Spider-Man: The Animated Series (Season 03)

Doctor Strange

"You should take that act to Vegas. All he needs is a couple of tigers." - Spider-Man

Written by: John Semper and Mark Hoffmeier.

Family is a fundamental aspect of any iteration of the Spider-Man story and the season premiere of the third season brings this to the forefront. Mary Jane is kidnapped and Spider-Man is looking for her. After a season of sci-fi horror, we encounter the magic world of Doctor Strange, Wong, Baron Mordo, and Dormammu. This was a great change of pace for the series, an episode where Spider-Man's powers were pretty uneffective in combat. Mary Jane that assumes the protagonism here, dealing with her abusive father's past and being brainwashed because of that. It was a great character arc for Mary Jane to overcome by herself the mind control and break free of her past. This allowed her to be a protagonist and not just a damsel in distress. The episode also introduces Doctor Strange in great fashion, telling us about its story with Mordo through quick and productive flashbacks. The character added a lot to the episode, with Spider-Man's reactions to the world of magic being the humorous highlight here.

Make a Wish

"I am not your enemy, Peter Parker. You are." - Madame Web

Story by: John Semper.

Teleplay by: Mark Hoffmeier, Elliot S. Maggin, and Meg McLaughlin.

Make a Wish is a brilliant episode. It combines three of the best stories from Spider-Man into one and delivers the content in unforgettable fashion. We see Peter Parker giving up on being Spider-Man ("Spider-Man No More!"), Madame Web making her presence known and showing how important of a character it will be, the hero's origin story and a recollection of the classic The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man. This combination shows a powerful story where we are reminded that Peter Parker has personal misfortunes amid his heroism. It just shows that his struggles will never be over as long as he embraces his responsibilities. The only negative here for me are the dream sequences in the origin story. I was never a fan of the dream sequences and Peter showing up as an actual spider is more gross than entertaining. But even with that, this episode still ranks highly on my list of favorite episodes of the series. The story, the chemistry with Taina, Madame Web confronting Peter, Doctor Octopus gaining the upperhand and outsmarting the hero... Everything positive meshes so well that brings the episode into a different bracket of great episodes.

Attack of the Octobot

"I do know who I am now. And I'll be ready. And it's all because of the faith of a little girl that's more of a superhero than I'll ever be." - Spider-Man

Written by: Meg McLaughlin and John Semper.

Spider-Man loses his memory and begins an uneasy alliance with Dr. Octopus before Taina saves him. While a weird story, the emotional punches that shown in the relationship between Spider-Man and Taina makes this a sweet conclusion to the arc. The episode relies on Spider-Man being confused about his identity, both because of amnesia as well as because of his previous disappointments, which led the protagonist to abandon his superhero persona. This is a deep arc that resonates with Madame Web's talks about a bigger challenge coming for our hero and those moments are the heart of the episode. My least favorite aspect are the robberies with Dr. Octopus, but it is understandable why they are needed. Our glimpses on the cab drivers community helping our hero are a delight, though, showing how much of an impact Peter Parker has on the city. This episode is a nice collection of sweet moments, ending with a darker tone that only amplifies the meaning of all that we just witnessed.

Enter the Green Goblin

"Alright, Hobgo... You are not the Hobgoblin!" - Spider-Man

Story by: John Semper.

Teleplay by: Marty Isenberg and Robert N. Skir.

The third season of Spider-Man: TAS has every episode with the prefix The Sins of the Fathers. In the Season Premiere, it was Mary Jane that had to deal with the trauma that her father caused in her life. Here, we take a closer look at Harry, which brings us the debut of the Green Goblin. It is an interesting choice to have one of the main antagonists debut almost as an one-off, but this takes nothing from the episode. The Green Goblin establishes himself as a menace out of the gate kidnapping Oscorp's Board of Directors and Mary Jane. The insanity of the character is well displayed and the action sequences with Spider-Man are well crafted. It is interesting that everything is presented as the result of an accident and Norman Osborn returns to normal at the end of the episode. The Green Goblin has much more importance in future episodes and his introduction is just a small bit of much more evil things that will come from the character.

Rocket Racer

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's Robert "The Rocket" Farrell slashin' up the sidewalk! Will the curb be a problem? No way! He too stoped to be stopped! Radical aerial! The crowd goes wild! He swings the stairs like a pro! And then for the grand finale..." - Robert Farrell

Story by: John Semper.

Teleplay by: Doug Booth and Mark Hoffmeier.

