Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Ten: Spider-Man Dis-Sabled

Spider-Man Dis-Sabled

First Aired: August 22nd, 2003

Synopsis: A visiting European diplomat, Tremaine, is at a press conference with the mayor of New York, and their limousine is shot with a bomb by Silver Sable. Peter Parker, videoing the conference, detects it with his spider-sense and goes after it as Spider-Man, stopping the limo, getting everyone out, then driving it into the water to save everyone. As Peter he soon visits Indy and asks her out. At the same time, his footage goes on the news which catches Silver Sable's attention, and she's soon got Peter as a target. When Peter talks about Indy to Mary Jane and Harry, Mary Jane suggests that the four of them go out to dinner to become friends. Before that, though, Silver Sable and her mooks break into Peter and Harry's place looking for Peter and fire some bullets around, though he hides from them. At dinner Indy says that most of what Peter shoots isn't broadcast, and they all realise that Sable must have broken in to access some of the extra footage. Using the auto-sharpen functionality on the footage, they see that Sable is visible in it and discover what her deal is. They assume that she's trying to assassinate the mayor.  Using one of the bullets lodged in the wall, Peter works out where Sable gets her ammo, and goes to confront her as Spider-Man. They briefly fight and she says that things aren't what they seem.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Nine: Flash Memory

Flash Memory

First Aired: August 15th, 2003

Synopsis: Two motorcyclists rob an armoured truck, but Spider-Man goes after them. Although they're able to do some complex mathematics on the fly to get past some trains, Spider-Man stops them nevertheless. They act as their own lawyers and are released as there are no eyewitnesses. Elsewhere, Flash Thompson goes to see his tutor, who turns out to be a scientist who injects Flash with a serum which makes him smarter. He soon starts seducing Mary Jane and her friend Sally, and Peter reluctantly admits to Harry that he's better off with Indy, as they have mutual interests whereas he and Mary Jane just have good chemistry. He doesn't want to be monogamous with her though, but doesn't get a chance to explain it to Indy as she tells him that the motorcyclists were previously recorded as having IQ in the double-digits; therefore something is up. The motorcyclists turn out to be working with Flash's scientist, and are committing crimes to fund him but are finding themselves getting weaker over time. While committing a crime Spider-Man fails to stop them, but notes a mark on their necks from the serum.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Eight: The Party

The Party

First Aired: August 8th, 2003

Synopsis: University student Max Dillon is blindfolded and unable to hear in the back of a limousine by some jerks from a fraternity, led by Doug Reisman.When they stop for hot dogs he breaks free and manages to drive the limousine, but since he can't see it's chaotic, and he's only saved from landing in a pile of wet cement by Spider-Man. Later, at university, Peter Parker is late for a lecture and scolded, and when he gets asked to a party by Harry Osborn and Mary Jane, says he'll be late but they're sceptical that he'll show up. Peter talks to Max Dillon who tells him about what happened with the limo, then tries talking to Reisman, since he wants to join their fraternity. Max is invited to the party that's going on that night. That evening, Peter tells Harry that he doesn't think he can come to the party since he was scolded in class, and Harry reveals that and Mary Jane have a bet as to whether Peter will show up - Harry doesn't think that he will. 

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Seven: Head Over Heels

Head Over Heels

 

First Aired: August 1st, 2003

Synopsis: Peter Parker shows up late to class since he's catching a crook, and for the assignment on the relationship between thought and action is partnered with Christina, a slightly off-beat classmate with a crush on Spider-Man. She tries using a homemade device she has to read Peter's mind, but it overloads and afterwards she starts hearing a voice which she thinks is Spider-Man talking to her from her scrapbook. The next day, Peter meets up with Mary Jane, and she says that she and Peter never share their thoughts with each other, so suggests that each day they share a small secret with the other. When Peter tells Harry this, Harry suggests that Peter either get out while he can or tell Mary Jane how he feels about her. Christina, meanwhile, gets visions of Spider-Man telling her to find him, and jumps off a building so that he'll save her. Spider-Man does so, but scolds her for being an idiot. While stopping crimes later, Spider-Man keeps stressing over what he'll share with Mary Jane. In the end, when he meets her she tells him about her coping mechanism for when her parents used to shout at each other, while he claims that he's allergic to grouper.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Six: Tight Squeeze

Tight Squeeze

First Aired: July 25th, 2003

Synopsis: At the board meeting of a generic company, a group of mercenaries armed with jetpacks and high-tech suits calling themselves Pterodax burst in, intending on breaking into the company's vault and selling the diamonds within. Elsewhere, Peter, Harry, and Mary Jane are using binoculars to spy on people making out, but Harry makes excuses and leaves, thinking that Peter and Mary Jane should get together. They start flirting when Peter spots Pterodax and heads off to be Spider-Man. He manages to fairly easily defeat most of Pterodax but their leader, Sergei, throws one of the company members out a hole in the wall, and while Spider-Man's saving her Pterodax get away. Later, Peter sells photos of the incident to J. Jonah Jameson, and since Jonah undersells him, he tries selling video footage to another media company, Empire One. They don't take it, but Peter runs into a researcher named Indy who he hits it off with, and is able to convince her to take his footage. She manages to get it run on the news. Peter makes her a custom CD to thank her and tells Harry Osborn, but Harry still thinks that Peter and Mary Jane should get together. Mary Jane runs into Peter shortly afterwards and they arrange a date.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Five: Keeping Secrets

Keeping Secrets

First Aired: July 25th, 2003

Synopsis: A cat burglar named Talon steals a television show award from a skyscraper, but Spider-Man catches her in the act. Their fight leads them to a construction site, where Talon causes a girder to fall which gives her enough time to get away. The next day, Harry Osborn is at a bridge when someone goes bungee jumping off it, leading him to declare that he's in love. At university later, Peter and Mary Jane are discussing that they find it odd how little they've seen of Harry recently when he shows up and explains that he's met someone and has been spending a lot of time with her. He invites them to have dinner at his place the next evening and meet her, and upon doing so, it turns out that Harry's girlfriend is Talon in her civilian identity, Cheyenne. Peter is suspicious of her only being with Harry so that she can rob him, but she mentions that she's a trust fund child as well. She leaves after dinner as she has a flight early the next morning, but Peter heads out as Spider-Man and finds her scoping a building. Although he tries talking to her about why she's doing what she is, she's evasive. Talon does, however, agree to meet with Spider-Man again at nine o'clock the next night.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Four: The Sword of Shikata

