Ultimate Spider-Man Episode Six: Why I Hate Gym

Why I Hate Gym

First Aired: April 29th, 2012

Synopsis: Spider-Man and White Tiger team up to defeat Batroc the Leaper, and White Tiger criticises Spider-Man for not training enough. Unbeknownst to them, Doctor Octopus and Taskmaster watch them. The next day, Principal Coulson reveals that they've got a new gym teacher, Mr. Jaeger, who unbeknownst to the students, is Taskmaster in disguise. In gym class Jaeger puts the team through a rigorous obstacle course in the hopes of discovering which of them is Spider-Man, and gets suspicious of Flash Thompson. Peter, for his part, intentionally does badly at the course. Jaeger tells Flash, Harry Osborn, and Danny Rand to come to school the next day - a Saturday - since they've done so well. Ava did a good job but wasn't asked to come in, and she's insulted enough that she shows up the next day anyway, where she finds the school locked up and with the security devices SHIELD installed activated. She calls Peter up and the two of them enter the school as White Tiger and Spider-Man. The two find Coulson tied up in his office, where he reveals that Taskmaster has taken over the school, and they can't call Fury because signals are being blocked.

They run off as they hear Harry scream, and miss Coulson telling them about Taskmaster's powers - to perfectly imitate peoples' fighting styles after seeing them once. Taskmaster manages to defeat Danny, who tries to defend Harry and Flash, and when Flash runs off but Spider-Man appears, Taskmaster thinks that this confirms that Flash is Spider-Man. White Tiger manages to unmask Taskmaster and realises that his gym course was all so that he could find out Spider-Man's identity. Taskmaster tells Spider-Man that he's there to offer him a job, and he'll only take Spider-Man to his boss if Spider-Man refuses. Spider-Man does refuse and runs off with White Tiger. He realises that if Taskmaster can't see them he can't copy their moves, so they lure him to the gym, where they've turned off the lights, and fight him using night vision equipment. When Taskmaster's defeated, he sees Flash Thompson and Spider-Man in the same room and realises that he's wrong, but manages to escape with a smoke bomb, leaving behind a mask of Mr. Jaeger in the process. In the aftermath Taskmaster tells Doctor Octopus that Spider-Man isn't at the school. Ava, meanwhile, realises that Spider-Man does a good job without training, and apologises.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• There's no reason given for it, but Sam Alexander doesn't appear in this episode at all. Presumably the others got sick of him offscreen and murdered him or something.
• The alias Taskmaster uses - Mr. Jaeger - is German for hunter.
• Taskmaster mentions that he was double-crossed by Nick Fury in the past, and that he'll double-cross Spider-Man when it suits him. Foreshadowing?

Review: It's not what I'd call perfect, but this is the first episode of the show I've actively enjoyed. While there are a number of elements I could point to (and will) as the reason for this, I think that one of the main reasons is a simple one - it cuts down on the large cast and chooses to focus on only two members of the ensemble, namely White Tiger and Spider-Man. It's a smart move - it lets the episode focus on their dynamic, and lets the fight scenes showcase a few different tricks they've got. Bonus points for not forgetting the other characters - Luke doesn't have any reason to show up at school, and Danny still has a role to play in the plot.

Then, of course, there's Taskmaster. He's intimidating, imposing, and competent. His plot to discover Spider-Man's identity is a little contrived and simple - he never considers that Spider-Man might try and hide his abilities - but it works well enough to get everyone to where they need to be. And of course there's the final fight - Spider-Man working out the logical weakness of Taskmaster needing sight is great as it is, but on top of that, he and White Tiger switch web shooters/electrical claws, allowing them to use moves Taskmaster doesn't see coming, and switch around the layout of the gym so that when he tries to use his photographic memory to run around it, he's completely baffled. It's genuinely clever and satisfying to see.

There are a few flaws in the episode - in spite of the hype about the SHIELD security being turned on, it doesn't really amount to anything, and there's no reason for White Tiger and Spidey to need night vision gear when their senses should be sufficient - but none of it's enough to ruin the episode. More like this, please.