You are not your thoughts. Whenever a thought comes to your head, good or bad, you have the power to act or not upon it. Robert Farrell struggles with bad thoughts throughout this episode. If his past already condemns him as a criminal, why should he try to be a better person? Farrell almost gives in to the dark side on multiple occasions, but decides against it at the last minute. His caring love for his mother makes him to strive towards being a better person, even with hiccups. Seeing him learn that while fighting against what seems like the whole world is what makes this episode a surprise this season. Even though it puts Spider-Man and Peter as afterthoughts, Farrell more than carries his share of the bargain. The villainous Big Wheel is far from an interesting rival, but it serves its purpose here. The moral dilemma is what carries this episode. A boy - without a father, important to note - finally deciding who he is and choosing his abilities to do good. This is generally considered the worst episode of the series by the fans, but I will not go that far. It could be a worse execution.

Framed

"They say justice is also blind. So I like to think it gives me a leg up on the competition. Judging from what you've gotten yourself into, we're going to need every bit of help we can get." - Matt Murdock

Story by: John Semper and Mark Hoffmeier.

Teleplay by: Brooks Wachtel and Cynthia Harrison.

Daredevil arrives!

One of the best parts of the show is how Spider-Man interacts with other characters from the Marvel universe. We saw great episodes with X-Men and Blade, for instance, but Daredevil - at least for me - hits a special cord. My two favorite superheroes sharing the screen is a great recipe for a special episode. Here, Peter is accused of treason against the United States government and Matt Murdock is his lawyer since the Kingpin is involved in the scheme. This is one of the most fast-paced episodes of the show so far and packs a lot of information: besides the conspiracy plot, we also get Daredevil's origin story. It is incredible how Daredevil steals the show while he shares the spotlight with our protagonist, showing the strength of the character and its search for justice. The fact he does not know who Spider-Man is only makes things more interesting, since it puts them in a adversary position, creating great tension to end the first part of the two-parter.

The Man Without Fear

"Sacrifices must be made." - Kingpin

Story by: John Semper and Mark Hoffmeier.

Teleplay by: Sean Catherine Derek.

The one where Kingpin almost gets caught. One of the final moments of this episode with the fakeout where Spider-Man and Daredevil get the villain just so to be shown that was the Chameleon was incredibly well done. Well, all of The Man Without Fear follows this pattern, concluding one of the best arcs of the series and raising the stakes: Peter Parker now knows that Wilson Fisk is not who he seems to be. This changes the dynamic of the show moving forward and the final scene puts this directly in our faces. But even before these final moments, the episode showed great moments, with articulate fight scenes and another origin story. Knowing more about the tragic backstory of the Kingpin adds another layer to the character and the quote above shows how brutal he can be, leaving his son to go to jail without reply at the end. The way this episode open space for Daredevil and the Kingpin to shine shows how mature the show's writing can get, a characteristic that distinguishes the show from other similar cartoons.

The Ultimate Slayer

"But do you love him?" - Peter Parker

Story by: John Semper.

Teleplay by: Doug Booth and Mark Hoffmeier.

Kingpin tries to strike back with the creation of the Ultimate Slayer. The series returns to the theme of the season: paternal relationships. Alistair finds that Kingpin has been manipulating him and that his father is alive, prompting the newly-created robot to turn on Wilson Fisk. This part of the episode is not bad, but hits like a downgrade as the follow-up to the Spider-Man/Daredevil adventure from the last two episodes. Alistair is just not there as a character to have that kind of spotlight. On the other hand, Mary Jane and Harry Osborn getting married and her second thoughts is a much more interesting storyline. She explaining her feelings to Spider-Man while it struggles to keep his feelings to himself is the best part of the episode. The chemistry between the characters brings life to the screen by itself, with this love triangle promising much more to the rest of the season.

Tombstone

"Randy Robertson! What's he doing with these punks? Is crime going to infect and poison everyone I know?" - Spider-Man

Written by: Larry Brody, Robert N. Skir, Marty Isenberg, and John Semper.

Another mix of origin story alongside a side character getting the spotlight?

Well, it is a formula that works, so why not repeat it? This time, we have Tombstone and Robbie as former friends, now turned enemies. The episode does a good job on stablishing the relationship between two characters that only had few opportunities of the bright lights. I liked how Tombstone was presented as a smart and manipulative villain instead of just a brute enforcer. Spider-Man playing catch-up also worked well, with our hero discovering the plan step-by-step and getting us back to the theme of the season: daddy issues! While having no season-wide impact on the storylines, Tombstone has enough of a good story and execution to not be a forgettable affair. Bad guys have a plan to kill a story from the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man and friends interviene, Madame Web shows us the way and season 3 has another good installment. Good day at the office for the show.