The Sword of Shikata

First Aired: July 18th, 2003

Synopsis: Spider-Man stops some crimes and saves some people from accidents, all the while reported on by a two mysterious men and a woman in a bodysuit, wielding a sword. Later, Peter attends Mary Jane's audition for a film by director Richard Damian and she's told to come back the next day. Damian heads to his mansion, where the sword-wielding woman is waiting, as she's been hired to capture Spider-Man for Damian's animal collection. She proves herself by cutting bullets in midair with her sword. That night Spider-Man goes to stop a mugging but it turns out to be a trap by the woman, who fights him. The cops show up and her two assistants try to help her, referring to her as Shikata in the process. She cuts off the index finger of one of them, then escapes using a smoke bomb with the other one. When the cops take away the remaining assistant, Spider-Man grabs his phone which was dropped, and the next morning uses it to track down Shikata. She explains that she's not going to fight him now, but that she does want to fight to the death with him since she respects his skill. Elsewhere, Mary Jane meets with Harry and is annoyed because the movie script is terrible, so he makes a call for her to meet with Damian to discuss it.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Three: Law of the Jungle

Law of the Jungle

First Aired: July 18th, 2003

Synopsis: Peter is working for Professor Connors, who is a jerk, on a serum for regeneration using reptile DNA. Connors is pleased by the test result and shoos Peter out, then injects himself with the serum. Peter catches up with Harry and Mary Jane, who are planning to go through Norman Osborn's things on the anniversary of his death. Peter realises that he forgot to give Connors some test data so tracks him down, where Connors is witnessing a carjacking. Spider-Man stops the criminal and then goes to see Connors as Peter, but the cop questioning Connors about the carjacking is suspicious of Peter and tells him to come to the precinct the next day. As a result, Peter is only briefly able to help Harry and Mary Jane go through Norman's things. The cop is a jerk to Peter, but the power goes out and fighting noises are heard, leading to Peter changing to Spider-Man. He fights a mysterious figure who gets away, leaving behind only a shred of clothing, and the photos he takes of it show it to be something reptilian. Peter goes to see Connors, who has uncharacteristically cancelled his class, and Connors tells Peter that he lost his arm working on explosives for the military. Peter finds some strange scales on Connors' desk and takes them, along with a coat, on his way out.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Two: Royal Scam

Royal Scam

First Aired: July 11th, 2003

Synopsis: Peter Parker is trying to work out a budget when a helicopter flies past chasing a limo. He investigates as Spider-Man and discovers that it's piloted by federal agents who wanted to reach him. A special chip has been developed that can decrypt bank transactions, and they're worried that it could break the world's economy and want Spider-Man to get it so that they can work out how to neutralise it. Unbeknownst to Spider-Man, the agents are actually working for Kingpin, who wants the chip for his own nefarious purposes. Later at university, Mary Jane drops the bombshell on Peter that she's going to ditch class, since she's got an acting showcase, and wants him to come and see it. He says he can't as he has class, but when he goes off as Spider-Man to get the chip and has to wait for it to be unguarded, calls her up and says he'll come after all. He successfully steals the chip and delivers it directly to Kingpin, but is suspicious. His suspicions are heightened when he sees the "federal agent" he talked to is an actor in Mary Jane's play, and he realises that he's been duped. Spider-Man goes after Kingpin's limo and fights him, but is naturally taken aback by Kingpin's strength and the villain escapes. He calls up the local FBI branch and puts in an anonymous tip about what's happened.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode One: Heroes and Villains

 Heroes and Villains

First Aired: July 11th, 2003

Synopsis: Empire State University is planning to destroy the nearby Villeroy Towers building, where many students live, without any compensation. Peter Parker takes photos of a protest and discusses the issue briefly with a disgruntled cleaner, before heading off to take photos of some jewels at a museum for the Daily Bugle. They're stolen by a man in powered armour named Turbo-Jet, but are found at Villeroy Towers the next day. With the reward money for them being found going to the students' protest fund, Turbo-Jet is assumed to be a Robin Hood-esque figure. Elsewhere, Harry Osborn is asked by Oscorp to deliver an announcement about the new science centre that will be built where Villeroy Towers is, as they're the ones behind the whole thing and think that a student making the announcement will help quell the protests. They also show Harry a telescope that was owned by Galileo that will be auctioned off. Later that night, Spider-Man sees Turbo-Jet steal a rare book and tries to convince Turbo-Jet that what he's doing is wrong - partially on account of the collateral damage he's been causing - but Turbo-Jet doesn't listen and leaves.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series: Before Watching

Like Spider-Man Unlimited, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series has kind of gone under the radar a bit. No doubt only being thirteen episodes contributes to that - it's hard to talk about a series when it doesn't have room to flex its muscles - but it also feels like it's a series that people just don't know anything about. All that I really know about it going in is that it's done in 3D, it was originally supposed to be set in the Raimi films' continuity, and it aired on MTV. Not a whole lot to use to extrapolate data - I guess it being on MTV means that it might end up having a better budget? MTV is a cable channel, right? So things on it cost more?

With such little information that I know about it, it's hard for me to speculate about it too much, but I guess I can try. The Raimi films are, in my opinion, a bit flawed and I think that people look at them through rose-tinted glasses a bit, but one thing that I think they did manage excellently was Norman and Harry Osborn - their actors, the acting, their arcs. It's doubtful that we'll get to see Norman, but depending upon how hard this show tries to stick to the promise that it's set in the same continuity as the Raimi films, Harry could end up being really interesting and enjoyable, assuming that he appears in the show. If we get any comics villains showing up, we could also end up with some really cool redesigns; the Raimi films were made in that era when movie villains shied away from the colourful costumes of the comics (I mean, superhero films still do now, but you know what I mean) but their villains generally came out looking alright, even if it wasn't and still isn't exactly my thing.

The 3D animation is something that I can see either being surprisingly good or really bad. We're in the PS2 era now, and honestly, while I do like the graphics level with video games these days, I wouldn't be complaining if we'd never advanced past there. Using that as a baseline for how the graphics could be (I know that Finding Nemo was out in the same year as this, but it's a bit much to expect the show to match the visuals of a big-budget Pixar film) I think I should be able to handle it. At any rate, it can't be awful as the 90's CGI from Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Spider-Man Unlimited: After Watching

Before watching Spider-Man Unlimited, I commented that I wasn't very optimistic about it, and most of my praise for it was to do with the art style and with a hopes about the premise that I wanted to work out. I've finished the series now, and while it definitely isn't my favourite series, I can confidently say that overall, it's...okay.

