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.
Spider-Man heads to Horizon for the neuro-cortex, but as he reaches it Doctor Octopus warns him that it's going to destroy his mind if he uses it. Spider-Man prepares to sacrifice himself anyway but as he confronts Toomes Doctor Octopus appears and knocks him out of the way. He takes the neuro-cortex himself and uses it, defeating Toomes but dying in the process. In the aftermath Peter goes to Doctor Octopus' grave, and to his surprise his friends all show up, admitting that they were wrong about Ock. Max then tells Peter that Ock put aside some of his money for a scholarship to Horizon, and that Peter will get it, allowing him to return there. Peter's friends who were angry at him then forgive him, saying that they didn't give Ock a second chance but that they won't make the same mistake with Peter.
Review: The biggest issue with this episode, by far, is its pacing. About half the episode is Spider-Man and his allies running around and trying to stop Vulture from getting the encryption device, which gets old quickly. Once that's done, they get the neuro-cortex very quickly, and then pretty much the rest of the episode is everyone gushing about how great Doctor Octopus is and how wrong they were about him. I don't object to them realising this, nor do I deny that Doctor Octopus redeemed himself for his villainous actions, but it takes up so much of the episode that it gets to be a bit much. He even set things up so that Peter can return to Horizon! What a legend!
One of the consequences of this pacing is that Vulture's amazing mech which is totally stoppable and the most deadly thing in the world, you guys, doesn't quite live up to expectations. It's stated to be absolutely amazing, but Harry manages to stop it quite easily at the start, and even after Toomes overcomes that setback, it doesn't really feel that powerful. If it can hack any technology then you'd think Toomes would think to stop Spider-Man's communicator rather than just driving cars in his general direction. There's a point where Toomes loudly announces that he can control a defence satellite of Tony Stark's and then fires a laser down from space in a blatant attempt to make us feel that this mech is a threat, but it's unconvincing.
I do like that the neuro-cortex came back, and while Doctor Octopus using it to sacrifice himself is pretty predictable, it's effective storytelling and a good end to his arc. Beyond that, though, I'm not overly impressed with this episode - Vulture in a mech is a boring villain, and between his friends forgiving him and him getting a scholarship back to Horizon, Peter gets a bit too much handed to him on a platter at the end. I'd rather have him stay at Midtown while still hanging out with his Horizon friends, but it is what it is.
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