what are your 5 favorite episodes?

[Persian]

Amid all the madness of Spidey 4 and the rebooting thing, I decided to watch every episode of our beloved show for the umpteenth time and once again realized just how brilliant they are. So I decided to start the new thread of "5 favorite TSSM episodes". Of course I know how hard it is to name just five but that's always the fun, right?

1- Final Curtain: the best spider-man animated piece ever! The episode is not only the best portrayal of Green Goblin best outside the comics but also proves why he is Spidey's archnemesis.
2- Group Therapy: the most exciting spider-man-related action episode I have seen and I will probably not see anything like it in my entire life!
3- Blueprints: well, I have always had a thing for Mysterio and he is my second favorite Spidey villain of all time and the episode just further cemented my love for the character!
4- Nature vs. Nurture: this episode did something to me I never thought was possible: making me care about Venom! And who could forget that kiss between Peter and Gwen at the end? Now that's what I call a finale!
5- Intervention: the second best depiction of spider-man origin outside the comics (the absolute best was done in the "Spider-man & His amazing Friends") with the combination of the best elements from the comics and the Sam Raimi movies. I also like just how wonderfully the relationship between Peter and the symbiote evolves into a war within Spidey's own mind and that it is not just about sonic weapons and fire!​

 

[The Joker]

1. Shear Strength - The Master Planner storyline in all it's glory. Doc Ock on top villainous form. Captain Stacy playing a pivotal role in an episode. Greatness.
2. Group Therapy - The Sinister Six done right. Doc Ock was a charismatic leader, manipulator, and the whole group dynamic was fab.
3. Gangland - The battle between Spidey, Doc Ock, Tombstone, and Silvermane, with the opera music playing is the best fight sequence of the entire series.
4. Final Curtain - Amazing conclusion to the Green Goblin saga.
5. Natural Selection - It's so rare to see The Lizard's story done right on screen. All the right boxes were ticked here.

 

[Webhead2006]

so hard to pick i love them all.

 

[SpideyTheBest]

1. Gangland
2. Group Therapy
3. Final Curtain
4. Shear Strength
5. Catalysts

 

[craigdbfan]

Episode 10: Persona

Just because of this:

Black Cat: Almost there, hold on tight

Spidey: Don't worry I don't slip

Black Cat: Not why I said that

Spidey: We're close enough

Black Cat: Ooo my kitty sense is purring

Those had to be one of the best exchanges of sexual innuendos in any recent animation. Spectacular Spider-Man rocks.

 

[QWoods]

Persona
Final Curtain
Opening Night
Gangland
Catalyst

 

[Chris Wallace]

In no particular order:
Group Therapy
Accomplices
Identity Crisis
Gangland
Opening NIght

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

so hard to pick i love them all.

Agreed. My favorite episode would have to be Funal Curtain, but it's kind of hard to choose my top 5. I love every episode so much!

 

[GoldGoblin]

1."Natural Selection",The Lizard is amazing,it's dark and scary.
2."Market Forces",Shows how cool Shocker can be.
3."Group Therapy",Black spidey vs the "Sinister Six",awesome.
4."Group Therapy",Green Goblin.
5."Gangland"

 

[SpeterMan3]

Top 5? Not 26? Too hard.

 

[animoured]

1. Shear Strength: i waited my entire life to see the master planner stroryline on TV
2. Group Therapy - The Sinister Six! it sure was much much better than "Insidious Six"(!) in that 90's show!
3. Final Curtain: spectacular in the full sense of the word
4. Intervention: wonderful adaptaion of spidey's origin which is just plain genius and works on so many levels.
5: Invisible Hand: this epiosde did indeed manage to turn Rhino into one of the most intrigiung villains ofthe show. mission: impossible accomplished!

 

[Chris Wallace]

I take back my previous picks. Having just seen "Final Curtain", the rest of the episodes are left in the dust. I love the way they merge the Green Goblin mythos with the Hobgoblin sensibilities. That was just a kick-ass ep that left me reeling. I can't WAIT for season 3!

 

[SpeterMan3]

If it happens...

 

[Chris Wallace]

Oh, what are they gonna do, reboot the series?

















Forget I even said that.

 

[Webhead2006]

well we shouldnt give up all hope just yet. As we have said we dont know what is really going on and all that with disney.

 

[SpeterMan3]

I have hope. I'm just preparing to hear either way. Still optimistic though.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea

 

[sauronthegreat]

this is very hard, but I guess...

1. Gangland - for the direction and editting with opera, a true masterpiece

2. Uncertainity Principle and Final Curtain - for the best use of my favourite villain and marvelous direction

3. Group Therapy - best animated battle of Spider-Man ever, such creativity!

4. Shear Strength - the best portrayel of Doctor Octopus ever, a huge character development and leap from the first season

5. The Invisible Hand - a great turning point episode, use of lower class villain to a level no one would expect, also introduction of Tombstone, whos charcater I cannot describe with words

and how can I even not put episodes like: First Steps, Identity Crises, Nature vs Nurture, Natural Selection... aaa the list goes on and spans through whole 26 episodes.

