt of jokes. "Your giant mastermind plan was to become a big green crazy monster? Well done!"

 

[Michael Frost]

This show has very few continuity it seems. Which means you can watch the episodes out of order and nothing will change. This pretty much means that any hope of character development, be it heroes or villains, is doomed from the get go. So new origins or attempts at introducing characters have to be done in less than one minute, which was what happened with this Venom and any other character that might pop up.

Im sure they'll grab Harry and Venom and do something with it, but I don't expect any good motivations or development there. At most, we'll get Spidey breaking the fourth wall yet again and explaining that Harry saved up a bit of symbiote in this episode.

I'd love it if they did that, it would be a new level of ******ed, given that the character of Spidey didn't see it happen but the show must somewhat keep him informing people so it would get in contradictory territory.

 

[nygma619]

Dread if you ever give up on reviewing this show, I've got two critics standing by that I will personally force to watch the show and make them suffer through it. It's not the first time it's happened for them.

Spoiler