One of my criticisms of the premise was that personally, I like my Spider-Man to be pretty grounded, and taking him into space and to another world completely wrecks that. Yeah, once he's on Counter-Earth there's an attempt at grounding him there by giving him a photography job with the Daily Byte and a place to stay with Doctor Naoko Yamada-Jones, but that doesn't change the fact that the world he's on is filled with bestials, flying cars, and machine men. I know that the Marvel Universe is itself pretty fantastic (seriously, how many alien species does it have? How many secret, hidden societies can their world fit?) but a good Spider-Man story makes you forget that without losing its ties to the wider world.

It's a bit of a pity, because the writing was pretty solid when it was focusing on the human rebellion or something unique to that world (I'll never forget you, electric eel Electro!) If Spider-Man never travelled to Counter-Earth and the story was instead just about the rebels trying to take down the High Evolutionary, I think we could have gotten a pretty decent series out of it, and there wouldn't have been that lingering sense of "okay but this isn't what I really want to see the protagonist doing." The show's at its worst when it's trying to tell Spider-Man stories - see the awkward attempt at giving Counter-Earth its own Green Goblin mystery, and pretty much everything that Venom and Carnage do - and at its best when it's focusing on its own unique aspects.

I'm feeling conflicted about whether or not to praise the show. On the one hand, when it's bad it's really not worth it, but when it's good it does feel like it's something that you haven't seen a lot of (at least, I hadn't, in terms of the premise. More cyberpunk cartoons, western culture!) It's just...Spider-Man can do so much better, and I'm honestly struggling to think of the moments where it was his actions that really had me enjoying the show and feeling excited. As I said above, this would be a great show if Spider-Man wasn't in it, but he is, so you kind of have to take the good with the bad. Sorry, Spidey; that's just the way it is.

A few final dot points, and then I'll move onto the best and worst episodes so that you, the intelligent reader, know what to look forwards to and what to avoid if you decide to check out this series.

• I didn't talk about them much, but Naoko and Shane were great characters, even if the show seemed indecisive about whether or not Naoko was supposed to be Peter's love interest. They were frequently likable and level-headed.
• I kind of forgot about Lord Tyger until the last few episodes, when he started appearing again, and I also really liked him - he was the only member of the Knights of Wundagore who was somewhat sympathetic to the humans. I realise that it would have killed a lot of the conflict, but I wish that he'd been in the show a lot more than Sir bloody Ram.
• Okay, so maybe I'm undermining myself here since I like the Venom movie's interpretation of Venom, but still, this is easily the worst version of Venom and Carnage I've seen yet. They're boring, inconsistent, significantly changed from the comics version without any sign as to what they can and can't do, and their overall plan is dumb (and also not really explained).
• If you want to do a mystery as to who a character's real identity is, the way to do it is not to drop incredibly obvious hints and then keep playing it up as a mystery. Looking at you, Green Goblin.
• This show's interpretation of Kraven is mostly what you'd expect, but I'm going to reiterate what I mentioned in the review of that episode: the idea that the herbs and stuff he takes are going to lead to an early death but he's okay with that is an amazing interpretation of the character. Seriously, someone at Marvel, please steal this idea and incorporate it into the comics.
• The cast all died in the final episode and you can't convince me otherwise
  

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Thirteen: Destiny Unleashed

 Destiny Unleashed

First Aired: March 31st, 2001

Synopsis: The High Evolutionary is annoyed by everyone taking advantage of him and rants about it to the Knights of Wundagore, then declares that the dawning of the new world order is beginning. In the city, Spider-Man sees an army of machine men and is surprised when they don't attack him; he guesses that they have a more important mission and is proven correct when they start evacuating people from their homes and scanning their identification chips. Spider-Man can't save anyone since there are too many machine men, but when he returns home he finds Naoko being questioned by one since she's suspected of associating with Spider-Man. Spider-Man throws some bins around to create noise and distract the machine men. As Peter, he watches an announcement with Naoko from the High Evolutionary, saying that the machine men will keep searching buildings and emptying them out until the rebels and Spider-Man surrender. Peter changes back to Spider-Man and stops Sir Ram from destroying a building, but he gets attacked by machine men and buried in rubble.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Twelve: Sins of the Father

 Sins of the Father

First Aired: March 24th, 2001

Synopsis: Peter's taking photos when he spots Karen of the rebel underground laying flowers at some graves. She gets attacked by machine men and although Peter tries to save her while in his civilian identity, he fails and she gets taken away, which he blames himself for. As Spider-Man he updates John Jameson on the situation. In Castle Wundagore, the High Evolutionary spots a mark on her arm and decides that she should be taken to a private room rather than an interrogation room, much to Sir Ram's frustration. Lady Vermin goes in to question Karen, but Karen breaks free of her bonds and tries to escape, only to find that there's a force field keyed to her DNA which stops her from leaving. Meanwhile, Spider-Man and X-51 sneak into the machine men's central processing unit, where all data goes through, and use what limited time they have to work out where she was taken. They end up having to break out and narrowly escape from machine men. When the High Evolutionary is told of the break-in, he's dismissive and says that he anticipated something like this and so he put a little surprise in.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Eleven: One is the Loneliest Number

One is the Loneliest Number

First Aired: March 17th, 2001

Synopsis: Spider-Man goes after Venom when he spots him on his own, but Venom attacks him and gets away while Spider-Man is buried under a pile of rubble. When Spider-Man breaks free and catches up to Venom, he finds the symbiote separated from Eddie Brock and thinks about his own experiences with the symbiote and Venom's origin. Although Eddie's delusional and wants to fight Spider-Man, Spidey nevertheless takes Eddie to Naoko's clinic to get help. She examines him and reveals that if he doesn't get  reattached to the symbiote he'll die. Spider-Man agrees to go and find it when Eddie threatens to reveal his identity, even though he would have done so regardless. He runs into Carnage who's on a rampage looking for Venom, and Carnage ends up holding hostages to get Spider-Man to talk, while dangling the latter in front of an upcoming train. Spider-Man gets Carnage to free the hostages then tricks Carnage into getting hit by the car. He then goes to the alley where he found Eddie Brock, where he finds a tiny piece of the symbiote which wants to bond with him.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Ten: Matters of the Heart

Matters of the Heart

First Aired: March 10th, 2001

Synopsis: Lord Tyger is attending a game of baseball, and the human rebellion takes the opportunity to go to his box, hoping that he'll be more reasonable in helping humans compared to his fellow knights. A guard manages to activate the alarm and they're forced to flee, but Bromley's caught in the process. Sir Ram, also in the box, convinces Lord Tyger that the rebels probably wanted to kidnap him. Back home, Peter tests the sonics of his suit before going to a street carnival with Naoko and Shane, thinking about how if he didn't have Mary Jane waiting for him at home that he'd like to get with Naoko. Some guards transporting Bromley start harassing humans, and Peter changes to Spider-Man and saves Bromley. The two of them head to the new rebels' hideout but it turns out to be a trap, and Bromley betrays Spider-Man. Sir Ram and Lady Ursula are there and plan on taking him to the High Evolutionary, but not before Sir Ram will do some experiments and make Spider-Man a braindead shell which he can control.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Nine: Sustenance