 

[Persian]

As I had guessed, Destructive Testing is not anybody's top 5 list. The episode, while hugely entertaining, is in my opinion the weakest in the entire series. ​

 

[Spidey_62]

1. Final Curtain
2. Gangland
3. Shear Strength
4. The Invisible Hand
5. Opening Night

 

[weezerspider]

As I had guessed, Destructive Testing is not anybody's top 5 list. The episode, while hugely entertaining, is in my opinion the weakest in the entire series. ​

I think subtext is the worst episode

 

[Sarcastic Fan]

1. Final Curtain - Probably the best Spidey story ever put to screen... big screen or small screen. It had everything that makes Spidey great, neatly packed into 22 minutes. Not to mention the greatest version of the Green Goblin we have ever gotten.

2. Gangland - I am a huge fan of "The Godfather" duology. I love opera. I loved this.

3. Opening Night - It combined two of my great loves. Spidey and Shakespeare. The Bard was well utilized, and this episode was jam-packed. I thought the revelation of Walter Hardy being the killer was great, and Black Cat is always fun.

4. Shear Strength - This was pure Lee/Ditko. Doc Ock at his most menacing. If you doubted Peter MacNicol in the role before, he sold you here. Great stuff. Very iconic.

5. The Uncertainty Principle - Very emotional episode, very gripping, and it set the stage for my #1 favorite episode. Not to mention it inspired debate like no other episode.

 

[Mistah K88]

1. Final Curtain
Let's be real...this has got to be the best media portrayal outside of comics of the Green Goblin ever. This episode (and Uncertainty Principal) truly made me love the Green Goblin...almost even moreso than Ock... I loved 90's "Turning Point" but this episode alone makes it a joke. I also love the way that they didn't feel the need to spell it out for you that Norman was crazy (people thought that he was sane because as soon as the mask was pulled off he was Norman and not Gobby, but trust me...he's nuts.)

2. Shear Strength
Best Doc Ock portrayal ever and a beautiful end to the Master Planner arc. Plus we had some action with Captain Stacy, although he like everyone else didn't really give Spider-Man's identity any thought until Venom blurted it out, he was really in the spotlight here.

3. Gangland
This episode has got me liking the mobster element of the Spider-Man mythos. Now because of this episode and the arc in general I want to see others like Don Fortunado, Mister Negative, and ultimitely Kingpin (the end of all crime bosses) enter the fray as the gang war spills over into other seasons with any hood trying to become the leader of NYC's underworld.

4. Group Therapy
The fight scene alone puts this in the top 5. It also started to actually establish Ock's role as a leader and started his organization of superpowered freaks in costumes that built into the Master Planner's cut of the criminal underworld. Ock's first appearance, while great, was a bit limiting as all he was trying to do was start himself up (getting a power source for his mechanical limbs)

Runner Up: Uncertainty Principle
Gobby was a beast here, and this episode was the thing that started the great debate on why Harry could or couldn't be the Goblin. I personally was in the latter camp. People did say that the whole dressing up in a garish costume was out of character for someone like Norman, but very in character for a drugged up teenager like Harry (the whole "We all wear masks" speech that the Goblin gave would be pointless if that was really the case). Plus Gobby's motives wouldn't have made sense for Harry...Harry's going to go kill his dad's boss for Norman and become Norman's new boss? Great debates those were....

5. Identity Crisis
Venom doing something that he should have done in comics for a while. The whole "I won't tell your secret because you are mine and mine alone is overplayed nowadays. I do believe that Gobby had a plan to expose Pete as Spidey in the old comic books (but someone will have to verify that for me...i'm more of a Batman nerd, but this show has gotten me into Spidey) Venom has always seemed like the Bane of the Spidey universe (the one trick pony baddie who can physically beat Spidey easily) However, here he's actually pretty okay.

Just to spicen it up a bit here are my 5 worst...These epidsodes are not bad at all, they are actually pretty good it's just that in my mind they don't even compare to the rest of the series.

1. Destructive Testing
Even though I didn't initially like genetic misfit Kraven, I've actually warmed up to him a bit. While it does seem in character for him to do, it seemed a little quick to jump the gun after one defeat. Hopefully he'll still use old school weaponry rather than rely on his new abilities (I noticed he tore the horns off of a fake animal to use them as makeshift knives while fighting Spidey. I'll be good with more like that.

2. Probable Cause
This episode I've also warmed up to since the past. I felt that Ricochet (Fancy Dan) relied on his suit a bit much here but after I heard that Greg thought so too and wanted to make him a bit more like his original appearance. However I do like the idea of Shocker being a professional criminal rather than yet another guy who invented something and uses it to rob banks.

3. Persona
Although I enjoyed the idea of Spidey being framed, I just don't care for this episode as much as the others. So there aren't many repeated viewings for this one...

 

[E.Brock]

anyone with Venom in it

 

[Spider-Aziz]

After watching the show over and over:
Episode 12
Identity Crisis
Gangland
Opening Night
The Final Curtain