1994 Spider-Man episode #39-“The Spot” Review

The greatest Spider-Man villain finally appears in the greatest episode of the series ever.

Credits
Written By: James Kreig
Music Composed By: Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahchi

THE PLOT: In the fallout of the Inter-Dimensional portals seen from the Carnage arc, Tony Stark demotes researcher Jonathan Ohn who proceeds to accept work from Wilson Fosk, a.k.a. the Kingpin. Through further research, Ohm learns how to control the portals and becomes the supervillain The SPOT!

LONG STORY SHORT: One of Ohn’s portals becomes to large and powerful to control fully, so he and his assistant Sylvia sacrifce themselves in order to close it. Peter and Mary Jane become a loving couple. At the very end, the Hobgoblin makes a bid for power once again.

 

MY THOUGHTS: Yet another episode from the series that is excoriated by fans of the show and comics alike, “The Spot” may very well be the most important episode in the entire series considering the ramifications it has down the line. Were it not for this episode, there wouldn’t be a reason for the Hobgoblin to appear at the end, which wouldn’t bring Osborn back into the guise of the Green Goblin in the next episode, and that means the events of “Turning Point”, the ramifications of that and it’s effect on Spidey, the Mary Jane clone and the series finale would all have never happened.

 So when looking at the episode in that regard, it’s interesting that it has become one of the more reviled in the show’s history. With the fortune of both foresight and hindsight at our disposal, we can see with a clearer focus what is good and what is bad about this one. So once again with this show, an episode comes up where we must ask ourselves “Is it really that bad?”

…I don’t know. I really don’t. This episode has so much going for it on a straight and technical level that I really don’t have a problem with it whatsoever. One of the best things in this one is that there are so many subplots woven in that have been going on throughout the season and they’re brought back here in wonderful form. Peter and Mary Jane’s relationship, and the fallout from MJ’s break up with Harry. Felcia’s relationship with Jason Macendale and her unrequited feelings for Spider-Man. The dimensional stuff from the last episode. We are following a history of characters and events and not everything is as it seems immeidately, nor can they be told in a single episode, let alone a season. It’s been said before, but it’s what makes this in my opinion the best season of the series so far. Despite some wonky stories every so often, it feels like Spider-Man on the small screen and it feels good.

But okay, I’m ignoring the zebra in the room. What is there to make of the Spot?

Why are they dressed like they’re about to enter WONKA vision?

Basically, the powers are really really cool, but the guy is a twerp. I don’t know too much about his personality in the comics, but once he gained control of his powers in this episode he became nearly insufferable. And I think that’s the main source of contention with this episode. Jon Ohm is a very annoying character when he becomes the Spot. Prior to that, he’s fine. He’s a relatable science geek who’s hired by the wrong guy and has a crush on the cute lab assistant. Nothing exactly new, but nothing all that irritating just yet. When he becomes the Spot however, he almost instantly turns into a mugging chucklehead who spouts off Mary Poppins (that’s another thing, is this dude british? Before that I thought he was asian…) and assumes a real air of superiority. It’s really annoying and it occurs for the remainder of the episode.

And yet it makes so much sense within the context of the story. Think about it; A repressed geek with a crush and an overbearing boss suddenly has godlike powers. It is almost EXACTLY like Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15. Just replace Liz or Betty with Sylvia, Flash or Jonah with Kingpin, and spider-powers with powers to open dimensional portals everywhere. It’s the “great power great responsibility” story told from the antagonist. That’s another thing as well, at no point is Ohn ever really a villain. He even says so himself, which admittedly no real villain sees themself as such. But while he does rob and steal, he saves people’s lives including Spider-Man’s before he really had any incentive to. He went a step beyond Peter in that regard, and I think that makes him an interesting character. Goofy and downright annoying as he is, and he really was when he was the Spot, he wasn’t anything we haven’t seen before. If I were to guess why people don’t like him in this episode, (besides the redonkulous costume that just appears out of nowhere) it may be the fact that he serves as a distraction for all the foreshadowing going on in the background in context of the events which will play later on. The subplots with Mary Jane, Felicia and Hobgoblin all come to a head in a very short amount of time, so Spot was needed to not only bring in the main element which brings those plots together, but also to keep them from seeming to prominent so as to surprise the audience later on. It’s a very well done move by writer Jim Kreig that I never caught on until this viewing.

