The End

The End

When I first started this blog, I gave a list of Spider-Man shows that I was planning to watch, and said that I wanted to work my way through all of them. Well, I've now done that, and you know what? I'm done. This has been a fun project, but it's also gradually become something of a time sink. I've achieved what I've set out to do, and I feel satisfied that I've now caught up on every current Spider-Man cartoon. While it's true that there's the upcoming Spider-Man: Freshman Year for Disney+, it's not coming out for ages. Maybe I'll change my mind by then and end up covering each episode here as they come out, but I doubt it - it's much more likely that I'll just wait for the entire season to come out then watch it all over the course of a few days.

There are a few other series I could have covered, but I ultimately didn't consider them to be within the scope of this series, and with one exception, I'm not really curious about seeing any of them, as I was with the numerous cartoon episodes I've watched over the years. Going through them:

• Spidey and His Amazing Friends: This show has a younger demographic than any show I've covered here. While I've covered plenty of stuff here out of my demographic, the implication was that it always aspired to appeal to all ages, at least. I can't judge a show like Spidey and His Amazing Friends fairly because what denotes a good episode is so far out of my wheelhouse, it wouldn't be fair.
• The Amazing Spider-Man (1977): The scope of this blog has always been aimed at cartoons, and I don't have high hopes for the execution of this show. While I think it's probably got some fun stuff and would tap into the zeitgeist of the late 70s well, I don't care about it enough to write up a post for each episode.
• Spider-Man Japan: Everyone loves Spider-Man Japan and Leopardon, that's true, but the general vibe I get from it is that it's nothing like Spider-Man at all. See also my comments above about this blog always aiming at covering cartoons, too.
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Well, it's animated, but it's also a movie. I'm not sure how I would cover it, unless I split it up into multiple posts covering around twenty minutes each? Nah, I'm good. Anyway, what do you need to hear my opinion on Into the Spider-Verse for? You should already know how damn good it is.

I've had fun doing this blog, and I hope you've had fun reading it, too. If you've enjoyed reading my rambling, incoherent thoughts, then I'd encourage you to check me out at Too Many Teeth, my game development site where I occasionally post blogs musing on video games. I'm also working on a visual novel at the moment, so if horror's your jam, please come and check that out!

Of course, even with this being my final post, I can't just leave it like this - I will, naturally, finish things off with one, final top ten list. Thank you for reading.

Marvel's Spider-Man: After Watching

If I had to sum up Marvel's Spider-Man with three words, it'd be "Dan Slott's Spider-Man". Much of the series' DNA very much feels like his writing, even ignoring the arcs that are directly based on his own comics like Spider-Island or Superior Spider-Man. It's the little details, like the occasional references to wheatcakes, or Harry Osborn's Hobgoblin using a flaming sword, that really stick out as his fingerprint. Unfortunately, while I mostly like Dan Slott's run on Amazing Spider-Man, there wasn't as much here that I felt really worked brilliantly. Most of it was adequate, but when Dan Slott's at his best he's coming up with clever concepts, like Sandman merging with the Sahara Desert, or Cloak and Dagger working with Mr. Negative, or a prison where they shrink down the prisoners using Pym Particles.

This show, by comparison, frequently feels underwhelming. It doesn't quite hit the level of Ultimate Spider-Man's logic, where the characters would shout out that doing something inane would randomly defeat the villain, but at the same time it's hard to feel that there were many clever solutions to problems in the show. Some of the arcs drag on quite a bit, and it felt like we didn't really get to see many of Spider-Man's most iconic villains in the show - we never even get a decent Green Goblin! Instead we get underwhelming antagonists like the Wake Riders and Regent, who never show any potential to be interesting villains.

That's not to say that this was a bad show, though. I always love a good, conflicted Harry Osborn, and this show had that - and a good character arc for Harry - in spades. Peter's friends were all really likeable, and I'm pleased that they all ended up getting powers, even if it did take Gwen and Anya far too long to learn that Peter was Spider-Man. Peter's mind getting trapped inside the neuro-cortex when Doctor Octopus took over his body worked a lot better than what ended up happening in the original comics, and speaking of Doctor Octopus, he worked well as a redeemed villain and new ally of Peter's after the Superior Spider-Man arc was done.

The takeaway that I'd say that other Spider-Man shows should get from this series is that Peter having a solid supporting cast is always a recipe for success, whether or not they're super-powered. Some of the other show's ideas, like its heavy focus on science, don't exactly hurt it, but I didn't feel like they were all that necessary, even if they did help to give the show an identity of its own. Beyond that, maybe don't reinvent the wheel when it comes to villains - of the classic Spider-Man villains, the only one that I felt really had a good reinterpretation was the Lizard, and that was moreso owing to his Curt Connors side being a jerk.

A few final notes on the series:

• This show really doesn't like to decisively deal with villains, does it? Swarm and the Lizard are brought up in the final episode but nothing ever really comes of them, so I guess they're both just out there roaming somewhere. Alistair and Spencer Smythe both sort of quietly fade out of the show, with nothing ever being done with Alistair attending Horizon (although I guess he could be in jail?). And I guess Eddie Brock is just floating in a tank at the space research place for the rest of his life?
• So...why the hell was Norman Osborn trying to unleash a chemical attack on Manhattan at the start of Spider-Island, anyway?
  
• I didn't mention it in any of my episode synopses, but there's a recurring gag about Miles doing the robot that starts out mildly amusing, but continues to get better whenever it's brought up.
• While I'm glad that the show didn't rush into Peter taking photos for J. Jonah Jameson as a job, it never really went anywhere before Jonah just sort of disappeared from the show. I don't need Peter to be working at the Daily Bugle, but it's such a solid set-up that if you're not doing it, you'd sure as hell better be replacing it with something interesting.
• Between this show and Ultimate Spider-Man, I'm sort of getting sick of big symbiote invasions (which never really work that well for Spider-Man stories, anyway). I had my gripes with Spectacular Spider-Man's Venom stuff, but at least that show knew what works for Venom and what's silly monster stuff.
• I never thought that I needed sporty Mary Jane in my life, but she worked really well here and was consistently fantastic in the final season. I'd hesitate to call her the best animated Mary Jane without rewatching some other Spider-Man shows to refresh my memory, but she's definitely up there.
  

