The Spectacular Spider-Man episode 2: Interactions

Patrick continues his look at the animated series of THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN with episode 2: Interactions.

 

Warning: SPOILERS!!!

The second episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man kicks off in a more muted fashion from the first episode. We find Peter, Gwen, Eddie and Dr. Connors in the lab conducting experiments on eels. They are trying to harness the electricity of the eels to form a clean energy. To do this they need Max Dillon to up grade the circuitry. Of course there is an accident and Max is hurt, he is now pure electrical energy that has to be contained in a suit for his safety and for the safety of the public. Max is too upset though and escapes hospital and blames Connors for his change. It’s up to Spidey to catch him and stop him doing anything dangerous.

Electro is the main Bad Guy in this episode

The pace of this episode is quite different from the first episode but that is a good thing. In this episode we see how the transformation of Max into Electro is affecting Max and the impact it has. We rarely get to see that in cartoon, we don’t often see how this situation has hurt the person and how it has changed them. We get a sense of what is motivating Electro and his feelings of loss and frustration. He is a man desperate to find a cure. This allows us to relate and to understand the character. It also allows us to see the character of Peter a little better. We see how Peter, who didn’t know Max was Electro, beats himself up about not trying to help him. it’s interesting to see how Peter reacts this way, that he should know better and that he should be a hero. It’s a nice twist and shows the audience that Peter is still a teenager and the leap before you look syndrome is still there. It’s a nice touch, even if it is only a brief moment.

Spidey action is well done

The battles between Electro and Spidey are well executed again in this episode. It seems that the writers and the animators have a great grasp on Spidey’s fighting style and they have used it well again in this episode. This is important as Spidey is going to be battling in all the episodes, knowing his powers and how to showcase them on screen is paramount. I’m glad to say that the show seems to have a handle on this.  

Liz Allen: Kind of annoying.

The one thing that was annoying was the character of Liz Allen. I’m sorry but the voice actress was all nasally and whiney. I’m glad that her involvement was kept to a minimum but I feel that she will become more of a prominent character as the series progress because at the end of the episode it feels like she may have developed feelings for Peter. The creators may move to make Liz a more likable character but at the moment she is annoying. This may be the point of the character but if a relationship develops between them they will have to tweak the character to make her more likable. At the moment Liz is Flash’s cheerleader girlfriend and her attitude towards Peter is a little over bearing in the mean sort of way. the whole storyline of her needing tutoring too seems like it was a way for the writers to work into the story a meaningful start to a could happen relationship.

Dr. Curt Connors

A small note at the end is that Connors is seen injecting lizard DNA and judging by the end of the episode we may see the Lizard in the next episode. I also want to note the one piece of top notch writing is the scene where Spidey is using his powers, we believe he is being chased, but it turns out to be that he is late for school. Just thought it was a nice piece of misdirection.

3/5.

Verdict: Built well on the first episode and it was nice to see Spidey villain from a different side. The B-story with Liz Allen was the only misstep and for that it loses a point. Still nice to see a teenage Peter/Spidey on screen and the setup at the end means that the show may continue to go strong.