Well ain’t this a revoltin’ development…

In keeping with the “classic Spidey” theme mentioned earlier, this one had Spider-Man quipping left and right, which admittedly was easy given the type of antagonist he had to go up against. Sometimes the quips worked and sometimes they didn’t. A bad example in my opinion was the “Wish I had Spot-Remover!” line which was heard in the scene to the left. One of my favorites was in another example of a really great action sequence during Spider-Man’s second battle with the Spot on top of the building. When Peter uses his Spider-Sense, throws a punch at a random hole and knocks Ohn out on one shot, saying “Well, that certainly hit the Spot!” always gets me going. It’s tacky, but a great quip nonetheless.

This episode also had some decent animation going for it as well. I didn’t like in general how the models looked, but the animation was pretty solid throughout and *GASP!* very little repeated animation. There were some blatent re-used shots to be sure, but for the most part all the scenes were mostly original, which is always nice.

Who looks more ridiculous here?

 This episode is not perfect however, and one of the bigger things that sink it in fans’ eyes is that Peter and Mary Jane are dating again with virtually no explanation given. Understandable, but I can explain and defend this. The last time MJ was given a large role was off the heels of her rapid engagement which she broke off at the end of that episode. That one had Peter confronting MJ about her feelings towards Harry, with non-verbal confirmation that she doesn’t love him. She last had a brief cameo in “Carnage” where Venom spills the beans that Peter is in love with her. All this leads up to the date the two had at Coney Island at the beginning of the episode which I see as Mary Jane gauging her feelings for Peter. It’s important to remember that she does not tell him she loves him until everything is settled at the end of the episode. The date at the beginning was really just that and nothing more, despite the amount of burn Harry feels towards Peter and for good reason. Mary Jane went through a short period of being mad at Peter, then resigned to her love for him. I can buy that, and while it isn’t clear it is there. I think people think of the scene at the beginning of the next episode as their first reunion rather than this, which would have sucked if that was their first scene as a couple. So I don’t have a problem with that, in fact I like it.

What can’t be excused however is the plot hole (no pun intended) concerning the mega sized portal that Ohm has to shut down at the very end. He feels and controls all of his portals, so how could he have possibly missed that one? It wasn’t as though it was miniscule or anything, it was pretty massive in essence and only got bigger. And even if he somehow did miss it, are you telling me people seriously wouldn’t notice a massive hole in the sky that gets larger and larger by sucking up everything around it? No meteorologist, no bird watcher, nobody? That was pitiful; no excuse whatsoever. It was just a way to get the Spot out of the show by the end since he really was one of the more powerful beings ever.

But as it stands, this is another episode that I really enjoyed from the third season. I haven’t seen it in at least ten years, but I think it holds up fairly decently. The subplots are more interesting that the main plot with the Spot, but the ending with the Hobgoblin reveal was epic. I don’t remember if the informant he was talking to ever turned out to be Landon, but it’d be terrific if it ever did.

As this stands though, this gets 4/5 “MARY JAAANE!!!”s from me.

Best Quote Contender-

Spider-Man: “What kind of nut would rob a bank on a Sunday morning in broad daylight? *Sees the Spot* Oh, that kind of nut.”

All images taken from marvel.toonzone.net.

Like it? Share it!
Previous Article

Slott Speaks Out and Blames Crawlspace

Next Article

Editorial: Slott VS Crawlspace

You might be interested in …

4 Comments

  1. The Spot? the Greatest villain!? THE SPOT!?!? Are you kiddin’ me!?!?!?

    Hypno Hustler has that position locked up.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *