The Spectacular Spider-Man: Interactions; Episode 2 Review

Thoughts from the Abstract on episode two of The Spectacular Spider-Man. We got Electro, alot of web-slinging, some Liz Allen, and even a little Lizard.

Plot: Max Dillon is forever changed in a freak accident in Doc Connors lab, becoming Electro. But instead of immediately going to terrorize New York City, he makes Doc Connors the object of his aggression, demanding a cure so he can live a normal life. Of course, what would the world be like without our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, as he must rescue Doc Connors, his friends in the lab, and make it home in time to make his new curfew set by Aunt May.

Review: Since this is Spider-Man, the story is more complicated than the plot would have one believe. The episode doesn’t waste time, as Max suffers his transformation before the opening credits. In this incarnation, Max is an electrician fixing a problem in Doc Connor’s lab. At the same time, Connors is performing experiments with electric eels, so it’s not hard to see how this scene will end. We see Max have a little mishap with his drill and be violently electrocuted. From here, the episode moves at a good pace, but definitely not as fast as the first episode, and this is probably because there is a little more story to juggle this time around, starting with fleshing out the character of Max Dillon. After his accident, he’s in a hospital bed talking to Eddie Brock about his life and how his plans are now over. He planned to go back to college and try to make something of his life, and it’s the voice acting that really strikes an emotional chord, bringing home the pain of disappointment and life just dealing a bad hand to this guy. In the hospital, we also see the origin of Electro’s suit, which some sort of a bio tech outfit that can contain the electricity that his body now generates, including a helmet for his head. This makes for another character defining moment later in the episode when Electro escapes the hospital, goes to get a cup of coffee, and sends an electrical charge to the cup as soon as he tries to take a sip. It might be something lost on the younger audience, but its a simple technique to make Max a sympathetic character, not just a “bad guy.” However, as the episode continues, Max gets more and more deranged, becoming the Electro that we’re all familiar with.

As for Peter, he’s got his hands full with some problems of his own, chief of those being Aunt May not being able to cover her bills. In one of the first scenes of the episode, Pete finds out the Daily Bugle is offering cash for a picture of Spider-Man, setting up a nice scene of him trying to take pictures of himself in action, only to realize none of the pictures contain Spider-Man…just his feet, arms, and maybe one of his back. His second problem is in the form of Liz Allen, Midtown High Cheerleader and girlfriend of Flash Thompson. She needs help in their science class and has to come to Peter to be her tutor. The relationship starts out horrible, but as the episode goes on, there are not only signs that show Liz is more than meets the eye, but that her feelings for Peter are more than what they seem as well. His last problem would be Electro, which in typical Parker Luck fashion, is somewhat his own fault. Pete catches Electro running out of the coffee shop, mistakes him for a criminal, ignores his pleas to be left alone, webs him up, and unmasks him, further adding to this rolling snowball of trouble for Electro. However, in the end, Spidey uses his brain and defeats Electro, but not before Doc Connors lab is trashed.

Likes: The action scenes worked, the comedy worked and the drama worked, but the main thing I liked about this episode was the foreshadowing. There was subtle foreshadowing, such as the look Gwen has on her face when she notices that Liz makes a connection with Peter, and obvious foreshadowing when we see Doc Connors inject himself with the lizard serum, then take the serum with him as it’s one of the few things from the lab still in tact. The episode managed to make allusions to the next episode without forgetting to tell Electro’s story There’s also a great joke that involves Peter’s ringtone, but I won’t spoil that one for you. There’s also a great scene of Peter web-slinging as Spidey in order to ride a subway going to Manhattan. Not only is there an homage to Spider-Man 2, but as someone who lived in Queens for four years, I always found it funny how the 90s cartoon rarely addressed how he managed to spin his webs all the way from Queens to Manhattan without any giant buildings to swing from.

Dislikes: I said in my last review that I love the idea of Liz being Hispanic because it brings a real life diversity to this world, but the actor doing her voice has made her sound awful. She sounds too stereotypical, and the accent sounds forced.

Rating: 4.5 Webheads out of 5. Great episode that sets up several future storylines, with great action, comedy, and writing, but Liz’s voice just took me out of it sometimes since she is a main focus of this episode.