Sustenance

First Aired: March 3rd, 2001

Synopsis: In Atlantic City, two bestials are trying to run away from what they call a "freak factory", but one of them is captured by machine men and Lady Ursula while another is mysteriously dragged underground. Back in New York, Peter decide to leave Naoko's place since she's still getting harassed by her husband and he now knows where his spaceship is - Atlantic City - but when he leaves he's attacked by the Green Goblin. Peter gets away and changes to Spider-Man, but a camera the Green Goblin set up catches this and he now knows who Spider-Man is. Spider-Man goes to Atlantic City, secretly followed by the Green Goblin, and finds a giant dome where the spaceship supposedly is. Spider-Man's attacked by the Goblin until he mentions that he's trying to leave, at which point the Goblin is happy to help him. Guards from the dome arrive and the two team up to defeat them. During the fight Spider-Man and the Green Goblin have the ground below them collapse, and they find themselves surrounded by bestial rejects.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Eight: Ill-Met By Moonlight

Ill-Met By Moonlight

First Aired: February 17th, 2001

Synopsis: Spider-Man returns home to find a werewolf attacking Naoko, but when he fights it she tells Spider-Man not to hurt him. Shortly into the fight the sun comes up and the werewolf turns into John Jameson. John reveals that when he first arrived on Counter-Earth, the High Evolutionary experimented on him before he was freed by the human rebels, and that he transforms when there's negative ions in the air. He normally has a chip in him which tricks his body into not transforming at night, but it's been buggy lately. At that point a group of machine men attack, called by a neighbour who saw the fight, but one of them turns out to be a rebuilt X-51, who tricks the others into leaving and then takes John and Spider-Man to a rebel base. Coincidentally, the rebels want Spider-Man to help them on a mission to shut down a power plant that's irradiating the humans' water supply, as his abilities would be best for the job. He agrees to do it, and all of the rebels go to a building where they're attacked by more machine men, who don't fall for X-51's trick this time.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Seven: Cry Vulture

Cry Vulture

First Aired: February 10th, 2001

Synopsis: When Spider-Man's heading home after a meeting with John Jameson, trying to convince him that the two of them should try and get back to their Earth, he sees a man being kidnapped by some bestials. He tries saving him but is attacked by the Counter-Earth version of the Vulture, who thinks that Spider-Man is working with the kidnappers. The kidnappers get away thanks to the fight but Spider-Man manages to put a spider-tracer on their vehicle before they get away. Returning home, he collapses from his injuries and claims to Naoko that he was attacked when he saw a kidnapping and tried intervening - on describing the man, she recognises him as the person who sweeps the street. Peter immediately changes to Spider-Man and goes after his tracer, but finds that it fell off near a warehouse. Exploring it he finds a package of something called Bestial Beauty, and he looks them up and finds a facility of theirs elsewhere in the city. He gets attacked by guards when he gets closer but is saved by Vulture, who spotted him using the tracer and followed him. 

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Six: Enter the Hunter!

Enter the Hunter!

First Aired: February 3rd, 2001

Synopsis: Sir Ram is complaining to the High Evolutionary about how popular Spider-Man is, and the High Evolutionary agrees that Spider-Man should be dealt with. Sir Ram shows footage of Spider-Man breaking up a smuggling operation to a man named The Hunter, who agrees to go after Spider-Man. He sprays potions around Central Park which incites a riot, coincidentally as Peter Parker and Naoko Yamada-Jones are nearby. The former switches to Spider-Man to intervene and stop the beastials and humans from ripping each other apart, and gets some unexpected help from Karen, one of the human underground's agents. The Hunter, watching from the shadows, takes note of this. Karen takes Spider-Man back to one of the underground's bases to let him know that he's got a price on his head and that The Hunter is after him. She warns Spider-Man about The Hunter's ferocity and strength, and tells Spider-Man that The Hunter is one of the few humans allowed to live above ground, in a penthouse. Spider-Man heads out and intends to search for The Hunter and is attacked by him before long. Spider-Man is caught in a sticky net by The Hunter, putting him at his mercy.

 

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Five: Steel Cold Heart

Steel Cold Heart

First Aired: January 13th, 2001

Synopsis: The rebel Bromley is on a mission when he's captured by a machine man. Elsewhere, Peter is at a construction site with Shane when a damaged machine man - serial number X-51 - is found. It's old enough that it's supposed to be dismantled, but it objects and causes chaos at the site. Spider-Man helps contain things, but when Shane is in danger it's X-51 who saves him. Lady Ursula shows up, wanting X-51, and although Spider-Man's willing to fight for him, X-51 surrenders and goes with her. Spider-Man goes after X-51 later with a spider-tracer he put on him but can't get into the laboratory where he is, so teams up with the rebels for help. They manage to get in, but the rebels want X-51 so that they can trade him for Bromley. The rebels and Spider-Man fight Sir Ram, who's examining X-51, and other scientists, and are able to defeat them. They manage to free X-51, but since the rebels are still just planning on trading him away, Spider-Man objects and flees with X-51.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Four: Deadly Choices

Deadly Choices

First Aired: December 23rd, 2000

Synopsis: Ten years ago, a child was kidnapped by Sir Ram and experimented on. In the present day, Lady Vermin reports to Sir Ram that a virus in his labs were stolen by one of the human revolutionaries, named Git Hoskins, who unbeknownst to them was the child kidnapped. Meanwhile, at the Daily Byte, Peter's boss is telling him to find pictures of Spider-Man's love interest, since he's got to have one. Git, pursued by Machine Men, runs past the building, prompting Peter to change into Spider-Man to help him. Git gets away but shortly afterwards the Knights of Wundagore show up, wanting to get Git. They explain what's going on with the virus to Spider-Man and then leave, making it clear that they're only not fighting him since they have more important things to do. Peter returns home to Naoko but John Jameson unexpectedly shows up at the door, injured. Peter hides from him, since he might work out he's Spider-Man if he knows that the two of them are on Counter-Earth, and changes to Spider-Man. Meeting up with the revolutionaries, Spider-Man discovers that Git hasn't brought the virus to them, and that in two hours it's going to detonate and infect everyone if the right codes aren't entered.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Three: Where Evil Nests

Where Evil Nests

 

First Aired: October 16th, 1999

Synopsis: Peter Parker is getting kicked out of his apartment by Naoko Yamada-Jones since he hasn't paid rent and hasn't got a job, but he says he'll get a job taking photos of Spider-Man. As a result of their fighting Naoko's son Shane runs off since he hates fights and Naoko runs off after him. She gets grabbed by tentacles and taken into the sewers, which Shane sees. When Peter runs into him, he says that she was taken by the green thing. After Peter returns Shane home, he heads out as Spider-Man to find Naoko, and runs into Counter-Earth's version of the Green Goblin who he assumes kidnapped Naoko. They fight for a bit but Machine Men show up and they have to team up to defeat them. During the fight they see Shane head into the sewers, since he has a tracker for his mum and thinks he can find her. After defeating the Machine Men Green Goblin and Spider-Man go into the sewers after Shane and are attacked by a giant green blob, the source of the tentacles which grabbed Naoko.

