Marvel Media Mania: Fred and Barney Meet the Thing

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing aired on NBC in 1979. Each episode was split between the Flintstones and The Thing. The two shows never crossed over with one another and the characters never met except in the show's opening. Each "Thing" episode contained two shorts. There were 13 episodes made.

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing

 I really thought no Marvel property would come close to touching the awfulness of Swamp Thing. I was wrong. 

The trouble starts right with the title of the show. Fred and Barney never meet the Thing, making the name a misnomer. 

The big problem with this show, however, is the very concept itself. It takes The Thing are strips him of everything except the fact that he's a big rocky monster... sometimes. See, he has to slam together two rings and say, "Thing Rings! Do your thing!" Then rocks fly at him in a flash of light and he's transformed into the Thing. Benjamin Grimm isn't an adult, instead he's replaced with teenager Benjy Grimm and his gang of friends that are Scooby-Doo clones. None of the Fantastic Four ever appear in this show. In short, this show has nothing to do with The Thing.

The Shmoo... better than the Thing?

The plots are as awesome as they can be. "A gang of thugs is causing trouble! Oh no! Let's challenge them to a balloon race!" Ugh. Yeah, it's THAT bad! The awful puns littered throughout the series and complete lack of logic make it hard to even laugh at how bad this show is. 

The animation is fair but it comes across as looking very cheap, even for 1979. This is probably the best the Thing has looked on the screen up to this point. That's about the only points this show picks up.

You want to know how bad this show was? Well, the Fred and Barney part of the show were reruns and they survived after this "thing" got cancelled. Fred and Barney then go a new partner to replace the cancelled Thing... Shmoo. Yes, this Shmoo.

1LR REVIEW - 2 out of 20! It's a Total Failure!

Marvel Media Mania: Fantastic Four (1978)

The Fantastic Four's section cartoon show was released in 1978 on NBC. Just 13 episodes were produced.

The Fantastic Four 1978 Cartoon

This show is notorious for one thing: Replacing the Human Torch with the robot H.E.R.B.I.E. This show pretty faithfully adapts some classic FF tales and it just tries to shoehorn H.E.R.B.I.E. into the Human Torch's role. H.E.R.B.I.E. fights with Ben Grimm just like Johnny would. But H.E.R.B.I.E. comes across as oddly antagonistic to even the other team members such as Reed. In fact, even though Reed is called the "leader" the FF regularly turn to H.E.R.B.I.E. and he comfortably barks out orders. H.E.R.B.I.E.'s dialogue is obnoxiously designed to prove how smart he is. The only thing is H.E.R.B.I.E. regularly proves what a dunce he is, even failing to think of looking for a pirate treasure aboard a pirate ship.

Beyond H.E.R.B.I.E., the rest of the show falls pretty flat as well. The animation is shaky. The character designs are slightly more faithful to the comic books than the previous cartoon, particularly the Thing. But the art is simply dreadful. The Thing's appearance ranges from blank orange to a melted lump of orange rock to the more traditional cracked look with an orange beak on the front of it. Eyes seem to be a particular problem for the animators. Additionally, this show uses a lot of stock footage shown again and again.

Like I mentioned, most of the plots come directly from the early FF comics. Now this isn't exactly a good thing, however. Sometimes the plots barely make any sense. At times the story is far too thin to effectively cover a half hour, causing a lot of "filler" material to be added (such as Reed fixing a machine, emergency calls to the military, and crowd reactions). The Invisible Woman is effectively invisible, as she was commonly sidelined and used as a damsel in distress rather than a full member of the team.

All in all, the Fantastic Four cartoon of 1978 is boring and poorly produced. The show from 1967 was much more entertaining.

1LR REVIEW - 8 out of 20! It's a Miss!

Marvel Media Mania: Fantastic Four (1967)

The first Fantastic Four cartoon aired on ABC from 1967 to 1970 for a total of 20 episodes.

Fantastic Four's First Cartoon in 1967

This cartoon was produced the same year as the original Spider-Man cartoon. Everyone knows the first Spider-Man television show but the first Fantastic Four television show is all but forgotten even though it is actually a better show than the Spider-Man from 1967. Why? It comes down the the theme song. Spider-Man had a very memorable theme song while Fantastic Four's is ultimately forgettable.

For its day, the animation on Fantastic Four is great. It reminds me a lot of early Scooby Doo episodes. The use of repeated stock footage is kept to an absolute minimum. Characters are expressive and faithfully adapted from the comics (except for some reason Galactus was all green...). However, some of the character designs look ridiculous in their "simplified" form. The Thing looks ridiculous because his head is a bunch of small rocks while his body is simply orange with a couple of lines drawn on it. Dr. Doom looks like a nutcracker robot with his mouth mechanically moving up and down along two tracks.

The voice acting is all fine... except for The Thing. Everyone imagines The Thing to have a deep, gravely voice but the voice they gave to him just sounds like your best friend in the ninth grade... just too normal to be coming from The Thing's body.

Generally, the show is very faithful to the comics. The villains used are mostly actual villains from the comics along with hordes of identical "henchmen" robots or lizard men or whatever is needed for that episode. Some of the series's stories are directly inspired from the comics. The series features notable characters such as Namor, The Watcher, Klaw, The Red Ghost, Blastaar, The Molecule Man, and Dr. Doom to name a few.

You can really tell that the thin plots had to be stretched to fill the thirty minute time slot. Character development for the Fantastic Four is unheard of in the show, instead you're treated to a lot of action with The Thing and Human Torch taking center stage. Frequently long sequences where the FF are beating up the aforementioned "faceless" henchmen are used as filler for the series. At one point in one episode, the action stops and several minutes is dedicated to The Thing remembering beating up henchmen from all of the previous episodes.

The plots are generally pretty campy, leaning heavily on action and eye candy while being light on logic. The dialogue is mostly exposition and can almost become laughable at times. Each episode is also riddled with bad puns such as, "Now that's what I call a real smash hit!" Still, continuity was kept from episode to episode which I appreciate.

You know, I don't want to make it sound like it's all bad with this show. For its time, the 1967 Fantastic Four show was quite successful in many ways. It is easy to point out the many deficiencies of a show like this when compared to today's big-budget, CGI-polished cartoons. Still, The Fantastic Four is deserving of a lot of credit for what it did right.

