Spider-Man Season Five: Part Three

 

I should not like these last episodes. I really shouldn't. None of this is what I normally what I want to see with Spider-Man, at all. I own the entirety of Tom Taylor's excellent Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man run. Despite my dislike for his... antics... Taylor really wrote the only modern Spidey run I like: Spider-Man on the ground, talking to the locals, being kind, and just... well... being the uncle Ben of the Marvel Universe. That, to me, was always Peter's arc. And on paper all the craziness of Secret Wars and Spider Wars should have completely crashed and burned. It's clearly yet another toy pitch, another sign of corporate nonsense meddling. I. Should. HATE. This.

I really love the ending of this show.

Peter Parker is finally Uncle Ben. They go through some weird hoops to get him there, but at its core these are true Spider-Man stories. I don't say that lightly. I usually hate it when Spidey goes cosmic and I really don't like multiverse stuff at all. And I really love this last third of the season. Secret Wars and Spider Wars are the ending that this show needed. And no, I didn't want them to go on. I liked the cliff hanger ending as a kid and that definitely hasn't changed now.

The first thing that jumps out at me about these episodes is not just how out of his element Spidey is, but how open he is about it. The folks behind the show could have just had Spidey pretend to know what he was doing and had it be genuinely horrible. Fortunately, we had these folks. So Spider-Man was uncomfortable... but he stepped up. And everyone else he had to work with saw that he was choosing to step up and they chose to let him do it. Peter was working with good people, who could see he was changing and let him do it. If this was done today you wouldn't have anything half this noble going on. Even if you got this far with Peter in a modern context (and you probably wouldn't) the others wouldn't let Peter take point. He'd have to prove to a bunch of assholes he was worthy to lead them. For anyone who's going "Marvel characters were always assholes"... no... no they weren't. See. This. Show.

The pacing of these last few episodes is off the freaking charts. This show has always had freaking quick pacing, with season four going absolutely apeshit bonkers with the speed of dialogue. And while I'm not a fan of the incredible speed of the dialogue in season five it's not even in the same ballpark as season four. It's amazing to me how much the show writers get done in such a short amount of time. I could see even one of these episodes taking at least twice the time today... and that's not a compliment. Because this show manages to keep what's going on clear. All the time. I'm not sure how. But they do it.

But my favorite scene, the thing that makes this show, is:

That is how you use a multiverse, people! You don't just use it for cutesy "alternate versions" or "what could have beens". I didn't like it as a kid, I don't like it now. No, you use these alternate scenarios to specifically play off the emotional lives of the characters. You poke and prod at what happened and ask: "How do you respond to the different world?" And the fact that the obnoxious asshole Spidey in this arc is the one who stopped the criminal, thus saving Uncle Ben, is a  truly fascinating idea. "Our" Peter's failure and the loss of his Uncle Ben turned him into the person who would realize that Spider-Carnage would be unable to keep what goodness he had left coming to the fore. By playing through the emotional development of "our" Peter this arc really cements what finally makes him a true hero. The question of the series was answered.

Yes, I think it's done.

And that should answer what I think of the ending of this show, which is eschatological. An eschatological ending is one where you don't see the "true" ending, but given what you know of the characters and the story you know the situation will be resolved, even if you don't quite know how it will be done. You just have faith that it will. I know that this show was ended prematurely, but the ending as it stands is a fantastic eschatological ending! We now know what sort of man Peter has become, we know that with Madame Web's help he will find Mary Jane. And, really, that's really all I wanted. I can picture them being happy quite easily. This show has also given me that. Peter can grow and change. Marvel may not understand this about their property, but the rest of us?

I think we all think Spider-Man deserves some happiness, don't we? I mean, besides Marvel.

Spider-Man 94: Season Four

After a lackluster third season Spider-Man 94 had a lot of scrambling to do. And, while I was afraid they'd completely lose their touch at first, the fourth season manages to bounce back. By sticking with human motivations and keeping to their weird science roots Spider-Man 94 manages to turn in a good season. I'd not say it tops Season Two, but it's certainly in the ballpark. And hey, given how much I love season two that's something!

Let's get what I don't like out of the way first: production quality. Dialogue was always fast on this show, but the earlier portion of Season Four is downright unpleasant to watch. Had I not known from childhood how good this season can be I'd have given up! I find it that bad! Reused animation is fourth wall breaking at this point. There were various times throughout the season I was completely jolted out of watching because the show reused a shot that made absolutely no sense. Basic animation gets trampled on, and the results are repulsive.

Nowhere to go but up, right?

Actually yes!

After a disappointing and technically irritating opening featuring Robbie Robertson, we finally get this show's version of the Black Cat. This is definitely where my nostalgia kicks in. I love every second of these two episodes. The writers kick Felicia all the way into hot shit territory and, once again, surpass the source material.

Sorry comic book Black Cat lovers: she's boring.

@ me, go ahead. You're still wrong.