Venom Returns

"Together again. We knew it wasn't a delusion!" - Venom

Written by: Stan Berkowitz, Len Wein, and John Semper.

The title says it all. Venom is back and one of the show's best character returns in explosive fashion, bringing its offspring to generate Carnage. This episode is all about setting things up for a second part, with all of the pieces being put together to clearly climax in the following episode. We see Eddie Brock develop feelings for his therapist, Cletus Kasady getting caught by Spider-Man, Dormammu and Mordo's plan being executed to bring the symbiote to Earth and Stark Enterprise playing a role with its new technology. A lot of setup that does not slow down the episode, even though it is clear that the best is yet to come. And I did not even mentioned War Machine, showing up and being a strong present right away in the series. Venom is always a hit on this show and his return could not been done in better fashion.

Carnage

"That was good for an old guy." - Carnage

Written by: Stan Berkowitz, James Krieg, and John Semper.

Spider-Man, Venom, Carnage, Iron Man, Mordo, Dr. Kafka and Dormammu all together in a crazy fight sequence was quite a cast to blend together in this two-part episode. And I believe the end result was good to watch. While it may be a tad disappointment to have this cast revolve around Dormammu and the plot of the mystic world, the execution was still something fun. The worst part was that now Venom and Carnage were sent away at the end, meaning that appearances from them now are highly unlikely, which is a shame. Venom is one of Spider-Man's main villains and his story in this show - while always great - could have been more in terms of quantity. The whole idea of having Spider-Man and Iron Man together with Venom to fight the bad guys made it for a great dynamic, which guaranteed the success of the episode.

The Spot

"Shouln't you be the mascot at a fire station or something." - Spider-Man

Written by: James Krieg.

The Spot is without a doubt in my mind the worst episode of the series. Johnathon Ohnn is a scientist who created the time dilation accelerator portal-making machine for Tony Stark. Kingpin approaches him and, after an accident, he is transformed into the villain named Spot. He uses his abilities to teleport himself into any place to steal money for his research. Spider-Man is in the position to stop him. The premise is weak and the antagonist poses little threat to our hero, making this a chore to go through. The best part of the episode is related to Peter and Mary Jane getting back together and the tease at the end with the return of the Hobgoblin, which brings us to...

Goblin War!

"I must've gotten hit hard. I'm seeing double." - Spider-Man

Written by: Mark Hoffmeier, John Semper, Robert N. Skir, and Marty Isenberg.

The Goblin War! The time dilation accelerator remains an important plot point for the series and every villain wants to get its hands on the device. Spider-Man must stop all of them, but, considering that two of them are the goblins, they may as well just destroy each other by themselves to get it. Norman Osborn going insane again is always fun and his rampage against the Hobgoblin shows the hierarchy between them. Speaking of him, we learn the identity of the yellow goblin and this adds a lot to the episode. The overall idea of pitting the goblins against each other is a creative win for the series, setting up the stakes for a very interesting finale next.

Turning Point

"Yes, yes. Take off your mask. Reveal your secret identity to your greatest enemy. At last Spider-Man's greatest secret is mine. What! The Green Goblin's greatest foe a mere boy?! Impossible! Impossible!" - Green Goblin

Written by: James Krieg, John Semper, Robert N. Skir, and Marty Isenberg.

The best episode of the series and one of the best adaptations of the "Green Goblin finds out who Spider-Man is" story ever created, Turning Point is a beautiful episode of television. The Season Finale amps up the tension and creates twenty minutes of magic, with the Green Goblin getting the upper hand on our hero because of the time dilation accelerator. I love how fast this episode is and how dedicated it is to settling the score between Spider-Man and Green Goblin, even throwing both of their respective families into the mix. The final moments of the episode are riveting, with Mary Jane disappearing and a lost Peter Parker seeking help from Madame Web to no avail. Now we get to see what our hero is made of, with the first major loss for him thanks to his work almost changing him right out of the gate. Spider-Man not falling into revenge and trying to help the goblin at the end even with all of the chaos that just happened is a great exemplification of why he is a special character. All in all, the season ends with the highlight and a new mission for our protagonist: find Mary Jane Watson.

This finishes the review of Season 3 of Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The show added a lot of recurring elements that will still return, such as Madame Web and Iron Man, while bringing back some of the greatest hits in the Hobgoblin and Venom. We are introduced to Spider-Man being chosen to lead a special mission, which shows that there are higher stakes than what we are currently seeing. There were some special lows and the mystic world storylines did not do much for me, as well as the overall theme of the season, but the highs were some of the best moments of the series so far and the Season Finale is incredible. Let's see what Season 4 brings us soon!