1LR REVIEW - 13 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Marvel Anime: X-Men

Marvel Anime: X-Men was first aired in 2011 in Japan. The series has since re-aired in the United States and been released on DVD. All total there are twelve episodes.

Marvel Anime: X-Men

Of the three Marvel Anime projects that 1LR has reviewed (Blade, Wolverine, X-Men) this is clearly the best. Of course, that may not be saying much since the first two we reviewed both got "Misses!" Let's start with the positives.

First, the story slowly unrolls in an intriguing, twisting manner. Each episode ends in a cliffhanger that begs you to watch the next one. The X-Men consist of Wolverine, Cyclops, Beast, Professor X and Storm with Emma Frost and Armor being added later (a dead Jean Grey is seen in flashbacks throughout the series). The series really focuses on Armor - a flesh change after seeing the same seven mutants featured over and over again in X-Men media. The X-Men are balanced very well against one another, each given their own emotional storylines that develop across the series. Even Professor X is given a new backstory that is sure to surprise some viewers. The villains are the U-Men from Grant Morrison's New X-Men run and the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club (most notably, Mastermind).

Additionally, the show's creators make efforts to address the X-Men's long history, placing the story in a greater context. Sometimes the characters make an off-handed reference to an absent character such as Magneto. A number of other characters are shown in the final episode including Captain Britain, Deadpool, and Iron Man. These type of references are not only cool for fans but give the story a sense of connection to a larger universe, causing it to feel less isolated and meaningless.

Also, the art style is perhaps the least stereotypically-anime of the Marvel Anime shows thus far. While this may seem to defeat the purpose of the project, I, for one, appreciated this toned down anime effort. So, yes, there are still close-up shots of someone with their pupil pulsing in shock. The backgrounds are still ultra detailed. But the X-Men's character designs take much more inspiration from the original source material than Ghost in the Shell. Some of the villains suffer more from anime influence but that's to be expected.

Now, it's not all pixie dust and unicorn smiles. There are times that the animation makes it difficult to follow what's happening (in particular I'm thinking of the Wolverine fight against the bat thing on the Blackbird). Wolverine's claws are shown to be ridiculous in length (also, the characterization of Wolverine seems to be slightly too cerebral and rational as presented). The story drags a bit and becomes formulaic in at least one place.

But perhaps the biggest strike against the show is the facelessness of the villains. In the end title sequence we're shown Juggernaut, Magneto, Mystique, and many other awesome villains... none of which appear in the series. Instead, Mastermind hides behind a dozen or so mostly forgettable monsters before being revealed toward the end of the series.

Overall, Marvel Anime: X-Men is a good show and it marks the the strongest effort in the Marvel Anime line I've seen to date.

1LR REVIEW - 14 out of 20! It's a Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Marvel Anime: Wolverine

Marvel Anime: Wolverine is the second show in the Marvel Anime project. It had 12 episodes total and was released in 2011.

Marvel Anime: Wolverine

Of all of the Marvel Anime projects, this is perhaps the one that makes the most sense. Wolverine has direction connections with Japan from the comics and this show builds directly upon those roots. Instead of reinventing Wolverine as Japanese the show keeps his Canadian origin and we first see him in New York. For the most part, Wolverine is largely unchanged. He has enhanced healing, metal claws, and heightened senses. Although his berzerker rages seem tamed down (he never gets uncontrollable) and his claws don't seem to be made of adamantium (at one point steel armor deflects them).

The writers take pains to connect Wolverine to established continuity. At one point, Cyclops briefly shows up flying the Blackbird. Omega Red is the lone recognizable big-name villain (along with the organization AIM). SHIELD also makes an appearance in the show. And Wolverine ends up in Madripore a time or two.

The overall story is pretty simple: Wolverine's long time love, Mariko, is being forced into an arranged marriage by her warrior father. Wolverine sets out to free her and gets into a lot of fights along the way.

The action itself is 100% typical anime. Characters leap into the air while lines of movement zip past in the background. Still shots are held while the camera pans over them. Characters react in slow motion. You get the picture. Wolverine's claws were used a bit awkwardly, I thought, when going up against a sword. Frequently Wolverine and his opponent will stand with their blades crossed and I would wonder why his opponent just doesn't push his blade down Wolverine's claws and directly into his hand.

The content is pretty bloody and violent and it is better off for it. The creators take great advantage of Wolverine's healing powers and then mangle him every chance they get. At one point his entire chest is split open. At another point he's nearly cut in half and his half sags away from his body with an arm hanging limply at his side. After this happens battle after battle, however, you get to get the idea that Wolverine may not be a very good fighter after all.

The dialogue is absolutely atrocious. Essentially, the writers relied upon one cliche after another. This eliminates any possibility of you taking the show seriously. There are some moments that seem like they should be genuinely emotional moments but I just couldn't bring myself to care when the dialogue is incredibly predicable.

If you can actually sit through the entire series the ending provides a great twist. Frankly, the ending is the best thing about the series and not just because it is over. The ending really came as a shock to me but ultimately fails to capitalize on the twist.

1LR REVIEW - 10 out of 20! It's a Miss!

Marvel Media Mania: Wolverine and the X-Men

Wolverine and the X-Men is the fourth X-Men cartoon. It was released in 2009 and lasted for one season, totally 26 episodes.

Wolverine and the X-Men

After three prior X-Men cartoons, the show's creators were faced with a problem - how do you say something new about the X-Men? Their answer was to blow up the X-Mansion, put Xavier in a coma, "kill" Jean, and disband the X-Men. And that happens before the beginning of the first show!

This sets the tone for the series - the gloves are off and no holds are barred. Forget what you read in the comics - anything can happen to these X-Men. This fact makes watching the show all that more interesting. Sure, the characters are familiar but the situation isn't and the fact that these stories aren't just rehashing old comic book tales opens up a world of possibilities. 