Anyway, those are some of my overall thoughts on Marvel's Spider-Man. 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.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifty-Seven: Maximum Venom

Maximum Venom

First Aired: October 25th, 2020

Synopsis: Spider-Man and the Avengers are in a Quinjet which falls from the sky. When they crash MODOK emerges, but they stop him with Spider-Man's help. Iron Man is impressed and says that he might have a place on the Avengers for Spider-Man. Later, a school dance is getting organised to welcome Max back at Horizon, and to Peter's surprise he's asked to it by Mary Jane. Back at school, Peter, Anya, and Gwen find out that while Grady was setting things up for the dance he saw a shadowy figure that he thinks was the Lizard, so they investigate as their alter egos. They encounter not the Lizard, but Venom, who manages to escape. When the school dance happens the next day, Max shows everyone a teleporter that he created thanks to Peter fixing an equation for him. He then opens a portal to a planet of symbiotes and reveals that he's Venom. The portal is shut down by Anya and Miles as students flee, but Venom soon goes to the generator and turns it back on, revealing as he does so that some of the symbiote survived and hid inside the symbiote's seed, which then got inside Max and slowly started influencing him. Venom successfully opens the portal and symbiotes come through, revealing that they're going to destroy Earth.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifty-Six: Generations

Generations

  

First Aired: September 27th, 2020

 

Synopsis: Under Curt Connors' iron fist Horizon students are being made to do science experiments without being told why. Drones are coming in and out of the school to deliver mysterious packages, and Peter and his friends find that they're delivering Jackal serum. While Anya and Miles try to investigate the faculty lounge, Spider-Gwen and Spider-Man go to the warehouse it originated from. They find a secret lab in it which responds to Gwen's DNA, and then are attacked by shark monsters and the Jackal. They manage to stop them, but the Jackal floods his base, leading to the heroes having to make a hasty retreat. They return to Horizon where Miles and Anya have been captured for trying to break into the faculty lounge by Connors and Anya's sister Maria, a faculty member. Connors reveals that they've been trying to combine the Jackal serum with the symbiote, all to cure his boss - a weakened and near-dead Norman Osborn. Norman receives the hybrid and becomes the Dark Goblin.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifty-Five: Spider-Man Unmasked

Spider-Man Unmasked

First Aired: August 15th, 2020

 

Synopsis: Max Modell is on trial at Horizon to determine whether or not he should still be allowed to be principal, and Spider-Man brings a recording of Doctor Octopus talking about what a good person Max is as evidence. Curt Connors dismisses it, but Peter finds out that if he can get his classmate Alexei to testify about how Max helped cure him from being the Rhino, he'll probably win the case. Alexei is missing so Spider-Man tracks him to the East Side docks, where he finds he's Rhino once more. Spider-Man follows Rhino into the sewers where he's attacked by Swarm, a man made of bees. He manages to get away from Swarm with Rhino and the serum that transformed him, but when he and his friends cure him at Horizon they find out that it isn't Alexei. Spider-Man gives testimony in Max's defence but Connors says that his testimony doesn't count since he's Peter Parker, Max's lab assistant. Spider-Man is urged to unmask and he does, and as such Max is removed as principal. The Rhino then appears again and runs off, and Grady Scraps explains that he was stung by something that mutated him.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifty-Four: Vengeance of Venom

Vengeance of Venom

First Aired: June 21st, 2020

Synopsis: Peter warns Aunt May that aliens might be invading soon and gives her a device to protect herself, then heads to Avengers Tower as Spider-Man. The Avengers arrive from space but they've been infected with symbiotes, and to make matters worse, a larger ship is coming. More and more heroes get infected by the symbiotes but when a possessed Dagger mentions a seed Spider-Man realises that the seed Venom used is calling the symbiotes to Earth. Spider-Man heads to Horizon and manages to pump the seed full of electricity, destroying it, but moments later a symbiote-infected Doctor Strange arrives. He forces Spider-Man to flee then reassembles the seed. The larger ship of symbiotes arrives and infects civilians and heroes. Spider-Man returns home to find Aunt May but is attacked by symbiotes, only to be saved by a stranger. The stranger gets Spider-Man into the sewers then reveals his name: Marc Spector.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifty-Three: Amazing Friends

Amazing Friends

First Aired: May 17th, 2020

Synopsis: Miles and Spider-Man stop some bank robbers before Spider-Man realises that he's late for something with Aunt May. He heads home and finds baby Groot in his bag and a recording from Star-Lord, but when he tries to play the recording it breaks. Peter then meets Mary Jane, whom Aunt May wanted him to meet, but quickly makes his excuses and leaves with Groot. After he and Miles fail to translate Groot's language in the hopes of finding out what the message from Star-Lord was they go to Avengers Tower, where they meet Ironheart. AIM show up shortly afterwards, and during the fight Groot escapes. The AI of Tony Stark in Ironheart's armour says that they'll need Doctor Strange to translate Groot, so Miles goes off to find him while Ironheart and Spider-Man look for Groot. They find him getting captured by AIM but as they fight the villains Baron Mordo, who is working with them, appears. He fights an arriving Doctor Strange but manages to send Strange and Miles to another dimension before teleporting away with Groot.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifty-Two: Web of Venom

Web of Venom

First Aired: April 19th, 2020

Synopsis: At Horizon Peter discovers that Max Modell has made a synthetic symbiote which he claims is safer than Venom, but Peter's sceptical. Grady Scraps, who Peter met previously, enrols at Horizon and Peter shows him around. Curt Connors is also at Horizon, now a teacher. That evening Peter gets a call from Grady at Horizon and finds a robot, an old project of another student's, attacking him. They discover that it can eat technology to grow, and it's dubbed the technovore. Max suggests that they stop it with the synthetic symbiote, as it has no technology in it, and reveals that he knows that Peter is Spider-Man. Spider-Man puts on the synthetic symbiote and is able to stop technovore. Afterwards he agrees to work with Max to keep testing the symbiote. Unbeknownst to anyone, Connors secretly released the technovore, and is working with a mysterious person.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifty-One: Goblin War, Part Four