This version of Felicia (and Black Cat) is a beautiful combination of dangerous, inexperienced, and playful. I could never tell what she was up to, even with the benefit of seeing the show when I was younger. Every second of her on the screen is a good one. Cat breaks down "Spider's" defenses and baggage, helping him to recover from the grief of losing MJ. Spidey finally accepts Cat as a partner, two episodes later. Kraven returns and it's great to see him again. 

And then there's the Smythe/Silvermane episode. I didn't know if I was supposed to be laughing at Silvermane? But I did? Does that make me a terrible person? I don't really care. Cat was great and the reused animation was hilarious. And Silvermane's last line is worth it all. 

And my goodness, is this another two episodes of Morbius and Blade? With some damn fine work on Cat/Felicia as well? I think these are the best episodes of the season! This is another pair of episodes that just couldn't have been done earlier in the show. 

Oh, and they're actually building up the Harry subplot along the way this time! They learned!!! I love it when show runners learn from their mistakes. Harry's flip to the green side is really well done. I like how Norman manages to show up. And we also get the Punisher again, which is a most unexpected (but welcome) treat! If you're not choking up a little bit for Punisher's ray of hope at the end, then... Well, I'll have to call the battle van. Sorry.

The twist of MJ being back is so much crueler as an adult. This was such a sickening move on the writer's part. And I do mean that as a compliment.

Okay, honestly the next episode, featuring Mysterio, just isn't very good. I'm glad this season was shorter than three, but they could have cut this episode really easily and no one would have noticed. 

Yes, even with the unmasking at the end! I think just about anything else could have been done to make Peter realize he needed MJ more than anything and it would have been better.

The rest of the season is about these two deciding to love each other, regardless of cost. The rapport they build is so cool, so heartfelt, I just... Yeah. This is right in the nostalgia. I've no pretense to objective thought here. I just don't. This feels great to revisit. Even with the looming threat of the truth I can't help myself. 

They're happy.

 And they have it coming.

What the heck am I actually going to think of Season Five?

Spider-Man 94: Season Two

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.

Lost: Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2 (Pilot)

 

I have been sitting at my computer for the last fifteen minutes trying to sum up what this pilot has meant to me, over the years. This was my first time I understood craft; I watched this pilot and realized what they were doing, why they were doing it, and I wanted to do it myself. Heck, needed to do it myself. It's also a beautifully shot pilot. The pilot not only holds up to nostalgia but helped me realize that this was as close to an ideal of a serialized beginning as you can get.

Lost is, at its heart, a fantasy; you are changing elements of a setting to explore them in a different way. Fantasy is about making things just alien enough to where you can look at the unchanged elements with fresh eyes. The Lord of the Rings is about exploring love versus power; change power to an actual dark lord with a magic ring that has addictive properties, and you have a compelling take on why love will win out. Lost is a fantasy about dealing with what's precious within you. Do you give your light wisely, do you try to push people away to protect yourself (and thus put yourself in Hell), or do you try to destroy it so you can get away? There's as many answers to that question as people, but Lost is a treatise on how you relate to yourself, and thus to others. Lost adds the Light of the Island to further clarify the theme of relationship to self and others, as well as the Man in Black to show how to not relate to that Light.

Lost is not dualistic. The Man in Black is not an anti-Light; he is an anti-Jacob, but that's not the same thing.

Every episode of this show lets us see how the subjects of the episode are going to relate to themselves and each other, and why. And the pilot is in this structure, with fine style. We learn about Jack, principally. I say principally, because this pilot accomplishes the staggering goal of introducing us to each primary character while not telling us a whole lot about them: show don't tell. Even Jack isn't explained a whole lot and we see his flashbacks! We are deliberately shown only the surface. The pilot sticks to stereotypes. Jack is the rugged hero, Kate the helpful mate, Locke and Sawyer the mysterious outsiders, Hurley and Charlie are the man-children... we could just keep going. 

Everyone is archetypal. Elemental. Primal. The writers show us a preview of how the characters might interact together, without going into too much detail. They clearly know their characters well enough to be okay with putting them in situations that shows them at their most reactive, with each character running into situations that they just wouldn't do, not normally. A lot of these previews are meant to be partially deceptive; we know that Locke is sitting around because he's in shock and trying to process being able to walk again. But we're not told that. It's all surface, but the surface is so intriguing that I found myself being willing to just go along for the ride.

And then the pilot dies. 

And everyone has to ask "What's out there?". 

I love that it's Charlie that's asking. He's got a recovery arc ahead of him, even though we don't know it the first viewing. Out of all the characters Charlie fears the unknown most. Addiction is an answer to the unknown: going to something known, to the point of hurting yourself. But known things are just as dangerous as unknowns. The fact that Charlie asks this from left to right is going to give American viewers a tinge that this is the right question to ask. There's a deliberate discord in this shot, where Charlie is definitely not asking because he wants the answer. But he's shot in a way where we want to know.

It's a brilliant shot.

And it's a brilliant pilot. Because it tells just enough, while showing that we don't know anything. And then making us want to know more. Question after question is poured out, along with excitement and intrigue. And then it ends the episode with a literal question to a problem that there is absolutely no context for.

This pilot is as good as it gets. What a freaking amazing show.