Wolverine is the focal character of the show. He rebuilds the X-Men to fight the looming threat of the Mutant Response Division (a government program) and the Sentinels. The X-Men's roster is large with more than a dozen X-Men and includes Emma Frost. Beyond this, the show hosts another hundred or so characters that appear and reappear throughout the show such as Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Polaris, Senator Kelly, and Boliver Trask to name a few. The large X-Men roster means that besides Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X, and Cyclops most of the X-Men exist as secondary characters - given a chance to shine a few times but for the most part they're in the background. I appreciate the inclusiveness of the vision but sometimes the size of the cast of characters makes remembering storylines from episode to episode somewhat difficult. 

This problem is compounded when we start seeing visions of the "Days of Future Past" world from the future. We are then introduced to alternate future versions of the same characters that exist in the present with parallel storylines between them. 

As always, time travel is messed up. Xavier can contact Wolverine from the future, appearing as a hologram. But time seems to pass at the same rate for future Xavier and current Wolverine. What would cause this? Why can't future Xavier choose when in time to contact Wolverine? And then there's the issue of the timeline correction. When the X-Men prevent the future timeline, future Xavier retains his memories of a timeline that never existed. But if that timeline never existed then future Xavier never would have contacted Wolverine in the present, thus creating a time paradox. 

Characters are designed to be very tall and sleek. The women are drawn with impossibly narrow waistlines. Overall, the art is very clean and bright with a visually interesting design style. Most of the characters either draw direct inspiration from the comics or the movies. 

Overall, the show capably blazes its own trail while keeping the familiar nearby, carefully weaving together several major X-Men storylines (Hellfire Club, Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, etc.). The complex story takes far too long to coalesce, however, and by the time the great ending comes at the end of the show many viewers will lost interest. 

1LR REVIEW - 13 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Mutant X

Mutant X is a 2001 television show that ran for three season, totally a whopping 66 episodes.

Mutant X

This show had problems right from the start when FOX and Marvel had a dispute about Mutant X being so similar to the X-Men, which FOX had the exclusive rights to. I'm sure this changed the trajectory of the series and it seems they went out of their way to distance themselves from the X-Men. First, Mutant X are, of course, all mutants. But they call them "new mutants" because then that's different than the X-Men. For comic book fans, this invokes THE New Mutants but Mutant X doesn't have any characters from the comics in it and the characters aren't teenagers like the New Mutants comic book. Comic book fans might also expect this show to have some link to the comic book with the same name (which featured reality jumping mutants) but, again - no.

Despite this name confusion and the creators' intentions to differ from the X-Men, Mutant X IS still remarkably similar to the X-Men. Both teams are a mutant strike team with a wise leader that stays home and doesn't go on the missions. Both teams have a super-high tech jet and a high-tech base. Both teams even have a holographic "danger room." I could go on and on but you get my drift. Basically, Mutant X is like a poor carbon copy of the X-Men - they took all of the dressings but none of the heart.

Wikipedia says that this show had good ratings but I have no idea why. It's, frankly, horrible. It's got pretty people running around punching each other and "acting" all angst-ridden about how they can't lead a normal life because they're "special." If the X-Men are a metaphor that explore's society's bigotry, Mutant X is a metaphor that explores how upset pretty people feel because everybody keeps looking at them all of the time and is jealous of them.

The acting is atrocious. Horrible. Maybe it was the dreadful scripts or the lackluster directing but none of these actors seem to be able to muster any genuine emotion at all. There's not only emotionally touching or humorous moment in the entire series. The actors deliver their lines as if they are sleepwalking.

At almost every turn, this show chooses style over substance. The base for Mutant X is this bizarre space with tilted walls and a weird, elevated red "danger room." In one episode, all of Mutant X's powers get enhanced almost at the same time and it's quickly explained away as a continued evolution. But why did it happen at the same time? And why didn't it happen for any of the rest of the mutants?

Most episodes have the same plot structure as a Power Rangers episode. There are two main bad guys throughout the series and then send their mutant henchmen (one at a time) and their legions of disposable goons into combat with Mutant X. Mutant X inevitably wins and the mutant henchmen is never seen from again. One wonders if Eckhard (the main villain) had so many mutants at his disposal why doesn't he just send them all after Mutant X at one time and wipe them out for good?

Visually, this show is a train wreck. Every episode relies heavily (and I mean HEAVILY) on color filters. I don't know if the intent was to invoke some emotion or perhaps make it look more like a comic book but the end result is that everything simply looks miserable. CGI effects are, I suppose, passable for that time and for TV but the all-CGI shots look like a Super Nintendo rendered them.

In no way, shape, manner, or form can I recommend that you watch this show. It's only redeeming quality is that the cast is easy on the eyes.

1LR REVIEW - 4 out of 20! It's a Total Failure!

Marvel Media Mania: X-Men: Evolution

X-Men: Evolution is an animated cartoon series that ran on the Kids WB! for four seasons starting in 2000. It was on the air for 52 episodes total.

The X-Men: Evolution cast of characters started small but grew quite large over the course of four seasons.

This series started in a pretty slow and formulaic way - every episode, a new mutant was introduced that was recruited by both Charles and Mystique (as an agent of Magneto). In season one, the X-Men consisted of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Professor X, Wolverine, Rogue, and Storm. Most of the X-Men are high school students and much of the action happens in and around the high school such as a food fight with the Blob or Avalanche vandalizing the lockers.

Spyke is a new character developed for the show with the ability to project, well, spikes, from his body. I was a bit disappointed because they never really seemed to develop him as a character or do much with him. Because he's an African American he's simply used to make the team more diverse. It's a real shame they didn't develop the character further and take the opportunity to add to the X-Men mythos in a meaningful way.

Fortunately, the show quickly develops beyond its simple beginnings. Long term storylines develop and... well, evolve over not only the course of a storyarc or a season but the entire show. Magneto is a primary villain but a host of other threats including Apocaypse, the Brotherhood, and the Acolytes playing major roles. Throughout the season dozens of mutants are introduced including the New Mutants. The show does a great job of balancing such a large cast and giving each character moments in the limelight. X-Men fans will be very pleased to see characters such as Magma and Sunspot make reoccurring appearances.

This show was certainly not afraid to shake up the status quo. In the course of the show, the X-Mansion is blown up, the X-Men are publicly revealed, and characters shift allegiances throughout the show. This keeps the show's situations genuinely interesting, knowing that that status quo simply isn't going to be restored at the end of the episode. Like all good X-Men shows, the struggles are usually portrayed not as being between good and evil but simply between competing philosophies.

