As a child, I saw all the episodes of this show, which was well into re-runs when I began watching. So, while I know these episodes, I never saw them in the intended order. And the episodes from this season always intrigued me the most. This may actually be my favorite season of the bunch. I say may, because I've not seen the rest of the show, not yet, as of the time of writing this post. So no, there isn't much of a plan here. I watch, I write, and then watch some more.
Season two of this show is a completely different picture from season one. Where season one is clearly an appeasement of the corporate powers that be, season two is where the writers were finally left to their own devices. Where season one was a loosely episodic show, the entirety of season two is labeled as one story: Neogenic Nightmares. It's an epic story, one arc thematically linked to another. It's daring and dark and.... well... brilliant. It's self-contained; if you wanted to just sit down and watch this one season you could do it really easily.
The season starts with the Insidious Six, this show's take on the Sinister Six. Peter loses his powers, just in time for Aunt May to be kidnapped by the Insidious Six. The writers not only manage to make a gripping story, but legitimately set up for the next arc with the surprise that Peter's powers are just the beginning of his transformation into... something. Something horrible.
The next episode is about Hydro Man. This is still the definitive take it on the character; he's tackled so well that I was disappointed when I found out that Morrie wasn't nearly so interesting in the source material; neither was Mary-Jane, by and large. There's so many little things about Mary-Jane from this season that I wished were adaptations. They weren't. They're original to this show.
Next up was the cross-over with the X-Men show! Peter goes to Prof X to get some help with his mutation disease. If you've not seen this thing I'm not sure how to comprehend how we're in the same reality. This was the first MCU, and it was done incredibly well. All the characters are written perfectly, with any inter-character conflict being logical and brief. No one is written worse off for forced plot convenience or fan service. And, while Peter's problem isn't solved, his desperation is contrasted against the mutants of the Marvel Universe really nicely. Peter's mutation wasn't the result of being born with that DNA; he's essentially one step away from being forced into being a monster. It's nice to see that desperation put agai
The Man-Spider arc is one of the best Spider-Man stories ever written, without exaggeration. I actually wish this was the finale of the whole show, I love it that much. If you're going to watch any particular arc from this show this is the one. All the characters are presented in sympathetic tones, especially the Punisher, who was my favorite version until Netflix. And Punisher's tech is almost hilariously over the top, like the rest of this show. I could go on, and on, and on, but this is something that needs to be seen for yourself. 60's weird science doesn't get much better than this. Spider-Man definitely doesn't get much better than this.
And right after that is another one of my favorites, the Morbius arc! Again, this completely defined my idea of what the character was like. It's just as good as when I saw it, with a lot of the subtleties being easier to pick out. The weird science finding tragic people trope of Spider-Man TAS is done so well, so tragically, so humanely, it's worth seeing this arc on its own, even with the silly hand suckers. The Morbius arc is probably better than the Man-Spider arc, but you won't hear me admitting it any time soon.
Tablet of Time, after all the awesomeness just mentioned is a bit of a letdown. It's a good arc, but it's definitely not as good as what just came before. Which, I mean, makes sense. Sometimes all you can do is go down. It's still immensely tragic and well-paced, but it's not quite the same. The more human element in the villains that's typical of the season isn't here as much and I think this arc suffers for it. That being said, the Connors and the Lizard are utilized really nicely, keeping the plot running at a good clip.
We close out the season with the most creative use of the Vulture I've ever seen. Adrian Toomes, afraid of dying, created a technology to steal youth... and spider powers. This was a really satisfying bookend, as Spidey started the season powerless and is then old... and thus powerless. It's a stellar close to the season, as multiple plot lines from season one collide here for a flashy finish. There's so many satisfying thematic clicking into place in these final episodes! I really want to rewatch the whole season with a notebook, just to see how many things actually do pay off here. It's pretty intense.
This is the season of Spider-Man 94 I think of when I get nostalgic. The characters are brilliant, the thematic build is intense and deep, and the risks the show takes with the source material still haven't been topped. If there's any season of Spider-Man cartoons I think anyone should watch and make a part of their canon, it's this season.
Yeah, I said it.
And I think Spectacular Spider-Man is a brilliant show.
But more on that in season three.
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