World Ultimate Spider-Man animated series discussion thread

[Sarcastic Fan]

Marvel is already feeling the heat from ultimate spidey, according to some insider story

What insider story? I am curious.

 

[Spidey_62]

What insider story? I am curious.

As am I.

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

This episode was much better than most, but that's not saying a lot.

I did laugh when Spider-Man day-dreamed about him and Stark.

Multiple dimensions scene was good too.

I really can't stand this version of Peter Parker tough. He feels like Deadpool more than Spider-Man...Like a teenage, tone down, Deadpool.

I can't stand the rest of the team because their so one dimensional and everything they say is predicable. Hope they get fleshed out.

 

[Panthro]

Is anyone coming away feeling more interested in the team (well, not Nova) than Spider-Man himself? Maybe it's just because Spidey's had so much screen time over the years, but I'd kinda appreciate it if he stepped back and let some of the not so famous characters get some limelight.

 

[dodgers2213]

If interested you mean, I'd like them to be fleshed out as characters and not filler for a few semi-cool action sequences

 

[NCBIII]

If interested you mean, I'd like them to be fleshed out as characters and not filler for a few semi-cool action sequences

Exactly. Luke Cage in particular is so one-dimensional that it actually makes him eerie to me. Granted, he has as much to him as the other three do at this point, but because his personality is supposed to be more "cool", and he gets minimal screen time, it makes him seem strangely lifeless.

 

[SoNicRaDiATioN]

What insider story? I am curious.

As am I.

As am I.

 

[spida-man]

"IRRRRROON SPIDEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR"

XD

sorry but the episode was pretty good.

but like i said. everything we have seen so far pales in comparison to the wolverine episode. i'm pretty sure that episode will renew some people's faith

 

[MarvelKnight]

Is anyone coming away feeling more interested in the team (well, not Nova) than Spider-Man himself? Maybe it's just because Spidey's had so much screen time over the years, but I'd kinda appreciate it if he stepped back and let some of the not so famous characters get some limelight.

I am interested in learning more about White Tiger, mainly because she is specific to this show. I'd like to see some back-story revealed.

 

[BadLuckExpert]

Is anyone coming away feeling more interested in the team (well, not Nova) than Spider-Man himself? Maybe it's just because Spidey's had so much screen time over the years, but I'd kinda appreciate it if he stepped back and let some of the not so famous characters get some limelight.

Well the show IS called 'Ultimate SPIDER-MAN' so I guess Spidey will obviously gets the spotlight. And the team itself is pretty good (Nova's an a$$
though).

Also, the venom episode sucks. Especially the story about how it's made. Seriously? From blood sample? The comic version was WAY better than that. And no Eddie Brock? From how the episode ends I'm guessing Harry will be the host eventually (ugh..)

 

[Spider-Aziz]

As am I.

I wish there were four people before me, so I'd be No. Johnny 5
Guess I'll settle for S.A.I.N.T 4 in being interested in the story


[blackout]Short Circuit movies, robot names[/blackout]

 

[Dread]

"FLIGHT OF THE IRON SPIDER" is the 5th episode (out of 26) of the debut season of "ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN" and I can probably say it was the best of the lot so far. The problem is the lot it is beating out isn't much of one at all.

The bitter cynic in me wishes to summarize the episode like this, and I won't restrain it; the insipidly stupid Spider-Man gets a chance to meet his idol Iron Man, and he turns out to be just as insipidly stupid, only more successful at it because he's rich. They fight one of Stark's villains for 20 minutes and despite seeming invincible, said villain is ultimately beaten in a climax telegraphed so bluntly and crudely that it makes many Road Runner Looney Tunes seem nuanced and subtle. The gimmick of the episode is the Iron Spider costume, which is adapted to the small screen for the first time, which represents merely the 2nd major costume change for Spidey within 5 episodes (and the second in a row). As usual, the characters which have the least to do with Spider-Man seem to fare better than the star does. And all of the people who lamented the "unique" character designs of Cheeks Galloway on "SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN" hopefully appreciate the spot-on brilliant character models utilized in this underwhelming spider-turd of a production. Hey, the show is a dud, but don't Spidey and Iron Man LOOK awesome? Looks are all that matter to dumb kids, right? The ones who need to be beaten over the head with video game references and distracting chibi animation every few minutes? The image of Iron Man themed Cupid angels are about the most unintentionally creepy thing played off as comedy I have seen in animation in a long time.