Goblin War, Part Four

First Aired: December 1st, 2019

Synopsis: Within the Oscorp building debris falls, which damages the structure of the foam Harry and Spider-Man are trapped in. They're able to escape as Doctor Octopus tells them that the mech Vulture is in can control other technology, and that he's heading towards a military base. Harry comes up with the idea of locking Toomes out of some of the systems before they all load, and is successful in shutting him out of the mental interface. However, he gets knocked out and Spider-Man has to carry him away. Miles, Ghost Spider, and Spider-Girl all show up and assist Spider-Man in fighting Vulture's mech, but they're all eventually defeated and Toomes destroys the encryption device locking down the systems, giving him access to everything. He starts controlling technology, and a recovered Harry says that the only way to lock him out of the mech now is using another machine that uses a neural interface, which he doesn't have. Thankfully, Spider-Man knows where one can be found: the neuro-cortex at Horizon.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifty: Goblin War, Part Three

Goblin War, Part Three

First Aired: November 24th, 2019

Synopsis: Spider-Girl and Ghost Spider fight Electro and some goblins using her technology before Spider-Man shows up to help them. They escape the subway tunnel they're in when Crossbones, also a member of the Goblin Nation, shows up and blows it up. Spider-Man then takes the others and Miles to the lair that Doctor Octopus works out of. Harry is also there, and he explains that Vulture will now know of the mech he built, which has three keys needed to activate it. Spider-Girl and Miles go for one of the keys but are attacked by Electro, while Ghost Spider goes for another and is attacked by the Wake Riders. Harry and Spider-Man, meanwhile, are attacked by Silvermane and his cyber-goblins when they go for their part. At the same time, Anna Maria comes in to help Doctor Octopus discover why the spider-bots can't see the goblins.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-Nine: Goblin War, Part Two

Goblin War, Part Two

First Aired: November 17th, 2019

Synopsis: Harry takes Peter to his family tomb, where he's found footprints matching Norman's and some hidden stairs. They go in as Spider-Man and the Hobgoblin. Meanwhile, Spider-Girl and Ghost Spider are looking for goblins when they're approached by Doctor Octopus in a spider-bot. Although he tries talking to them about how he's looking for Spider-Man since he thinks he's being led into a trap, they don't listen to him and they destroy all of the bots. They soon find a goblin who they beat up, and the equipment they find on them lets them find a nearby lair of goblins. Unbeknownst to them, Ock follows them in another spider-bot. At the same time, Spider-Man explains to Harry what happened with him and Doctor Octopus, but as they continue going through the secret passage Spider-Man realises that Harry's been here before. Harry denies it but admits that he never actually left New York after his father's death.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-Eight: Goblin War, Part One

Goblin War, Part One

First Aired: November 10th, 2019

Synopsis: Doctor Octopus insists to Spider-Man that the Goblin Nation doesn't exist and is a smokescreen, but Spider-Man soon runs into a person dressed in goblin gear, who Ock can't detect through his gear. After the goblin gets away Peter calls Harry, and they work out that the specs for the gear could have been taken from Harry's old work at Horizon. Peter sneaks in with Miles' help and finds that Alistair Smythe, who's gotten Peter's place at Horizon and his old lab, has accessed the files on the server. Peter later follows Alistair, but is led into a building full of spider-slayers. Spider-Girl and Ghost Spider show up and help fight them, but afterwards tell Spider-Man that they think that Peter Parker is the new goblin, since he snuck into Horizon and has been acting weird lately. The next day Peter meets with Harry, who's flown back to America, but Harry's disgusted that Peter is working with Doctor Octopus and storms off. Peter then gets a call from Ghost Spider and Spider-Girl, who have found the new goblin.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-Seven: The Road to Goblin War

The Road to Goblin War

First Aired: November 3rd, 2019

Synopsis: Peter tries talking to Max Modell about re-enrolling at Horizon High but is rejected, and then fights the villain Slyde. Slyde gets away, but shortly afterwards Spider-Man notices the reclusive scientist Allan Beemont, who runs a chemicals company. Peter soon ends up going to Uncle Ben's grave for guidance, as he feels lost, and to his surprise finds Doctor Octopus there too. Peter's annoyed at Ock saying that Uncle Ben is like an uncle to him too, before Ock says that Slyde is still out there doing crimes. Spider-Man fails to defeat him again, but afterwards goes to Doctor Octopus and gets him to identify some of the chemicals that Slyde uses. Ock identifies that they're made by Beemont Chemicals, but when Spider-Man goes to confront Allan Beemont he gets told there's no connection between him and Slyde. On the way out Spider-Man is confronted by a scientist there, Doctor Joseph Rockwell, who explains that Slyde is Jelome Beecher, a scientist who worked for the company. Beemont wanted to take credit for Beecher's work and fired him when he objected, so Beecher is now trying to ruin Beemont's reputation.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-Six: The Cellar

The Cellar

First Aired: October 27th, 2019

Synopsis: Anna Maria is visiting Doctor Octopus in hospital when she sees a news report about Spider-Man fighting Regent. Doctor Octopus wakes up from his coma and says that Spider-Man needs help. Spider-Man himself is in a pocket dimension opened by Regent, and uses his ion displacer powered by Iron Man's armour to open a portal back. He tries bringing the Avengers with him, but the portal closes before he can do so. When he goes to see Captain Watanabe she agrees that something fishy is going on with the villains of the Cellar, so takes Spider-Man there. Spider-Man looks through the files there and finds plans for Regent's armour, with Augustus Roman's assistant appearing to be responsible. While she's taken away Spider-Man goes to question some of the prisoners, and he hears from Cloak that his powers are being drained. Spider-Man works out that Roman is draining them to power the Regent suit, which is his. Roman activates it and fights Spider-Man.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-Five: Brand New Day