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode Two: Worlds Apart, Part Two

Worlds Apart, Part Two

First Aired: October 9th, 1999

Synopsis: Spider-Man tries fighting back against Sir Ram, and the High Evolutionary gives him a brief overview of his origin - he showed up to Counter-Earth to escape his planet, but found that there was just as much corruption here and so created the human-animal hybrids, the beastials, since they're not as corrupt as humans. Spider-Man manages to break free of the operating table he's strapped to and escapes from the laboratory, where he finds some humans who say that they're here to save him. They cause an explosion as a distraction and while they get away, the rebels explain to Spider-Man that the High Evolutionary showed up fifty years ago, turned humanity into dregs, and created the bestials, but no one knows why. They manage to escape into the sewers, but are followed by Lady Vermin. Although Lord Tyger wants to join her, the High Evolutionary orders him not to, saying that he's bringing in specialists. At the human base, Spider-Man meets an unexpected face: John Jameson.

 

Spider-Man Unlimited Episode One: Worlds Apart, Part One

Worlds Apart, Part One

First Aired: October 2nd, 1999

Synopsis: John Jameson is giving a press conference explaining the discovery of Counter-Earth, located on the opposite side of the sun, and how he'll be travelling there since it's thought its denizens are hostile to Earth. Peter Parker spots some suspicious people near the rocket John will be using, and after changing to Spider-Man, confronts them and discovers that it's Venom and Carnage. He tries fighting them on the outside of the rocket as it takes off, but they manage to knock him off it. Before he falls they say he won't stop them from reaching Counter-Earth and the Synoptic. Since Spider-Man is seen falling from the rocket, it's assumed that he was up to no good, and he soon becomes a pariah. In spite of this he continues to do good, but when he seemingly dies in a burning building, Peter decides to stop being Spider-Man. Shortly afterwards, a transmission from John Jameson arrives, and says that he thinks creatures on Counter-Earth might be going to destroy Earth.

Spider-Man Unlimited: Before Watching

Going into the 1967 series, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and Spider-Man: The Animated Series, I had a few basic ideas about what they were about and what to expect. For the first time since the 1981 series, I'm pretty in the dark about what Spider-Man Unlimited will be like beyond the general premise, which...man, I don't want to be negative here, but it's not a great premise for a Spider-Man series. (For those unaware: Spider-Man goes to Counter-Earth and...fights the High Evolutionary's beast men, I think? And some of his rogues' gallery are beast men?) I've mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of Spider-Man dealing with concepts that are too fantastic, and between him travelling to another planet and running into the mutated beast men that are there, that sure doesn't sound like it's up his alley.

What was the idea behind this series, really? Was it decided that beast men would make great toys, and Spider-Man was a good way to get kids to watch the show? Was an Adam Warlock show pitched and then someone decided that Spider-Man would be a better fit for the lead? Was everyone high off their minds on drugs at the time? I can understand how any of these ideas would get pitched, but going so far as to be approved and then actually developed feels like a stretch.

I really don't have a lot to say here since the show is so obscure - and given that I haven't heard a lot about it, I'm guessing that as much as I'd like it to be the case, it's probably not going to be a hidden gem - so let's focus on some positives before I do a quick analysis of the opening. Spider-Man's costume for this looks absolutely rad, and from what little I've seen of it there's a lot of moody lighting here, which is a cool stylistic choice. Spider-Man being on another planet is a pretty unique take on the character, so we might see more of a focus on his scientific side, or even just get some cool concepts while there. It's not all hopeless.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series: After Watching

Well, here we are. I can now say that I've watched the entirety of one of the most popular Spider-Man cartoons, and honestly, the general opinion on the show is pretty accurate - there are definitely some bad episodes and ideas here, and more than a few that I'm indifferent to, but of the series I've seen so far (for this blog), I'd easily say that this is the most consistently enjoyable. Part of that is no doubt thanks to the show doing a fairly faithful and consistent job of adapting the comics, but even when it tries its own thing it's often fairly successful - I'll happily call this show's take on Hydro-Man the best out of any continuities, including the comics.

It's not like it's just limited to Spider-Man, either - I was surprised by how much both of the 1980s series ended up using the Marvel Universe cast, but they often felt like they'd been arbitrarily thrown into the episodes they were in (looking at you, Medusa) for the sake of it. Here, whenever we've got a guest star - Daredevil, Captain America, Doctor Strange, and more beyond just them - they're inserted into the episode naturally and they're written in a way that's true to their characters. If this was your first exposure to the Marvel Universe, then I can't say it's a bad one to start with.

I was also quite pleased by the way the show handled continuity, compared to the ambitious but ultimately disappointing attempt of the 1981 series, and the pretty stock-standard take of the other series (ie. assume there's no continuity unless it's being brought up within the episode itself). Unfortunately the writers bit off a bit more than they could chew with the season-long arcs - Neogenic Nightmare was stretched out a bit too long, and Sins of the Father and Partners both tried for thematic arcs which didn't really land - but smaller bits of continuity, like the rise and fall of Alistair Smythe, or Peter's relationship with Mary Jane, really worked well and felt like they paid off if you stuck with them.

So, where were the parts that the show failed, then? I was expecting the somewhat more toyetic nature of it to be something of a failure, but honestly, half the time you don't notice how it's affected the show - if I didn't know that Hobgoblin was added in before the Green Goblin to sell toys, I'd have just assumed that the writers were subverting expectations. When the show fails, it's more by its own faults, such as the above-mentioned season-long arcs, or a bizarre writing choice like making Electro the Red Skull's son.

