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.

After Spider-Man leaves, one of Silver Sable's thugs reveals that he's captured Harry, Mary Jane, and Indy as a lure for Peter. Not realising this, Peter goes to Indy's work to look for her, and after using the more advanced auto-sharpen technology they have there on his footage, realises that Silver Sable has been disguised as the mayor's aide and could have killed him whenever she wants, meaning that Tremaine is the real target. He places an anonymous tip about it, but Sable calls him and warns him where he has to go or his friends will be killed. Peter saves them as Spider-Man, but finds that his tip thwarted Sable's attempt to kill Tremaine at a gala and she's now driving away with the mayor and Tremaine in a limousine. He goes after the limousine and the two of them fight while the limo's on cruise control, and Sable explains that Tremaine is actually a terrorist who's planning on killing the president, and she has orders to stop him by any means necessary. The limo goes off a bridge and Spider-Man saves it with his webs, but Silver Sable goes into the water. Tremaine is told he'll be placed into custody. The next day, Mary Jane goes to see Peter to explain how jealous she was of Indy and how she was thinking of Peter when captured, but Indy is already there, having implicitly stayed the night.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• When the bomb's on the limousine at the start of the episode, it has six seconds until it explodes. It's hard to tell, because there's a slow-motion bit, but by my estimate it takes about eight seconds until the actual detonation.
• Silver Sable has an American accent in this episode, even though when the gang look her up they note that she's Eastern European. I'll No-Prize it by saying that she's using the accent at all times so that she won't slip up while disguised as the mayor's aide, but I'd rather she switch accent based on whether she's currently disguised or not.
• Man, this version of Harry Osborn should be a giant shit based on his actions, but he gives absolutely zero fucks about anything which somehow comes all the way around to making him awesome. While at dinner, his thoughts imply that he wants Peter to have a threesome with Mary Jane and Indy, and after they realise that Silver Sable is (supposedly) after the mayor, he comments, "And on that Hardy Boy note: cocktail, anyone?"
• When Silver Sable calls up Peter to tell him about the hostage situation, she gives him ten minutes to show up. What the hell makes her think that he can get anywhere in ten minutes? New York is a big place.
• Just in case anyone is worried about Silver Sable lying about Tremaine being a terrorist, it's okay; she explains that she's got the evidence on her Palm Pilot. I'd download a copy of the evidence to my own, but I think I left it back in 1997.

Review: Silver Sable is an awesome character (side note: when Silver and Black, or Silver Sable: The Movie, or whatever is going on with the character over at Sony, comes out, I think it'll be a pretty good film, albeit probably not very much of a comic book film), which is why it's a disappointment that this episode screws her up so much. I can handle her no longer being a Nazi hunter, and she and Spidey regularly clash; that's all good. What isn't great is her horrible, "The ends justify the means," attitude, which has her genuinely planning to kill Peter's friends, all so that she can get his footage which...shows that she was present and trying to kill a guy. Now, I get that she doesn't want to be linked to the killing (even though she's explicitly working for someone, so some people already know), but if that's the case, why don't you try going for something more subtle than a bomb, Sable?

The more I think about the plot, the less sense it makes. Other than "because then we wouldn't have a plot," why doesn't Sable just use a bullet at the start of the episode to kill Tremaine? Bonus points, it doesn't get the mayor killed too! Why doesn't she tell Spider-Man what's going on rather than cryptically saying that "things aren't as they seem"? If she wants Peter's footage so much to hide her involvement, why do she and her thugs shoot up Peter and Harry's place LOUDLY and conspicuously? All of her actions exist only to cause tension and conflict in the plot, but it's so transparent that it just makes her look like an unlikable maniac. You deserved better, Sable.

The good, very quickly: At the start of the episode you can see Sable's wig which hints that she's the disguised mayor's aide; good job there, someone. Harry exists here more for quip purposes than as a character, but he manages to be entertaining as a result. After Peter's weird desire to just do casual stuff with Indy last episode, this time around he firmly puts his foot down and asks her out on a date. None of this is enough to salvage the crappy writing Silver Sable gets, or really elevate the episode, but it's stuff, I guess.