Brand New Day

First Aired: October 20th, 2019

Synopsis: Peter is happy to be back in his own body, and hears about a clash between the supervillains Mr. Negative and Molten Man. He goes out and defeats them as Spider-Man and hears from Chief Watanabe that they'll be sent to the Cellar, a prison for supervillains. Peter then heads to school but discovers that Doctor Octopus made him quit Horizon and that everyone hates him. Midtown High is closed for repairs so Peter goes to see Doctor Octopus' comatose body. Anna Maria is also there and she thinks that Ock was ultimately a good person, and suggests Peter talk to someone else in the superhero community about what happened. Peter tries calling Ms. Marvel and gets no reply, so he heads to Avengers Tower, where he finds evidence of several supervillains having attacked it. Spider-Man tries calling Ms. Marvel again and this time she answers in the middle of a fight, but when Spider-Man goes to try and help her he finds her missing.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-Four: Superior

Superior

First Aired: October 13th, 2019

Synopsis: As Miles carries Peter's mind in his robotic body away from Doctor Octopus in Peter's body, he passes by the facility where Venom is being held. The symbiote senses that Spider-Man is nearby and awakens. The next day at Midtown High Doctor Octopus finds himself surprised by how much he enjoys talking to Anna Maria, and when Flash Thompson tells him that Spider-Man's been too brutal recently, he starts to realise that he's got a point. The Venom symbiote escapes its holding and arrives at Horizon High, looking for Spider-Man. When Max Modell doesn't tell it where Spider-Man is, it bonds with him to read his memories and sees Doctor Octopus as Peter quit the school. Over there, Doctor Octopus is bonding with Anna Maria over being outsiders when he gets a call from Peter, warning him about Venom. Ock is dismissive, but when the symbiote arrives it grabs Flash and Anna Maria. It detects that Ock isn't really Peter, and threatens to kill its hostages.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-Three: Cloak and Dagger

Cloak and Dagger

First Aired: October 6th, 2019

 

Synopsis: Miles modifies Doctor Octopus' arms so that he can communicate with Peter's mind inside them, and notes that Peter's mind will get damaged if it's transferred to any more machines. Meanwhile, Spider-Man fights Cloak and Dagger, but they escape. While Doctor Octopus reviews footage of them Aunt May insists that he has to go to school, as she's re-enrolled him at Midtown High. There, Ock meets Flash and then runs into Anna Maria Marconi, a teaching assistant with dwarfism. She wants assistance with a sponsorship proposal for the company Alchemax, as she thinks that Midtown can compete with Horizon if it's given the opportunity. While talking to her Ock spots Cloak and Dagger attending the school. He later goes out after them and finds them robbing a lab, but they get away again. Meanwhile, Miles and Peter start planning how to switch Peter's mind back with Ock's, with Peter thinking that he can convince Ock to do it voluntarily.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-Two: A Troubled Mind

A Troubled Mind

First Aired: September 29th, 2019

Synopsis: Miles goes to Ms. Marvel about how Spider-Man's been acting differently recently. At the same time, Spider-Man fights an AIM agent and tags him with a spider-tracer, hoping to discover why AIM is currently gathering mento-projectors. At the same time, within Horizon's network, Peter tries to find a way to contact the outside world and discovers a backup of Doctor Octopus' brain with his memories. Later, Spider-Man is approached by the Avengers, who want to scan him and find out the reason for his change in behaviour. He objects and fights them, but they manage to defeat him. When he wakes up they've scanned him and found that he's who he should be, but they're still suspicious. Doctor Octopus, the person inside Spider-Man's body, points out that rather than fighting him they should help him fight AIM, and they agree. When they find AIM, however, they discover that they've created a mental organism designed only for chaos, or MODOC. Peter, meanwhile, sees a memory of Ock's of his father abusing him. 

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty-One: Critical Update

Critical Update

First Aired: September 22nd, 2019

Synopsis: Peter awakens within the Living Brain and sees it all as digital data; as he realises what's happened he wonders where his body is. Meanwhile, some gangsters discuss how Spider-Man's more ruthless than before. He then appears and beats them up, then discovers that Sandman's daughter, Keemia, is organising a meeting of them. The next day Aunt May notices that Peter's acting differently before Otto heads to school, ready to impersonate Peter. His friends notice that he's acting differently, but don't work out anything conclusive. During lunch he investigates Keemia, while Max Modell starts clearing the neuro-cortex of viruses when he finds some unrecognised components. Peter manages to stop the antivirus software using its kill code, but Max starts a hard reset when he sees what's happened, forcing Peter to hide in the flash memory.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Forty: My Own Worst Enemy

My Own Worst Enemy

First Aired: September 15th, 2019

Synopsis: After taking over Spider-Man's body from within the Living Brain, Doctor Octopus unmasks in his lair and discovers that he's Peter Parker. He gets a memory of Uncle Ben talking to Peter as he heads out, confusing him momentarily, then heads to the prison where Silver Sable is imprisoned. He tells her to continue Doctor Octopus' plan to steal from AIM and arm henchmen, and while she's sceptical at first that Spider-Man is really working for Ock, he eventually convinces her and breaks her out. Hammerhead also escapes in the process, and Ock is surprised at the guilt he feels as he gets another memory. Doctor Octopus then heads to an AIM base to steal from them and discovers some of Peter's powers in the process. As the fight continues he feels compelled to save some nearby civilians, but is angry at himself for doing so. Back at his lair, he starts to continue planning his scheme before realising that civilians will be injured in the process.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-Nine: The Day Without Spider-Man