Some final notes and fun headcanons that I'd like to share:

• We never see Shocker with his mask off, and we also never see him in the same place as Ned Leeds. As far as I'm concerned, it's conclusive evidence that they're one and the same.
• In the one episode when an article is shown to be written by Ned Needs, Robbie is the one who supposedly wrote the article, and is being threatened by Tombstone for it. I figure Ned Needs is his alias for when he wants to write an article but keep his name out of the paper for whatever reason, and it was inspired by the Daily Bugle's top reporter.
• Robbie's also mentioned to have, like, four or five wildly different jobs in his past. He also has contacts in Russia, so I'm assuming that he's secretly been a Russian spy all this time. Those past jobs were either lies he's telling now to explain the skills he got as a spy, or they were cover jobs he had to work to get closer to his targets.
• In spite of Spider-Man promising to do so, he never ended up chasing Shocker to the ends of the earth. 

Anyway, those are some of my overall thoughts on Spider-Man: The Animated Series. I'm going to finish off my thoughts on this series with a list of the top ten and the worst ten episodes, so that you, the intelligent reader, know what to look forwards to and what to avoid if you decide to check out this series.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Sixty-Five: Farewell Spider-Man

 Farewell Spider-Man

First Aired: January 31st, 1998

Synopsis: Spider-Carnage starts activating the device that will blow up every reality but the Beyonder sends the powerless Spider-Man to stop him, using sonic grenades to delay him. Beyonder teleports Man-Spider away from Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man, but it's taxed his powers and the rest is up to the heroes. Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider save the powerless Spider-Man from Kingpin and Spider-Carnage, and the latter activates his bomb. The heroes are able to disable it but Spider-Carnage uses the transporter to jump to another dimension. Madam Web teleports the heroes away and reveals that Spider-Carnage is going to try blowing up the multiverse in another dimension, and only has the power to send one Spider-Man there; ours. In the new dimension Spider-Man finds that people love him and his alter ego, who is engaged to Gwen Stacy and has a public identity. Nobody is aware of the threat of Spider-Carnage, and Spider-Man's supporting cast are insistent that he come to a charity event his company is throwing. Wilson Fisk, who is his lawyer in this universe, takes Peter away, but it's revealed to be a trap and Fisk is working with Spider-Carnage.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Sixty-Four: I Really, Really Hate Clones

 I Really, Really Hate Clones

First Aired: January 31st, 1998

Synopsis: Spider-Man is transported to a Manhattan that's heavily destroyed, and the Beyonder tells him that he's responsible for it. Before he can explain what he means Hobgoblin and Green Goblin fly past and head to the Daily Bugle, where they attack J. Jonah Jameson, as they need him to unlock the security for the microwave satellite on the roof. Spider-Man fights them and they're confused, as he's the one that told them to do this. They end up blowing up the Daily Bugle, and Spider-Man loses them as he escapes the explosion. He manages to save J. Jonah Jameson but the goblins get away with the satellite regardless. Spider-Man's attacked by a Spider-Carnage hybrid and is about to be killed when he's teleported to the Beyonder. The Beyonder reveals that the longer he's in this dimension the weaker he gets, and shows Spider-Man the allies that have been brought here - a powerless Spider-Man, a Spider-Man with Doctor Octopus' tentacles, the Scarlet Spider, a Spider-Man in armour, and a six-armed Spider-Man. Scarlet Spider reveals that they're all in his reality, and that he's supposedly a clone of Spider-Man, except that a test by Professor Connors revealed that he's the original. The supposedly-original Spider-Man snapped at that news, and bonded with Carnage when he came through a portal thanks to Kingpin's research into other dimensions.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Sixty-Three: Secret Wars, Chapter 3: Doom

 Doom

First Aired: November 21st, 1997

Synopsis: Spider-Man and the Lizard rendezvous with the Fantastic Four, who they find injured from a fight with Doctor Doom's robots, and missing the Thing, who was captured by Doom. In Doom's land of New Latveria, he menacingly asks the Thing why they've been brought to Battleworld and by whom. The Fantastic Four go to save the Thing in spite of Spider-Man's insistence that they wait for reinforcements, and upon arriving at New Latveria, discover that they are let in without issue and that within it's a paradise for the native aliens of the planet. At Doctor Doom's castle, a human Ben Grimm greets them and explains that he was transformed back by Doom. Doom himself arrives and explains that he's not a tyrant - he's ruling over the aliens because if he doesn't, another villain will capture them and rule over them. He also reveals that he's fixed up his face so that it's no longer scarred. Reed is doubtful of all of this and attacks Doom, leading to all of the heroes being captured. The Thing tries to convince Doom to let them be free, and Doom points out that the Thing won't even tell him how they got here. The Thing agrees to tell him if the heroes are free, and explains about the Beyonder.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Sixty-Two: Secret Wars, Chapter 2: The Gauntlet of the Red Skull

 The Gauntlet of the Red Skull

First Aired: November 14th, 1997

Synopsis: On Earth, Morbius and Blade hunt Blade's mother alongside Black Cat, who unexpectedly disintegrates and appears on Battleworld, thanks to a machine operated by Iron Man and the Lizrd. She's confused until Spider-Man reveals that he asked them to do so. The remaining alien natives of the planet are planning an attack on the Red Skull's base and are eager to do so; although Spider-Man wants them to wait until his team are more prepared, he ends up agreeing to attack when they do. Black Cat is annoyed at Spider-Man for summoning her without her permission, and Spider-Man says that he did so because they work well together, to which Black Cat rebuts that he basically wanted her there to make him feel good. The heroes - minus Storm, who is with the alien rebels, and the Fantastic Four, who are attacking Doctor Doom's base - head off to meet up with the rebels, but a sandstorm causes their transport to break down, forcing them to walk. In the Red Skull's base, Smythe reveals a giant robot to Red Skull, and Red Skull in turn reveals that Doctor Octopus is working with them now after Doctor Doom annexed his kingdom. Smythe notes that both villains are planning on stabbing the other in the back.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Sixty-One: Secret Wars, Chapter 1: Arrival

 Arrival

First Aired: November 7th, 1997

Synopsis: Spider-Man floats through a vortex of floating colours before arriving on a planet, where a pair of eyes floating in the sky express disappointment in him. Madam Web convinces the eyes to give Spider-Man a shot, and the eyes turn into a being calling himself the Beyonder. The Beyonder wants to learn about good and evil, and as an experiment, transports Doctor Octopus, Doctor Doom, Alistair Smythe, the Lizard, and Red Skull to a peaceful planet that has no concept of evil, and then accelerates time by a year, by which point the world has been ravaged. Spider-Man gets transported to the planet and is told to stop the villains, but gets his choice of heroes to assist him. Spider-Man gets the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Captain America, and Storm transported to the planet. While he's trying to allay their suspicions, the Lizard bursts out of a room he was being held in and attacks Spider-Man, but is defeated by the heroes.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Sixty: The Return of Hydro-Man, Part 2

 The Return of Hydro-Man, Part 2

First Aired: October 31st, 1997

Synopsis: In the aftermath of the fight with Hydro-Man, Black Cat briefly flirts with Spider-Man but says that she's returning to Europe to be with Morbius. Mary Jane is jealous of this, and goes to the police with Peter to report that she's been found. Afterwards the two of them go to Doctor Connors, who speculates that the nightmare she had last episode is repressed memories of where she was when she was missing. She recounts the nightmare and the sensations she experienced in it. At a laboratory elsewhere, Hydro-Man notes that he's having difficulty reconstituting himself to a scientist there, and snaps when he's reminded of Mary Jane. He eavesdrops on Aunt May and finds out where Peter and Mary Jane will be that day, which is the Brooklyn Bridge. He attacks them and Mary Jane disappears into the river with him. 

