Ultimate Spider-Man, Season 2, Episodes 5-7
Episode 5: Hawkeye
Just two episodes this time around, mostly because I'm kinda strapped for time. Episode 5 is another guest star episode, and the first time of this season. We ditch the Junior Avengers completely as Spider-Man tries to get some personal time, only to find that he is apparently being hunted down by the Beetle. SHIELD assigns this week's guest star, Hawkeye, to watch over Spider-Man, and Hawkeye is a very, very professional and no-nonsense Avenger that doesn't really think much of Spider-Man's antics and gags. Of course, as added irony, Spider-Man's attempt to get away from his buddies leads to a situation where he and Hawkeye's arms end up being glued together by one of Hawkeye's arrows. Ultimately they end up defeating Beetle with some good-fashioned teamwork.
I do think this episode ends up feeling a bit like a letdown. Super-serious Hawkeye would have been a pretty interesting foil to Spider-Man, but they genuinely don't do much with him at all beyond the expected "wow, the guest star is cool" moments. The hands being glued together is a joke that was dragged on for waaaay too long, and Spider-Man's quips are particularly bad this episode. Honestly, while not at all bad, this is a pretty filler-y episode.
Episode 6: The Sinister Six
Of course, the past couple of episodes are just a huge buildup to the Sinister Six episode, which brings together six villains to completely destroy Spider-Man, or, well, at least to unmask him for the world to see. The first half of the episode is genuinely fun and tense (even if this episode in particular went overboard with cutaways) as Dr. Octopus reveals that he has gathered together Lizard, Beetle, Kraven and Rhino to bring down Spider-Man once and for all, luring him to their lair by holding Curt Connors hostage.
This episode honestly feels more like an extended sequel of "The Lizard", though, with the main crux of the storyline being the dynamic between Octopus, Lizard and Spider-Man. The other four villains are genuinely just there for extra flashy powers and presence -- hell, the Beetle is on permanent mute, and both Kraven and Rhino probably have three lines between them. We do get a fun, badass scene as Spider-Man zips around the sewers and manages to split up the Sinister Six and tries to talk Lizard down, but I can't help but feel that it's a bit bizarre for the previously very clinical and methodical Dr. Octopus to suddenly go full Machiavellian and insist that it's the Lizard that should unmask and/or end Spider-Man. Of course, Lizard's own personal war in his mind between his two halves ends up causing him to flip out at all the dramatic moments, which I feel makes this episode play out very predictably.
There's the always pretty fun showcase of flashy powers, though, especially when the Junior Avengers enter the scene in the second half. The action scenes are done well, and the moment where the Lizard finally has enough with Octopus's shock collar is pretty well done, as is Spider-Man chasing Lizard and trying to get him to come back with them so they can help him. It's a genuinely dramatic and well-done moment as the Lizard chooses to completely disconnect himself with humanity as he jumps into the waters of the sewers. Again, it's not a particularly revolutionary moment since it's something that the Lizard just does in every adaptation, but it's well-done.
Ultimately, though, while the action scenes and the Lizard/Octopus stuff are well done, the episode also tries to insist on some sort of "our teamwork is better" nonsense on the part of Team Spider against the Sinister Six, but absolutely fails on actually showcasing that. Throw in some genuinely silly prologue where the Junior Avengers end up getting a dose of plot-mandated-skill-loss, and that particular subplot feels just forced. Still, a pretty exciting episode for the fighty-fights, if nothing else.
Episode 7: Spidah-Man
And we go from a pretty exciting romp to... a pretty bland one, honestly. Despite the title of the episode seemingly promising a Rogue crossover, the whole episode is basically throwing Spider-Man into Boston, a city where he's a bit more appreciated, while New York is in full on riot mode as JJJ puts a bounty on Spider-Man being unmasked, and the rest of Peter's friends and family go off to a water park without him because they're dicks. And then we basically recreate Syndrome's origin story from The Incredibles, genius smart kid ends up becoming a technological-wielding supervillain because his idol ignored him one time. Except Spider-Man was clearly being strongarmed by the mustachioed mayor, so Ollie randomly overreacting feels genuinely silly. The Boston Terrier supervillain club is also pretty bland enemies, too, and the episode is filled with repetitive moments of "look at this new gadget!". At least Ollie as the Steel Spider looks pretty neat, even if his motivations are pretty silly.
I guess it's kinda decent? Maybe? I honestly feel that the episode is just one heap of underwhelmingness, Ollie's bland, the ongoing theme about appreciation isn't even delivered well, and there are some pretty bad Boston accent jokes. Ultimately, pretty underwhelming, although I do find the Steel Spider armour to look cool.
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