The Day Without Spider-Man

First Aired: September 8th, 2019

Synopsis: The mysterious blood gem, a recently-discovered gem that emits strange energy, arrives at Horizon for Gwen and Peter to study, but Peter is nowhere to be found. Miles and Spider-Girl, out fighting crime, also haven't heard from Spider-Man. Scorpion attacks Gwen for the blood gem, and she slips her phone into its case before he takes it. Miles and Spider-Girl head off after Scorpion but can't find him, while Gwen tracks her phone's signal and discovers that Scorpion is working for the Tinkerer. Tinkerer is planning to use the energy of the blood gem to power up Scorpion, but Gwen gets hit by it instead and somehow gets her Spider-Gwen powers back. She escapes from Scorpion and Tinkerer and meets Miles and Spider-Girl, then the three of them work together to stop Scorpion. They then return to fight Tinkerer, but unbeknownst to them Scorpion frees himself once they've left and he goes after them.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-Eight: The Living Brain

The Living Brain

First Aired: August 13th, 2018

Synopsis: Inside the robotic Living Brain, Doctor Octopus reveals that his plan this entire time was to zap Spider-Man with energy from a device he once designed for Norman Osborn. Spider-Man escapes the Living Brain and gets outside, but collapses as police arrive. The Living Brain powers down and is taken to the evidence locker while Spider-Man is arrested and urged to unmask by police chief Watanabe. Before he can do so the facility goes into lockdown and Doctor Octopus announces over the interface that he's going to blow it up with a bomb, forcing Spider-Man to confront him. While Watanabe undoes Spider-Man's handcuffs and lets him go after Doctor Octopus, Miles escapes the battle scene at Oscorp and tries breaking into the police facility to help Spider-Man.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-Seven: Brain Drain

Brain Drain

First Aired: August 13th, 2018

Synopsis: An exhausted Peter heads to school as Spider-Man when he's attacked by the Tinkerer, who's still after the bounty. Spider-Man beats him but collapses from exhaustion and is captured by the police, who take him to Chief Watanabe. She frees him and tells him that the Chameleon wasn't behind the bounty, before giving Spider-Man some of Chameleon's mask to track down the technology. At school Peter is greeted by the Living Brain, the new robot which hosts the neuro-cortex. Miles looks up the material the Chameleon's mask uses and finds out that it was used by Jackal, but admits that it might have been stolen. Peter returns home to sleep while Miles investigates one of the Jackal's warehouses. He finds the computer that uploads the masks that Chameleon uses and thinks that he can use it to track who's behind all of this, but security activates. The Living Brain, who followed him, shows up and helps stop security, but destroys the computer that could have tracked down the culprit in the process.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-Six: Bring on the Bad Guys, Part Four

 Bring on the Bad Guys, Part Four

First Aired: August 6th, 2018

Synopsis: Peter finishes his power amplifier for Horizon's open house then heads to Horizon High as Spider-Man, where he's attacked by Electro, a woman in an electricity-generating suit. She ends up taking his power amplifier when he drops it but when she uses it on her suit it turns her into a being of electrical energy. As the fight breaks into Horizon Spider-Man is able to use equipment from the other open house projects to defeat her, but in the process Horizon is damaged badly enough that the open house can no longer be held. Spider-Man vows to find out who put the bounty on his head and stop them, and as such goes to the warehouse where, according to Prowler, the bounty was first put on his head. He finds a Daily Bugle flash drive with footage of him on it, and realises that J. Jonah Jameson must have put the bounty on his head.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-Five: Bring on the Bad Guys, Part Three

Bring on the Bad Guys, Part Three

First Aired: August 6th, 2018

Synopsis: Spider-Man is in the middle of saving a bus from falling off a bridge with his webbing as a result of the supervillain Jack O' Lantern. He manages to save the people in the bus but Jack continues attacking, and Spider-Man follows him to his lair, a warehouse full of Halloween decorations. As they continue to fight Spider-Man eventually defeats him by knocking him into a vat of toffee. Shortly afterwards Spider-Man is attacked by a villain calling himself the Prowler, who primarily uses gadgets to fight. Prowler's able to fire an electrified cage at Spider-Man, but before it activates Spider-Man pulls Prowler into it. A nearby weakened water tank spills water, threatening to electrocute both Spider-Man and Prowler, but Spider-Man saves Prowler, who's grateful enough to stop attacking Spider-Man. He tells Spider-Man that he has no idea who put the bounty on Spider-Man's head but that he needs the money to free his brother, who develops his tech and is being held captive as a result of a botched job. Prowler leaves, but Spider-Man follows him.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-Four: Bring on the Bad Guys, Part Two

Bring on the Bad Guys, Part Two

First Aired: July 30th, 2018

Synopsis: Anya and Gwen are making a storm-impact pattern machine for Horizon's open house, which is in a day. The intent is to identify dangerous weather in advance, but as they test it they discover that it can detect the powers of the Spot, a villain that Spider-Man is fighting nearby. As Spider-Man gets trapped in one of Spot's portals they realise that their device should be able to interfere with his powers, but they need him to open more portals. Anya changes into a costume as Spider-Girl, revealing that she never lost her powers from the Spider-Island incident, and is able to defeat Spot and then save Spider-Man. A weakened Spider-Man falls unconscious and forgets about Spider-Girl, and after he's gone Anya tells Gwen that she'd rather not be a superhero given that there are enough of them around. Later, Spider-Man is web-swinging when everything around him goes black before the city fills up with fog. Spider-Man is attacked by a tank and some HYDRA agents, but Captain America appears and tells him to debrief with Black Widow.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-Three: Bring on the Bad Guys, Part One

Bring on the Bad Guys, Part One

First Aired: July 30th, 2018

Synopsis: Horizon High's open house is coming up, and Peter hasn't yet made his project for it, a green energy amplifier. He buys cheap equipment for it but as he does so two out-of-town villains, Hippo and Panda-Mania, arrive and rob a bank. Spider-Man chases them on the subway, but they get away and head to a meeting of other villains where a bounty is placed on Spider-Man's head. Neither of them are keen to clash with Spider-Man again so quietly leave the meeting and head off to be tourists. Later, when Peter calls up Aunt May, she's interrupted when the villain Overdrive passes by her. Peter goes after Overdrive as Spider-Man, finding that he's controlling a bus using nanites, but Overdrive crashes the bus into a construction site then collapses it on Spider-Man.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-Two: Venom Returns

