"Spidey and His Amazing Friends" Season Two Talkback (Spoilers)

Rate & Discuss the season!

  • *****

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ****1/2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ****

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ***1/2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ***

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • **1/2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • **

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • *1/2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • *

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1/2

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

Antiyonder

Amalgam Universe Overlord
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Sep 13, 2002
Messages
17,995
Location
Washington
The Ant Thief

Boring. And I'm sorry, those donuts at the beginning sounded gross. *1/2.
Yeah, when Kel Kimble comes up with a better donut idea (Peanut Butter and Jelly), you know when someone's idea stinksXD.

Sand Trapped:

I'll tell you what I liked about the beginning sitcom scene. Peter doesn't dismiss Gwen and Miles' ideas about his game outright over some sort of possessiveness. It's cool he actually gives their constructive criticism a bit of weight. Sort of refreshing, actually.
Barring cases like the next segment you mentioned, I think that is something I definitely like about the show. It gets that he isn't a Ben Tennyson type of kid. ;)
 

RoyalRubble

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Reporter
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
18,034
Location
A Valid Location
spidey.png

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Halted Holiday / Merry Spidey Christmas"
Episode Debut - November 11, 2022 at 8:30am on Disney Channel

When all roads to the city are blocked on Thanksgiving, Team Spidey works together to clear up the traffic. / Team Spidey uses their Glow Webs to save Christmas after baddies try to ruin it for everyone.

*Scott Porter (“Friday Night Lights”) guest stars as Gwen’s dad, George Stacy.

Comments?

We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. Please do not post any improper or inflammatory material, as we will issue warnings if we believe it necessary. And remember to keep the discussion ON-TOPIC!
 

Fone Bone

Matt Zimmer
Joined
Jan 19, 2004
Messages
35,267
Location
Framingham, MA
Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Halted Holiday / Merry Spidey Christmas"

Halted Holiday:

Don't mess with the Grannies!

That being said, her accent is so exaggerated I think it bordered on offensive. **1/2.

Merry Spidey Christmas:

All villains repent during the holidays! Even Skeletor can learn the true meaning of Christmas!

Merry Spidey Christmas is a good song too. ****.

Episode Overall: ***1/2.
 

RoyalRubble

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Reporter
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
18,034
Location
A Valid Location
spidey.png


Spidey and His Amazing Friends “An Egg-Cellent Adventure / The Hangout Headache"
Episode Debut - December 9, 2022

When Black Cat steals a sparkly egg from the zoo, Team Spidey must save it before it hatches. / When Spidey offers to let Hulk hang out in WEB-Quarters, it quickly turns into a disaster.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Follow That Sea Monster! / It's Bad to be Gooed"
Episode Debut - December 16, 2022

The Spidey Team and Reptil investigate rumors of a sea monster. / Team Spidey finds out that Green Goblin converted the dam to pump out polluting goo.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Liberty on the Loose / Green Goblin's Dino Disaster"
Episode Debut - January 6, 2023

It’s up to Miles, Ant-Man and Wasp to save the Statue of Liberty after Black Cat steals it. / Spidey and Reptil team up to stop Green Goblin’s improved Dino Mech.

*Sean Giambrone (“The Goldbergs”) and Maya Tuttle (“Marvel Future Revolution” video game) recur as Ant-Man and Wasp, respectively.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Spidey Tidies Up / Oh No, Tomatoes!"
Episode Debut - January 27, 2023

Spidey and Iron Man must fix their new invention before Sandman turns Central Park into Sandman Park. / Miles must stop Rhino from stealing the tomatoes his mom grew for the community dinner.

*John Stamos (“Big Shot”) returns as Iron Man.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Clean Power / Doc Ock & The Rocktobots"
Episode Debut - February 10, 2023

Electro and her electric gauntlet have drained the power from the city’s new wind turbine. / Team Spidey runs up against villains who are trying to stop them from performing at a concert.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Pirate Plunder Blunder / Bad Bot"
Episode Debut - February 24, 2023

Team Spidey must save Aunt May when Green Goblin’s device makes people think they’re pirates. / Doc Ock creates a bad bot version of TRACE-E to trick Team Spidey.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Spin Saves the Day / Water Woes"
Episode Debut - March 17, 2023

When Miles accidentally puts his own arm to sleep with his arachno-sting, he must find a new way to help the team. / Someone has stolen all the water from the city.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Tunnel Trouble / Mystery on Goblin Island"
Episode Debut - March 24, 2023

When Electro steals the subway’s electricity, Team Spidey must use their knowledge to stop her. / Team Spidey must rescue Mr. Von Carnegie from Gobby and Rhino, who seek treasure.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “The Maltese Kitten / A Day With Black Panther"
Episode Debut - April 14, 2023

Team Spidey and Black Cat join forces to stop Doc Ock from destroying the precious Maltese Kitten. / Miles and Black Panther’s special day is nearly spoiled by Electro.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “The New Villain in Town / Spidey Cat"
Episode Debut - April 28, 2023

After Doc Ock hurts CAL’s feelings, Team Spidey steps in to help. / Gobby steals Miles and Spidey’s powers and accidentally puts them in Bootsie.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “A Syrupy Solution / Little Ant, Big Problem"
Episode Debut - May 12, 2023

Ghost-Spider teams up with her dad to save the forest from Doc Ock. / Peter accidentally grows his pet ant to the size of a dog.

*Scott Porter (“Friday Night Lights”) recurs as George Stacy.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Ock Tower / Outsmarted by Art"
Episode Debut - May 26, 2023

Spidey and Iron Man must take back Stark Tower from Doc Ock. / Hulk and Miles have to find new ways to stop Sandman after he figures out how to avoid their signature moves.