The art and animation also improve as the seasons progress. Shots often have six or more characters in them but the animation doesn't suffer because of the large cast. Action sequences are presented as smooth and easy to follow. Faces of characters easily convey emotion. "Special effects" and the use of CGI and nearly flawlessly integrated into the show.

Voice acting is fairly good. Some of the characters that should have accents such as Storm and Rogue really don't while others, such as Nightcrawler, maintained their distinctive speech patterns. They got Wolverine right which is always a good thing.

If the show has one major flaw it is that it constantly fights the "been there, done that" feeling. After the highly successful 1992 series covered so much ground, it sometimes felt like this show went a different way only because it had to create it's own identity.

Surprisingly, this show succeeds admirably at that massive task. X-Men Evolution delivers one huge, epic story that sees all of the disparate storylines introduced over four season come together in the final episode.

1LR REVIEW - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Generation X

Generation X is a 1996 made-for-TV movie that originally aired on FOX. A slightly different version aired in the UK.

Generation X

For this TV movie the network used some characters from the Generation X comic books. Emma Frost and Banshee are the heads of the Xavier School for Gifted Children (although they never mention who this Xavier fella is...). Jubilee and Skin are the main characters, new to the school. Mondo and M are the other characters used from the comics. Refrax and Buff are two new characters. Buff is a girl who's embarrassed by her big muscles. Refrax is a mutant who's vision powers have yet to develop.

Probably because the property rights were unavailable, the X-Men are never mentioned (although an X-Men video game is shown in the background once!). The mansion used is the exact same mansion used in the X-Men films which might lead some to speculate a continuity connection... perhaps Generation X happens sometime in the future after X-Men 3? Throughout the episode mutant registration and mutant terrorism laws are cited... probable results from the fallout of X-Men 3. Remember, they both were made by FOX.

But because the issue of "Where are the X-Men is never addressed?" it hangs in the air and adds to the overall odd feeling this movie has. And it is odd. Very odd. It starts with a *yawn* dictionary definition of mutation. When you start with a dictionary definition, you know you're in for a *yawn* dull ride. Oddly, there's a scene where Jubilee, a teenage girl, has to take off all of her clothes in front of Emma, Banshee, and Skin. The scene uncomfortably lingers far too long.

At times the script tries to be funny but it just falls flat. For example, Emma Frost causes guards to see her and Banshee as "Officer Hootie and Offier Blowfish," a reference to the band "Hootie and the Blowfish." Most of its humor just comes across as crass and crude such as a "beaver" comment and a fart gag that is just plain stupid. In the British version, Jubilee shockingly uses the F-word twice with the S-word in one scene. This comes across as strange because most of the rest of the film uses almost no swear words.

The plot is almost incomprehensible and has very little to do with mutants. The bad guy is the same actor who played Max Headroom and his over-the-top performance makes him seem like a ridiculous lunatic, not a viable threat. Somehow, he wants to use a machine or mutant genes to force people to buy products by invading their dreams. At one point, when all of Generation X is fighting him, you wonder why they need superpowers at all to take on a scrawny scientist with no powers. Why didn't they use one of the many great X-Men or Generation X villains?

Now, what do you want to see more than anything in a big, team mutant movie? Superpowers being used, right? Well, perhaps for budget reasons, this film has almost none. Some of the mutants like M and Buff require very little SFX to demonstrate their abilities but they rarely do. What's more, their mutant powers are almost completely useless. Eye powers that don't work, painful skin stretching, random light bursts... all worthless.

There are a few comic book continuity references that fans will appreciate such as a Hellions reference.

Perhaps the best thing about this dud is the interaction of the teens. Somehow, they manage to create a few realistic moments when the teens are struggling to relate to one another and other teenagers from the nearby town.

As a first attempt at a big mutant team movie, Genration X failed. But perhaps it laid just enough groundwork that Marvel and FOX were able to learn from their mistakes when they took a stab at the X-Men movie.

1LR REVIEW - 6 out of 20! It's a Failure!

Marvel Media Mania: X-Men (1992)

X-Men is a 1992 cartoon that originally aired on FOX. It lasted for a total of 76 episodes across five seasons.

1992's X-Men Cartoon

This is "The" X-Men animated series. It's success has been unparalleled by any prior efforts. The show's title sequence gives us good insight into why this show was such as success. It's simple and straightforward. The music is actually fairly generic except the fact that it plays every episode during the big fight sequence. What it does excellently is introduce each character by name and demonstrate's the characters' powers. The end of the title sequence shows the X-Men charging headlong into a fray with their foes, setting up the show's mutant vs mutant conflicts. The shot where the camera zooms in through the window of the Blackbird and then further zooms in actually going into Cyclops's visor really demonstrate's the quality of the animation.

The X-Men roster for this series is very large. It includes Professor X, Gambit, Wolverine, Beast, Morph, Jubilee, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, and Rogue. With a main cast so large each episode feel really full as each character gets some of the spotlight to varying degrees. What's great is that the interpretation of the characters were very loyal to the essences of the characters from the comics. Dozens of other noteworthy characters (both mutant and non-mutant) make appearances throughout the series.

This show is known for its faithfulness tot he storylines from the comics. While it certainly blazes its own continuity, the story carries over from episode to episode and it wasn't uncommon for an episode to have a cliffhanger ending. Among the story arcs that are presented are The Phalanx Covenant, The Phoenix Saga, The Dark Phoenix Saga, and Days of Future Past along with original storylines such as "Beyond Good and Evil." And while in-show continuity wasn't flawlessly maintained, it really adds something to each episode that you know the stories are all interconnected and the characters are changing and developing from episode to episode. When Morph gets "killed" (he comes back) in the second episode you know that this isn't just one of those cartoons that returns to the status quo at the end of each show.

The X-Men have always been used as a vehicle to tackle controversial topics and this show didn't shy away from that and it, for the most part, managing to avoid sounding preachy as well. This show may have been the second show ever to show a female as President of the United States (after 1983's Hail to the Chief). Evolution, AIDS, religion, racism, and the Holocaust all are highlighted at various points in the series. When Morph dies, the X-Men struggle and react in very human ways to the death of their friend. The series even interjects a fair amount of poetry and philosophy through the character of the Beast such as when he ponders the question, "Are any of us really secure?" in the series opener.