Venom Returns

First Aired: July 23rd, 2018

Synopsis: Miles calls Gwen Stacy and tells her to finish up Peter's party while he and Spider-Man look for Venom in the city. They head to the Daily Bugle where Venom is tormenting J. Jonah Jameson. After a quick fight Venom escapes with Jonah, so Miles and Peter look up Eddie's address and head there for clues. While they're doing that Venom goes to Gwen's house and captures her. At Eddie's address Miles and Peter find a live feed of Venom capturing Max Modell, and work out that Venom is capturing people close to Peter. Peter tells Miles to go to the space centre where the symbiote was experimented on, while he calls Aunt May, whose return flight from her holiday has just landed. As he does so, however, Aunt May is captured by Venom. Miles goes to the space centre and is turned away by the receptionist, so sneaks in invisibly.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty-One: Dead Man's Party

Dead Man's Party

First Aired: July 16th, 2018

Synopsis: Peter explains to Miles that he's getting decent money from J. Jonah Jameson as a result of his Spider-Man pictures and wants to send Aunt May on a holiday, which gives Miles the idea for Peter to host a party while she's gone. Moments later the Beetle attacks an armoured vehicle which Peter stops as Spider-Man, noting that Beetle is using Oscorp flashbangs as he does so. Shortly afterwards Eddie Brock, who filmed the confrontation, goes to Jonah to sell him footage but Jonah is unimpressed. Peter arrives moments later and Jonah is impressed by his footage, and gives Peter an assignment of Eddie's to investigate the V-252. Eddie is annoyed by Peter always upstaging him and decides to investigate the V-252 anyway, breaking into the space centre where it's currently held, but the V-252 breaks out of its containment and engulfs Eddie, revealing that Peter is Spider-Man to him in the process. The next day, Aunt May leaves for her holiday and Miles convinces Peter to host a party, leading to them plastering invitations for it everywhere.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Thirty: School of Hard Knocks

School of Hard Knocks

First Aired: July 9th, 2018

Synopsis: After Spider-Man laments his bad reputation from seeing a news report which talks up the Avengers, he hears noises from a nearby alley. Investigating he finds someone there with energy leaking out uncontrollably and as he stops them, finds that they keep saying the number 237. Spider-Man then finds their student card and goes to their school as Peter Parker to investigate, discovering that it's fairly hostile and is run by a woman called Monica Rappaccini. Peter manages to sneak in and befriend a bullied kid named Grady Scraps, who shows Peter around the school. He sees a mysterious door marked 237 which he's told he's not allowed into, so he comes back to the school that night as Spider-Man to stake it out. Spider-Man is found by Ms. Marvel, an Avenger his own age, and they agree to work together. Ms. Marvel explains that the Avengers intercepted some communications about weapons coming from the school, which she's investigating on her own, and she and Spidey sneak into room 237 where they discover that the school is a front for AIM. 

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-Nine: Rise Above it All

Rise Above it All

First Aired: July 2nd, 2018

Synopsis: Spider-Man is getting criticised by J. Jonah Jameson when he's seemingly attacked by a group of Vulture-like villains, only for them to create an air show and use Spider-Man within it. Afterwards they introduce themselves as Barkley Blitz and the Wake Riders, and extreme sports and stunt team. Suspicious of their technology, Spider-Man asks where they got it and Blitz says that he made it himself. They ask Spider-Man to do another stunt with him, and after seeing how much everyone likes him now that he's worked with the Wake Riders, he agrees. While Spider-Man's setting up a net to catch Blitz from a fall, he hears the sound of a break-in. He investigates it once the stunt is over and finds Vulture there, who claims that he's investigating things and that the Wake Riders were responsible for the break-in, and for plenty of others around the globe. Spider-Man's unsure whether or not to trust Vulture, but does agree to work with the Wake Riders on their next stunt.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-Eight: Between an Ock and a Hard Place

Between an Ock and a Hard Place

First Aired: June 25th, 2018

Synopsis: Spider-Man is trying to get better footage for the Daily Bugle after J. Jonah Jameson used his to claim that Spidey's a menace, and sees someone who looks like Doctor Octopus robbing a bank. It turns out to be a woman who claims to be a big fan of Ock's, who gets into the bank's vault and is disappointed that it doesn't have any crystals. She manages to get away from Spider-Man, and the guards tell him that some of the vault's contents were shipped to the docks. At Horizon Otto is questioned and recognises his fan: Carolyn Trainer, from the cell next to his. Anya, Gwen, and Miles are picked by Otto to be leaders who will work on the neuro-cortex project. Later, Peter sees Jonah and tells him that he won't give him any more Spider-Man footage since he's portraying Spider-Man in a negative light, then heads to the docks to stop Trainer. She's now got octo-bots to distract Spider-Man with, and is able to escape from the docks with the crystals she's been seeking.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-Seven: Take Two

Take Two

First Aired: June 18th, 2018

Synopsis: Spider-Man fights a mercenary named Paladin at the Oscorp construction site and defeats him, but the footage he tried taking for the Daily Bugle is poor quality. On his way to school Peter gets a call from Harry who's in Europe, and says that he needs the Daily Bugle money or he'll have to drop out. At Horizon Doctor Octopus shows up, but reveals that he's here to redeem himself and admit his mistakes after being released from prison, asking for his old teaching job back. Max Modell turns him down, but lets him pack up his lab. Later that day Max announces that Horizon will be working on the neuro-cortex, a robotic brain which simulates the human mind and can revolutionise things. Elsewhere, Anya tries curing Alexei of being the Rhino but is unsuccessful. Peter, meanwhile, sets up a drone to record footage of him as Spider-Man. Later, Silver Sable breaks into Horizon with the Wild Pack, consisting of Paladin, Puma, and Battlestar, and they steal the neuro-cortex.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-Six: How I Thwipped My Summer Vacation

