Search - The Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 2 on DVD

Spidey takes on the Shocker, Sandman and Rhino!

Dennis A. Amith (kndy) | California | 03/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm going to be perfectly honest, I've watched so many "Spider-Man" animations throughout my lifetime and the only animated series that I have enjoyed so far is the 1980's series "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends".

But that was around 25-years-ago and there have been quite a number of Spider-Man animated series that have been featured solid stories and I suppose for each series, they really have fit the generation for the audience its targeting.

So, here we are with "The Spectacular Spider-Man" which is the rage among young viewers like my 6-year-old son and his friends and cousins who absolutely adore the series (and the recent McDonald's Happy Meal toys of the series).

"THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN" is definitely a series for the next generation. Peter Parker is no longer the bookworm that is an outcast in the whole school. No glasses, no bad clothing and no self-esteem issues like the original teenager of the comic book series. In fact, the spider he has been bit by is not radioactive but genetically altered.

This Peter Parker is cooler and even sports a man bag (or school bag) and has a birthmark.

In volume 2, Peter Parker has recently been hired by the Daily Bugle due to his photographs of Spider-Man and in this series, his best friend is Harry Osborne and Gwen Stacey.

Meanwhile, a criminal known as "The Big Man" has his henchman Hammerhead collaborating with Norman Osborn and Dr. Otto Octavius in creating super-villains.

The episodes in volume two are as follows:

Episode 4 - Market Forces - The next criminal given abilities is the Big Man's enforcer, Montana, who has been given an outfit and a pair of gauntlets that can shoot electric volts (as with his whole costume) which can be used to stop Spider-Man. Being used as bait to attract Spider-Man are bumbling thieves Flint Marko and Aleksei Sytsevich that Spider-Man seems to have caught many times. Meanwhile, Peter Parker gets a job at the Daily Bugle as an exclusive photographer for J. Jonah Jameson.

But things are not all peachy-keen for Peter Parker because of his duties as Spider-Man and working at the Bugle (to help pay his and Aunt May's bills), his friendship with not being there for Gwen and Harry is starting to suffer. Meanwhile, Aunt May wants Peter to take her friend's niece to the formal which Peter is not to thrilled about.

Episode 5 - Competition - Dr. Otto Octavius has a new test to create a super criminal and the test patient is thief, Flint Marko who is turned to "Sandman". Meanwhile, Harry is having problems at home (his relationship with his father Norman is not that great) and thus decides to join the football team to hopefully gain some acceptance from his father and also become popular and hopes Peter can back him up on the team. Meanwhile, Flash and his jock friends will do what they can to prevent the two from joining the football team.

Episode 6 - The Invisible Hand - Dr. Octavius has a new test for the thief Aleksei. By fusing a certain costume to his skin to make him the powerhouse villain known as Rhino. Rhino is ticked that Peter Parker showcases Spider-Man and now wants Peter Parker to feature him on the newspaper. Meanwhile, Peter Parker is still looking for a date to the formal and asks J. Jonah Jameson's secretary Betty Brandt to go with him (despite her being several years older).

As mentioned, "THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN" is definitely a series that has caught a lot of attention and even IGN has voted it as #30 in their "TOP 100 BEST ANIMATED TV SHOWS" poll. Unlike other Spider-Man animated series, Spider-Man's physique matches a young teenager (as it should).

The series manages to capture Peter Parker's humor and the series is definitely modern that the characters and the high school students feature multi-ethnic characters. May it be the students at the high school or employees at the Bugle, it was pretty good to see that.

And for us older folks used to the classic animated series or older comic books and have young children, there is always something entertaining with Spider-Man throughout the years, no matter how much it differs from what we grew up with, the soul of Spider-Man and the characters are faithful but adjusted for modern times.

And it's definitely a series that we can watch and enjoy with our children. Another fun and exciting volume of "The Spectacular Spider-Man".

VIDEO & AUDIO:

Video is presented in 1:78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Animation is nice and vibrant. Lines are clean, characters and objects are simple with shadows and not as much detail when it comes to the backgrounds. But the choice to do this was to replicate fluidity of Spider-Man in the films. But overall, the animation is good and clean.

Audio is presented in English 5.1 (Dolby Digital) and French (Dolby Surround).

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features but trailers/previews.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN" has been a pretty solid series thus far. Again, it's not the Spider-Man I grew up with but for a new generation watching this, it's adapted for a modern setting, its animated much differently than any Spider-Man animations in the past but everything works.

Watching it with my son, I think it was great to find a series that would be appealing to the young children, teenagers and the adults.

I've read several interviews with series developers Victor Cook and Greig Weisman and both are Spider-Man fans but also fans of other genres such as Hong Kong films and also grabbing ideas from different eras, may it be from "Ultimate Spider-Man", the films and thus certain purists may have a hard time with it but again, as a fan of the comic books and the many incarnations of Spider-Man animated series, whats important is that this series remains faithful to the characters. Sure, they may have different storylines of how the villains became to be what they are but still, the essence of who Peter Parker is and having to be this hero but yet knowing that it will affect his personal relationships with those close to him is still intact.

Episodes 4-6 was enjoyable and great to see villains such as the Shocker, Sandman and Rhino. So, any Spider-Man fan will know how cool that is to see him facing off with these villains.

I especially liked the Peter Parker scenes, whereas in the past, I would be into the Spider-Man battles and couldn't wait for Peter Parker change to Spidey, for "THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN", I like the dramatic storyline with his friendship to Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacey to the high school situations he takes part in, such as he and Harry trying to make the football team and finding dates to the Winter Formal. Overall, I like the direction the writers have going for Peter Parker. And it's great to see Peter Parker not bullied so extremely like he was in the classic comic book series.

Overall, a fun and really enjoyable series. Budget conscious parents may want to wait for a full season box set release. I wished there was some sort of special feature included on the DVD but overall, an animated series that both young and old can enjoy. Check it out!"