The show's animation has a very clean and simple style. Very little stock footage is recycled throughout the show as it juggles its dozens of characters. As I mentioned before, the show's truly noteworthy visual accomplishment is the way characters were able to move both toward and away from the camera and changed in size to reflect this perspective change. A common camera trick was to show a close up of the Beast only to pull back, rotating the camera as it moves, to reveal that the Beast was hanging upside down. On occasion throughout the series the faces of characters appear distorted. It is worth noting that in the fifth season the animation company changed, resulting in a different animation style.

This X-Men cartoon sets the gold standard that all X-Men cartoons following it have tried to live up to.

1LR REVIEW - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Pryde of the X-Men

Pryde of the X-Men was a pilot for a television cartoon that was aired in 1989 but never picked up for an ongoing show. It was, however, eventually released on VHS.

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men VHS

This show represents the first effort to give the X-Men their own media property. Previously, they were relegated to guest starring roles in some of Spider-Man's television shows. For a first effort, this show did a lot right.

First, the animation is great. The pilot mixed some static scenes with lots of exposition with action sequences. During the scenes heavy on narration, the creators did a good job of changing "camera" angles and giving the audience cool visuals to watch. Close-ups of faces really showed a great level of detail with realistic animation of the entire face, not just the mouth.

The show also reaches for some style points. For example, in once case when Professor X is using his powers the shot zooms in on his face and eventually down to one eye. The camera continues to push in tighter and tighter until the entire screen is filled with the black of the eye's pupil. This then focuses into the distant scene where Professor X is using his mental powers. It's a pretty impressive shot and shows the show's ambitions.

The show's X-Men roster was comprised of Professor X, Cyclopes, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Dazzler, and Colossus. The exclusion of Jean Grey for Dazzler is a bit of an odd choice but it was probably made because Dazzler's powers are more action-oriented. Of course, Kitty Pryde is introduced in the episode. Some have complained that she is a sniveling wimp in the episode but I would say that that's the point. Had the show continued, I'm sure we would have seen Pryde grow and change. In this pilot, Kitty is new to the school and we learn about it as she does. Even by the end of this one episode she grows character development. She also adopts fan-favorite Lockheed by the end of the episode.

The show also hosts an impressive array of villains. Magneto leads a team of mutant terrorists including the Blob, Juggernaut, White Queen, Toad, and Pyro. Each villain is given the spotlight at different moments

In all cases, character designs, personalities, and powers are extremely faithful to the comic books. Nightcrawler even kept his characteristic black patches around his eyes.

Stan Lee does the narration - a seeming must for any Marvel cartoon.

Now, the show isn't perfect, of course.

The BIG sticking point is the voice of Wolverine. The rest of the cast has great voice acting, including Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus with their heavy accents. But Wolverine has an Australian accent when everyone knows he's Canadian. The show's creators claim that the decision was made because, at the time, it was going to be revealed in the comics that Wolvie is an expatriated Australian but I don't buy it. It just sounds plain ridiculous and ruins almost every scene Wolverine is in.

Another big problem is that the story seems a little thin. At one point, the villains decide to take on the entire X-Men team one at a time. Why not take them on all at once, mutant team vs mutant team? It felt a little bit like an old Dungeons and Dragons game - open the door, kill the monster (repeat as needed). And the big, dramatic ending somehow had Nightcrawler using his body to complete a circuit but it really didn't make much sense at all... except that it was suppose to be "dramatic."

Overall, this first effort at an X-Men cartoon is a great start.

1LR REVIEW - 15 out of 20! It's a Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider-Man is a cartoon that began airing on Disney XD in 2012. Season one has been completed with 16 episodes.

Good visual analogy for how I feel about this show.

The creators of this show really decided to give this cartoon a different feel than the previous six Spider-Man cartoons. In that they succeeded. This show is very different from all of the previous Spider-Man cartoons before it.

First, there's no theme song. In fact, no opening credits at all! Odd choice but I won't hold it against the show.

This show can be very "cartoony," if it makes sense to describe a cartoon as "cartoony." Stylistically this show has more in common with Spongebob Squarepants than previous Spider-Man series. Spider-Man's eyes are very expressive, very frequently changing shape to show emotion despite the fact that they're cloth and should never change shape. We often see what's happening in Peter's head as the action stops and a small, cartoony clip plays. These clips often feature mini-Spider-Man. Sometimes, these "asides" can be confusing to little kids. In one episode, Peter ponders what would happen if he publicly revealed his identity and the clips show him doing so and the repercussions. My five year old didn't understand that this was just a hypothetical, however, and he really thought he had revealed his identity.

The series does tend to be narration-heavy. The breaks in the action for the little, cartoony asides, while sometimes funny, do break the flow of the story and action.

The storyline picks up from something Ultimate Nick Fury said to Peter in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic: "When you're 18, you're mine." In the cartoon, Nick Fury makes Spidey an offer - He should join SHIELD and Fury will help him become the "ultimate" Spider-Man. Well, he does and that introduces the heroes Power Man (Luke Cage), Iron Fist, White Tiger, and Nova (for some reason his name is Sam Alexander and not Richard Rider). These heroes appear in most episodes and even attend Peter's high school. They're kinda like his new "Spider-Friends." Beyond Fury and those heroes, the supporting cast is limited to Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane, and Harry Osborn. Agent Colston, from the Avengers series of movies, is a reoccurring character in the series which makes you wonder if it is in continuity with the Avengers movies. Stan Lee makes reoccurring cameos in each episode.

Tons of characters from the Marvel Universe are tossed into each episode, sometimes for just seconds. So Iron Man, Thor, Galactus, and Wolverine all makes appearances among many others.

The series really does has its funny moments. When Spidey is slowly descending from the SHIELD Helicarrier on a parachute he yells, "I have to pee!" 

The show really blazes a new trail as far as continuity goes. Sure, the villains are familiar such as Doctor Doom and the Juggernaut but the storylines are, for the most part, original. In this continuity, Norman Osborn and Doctor Octopus are in league with one another to learn Spider-Man's secrets so they can create an army of Spider-Men. To that end, they unleash threat after threat such as the Venom symbiote. But Venom doesn't go through the typical storyline - he bonds with Harry Osborn. 