How I Thwipped My Summer Vacation

First Aired: June 18th, 2018

Synopsis: Peter and Miles are at the beach, where Peter's made list of how to have the perfect summer holiday. When Peter goes to get hot dogs for him and Miles he finds that Black Cat has stolen some money from its van; he stops her as Spider-Man but on returning finds that Miles got hungry while waiting and entered a hot dog-eating competition. The next item on his list is to go to a baseball game, which he does with Aunt May. The team that's being played against, who normally always lose, start winning, and Peter finds out that it's due to a villain called the Tinkerer, sick of them always losing. When he's finished stopping him as Spider-Man Aunt May tells him that he might be causing bad luck. The next item on Peter's list is going to a concert with Gwen and Anya, but the singer, Ross Caliban, is captured by some of Hammerhead's thugs for his son's birthday.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-Five: The Hobgoblin, Part Two

The Hobgoblin, Part Two

First Aired: February 18th, 2018

Synopsis: Spider-Man and Hobgoblin are teaming up to take out the remaining members of the Sinister Five, Doctor Octopus and Rhino. They go after Rhino but Hobgoblin falls unconscious midway through the fight; after he recovers for long enough to defeat Rhino he insists that he's fine. Peter heads to school, which Doctor Octopus soon breaks into in order to get his old equipment. Peter calls in Harry for help, but after they defeat Doctor Octopus Hobgoblin attacks Spider-Man before escaping. Afterwards Peter calls Harry but gets Norman on the phone, who insists that Harry's been sleeping all afternoon. Norman goes to check on Harry and Harry doesn't remember fighting Ock; Norman suggests that Harry's subconsciousness is coming through as a result of the various serums he tested on himself to try and heal Norman. Afterwards Peter goes to see Harry who insists that he's fine, and tells Peter to give him some space for his own safety. Shortly afterwards Harry attacks Peter as the Hobgoblin again, dropping a bridge on him.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-Four: The Hobgoblin, Part One

The Hobgoblin, Part One

First Aired: February 18th, 2018

Synopsis: Peter tries talking to Harry and resolving things between them but Harry is still annoyed. Peter has to leave to investigate some loud noise as Spider-Man, and he finds Doctor Octopus capturing Max Modell, alongside the Sinister Five. They're successful in getting away with Max despite Spidey's best efforts. Harry, meanwhile, is experimenting to try and undo the damage dealt to Norman by Spider-Man's blood, and tests his cure on himself to see whether it will bond to his DNA. Spider-Man continues chasing after Doctor Octopus, but is waylaid by Vulture, Steel Spider, and Rhino. He defeats all of them, and although he loses Doctor Octopus in the process, he guesses that Ock is at his old base that he used when they briefly were a team. Doctor Octopus is in there, but when Spider-Man tells him to let Max go he complies suspiciously easily and then reveals that Max was just a way to draw Spider-Man's attention and let the Sinister Five wear him down. He then puts a mind control disc on Spider-Man, making his team the Sinister Six.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-Three: Spider-Island, Part Five

Spider-Island, Part Five

First Aired: February 11th, 2018

Synopsis: Miles and Peter escape the webbing they're trapped in and are saved from spider monsters by Harry, but as Harry gets them away on his glider the Jackal reveals that he's placed a tracer on the glider. The heroes meet up with Anya, who's overlooking Norman in a coma, and thinks that with Spider-Man's blood she can make a cure for the spider monsters that won't have any side effects. Harry reveals that he's still annoyed at Peter for secretly having been Spider-Man and accuses him of being responsible for getting him suspended from Horizon High, but when Peter reveals that Norman was actually to blame Harry assumes that Peter is lying. Spider monsters then attack them, but they're able to escape. The heroes load up the cure created by Anya and start distributing it, but quickly realise that they're doing so too slowly. Harry thinks that he can create a dispersal unit to distribute it as a gas, but they'll need to go to Osborn Academy for the equipment. To prepare for the spider monsters there, the team all get into spider-slayers to fight through the army.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-Two: Spider-Island, Part Four

Spider-Island, Part Four

First Aired: February 11th, 2018

Synopsis: People all over Manhattan are turning into giant spiders. Peter heads home to check on May, who soon turns into a spider, before running off in one direction alongside her mutated neighbours. Elsewhere, Anya is trying to cure Gwen, who manages to escape her containment and damage lab equipment in the process. Anya finds herself starting to transform and risks trying one of her cures on herself. Peter and Harry, meanwhile, notice that the spiders are heading to Oscorp, presumably because the mutated Norman Osborn is their leader and controlling them. Anya shows up, still with spider powers but not mutated, and says that she has a small amount of the cure left. Harry wants to use it on Norman, thinking that he'll be able to control the spiders even after he's transformed, and Peter and Anya reluctantly agree that it's the best plan they've got. The heroes all manage to get inside Oscorp, and after the mutated Norman runs away from them, they're able to get after him and inject him with the cure.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty-One: Spider-Island, Part Three

Spider-Island, Part Three

First Aired: February 11th, 2018

Synopsis: Peter gets a call from Gwen which gets cut off midway through, so he heads to her house. There, he finds a giant spider which he fights. The fight leads outside, and the spider is stopped by Anya, who points out that it must be a mutated Gwen given that it's wearing Gwen's costume. The two chase the mutated Gwen into the city and are able to stop her, but Kraven the Hunter unexpectedly shows up, wanting to hunt her. Anya agrees to go after the escaped Gwen while Peter fights Kraven, unexpectedly getting assistance from Harry Osborn who drives a van into Kraven. Peter heads off with Harry, who reveals that he's been trying to track the giant spider monster that the thief of the stealth suit turned into. He thinks that the thief is his father, who could have gotten spider powers while at the Jackal's lab, allowing him to survive it collapsing. Harry's tracking technology lets him find Gwen, who has once again been defeated by Anya.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Twenty: Spider-Island, Part Two