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-Nine: The Return of Hydro-Man, Part 1

 The Return of Hydro-Man, Part 1

First Aired: October 24th, 1997

Synopsis: Mary Jane has a nightmare when Peter is driving the two of them to Niagra Falls for their delayed honeymoon. They get on their boat but are attacked by Hydro-Man out of nowhere, who captures Mary Jane and says he'll be taking her back to New York. Peter returns there himself but after hours of looking for her as Spider-Man is unsuccessful and reports what happened to Detective Terri Lee. He's feeling useless but gets an unexpected visit from Felicia Hardy, who gives him a pep talk and inspires him to keep looking. Unbeknownst to Peter, she too is going to look for Mary Jane as the Black Cat. As Spider-Man, Peter retrieves Mary Jane's jacket that she was wearing when Hydro-Man captured her from the police, and analyses it. From some of the residue on it from Hydro-Man, Peter works out that Mary Jane's being kept on an oil rig.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-Eight: Six Forgotten Warriors, Chapter Five: The Price of Heroism

 The Price of Heroism

First Aired: October 17th, 1997

Synopsis: Spider-Man and Silver Sable are captured by a trap of the Red Skull's as they pursue him. The Red Skull reveals that the robots in the base aren't the doomsday device; they were there to safeguard a device which powers up his son, the real doomsday weapon. His son gains electricity powers and is dubbed Electro by the Red Skull. Electro takes out the Insidious Six and the Six American Warriors, but his powers start to tax him so he flees with the Red Skull and Chameleon. While Insidious Six get away, the Six American Warriors tell Silver Sable that they don't need her, and start planning how to turn the situation away. At the Red Skull's secret base Electro is annoyed at Red Skull since his life was at risk when he got his powers, so he leaves. Drunk on power, he shuts down electricity in New York and broadcasts himself across the planet, demanding that he be made ruler of the world. The Six American Warriors and Spider-Man show up and try fighting him, but are defeated again. Electro returns to where he got his powers and powers up the robots, then heads to the UN with them to continue his demands.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-Seven: Six Forgotten Warriors, Chapter Four: The Six Fight Again

 The Six Fight Again

First Aired: October 10th, 1997

Synopsis: Robbie shows up at Omar Mosely's house for the keys he has to the doomsday device, but once Mosely takes him to the lockbox where he has them, Robbie reveals himself to be the Chameleon. Spider-Man and the Destroyer show up and get the keys back, but the rest of the Insidious Six attack and defeat Spider-Man and the Destroyer. The Black Marvel unexpectedly shows up and saves them, but Kingpin reveals that he's holding the real Robbie Robertson hostage, and forces the heroes to give him the two keys. After Robbie's freed, Destroyer is suspicious of the Black Marvel since he's supposed to be dead, but Black Marvel unmasks and reveals that he is and always has been Omar Mosely, as the original test subject was forbidden to participate by his father, but it was a good cover to keep. Black Marvel and Destroyer gather the remaining members of the Six - Miss America and the Whizzer - and they agree to fight again alongside Spider-Man to find the Thunderer and protect the last key.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-Six: Six Forgotten Warriors, Chapter Three: Secrets of the Six

 Secrets of the Six

First Aired: October 3rd, 1997

Synopsis: Peter and Robbie go to see Omar Mosely, his mentor, who reveals that he has Captain America's shield. Mosely gives the origin of Captain America and explains that after the super-soldier serum was lost, five more people were experimented on in an attempt to recreate the formula. They became the heroes The Destroyer, Miss America, The Thunderer, The Black Marvel, and The Whizzer, and although their powers had limited use and could be controlled via rings they wore, they fought alongside Captain America as the Six American Warriors. After discovering of a doomsday device the Red Skull had created, they went to stop him from using it, but in the process, Captain America and the Red Skull fell into some beams which caused them to vanish. The remaining warriors vowed to free Captain America one day, but were forced to disband. They each took one of the keys needed to activate the doomsday device to stop it from being activated. In the present, Kingpin reveals that he's used some databases he's hacked into to discover the identities of the warriors, and sends Rhino after The Whizzer and Vulture after Miss America.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-Five: Six Forgotten Warriors, Chapter Two: Unclaimed Legacy

 Unclaimed Legacy

First Aired: September 26th, 1997

Synopsis: Groitzig is taken to Silver Sable's employer by the Wild Pack, who unmasks before him and causes him to recoil in horror. In the apartment where Spider-Man and Robbie were attacked, Robbie disarms the bomb left there and the two of them escape from the Russian police who have arrived. The next day Robbie gets the address of Groitzig's daughter from his old friend Detective Boris, and he and Peter go to question her. She's reluctant to let them in until she realises that Peter is Richard and Mary's daughter. She remembers them coming to Moscow when she was young to warn her father to get out, since people would be after him for the doomsday device he created. He was forced to create it by the Red Skull, and it was hidden in New York. The only other information she has is that her father said he had to find the Six Forgotten Warriors. Groitzig's daughter reveals a hidden box full of information about the doomsday device which she wants to give to Peter, but her husband reveals that he's the Chameleon in disguise and gets away with it.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-Four: Six Forgotten Warriors, Chapter One