Although the show can, at times, have some interesting visuals for the most part I find the artwork to be visually dull. 

Ultimately (ha ha), this show just doesn't work. Between its lacking art, stuttering storytelling techniques, and apparent lack of focus the show fails to keep my interest. It's a shame they took a great show like the Spectacular Spider-Man off the air for this. Ultimate? No - not even close.

1LR REVIEW - 10 out of 20! It's a Miss!

Marvel Media Mania: Spectacular Spider-Man

The Spectacular Spider-Man was a cartoon that originally aired for one season on the Kids WB in 2008! on the CW network. The second season aired of Disney XD in 2009. In total, 26 episodes were created.

Spectacular really does describe this show.

There have been quite a few Spider-Man cartoons before this one but Spectacular Spider-Man breaks considerable new ground.

While it's not afraid to blaze new trails, this series is EXTREMELY reverent of the source material. Almost EVERY character seen or mentioned is directly from the comics. Some of the references only longtime fans would even notice. For example, in one sequence Captain Stacy yells out another cop, calling her "DeWolff." You barely even see the cop but you know it's Jean DeWolff, an old character from the comics. All of the villains are straight from the comics. Not only do they have the big names like Venom and Doctor Octopus but also some smaller time villains such as Molten Man and Silvermane.

The series has extremely tight continuity. In fact, this is the first cartoon I can think of that actually moves its main character through specific months of the year and references them during the show. The first episode happens in September and the first season concludes in November so you actually see Halloween at the appropriate time in October. The second season runs from December to March. Althought they can be watched individually, storylines, subplots and characters develop from episode to episdoe. I can really tell the creators had long-term plans for the series because sometimes a plot hook will start a dozen episodes before it pays off. 

Beyond that, the show has an overarching theme of "The Education of Peter Parker." Each storyarc is broken down by theme under that larger theme so there are small groups of three episodes with themes such as "Biology," "Engineering," or "Human Development." The show never directly references these themes but they're there if you watch for them.

The show's pace is quick and every episode seems to have a great balance between action and Peter Parker drama. At one point, Aunt May sets a curfew for Peter and he has to call her before 10:00 every night. 

The animation is great. Spider-Man moves very quickly (like he should) and the backgrounds are often given motion-blurs to show the speed at which he's moving. 

In general, the character designs are great. The villains all get redesigns from the comics that keep their essences while giving them are modern overhaul. The only bone I have to pick with the show is the basic character design for the faces. The eyes are large with blank pupils. It's a small pick but they just don't look right to me and it gives the series an overly "cartoony" feel (I know that's odd to say about a cartoon).

While I find it hard to say that this show is better than the 1990's Spider-Man cartoon I can't help but think that if this show had been on longer it would have surpassed that show in every way. It wasn't cancelled because of poor performance but rather as a result of the deal in which Disney purchased Marvel in 2009. 

1LR REVIEW - 18 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Spider-Man: The New Animated Series

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series originally aired on MTV for one season of 13 episodes in 2003.

All 13 episodes were sold in one disc  collection.

This show represents the first all-CGI attempt at a Spider-Man show. The end result is fairly good. Sure, the CGI is stiff and some of the background characters move a bit robotically. Sure, the budget is reflected in the  small amount of background details (such as city streets with no cars on them, or a very sparse crowd of protesters).  But Spider-Man looked and moved really well. In particular his wallcrawling reflected the speed at which Spider-Man should move. The series really uses lighting to great effect including one sequence in which we see Peter change into Spider-Man in the strobe flashes of emergency lights.

The rest of the supporting cast was trimmed down significantly. J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane, and Harry Osborn are the only supporting characters from the comics or movie. Mary Jane, Harry, and Pete are given makeovers so they look cooler. Pete is very tech savvy, totting around a laptop and video taping himself with a digital camcorder.

Villains also got makeovers including Electro, Kingpin, Silver Sable, and Kraven the Hunter. The series introduced a few new villains such as Turbo Jet and Talon as well as supporting cast member Indria.

The series tries to capitalize on the success of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie although the two share no official continuity link. So the writers made sure to line up the two versions. When the series starts Parker already has his powers and is a freshmen in college... right where the movie left off. In the first episode Mary Jane references, "That kiss," with Spider-Man and also comments that Spider-Man has saved her life before.  And an ongoing sub-plot in the series is Harry Osborn's hatred for Spider-Man because he blames him for murdering his father. And Peter and Harry's apartment is obviously laid out to reflect the one they have in the movie.

Although there are a few subplots that stretch from one episode to another, each episode is primarily self contained. The episodes move at a quick pace, giving the series the feeling of racing ahead.

Overall, the series is highly enjoyable despite the limited CGI success.

1LR REVIEW - 16 out of 20! It's a Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994)

1994's Spider-Man: The Animated Series was the longest running Spider-Man television show with 65 episodes over five seasons. It originally aired on FOX alongside the X-Men animated series of the same time period.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series

This series is not only the most successful Spider-Man television show ever but it is also the most faithful to the comics. While it carved out its own continuity, the show's creators often borrowed heavily from popular comic book storylines such as the "Alien Costume" series or the Hobgoblin series. In some cases, the storylines were only a few years old such as the Carnage storyline.

Instead of doing stand-alone episodes, each episode was part of a much greater narrative. Long running storylines wove characters together into interesting and dynamic ways. Often the resolution to one storyline would launch another. Each character was treated as an individual with their own agenda - the show avoided stereotypical "good guys vs bad guys" action. Instead, you saw various factions struggle against one another. This lead to an almost "soap opera"-like feel to the show. Sometimes a lengthy series of shows revolved around a central theme such as the "Sins of our Fathers" storyline that dealt with relationships between fathers and their children.

This show, more than any other, captures the entirety of Spider-Man's supporting cast. Not only does it have the big names such as J. Jonah Jameson and Aunt May but it really digs deep by pulling out some old characters such as Deborah Whitman, Glory Grant, and Randy Robertson. Indeed, this show places Spider-Man firmly in the center of the Marvel Universe. Even in the first episode Spider-Man wonders out loud why the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Defenders don't ever have to go down into a sewer. The show featured many guest stars such as the Punisher, X-Men, Dr. Strange, and the Fantastic Four. To the pleasure of fans, Spider-Man got married to Mary Jane in this series - the only media outside of the comics in which this happened.