Spoiler

The villain of the piece is Living Laser, thus ending the streak of actual Spider-Man villains being the focus of an episode in this Spider-Man cartoon at one. In fairness, Living Laser is treated as a major threat here, even if I prefer the creepier and more subdued version in "AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES". Spider-Man and his Ultimate Friends are unable to beat Laser alone, and when Iron Man shows up, Spidey squeals in delight while Nick Fury is dismayed. The oddity of this is Fury used Iron Man as an inspirational example to get Spidey to join SHIELD in the first place; now in this episode, Fury considers Stark an example to avoid. A throwaway line about photons convinces Stark that Spidey has potential, so he invites the hero to his lab for an upgrade - a suit of Spider-Armor ripped right from 2006. The moral is that Spidey is trying to be something he's not - in particular someone else. We know this because Iron Fist states this at least twice. Spidey is a flying disaster in an armored suit, but is convinced it is awesome because it's Stark-tech, while the rest of the team endures all they can bare. When Living Laser possesses the Iron Spider armor (with Peter Parker inside), he cons Iron Man into surrendering his own form for possession, which Laser wants to exploit for revenge and profit. Forced to recognize his hubris, Peter makes adjustments to the armor and embraces his chums for the finale...only to continue to act like a clod in the Iron Spider when Nick Fury gives him an upgraded model, because otherwise a lesson would stick. As usual, no critical scene can seem to stand on it's own without a lame attempt at a joke being made. The most clever bit is introducing alternate realities, one of which is the world of Spider-Ham, and the other is evidently "MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD". While there is some satiric humor here, the very notion of "ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN" occupying the center of any animated universe is probably more frightening than Dick Cheney growing to be 2000 feet tall and rampaging through a city - yet it is very much a warning of things to come. Yes, there are a few gags that work as there are in every episode, but they're often matched with the gags that don't, or the ones that pander. Also, remember how every show used to make Spidey's identity a big deal? This is non-existent here. Iron Man JUST MET Spidey, and the web-slinger unmasks for him. Heck, Living Laser's seen the hero's face, although I doubt he'd have done much with it even if he wasn't beamed to another universe. I'd argue Iron Man being the source of technology for a Spider-Man led team of TV heroes is another homage to "SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS" (where Stark was the source of the crazy fold-out computers they utilized at Aunt May's townhouse), but even that is far too generous.

The highlights continue to be the character models - Iron Man in particular looks very good. Adrian Pasdar (Nathan from "HEROES", which Loeb wrote for a while and killed) guests as Iron Man, and maybe playing an insipid eccentric billionaire hero is against type for him. A few villains who one would never expect to see animated - such as the Melter - get their obligatory cameos which will become edits in their Wikipedia pages. The rest of Spidey's team are far more tolerable than he is, with the exception of Sam Washington/Nova. Luke Cage, Iron Fist and White Tiger seem to be hostages in a show in which they are the sole spots of sanity and coherence in a universe which abhors it. Now, if played seriously this could be an interesting premise; a show where the lead hero is an utter moron while his partners are all far more efficient and competent - "THE TICK" played with this at times. Unfortunately, this show isn't as self aware so Spider-Man gets to be the annoying moron who wins because he's the star. Iron Fist continues to shine here; while his eastern philosophy is often stereotypical and his role is defined, he still handles it well. If anything, this show almost seems to be a tease of the great HEROES FOR HIRE series that will never be. I am amazed that in a show which has such desperate humor, such low brow bits, and such over the top attempts at comedy, Luke Cage has never once uttered his borderline corny catch-phrase, "Sweet Christmas". The annoying thing is that the spot of "annoying kid who need to learn a lesson" could clearly be played with Nova here, but Spidey rolling with it as the star endlessly exaggerates the bit to oblivion. Besides, when Spidey acts this dumb and his battles cause this much city-wide damage, it is hard to argue against J.J. here.

Overall, this is probably the best the show has offered me yet - and even THIS was a below average affair! Why do I go onward? As a fan of Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and White Tiger, their presence (which has been decent, in fairness) accounts for most of the bright spots. Like many comic book fans, I have a borderline masochistic streak where I want to see how long I can endure something terrible, just so I can mock it and say I survived. "ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN" exists to serve as a reality check whenever I go off the deep end criticizing the very good "YOUNG JUSTICE" show - which happens weekly before I've seen the latest "USM" episode. "ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN" wants to be everything to everyone with all the execution of a room full of television executives with multiple personalities and toy quotas. In theory there is a better show buried underneath all the lame jokes, desperate references and bi-polar tone shifts - but then again, it was once a theory that the "Fountain Of Youth" existed.

Next week brings on Taskmaster, and few things fill me with as much resentment as a villain this cool getting his animation debut in a show this trite. It seems "that ol' Parker luck" is symbolized by this show.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Agreed about "Hard to argue against J.J here"

 

[mehrabix]

The problem with this show is that I can't convince myself I am watching a "Spider-Man" cartoon. I mean you can replace this version of Spider-Man/Peter Parker with any other fictional hero and there will probably be no major difference. There is nothing about this Spider-man that reminds of my favorite superhero. Also, the show isn’t doing anything about Spidey's supporting cast. They changed Aunt May but only in appearance and age! She is absent in almost every episode and she hasn’t contributed to anything. The same thing can be said about James Jonah Jameson who is only seen on billboards or even Harry and MJ. Actually the show has replaced Spidey's supporting cast (who are considered to be the best in whole comicdom) with S.H.I.E.L.D and its teenage superheroes but Spidey doesn’t have any meaningful or interesting interaction with this new supporting cast either.

 

[Micromind]

Does anyone find the constantly booming voice of JJ Jameson all over the city, on TV channels annoying ?


JJJ's constant presence through the day ranting against the Spiderman,is getting on my nerves.