Spider-Island, Part Two

First Aired: February 4th, 2018

Synopsis: Manhattan is now full of civilians with spider powers, and among them, Spider-Gwen is the most popular. The villain Crossbones attempts to steal a mysterious canister, and Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen team up to fight him. They're able to stop him, but Gwen identifies that the canister is made of vibranium and therefore must be important. They head to Horizon to investigate it, and find a micro-encrypted key inside it. Black Widow then appears and says that it's too important for them to have, moments before HYDRA agents burst in to try and steal it. Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen, Black Widow, and the newly empowered Anya work together to stop HYDRA, and in the middle of the fight it's revealed that Black Widow has also gotten spider powers. After the HYDRA agents are defeated, their leader reeals that the key unlocks a vault full of vibranium which Crossbones was planning on stealing.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Nineteen: Spider-Island, Part One

Spider-Island, Part One

First Aired: February 4th, 2018

Synopsis: Peter's testing out a new stealth suit with Miles but runs into some issues with it malfunctioning. Afterwards he meets with Harry, who's annoyed at him and leaves. Once Harry's gone Miles and Gwen show up at the café, and Gwen asks whether Peter feels different since investigating the Jackal's lab, without explanation. She leaves shortly afterwards, and Peter realises that his bag, which contains the stealth suit, is missing. Peter heads to Horizon to try and activate the tracking for it, and is attacked by a person in the suit. While he's looking for them he sees some spider experiments in Gwen's lab and realises that she might have somehow acquired spider powers of her own. Tracking for the stealth suit shows that it's at Osborn Academy, and Spider-Man and Miles head there, assuming that Harry took the backpack while he was at the café and that he's got the stealth suit. While Spider-Man and Miles confront the stealth suit thief, Harry shows up, proving that it's not him. As they fight the two of them, Harry assuming that they're part of the Jackal's spider army, Gwen shows up with powers of her own.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Eighteen: The Rise of Doc Ock, Part Four

The Rise of Doc Ock, Part Four

First Aired: January 28th, 2018

Synopsis: Spider-Man and Miles break into prison to investigate Raymond Warren, since Norman Osborn claimed he destroyed the Jackal. They find him in his cell, but he reveals that they're made in pairs and he therefore has to die, moments before exploding. After escaping from the prison guards, Spider-Man figures that since there were two fakes - at the prison and at Osborn Academy - it means that the Jackal's still out there and the Osborns might still be in danger. When he tries to explain this to Harry as Peter the next day, Harry refuses to listen to Peter's explanations since it's come from Spider-Man. Peter then goes to Gwen, hoping that she'll have information about her uncle that he can use, but just as they're about to leave Harry shows up, saying that he'll help them. They investigate Raymond's house and find notes referring to a storage facility, but when they go there a scanner thinks that Harry is Norman which activates a security system.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Seventeen: The Rise of Doc Ock, Part Three

The Rise of Doc Ock, Part Three

First Aired: January 28th, 2018

Synopsis: Spider-Man sneaks to Oscorp Tower and spots Norman watching footage of Spencer attacking him and admitting that he framed Harry at Norman's behest. Spider-Man wants to get the footage and give it to Harry and approaches him, but Harry just calls security who drive Spider-Man off. The next day Peter tries talking to Harry about Norman's trustworthiness, and since Horizon is being rebuilt after the Lizard's attack which gives Peter the week off, Harry invites him to spend the day at Osborn Academy to see how trustworthy Norman is. Once at school Peter meets the student Ollie Osnick before sneaking out to eavesdrop on Norman and Otto talking. Peter follows Norman to a room where equipment, including robots derived from Otto's technology, are being developed to defeat Spider-Man. Shocked by this, Peter leaves and runs into Alexei Sytsevich in the halls, who soon transforms into Rhino.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Sixteen: The Rise of Doc Ock, Part Two

The Rise of Doc Ock, Part Two

First Aired: January 21st, 2018

Synopsis: Spider-Man, Miles, and Doctor Octavius work to save a collapsing bridge before fighting the Lizard. The Lizard gets away, but while researching his tail which was shed they realise that it was attacking Norman Osborn. They also look into a herpetologist who can help them research the Lizard and find out that there's one at Oscorp, Curt Connors. They head over to Oscorp to meet with him but are eventually greeted by Norman himself, who reveals that Curt is the Lizard. He stole an untested regeneration serum in the hopes of restoring his missing arm, and it transformed him. The Lizard attacks the group then, but they manage to stop and restrain him. Norman asks Octavius to cure him, as he's the only person smart enough, and gives Octavius what data he has on the Lizard. After he's gone, however, Norman restores the Lizard to being Connors, and tells him that he has one more job to go. Meanwhile, at school Miles is wary of Octavius as a team player, which Peter blames himself for, saying that he should be a better mentor.

Marvel's Spider-Man Episode Fifteen: The Rise of Doc Ock, Part One

The Rise of Doc Ock, Part One

First Aired: January 21st, 2018

Synopsis: Doctor Octavius gives a pop quiz to his class, to their displeasure. It's cancelled when the school is attacked by Crimson Dynamo, and Peter changes to Spider-Man to fight her. Crimson Dynamo disappears, and while Spider-Man's looking for her using an energy reader that Miles made, he detects a massive source of energy in the school's basement. Crimson Dynamo goes after it and Spider-Man's able to defeat her, before Octavius appears and reveals that the source is a regenerating ion generator he made. Crimson Dynamo is able to reboot her armour, and when she goes after the generator Octavius triggers it to explode. She flees with a spider-tracer on her armour. Spider-Man tries shutting down the generator but Octavius takes over using his mechanical arms, and is caught in an explosion when he doesn't have enough time to shut it down. Later, Peter visits Octavius in hospital, who says that the arms have fused to his nervous system. Peter gives him a talk about how it could be an opportunity to become a hero. Octavius explains that Crimson Dynamo would have gone after his generator since the rods in it could help power up her armour, and she'll probably go after his prototypes next.