The animation is capable but not without its flaws. Character designs were simplified which works in most cases. Venom looks a little odd and sometimes the way characters' eyes were designed makes them appear as if they're staring off into space. The show integrated CGI landscapes into the action. Most of the time this works very well but there are times when Spider-Man is swinging that it the CGI becomes really obvious. For the time it was groundbreaking but when CGI becomes noticeable, it's a bad thing.

The voice acting is absolutely spot on. With very few exceptions (such as the Lizard's reasonable tone) the voices are exactly what you hear in your head when you read the comics. J. Jonah Jameson's gruff, tense voice is amazing and Peter Parker's voice is perfect for his nervous self-reflection.

A number of scenes from the Spider-Man 3 movie were directly inspired by the Venom episodes of this show. For example, Spider-Man waking up hanging upside down next to a skyscraper looking at his reflection in the widow. Spider-Man even goes to Dr. Connors to examine the symbiote, just like in the movie.

When it comes to animated superhero shows, Spider-Man: The Animated Series is hard to beat.

1LR REVIEW - 18 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is as animated television show that originally aired starting in 1981 on NBC. It ran for 26 episodes over three seasons. In the second and third season it was paired with The Incredible Hulk animated show.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Although this series is very closely related to the other 1981 Spider-Man animated series, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is the superior show. The animated and designs are better. Although Spider-Man is the quintessential loner, the addition of Firestar and Iceman to form the "Spider-Friends" team somehow creates a perfect balance for Spider-Man.

A few of the plots from "Amazing Friends" are almost identical to stories from the other 1981 Spider-Man animates series. One example is the "Amazing Friends" series opener - Triumph of the Green Goblin. In that episode, just like an episode from the other 1981 series, Peter Parker dresses up as Spider-Man for a Halloween costume party, there are fake Green Goblins flying around the party on wires, the real Green Goblin freezes Spidey with a ray, the Green Goblin dons a helmet that shows the future, and Spidey is dropped over Central Park where he's helpless to save himself (among other similarities). The two shows are obviously very closely related to one another.

Spider-Man, Aunt May, and Firestar all room at Aunt May's house together at Aunt May's house where the furniture can flip over to reveal a super crime fighting lab and computers. The series actually explains that this equipment is donated by a grateful Iron Man (since college kids wouldn't be able to afford this expensive equipment). And, of course, this series infamously features Ms. Lion, the perky dog belonging to Firestar.

One great thing about this series is how centrally located in the Marvel Universe it is. On the Spider-Friend's wall is a poster of the Hulk. Firestar dresses up as Spider-Woman to attend a costume party. The floodgates were thrown open for guest stars compared to previous television efforts. Namor, Doctor Strange, The X-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America (among others) all make guest appearances. The list of villains is equally impressive, mixing new super villains with classics, some of which aren't considered traditional Spider-Man villains such as Magneto, Dracula, and Mordred.

Oddly, this series is missing the Daily Bugle. Instead, the series focuses on the college which Firestar, Iceman, and Spider-Man all attend. So gone is most of Spider-Man's traditional supporting cast - a loss, for sure.

Stan Lee did introductions for the second and third season. This is always a positive for any Marvel show! Nothing is better than hearing Lee ring out, "Hey, True Believers!"

Sure, the show has some cheese in it such as the Spider-Friends shouting, "Go for it!" as their battle cry.

There are a bunch of visual continuity problems and coloring issues as well. For example, Iceman creates an ice-slide around the Beetle, there's a brief cutaway scene, and when we come back to the Beetle the ice-slide is gone.

For whatever reason, this highly unlikely combination of characters simply works. This show remains an absolutely essential Spider-Man show.

1LR Review - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Spider-Man (1981)

Spider-Man is an animated television show that aired starting in 1981. There were 26 episodes created. Although there are some inconsistencies between them, this show is closely related to the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends show.

The title card for Spider-Man (1981)... see Spidey?

This show is absolutely classic Spider-Man. The show starts with Spider-Man already well established in a continuity. He already has his powers and we're to understand that he's been Spider-Man for awhile. For example, when he meets Doctor Octopus in the first episode we can infer that they've fought before and are familiar with one another. Peter Parker is a struggling college student in constant threat of failure. His supporting cast is mostly present and in their classic forms. Aunt May is a sweet, innocent old lady. J. Jonah Jameson is a demanding hothead. Others such as Betty Brant and Robbie Robertson also appear regularly.

One of the really great things about this show are the villains. Unlike previous shows, each of the episodes in this show featured a great Marvel villain. Some of them were not traditional Spider-Man villains such as Magneto and Dr. Doom but many villains were like Sandman, Dr. Octopus, and Kraven the Hunter. There were a number of superhero guest stars as well like Ka-Zar and Captain America.

The animation was very capable. Spider-Man moves in a very believable way. Most improved after the 1960's series was Spider-Man's web-swinging. Gone are the days of swinging off of clouds. Instead, this show has Spider-Man moving in a three-dimensional way, using perspective to make Spider-Man's dynamic webswinging seem much more realistic.

Of course, the action is pretty campy. The violence is mostly mild except for the occasional, unintentionally horrific scene like a train full of passengers crashing and then exploding. On the whole, the show is very kid friendly.

The sequences of webs used to transition between scenes is absolutely classic.

The voice actor for Peter Parker/Spider-Man doesn't have much range. His excited voice and nervous voice and happy voice all sound very similar. The actress that voiced Betty sounds like an annoying, nagging mother. The best voice acting was done for Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, and the villains.

This effort certainly represents the best Spider-Man show to this point in history.

1LR Review - 16 out of 20! It's a Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Toei Spider-Man (1978)

Spider-Man is a live-action television series that aired in Japan starting in 1978. It was on the air for 41 episodes. It was made by the Toei Company.

Japanese Spider-Man... Notice the "Spider-Bracelet"

Wow. Where to start with this one.

