Spider-Man

Thought I was going into a new season of Spider-Man, packed with good action, funny Spidey quips, and the occasional moments when an animated show for younger audiences doesn't shy away from getting serious. First episode in I already knew what was gonna happen, unlike the Ultimate Spider-Man (the best spidey animated series of the 21 century, in my opinion), it does it's origin story. Thought we were done with this story trait, no recent comic books, games, even movies have covered this in the main story of the media, and yet I have to sit through the first episodes, watching something I've seen thousands of times (not done well, let alone entertaining in general) because I don't want to see if I missed anything if skipping to the next episode.

So anywho it's probably for new comers to the story, but the millions of people who have known and loved Spidey have no need to watch this, especially us nerds.

To sum up: waste of time to previous fans, and also not the best introduction for new ones either if I'm being honest.

The material is there, but it's too whimsical and slapstick goofy. I grew up watching the 90s animation (which had its own flaws), and it did a great job capturing Spidey's tangled life (pun intended) while also giving us plenty of action and classic villains from the comics. This show has so much potential, yet the audience it's aimed at feels like pre-teens - even Peter feels like he's in middle school - and it falls short of what we want.

Sony did an absolutely incredible job with Into The Spider-Verse, and gave all us Spidey fans everything we love about the Webhead(s). Aside from the stunning animation, they created a gripping storyline, great character development, and amazing writing. Disney could take a page from Sony.

With all the money Disney/Marvel has, and especially with an ever-expanding MCU and fan base, I expected something better.

Spidey needs to be allowed to grow up a bit.

I'll admit that this isn't the worst Spider-Man show ever made. Not by a longshot...

However, it leaves a LOT to be desired. We went through 5 years of Ultimate Spider-Man, which was bad enough. I appreciate this show for not doing the EXACT same stuff as the last show we had, but... it's not great, and it feels almost like a direct continuation of Ultimate in some areas. The writing seems to be only a NOTCH above the quality of Ultimate, since that show was mostly just a comedy.

However, one thing I will say is wrong with the show, and I think the biggest issue by far, is how it takes away from the individuality of Spider-Man as a character, Peter Parker in specific. I feel like they should have stuck to one version of Spider-Man/Spider-Woman as opposed to trying to do all of them. Every show we've ever gotten that's had the headlined title Spider-Man has focused on Peter Parker, yet Peter feels like a background character in this one even though he's supposed to be the main character. If you're gonna do a reboot, how about take advantage of the other popular Spider-Characters out there? They could have EASILY made Miles Morales or Gwen Stacy the main character, especially with their elevated status within the Marvel Pantheon thanks to the then-upcoming Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film. The show could have been a massive tie-in with Into the Spider-Verse. However, it decided to focus on Peter again, which is fine, but then don't go making him the comedic relief in his own show while doing the "everyone else solves the problem except the bumbling, idiot main protagonist". I get that Spider-Man is a teenager, and he's supposed to make mistakes, but if you do it to the level as this show does it, it makes it hard to root for our hero and it makes you think "why is this guy the main character?"

I dunno. That's just me. Show's over, tho, so hopefully, once Freshman Year is said and done, we can FINALLY get a proper, new Spider-Man animated series.

This show is definitely not what Spider-Man needed to be redeemed from Ultimate Spider-Man series, but in ways is just as good or maybe a bit better. Unlike Ultimate Spider-Man, this show is a little more serious and yet not as creative in design. The character designs are pretty simplistic and almost every character is just a slightly different replicate of the other. One thing this show does have, is its ability to take things pretty serious for the most part and still stay true to a high school version of Peter Parker.

Some major issues that I have concern for is staying true to it's source material. Everything that happens and is placed in the show is from some form of comic, but not in a way that will please the fans of Spidey. Some of which includes Horizon High and Peter getting transferred from Midtown over to there for school instead (happens in first 2 episodes). There are other minor issues like that, plus the character development is either too weak or too fast-paced, at first. As this series progresses, you get to understand each character and get more and better development from the characters. Some other character arcs I feel were pushed too far in advanced or just too predictable, especially if you are a fan of the comics. What I mean is there are characters that you may know to develop and become a villain later in the show.

The good thing about this show is that it is enjoyable and really embraces and focuses on Spider-Man at it's core rather than universe building. Don't get me wrong, there is some of that, but its not as forceful as Ultimate was. It definitely almost feels like Disney is trying to look at Spectacular Spider-Man and their Ultimate series, and they are trying to take the good from both. At first I failed to see any success in that, but as you delve deeper into the series, it really pays off. You get a lot of unique story arcs and lesser known characters and villains making their debut and it's more exciting than I thought. Still not a "Spectacular," "Ultimate," or "Amazing" series, but for just being labeled as a basic Spider-Man, it really is pretty basic.

PS: Ultimate Spider-Man did not live up to it's name

I realize I am not the target audience for this particular incarnation of Spider-Man, and that's why I rated it a 6, instead of a 4.

This toon is fine. It's not great, and for my personal taste, it's not even really that good...just...fine. The plots are rushed and extremely surface-level, and there are a lot of inconsistencies that I can't even imagine younger teens being willing to overlook, much less an adult viewer. The insertion of multiple characters per episode, and new ones in each new episode may excite fanboys and fangirls who just want to see all the fight and flash, but in relation to plot, it just feels like they're all thrown in there to sell toys and breakfast cereal. It's not cohesive, and they treat you like a 5 year old one moment, while discussing vaguely correct scientific terms, the next. I understand we live in a faster-paced world than the one these characters originally matured in...but I feel this is dumbed down & sped up, to the point of not being worthy of the attention of a discerning viewer. On the positive side, it's easy to watch and does have decent quip-writing, at times, and the pace fits Spider-Man, fairly well, if you don't have any real interest in story. If you can just turn your brain off and enjoy the existence of it, then it will at least be good background noise. Again, I am not the demographic...so I guess that's OK. If you have kids...watch this with them. They will enjoy it, and you probably won't hate it.