 Six Forgotten Warriors, Chapter One

First Aired: September 19th, 1997

Synopsis: A man goes to SHIELD headquarters, where Nick Fury says that he needs to stop May Parker. In Europe, an old man is hunted and captured by Silver Sable, and when the news gets to America, Robbie Robertson lets a mysterious figure know. For his part, when Kingpin hears about it he reveals that he's keen to capture the old man - a World War II scientist called Wolfgang Groitzig - and reassembles the Insidious Six to free Chameleon, replacing Mysterio with Vulture. In Queens, Peter finds his parents' old passports which shows they travelled all over the world, and is going to ask Aunt May about it when the man from the start of the episode, Keene Marlowe, shows up for a visit, claiming to be an old friend of Uncle Ben's. He looks around the house for a bit before returning to SHIELD, with Peter in costume as Spider-Man following him to the Helicarrier. While hiding in the Helicarrier's vents, Spider-Man overhears Nick Fury say that he can't let Richard and Mary Parker's names be cleared, as they're believed to be traitors.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-Three: The Wedding

 The Wedding

First Aired: September 12th, 1997

Synopsis: Aunt May and Peter go to the bank, where Aunt May takes her and Ben's old wedding rings out of a safety deposit box to give to Peter. As this is happening, however, Scorpion attacks the bank, and manages to escape with Aunt May as a hostage despite Spider-Man's best efforts. Outside, Spider-Man taunts Scorpion so that he drops Aunt May, and he saves her while Scorpion escapes. In Ravencroft Asylum, Harry Osborn is in therapy, and although he still has issues to get through, he thinks that he was only imagining that Peter was Spider-Man. He gets a visit from Mary Jane and Liz Allen, and when Mary Jane tells Harry that she's marrying Peter, he has a breakdown and starts seeing visions of the Green Goblin again. Shortly afterwards, he escapes from Ravencroft and makes an alliance with Alistair Smythe, who also brings in Scorpion as muscle. Smythe builds robotic warriors to assist Harry.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-Two: Partners in Danger, Chapter 11 - The Prowler

 The Prowler

First Aired: August 2nd, 1997

Synopsis: Returning home to his new apartment after an evening of Spider-Man, Peter is attacked by the Prowler, who unmasks and reveals that he's Hobie Brown, who Peter doesn't recognise. Hobie soliloquises about his life, explaining that he'd been a petty crook working for a crime boss named Iceberg when he'd decided to start taking some of the loot for himself, but was caught and subsequently kicked out of the gang. Obsessed with power and not wanting to resort to an ordinary life, Hobie tried stealing from Mary Jane when he saw her and Peter finishing inspecting their new apartment, but Spider-Man stopped him shortly afterwards. Hobie was taken to prison where he saved Richard Fisk's life, resulting in the Kingpin freeing him and granting him the Prowler suit in return. As the Prowler, Hobie went after Iceberg and managed to take over his gang, but the suit then started short-circuiting. Kingpin contacted Hobie and revealed that Hobie wouldn't be able to remove the suit, and that he'd have to work for him or else the suit would repeatedly jolt him.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty-One: Partners in Danger, Chapter 10 - The Lizard King

 The Lizard King

First Aired: July 26th, 1997

Synopsis: After revealing his identity to Mary Jane last episode, Peter asks her to marry him, using a spider-tracer as an improvised ring, and she agrees. After telling their aunts about it - May approves, Anna doesn't and has to refrain from pointing the Punisher in Peter's direction - they go to Professor Connors at university to ask for him to take the role of Mary Jane's father in the wedding, since neither of them have any significant male figures in their lives. Connors agrees, but the three of them are then attacked by lizard-people, who manage to kidnap Connors and Mary Jane. Peter follows them into the sewers using the signal from the spider-tracer he gave Mary Jane, while the lizard-people reveal that they used to be ordinary reptiles in the sewers until they drank a mysterious liquid, which Connors thinks is part of a failed experiment he poured down the sink. Connors semi-transforms into the Lizard and fights the lizard-people, giving Mary Jane the opportunity to escape. Spider-Man finds her and sends her back to the street, but she doesn't plan on just siting around and waiting for him to come back.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Fifty: Partners in Danger, Chapter 9 - The Haunting of Mary Jane

The Haunting of Mary Jane

First Aired: July 19th, 1997

Synopsis: At a pirate-themed fundraiser, robotic pirates attack everyone and start getting away with valuables. Spider-Man fights them off right before Mysterio, who is behind the attack, appears, but Spider-Man's able to defeat him and get him thrown in jail. One prison guard explains Mysterio's origin to another, and mentions that in the last film he was working on before he became Mysterio, the actress, Miranda Wilson, disappeared during a stunt gone wrong. Coincidentally that same film is being picked up to be finished, and Mary Jane has been cast in Miranda's role since they look similar. The film is shooting at the same studio where Spider-Man first fought Mysterio, which was filled with traps and hidden passageways back then. On the first day of shooting, Mary Jane is preparing for the role when a ghostly figure of her father appears and leads her away. Peter, who is on set for some reason, changes to Spider-Man and investigates, and leads Mary Jane away from the underground cavern she's ended up in.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Forty-Nine: Partners in Danger, Chapter 8 - The Return of the Green Goblin

The Return of the Green Goblin

First Aired: July 12th, 1997

Synopsis: Harry Osborn has a nightmare about Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, and when he wakes up, hallucinates the Green Goblin directing him to Oscorp and directing him to inhaling Goblin gas. Elsewhere, the Punisher is at a graveyard when he spots Anna Watson, and tries to comfort her. She takes him home and serves him tea, and says that she knows of a criminal, Peter Parker, who's responsible for the disappearance of her niece, although she doesn't have any evidence. Peter, for his part, is returning to his apartment when his spider-sense warns him of it blowing up, before the Green Goblin appears. Peter changes to Spider-Man and fights the Goblin, unmasking him to discover that it's Harry. Harry gets away, but he's soon declared missing by the media, and the Punisher decides to track him down. Peter heads to Osborn Estate in search of Harry and instead finds a laptop with Goblin hideout locations on it, but is followed by the Punisher as he leaves, who also went to the mansion to try and find Harry.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Forty-Eight: Partners in Danger, Chapter 7 - The Vampire Queen

The Vampire Queen

First Aired: May 17th, 1997

Synopsis: In a vaguely European country, Blade chases after a female vampire, who manages to escape from him by unclasping her cape when he's holding onto it. In the cape he finds a pendant which causes him to cry out in despair. Back in New York, Morbius, who hasn't drained anyone's plasma since returning to his more humanoid form, is found by the vampire woman, who reveals that her name is Miriam. She found Morbius using a psychic link they have and reads Morbius' mind to find out information about the neogenic recombinator. She steals it from Herbert Landon, but in the process drains plasma from some ESU students, which leads to everyone thinking Morbius is the culprit. Spider-Man and Black Cat go to Blade's mentor, Whistler, and they team up with Terri Lee to go after Morbius, only to find Miriam stealing electronics for the neogenic recombinator. While fighting her Blade bursts in, reveals that she's his mother, and that he won't let them hurt her.