First, this IS an officially licensed Marvel product. The similarities between the Japanese and American versions are mostly superficial, however. Japanese Spider-Man has the same superhero name, costume, and webbing that American Spider-Man does. Besides that, they're are COMPLETELY different - and I mean COMPLETELY. But that's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, right?

Sure. Except, in this case it is. It totally is.

Spider-Man isn't Peter Parker - he's Takuya Yamashiro. Makes sense since all of the main characters are Japanese after all. Takuya's motivation is revenge for the death of his father who was killed by the Iron Cross Army. Who are they? They're an invading alien race that is lead by Professor Monster. Another alien, Garia, gives Takuya a Spider-Bracelet from which he has access to the Spider-Protector (the Spider-Man suit), Marveller (a gigantic, transforming robot), and GP-7 (a Speed Racer car look-alike). Professor Monster uses Amazoness to unleash an unending horde of monsters that can grow to Godzilla sizes called Machine Bem and he also commands unending swarms of faceless foot soldiers that look like they have a bird beak on their faces.  

So, if I had to explain it in one sentence, every episode is almost exactly like an episode of the Power Rangers.

The actual Spider-Man action is remarkably similar to the 1977 American television show. I'm guessing they used many of the same techniques the American film crews did. While Japanese Spidey does his fair share of climbing up buildings, he spends a lot of time in the forest as well.

The actual character of Spider-Man is almost unrecognizable. Sure, he has the suit but that's about it. His motivation is revenge, pure and simple. At one point, he grabs a machine gun and shoots up a lab, shouting, "Get down if you want to live!" When he arrives at the scene to stop the bad guys, he announces himself as an, "Emissary from hell!"

The production value on the show is very low. You can tell they put their whole budget into the Machine Bem monsters. Spider-Man's webbing is obviously just plain rope (even more so than in the US series). The camera work is very shoddy and shakes. Scenery and props almost serve as mere visual suggestions such as a gray tarp that is suppose to be a rock cave wall.

If this show has any redeeming value it is as accidental humor. It's almost like a horrible cultural train wreck - it's too horrible to look away. Somehow, the end result of the combination of gutting a beloved character, cheap production, and thin plots is strangely and unintentionally amusing. This is the cinematic equivalent of the bearded woman. You don't want to look but you have to just to verify that it does, in fact, exist.

1LR Review - 4 out of 20! It's a Total Failure!

Marvel Media Mania: Spider Woman (1979)

Spider-Woman is a 1979 animated television show that originally aired on CBS. The show was on for one season of 16 episodes.

Spider-Woman

This show is truly horrible. While keeping some elements of the comic book Spider-Woman, the creators treated her like clay and basically did whatever they wanted to with her. For example, while Spider-Woman retains her venom blasts she's given many other mysterious powers such as a Spider-Scream or Spider-Telepathy just to get out of a tough situation she's in. To change clothes she just spins around (like Wonder Woman, of course). The logic for the rest of the series pretty much follows suit. Much of the series doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

For example, in the first episode, it is revealed that the Egyptian mummies are, in fact, an alien race sent to conquer Earth that have laid dormant for 3,000 years. They then walk from all corners of the globe to Egypt in the same amount of time it takes Jessica Drew to get there in a jet helicopter. They then launch a pyramid spaceship invasion and, instead of fighting the alien mummies, Spider-Woman instead goes to a Egyptian expert, thus allowing the Earth to be conquered and everyone on Earth is turned into mummies. At one point, because she doesn't want to reveal her secret identity, she throws herself out of a moving helicopter, letting her friends thing she died.  The alien mummies are defeated when Spider-Man webs a cube around the pyramid spaceships, thus spoiling their "pyramid power." Yeah, it's that bad.

Spider-Woman works as an editor for Justice Magazine. She's accompanied by the fairly useless photographer, Jeff. Since he looks a lot like Peter Parker I'll assume this show was originally pitched as Spider-Man and Spider-Woman together. Anyway, Jeff constantly gets into trouble and basically makes things harder for Spider-Woman. He's not even developed as a love interest. Another person that hangs out with Jessica Drew is the 12 year old genius, Billy, who apparently has no family and never goes to school.

The show does feature a couple of other Marvel characters. Jessica makes a Hulk reference at one point (the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno Incredible Hulk was also on CBS). The satanic Dormammu, complete with pentagram, was featured on one episode including his Mindless Ones in the Dark Dimension (not very kid friendly...). Also featured was a laughable, vegetable-eating version of the Kingpin. And, of course, Spider-Man makes a couple of appearances of his own.

Even the animation and character designs are completely uninspired.

And, to make things worse, the writers decided to reveal their complete disregard for the source material by never missing a chance to throw in a bad pun. At one point, Jeff falls out a window, ripping a curtain on the way down. Spider-Woman, before saving him, stops to say, "Well, I guess it's curtains for Jeff!" Wait - that's you're friend and coworker falling to his death! Quick, let me demonstrate my superpower to toss out a bad pun!

Obviously, this show is less than stellar.

1LR REVIEW - 6 out of 20! It's a Failure!

Marvel Media Mania: The Amazing Spider-Man: The Chinese Web (1979)

The Amazing Spider-Man: The Chinese Web was the two-hour series finale for The Amazing Spider-Man TV show from 1979. It was later released under the title The Amazing Spider-Man: Dragon's Challenge.

Spider-Man: The Chinese Web (or Dragon's Challenge)

By the end of the series, this show was really refined. Plots, characters, and effects were all more interesting than the earlier episodes.

The plot of this two-hour episode was that Peter Parker was trying to prove the innocence of a Chinese man accused of being a spy during World War II. A British businessman from Honk Kong is trying to have this same man killed.

Spider-Man's spider-sense was slightly tweaked by this point in the series. Instead of red and blue flashing lights it was two circles over his eyes that flashed yellow and orange.

The great thing about this episode was the kung-fu action. Seeing Spider-Man take on a bunch of guys throwing karate kicks is great.

Perhaps the most memorable scene from this episode was the scene in which Spider-Man is unmasked and his identity as Peter Parker was exposed when medical aid is giving to him after he's knocked out by a poison dart.

The Spider-Man swinging and climbing action remains great in this series-ending episode.

Overall, the final episode maintained the quality of the series.

1LR Review - 14 out of 20! It's a Hit!