He sounds like a greater menace to the City !

 

[IronGirl299]

I'm watching Iron Spider right now and while I found the Superhero Squad reference funny, the rest was a fairly ho-hum episode. What made me really like it was the appearance of Tony, which, as always, makes my day. I do love me a little-no, a LOT of Stark Raving Madness! My reaction to his appearance was, and I will not lie, almost like Spidey's...though I'm sure my imagination can conjure up something beter than cupid Iron Men. And it really reeked of what went down in the Civil War--Tony and Peter, the Iron Spider suit, etc...
On the team, I laughed at the scene where the five of them are fighting over lunch, and I think I have quite fallen in love with Iron Fist <3 Power Man is okay, Nova's a jerk, and I don't like White Tiger so much...funny, because she's the only girl.
Overall? An okay episode. I guess Iron Man just made it better. And the chibi animation creeps me out.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I had some point of criticism ready in my mind, entered this thread and forgot it

Geek catch of this episode:
Spider-Man talking to Iron Man about a method to track Living Lazer is like the flashback Tony told Danvers about in USM150 and Spidey's good use of the armor he read about

The problem with this show is that I can't convince myself I am watching a &quot;Spider-Man&quot; cartoon.

Are you a programmer? Or in early stages of learning &lt;html&gt; like I am?

 

[SpaceWay2009]

The problem with this show is that I can't convince myself I am watching a &quot;Spider-Man&quot; cartoon. I mean you can replace this version of Spider-Man/Peter Parker with any other fictional hero out there will probably be no major difference. There is nothing about this Spider-man that reminds of my favorite superhero. Also, the show isn’t doing anything about Spidey's supporting cast. They changed Aunt May but only in appearance and age! She is absent in almost every episode and she hasn’t contributed to anything. The same thing can be said about James Jonah Jameson who is only seen on billboards or even Harry and MJ. Actually the show has replaced Spidey's supporting cast (who are considered to be the best in whole comicdom) with S.H.I.E.L.D and its teenage superheroes but Spidey doesn’t have any meaningful or interesting interaction with this new supporting cast either.

Yeah, poor character development. It seems like the characters are just there, with no real or significant purposes, other than to make jokes and/or argue.

 

[mehrabix]

I had some point of criticism ready in my mind, entered this thread and forgot it

Geek catch of this episode:
Spider-Man talking to Iron Man about a method to track Living Lazer is like the flashback Tony told Danvers about in USM150 and Spidey's good use of the armor he read about
Are you a programmer? Or in early stages of learning &lt;html&gt; like I am?

not i am not a programmer

 

[Spider-Aziz]

"Spider-Man and his Ultimate Friends are unable to beat Laser alone, and when Iron Man shows up, Spidey squeals in delight while Nick Fury is dismayed. The oddity of this is Fury used Iron Man as an inspirational example to get Spidey to join SHIELD in the first place; now in this episode, Fury considers Stark an example to avoid.

Oh yeah, this

not i am not a programmer

In any stage of learning html? the &quote; code is similar to the codes used to place an <html> tag inside <html> text without confusing the page coding

 

[strugler]

Folks, forget it if you think this show is going to get more mature. I talked to Joe quesada via twitter, and told him how i feel about the show, and that the series needs more drama and less 4th wall jokes, and here is his reply:

Joe Quesada: "Completely understand and respect your opinion, but the show is doing well and growing so I think we're on the right path."

Folks that's it for me, flight of the iron spider was the last episode i see of this craptacular ub-ultimate spider-man. Hopefully if people stop watching this ***** they will take it off the air.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Watching the solo 80s cartoon, it's much better than this mess in respecting the character, and most things

At least this new cartoon is better than Spider-Friends in storytelling

 

[Spidey220987]

Folks, forget it if you think this show is going to get more mature. I talked to Joe quesada via twitter, and told him how i feel about the show, and that the series needs more drama and less 4th wall jokes, and here is his reply:

Joe Quesada: "Completely understand and respect your opinion, but the show is doing well and growing so I think we're on the right path."

Folks that's it for me, flight of the iron spider was the last episode i see of this craptacular ub-ultimate spider-man. Hopefully if people stop watching this ***** they will take it off the air.

Hmm, that's VERY contradictory to what Man of Action & Paul Dini have said about the show taking a darker, more serious tone in the 2nd half of the season. Plus they also said back-stories for the other members of the team will be explored later on in the series.

Anyway, I watched the episode this morning.
Best episode so far, in my opinion. I shouldn't have come into this thread, because I spoilt myself with the SHS & Spider-Ham cameos, but they were still good. And I seriously LOL'd at Spidey imagining going out with Tony.

I also watched Venom again. If you take out the cutaways, both episodes are much better, because the serious stuff IS there.
The serious tone was definitely there in the Iron Spider episode.
I think, and hope, the writing & execution will get better.
8.5/10 for me

 

[Sebastos]

Preview for episode 6:

http://marvel.com/news/story/18609/ultimate_spider-man_episode_6_preview

 

[Spidey220987]

The premise for the episode sounds good!