*John Stamos (“Big Shot”) recurs as Iron Man.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Super Scooter / The Lost Web Shooter"
Episode Debut - June 9, 2023

When the villains team up to take out the heroes and their super-powered vehicles, it’s up to Ghost-Spider and Ms. Marvel to save the day. / When Spidey loses one of his web-shooters, two kids get the dream of a lifetime to help him recover it from Doc Ock.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Catnap Caper / Bunny Bonanza"
Episode Debut - July 7, 2023

Team Spidey must stop Black Cat from stealing stuffed animals. / The Spidey Team works together to rescue Hulk’s pet, Buns Buns, after Doc Ock multiplies her.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Dino-Rama / Daytime at Night"
Episode Debut - August 11, 2023

The heroes stop Gobby and Rhino from wreaking havoc, but Reptil’s jewel turns them into dinosaurs. / Team Spidey must stop Electro from disturbing nocturnal animals in the forest.


Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Stolen WEB-Quarters / Spideys in Space!"
Episode Debut - August 18, 2023

When Zola takes over WEB-Quarters, Team Spidey must decide whether to destroy it to save the city. / Team-Spidey goes to the moon in their new Web-Spinner suits.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Hide & Seek / Whale of a Time"
Episode Debut - August 25, 2023

Team Spidey and The Thing must stop Gobby from using invisibility to cause trouble in the city. / Team Spidey must stop Doc Ock’s mechanical whale from disrupting the real whales.

Comments?

We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. Please do not post any improper or inflammatory material, as we will issue warnings if we believe it necessary. And remember to keep the discussion ON-TOPIC!
 

Fone Bone

Matt Zimmer
Joined
Jan 19, 2004
Messages
35,267
Location
Framingham, MA
Spidey And His Amazing Friends "An Egg-Cellent Adventure / The Hangout Headache"

An Egg-Cellent Adventure

One of the worst episodes ever.

The show always tries to play it cute and say Black Cat is either misguided or misunderstood in her thievery but stealing an egg that is about to hatch is pretty much indefensible.

"Gosh, I didn't know there was a baby bird in there!" Are you friggin' kidding me? And then she decides she wants the baby for herself.

I hate this character and I hate that the show has foisted her on us. She is the absolute worst thing about Season 2. 0.

The Hangout Headache

I suppose this wasn't terrible in comparison, but the first cartoon pissed me off so much I couldn't enjoy this one. *1/2.

Episode Overall: *.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Follow That Sea Monster! / It's Bad To Be Gooed"

Follow That Sea Monster!

The rubber duckie ending sort of put a few things into focus for me and I'll more fully talk about them in my review of the second cartoon. But the gist is that was NOT good, and it was much worse than it actually needed to be. This is a problem for the show in general. *.

It's Bad To Be Gooed

What really struck me about the poor quality of the writing of this cartoon is that the show does NOT need to be as badly written as it is. Make no mistake. This show isn't the disaster Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy was. The bad writing there was so egregious because it was teaching toddlers improper safety tips. I feel like the toddler morals on this show are sound. But the bad writing bothers me because it doesn't actually need it for the stories to function.

Funny jokes in shows for little kids are permissible. As are characters talking like people instead of cliches. It's not just Bluey that made me believe this. Other toddler shows like Elena Of Avalor also refuse to talk down to kids and pander to their baser senses of humor and low intellect. This show's poor writing quality exists for the exact same reason as it did on Muppet Babies. The writers don't believe it NEEDS to be better than it is. It's designed to both sell toys and garner toddler eyeballs. Making the show not thunderingly stupid doesn't help either of those goals. I would argue it wouldn't hurt those goals. But the writers don't make the show better than it is because the committee who designs and comes up with the stories and morals simply don't believe kids deserve any better.

What bothers the HELL out of me, is that this is the exact mindset of cartoon executives when they made all of those substandard toy commercial cartoons in the 1980's. I recall some parents at the time were frustrated at what Pablum and dreck the animation landscape had become, and lamented why cartoons for kids back then weren't as good as when THEY were kids. The answer is they didn't need to be. Same answer here, and it seems like no matter what TV offers, no matter how sophisticated audiences get, there are always going to be really stupid things on the air for kids. And the thing that kills me, and is probably the real reason things don't change or improve TOO much decades later, is that the dumb stuff is the stuff little kids really love and respond to. Yes, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles were well-received by kids back in the 1990's. But watching those shows were about as far as it went. As far as starting fads and toys flying off the shelves went, it was garbage like Power Rangers, Pokemon, and the 1987 incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that drove kids wild. It's why Transformers and Scooby Doo became evergreen franchises despite their actual shaky premises and crappy original incarnations and why Greg Weisman has never been able to relaunch his best loved show decades later. And Spidey And His Amazing Friends sucks and is badly written because the writers clearly believe little kids prefer badly written, stupid shows. What bothers me about this level of cynicism is based on past TV history, they aren't wrong. Bluey gives me hope for the future of children's TV. In the meantime, parents must suffer through dreck like Spidey And His Amazing Friends, because that's what sells the toddler merch. It's depressing to actually sit down and think about it. The show doesn't NEED to be this bad. It simply chooses to be. *.

Episode Overall: *.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Liberty On The Loose / Green Goblin's Dino Disaster"

Liberty On The Loose:

Black Cat remains the single worst character on the show and I will never forgive season 2 for saddling us with a person this unforgivably obnoxious. Every single damn appearance is her pulling the same damn crap she always pulls and always being shocked that it pisses people off. I'm sick of that crap and I'm sick of her. What she teaches toddlers is it's perfect okay to continue to misbehave if you offer an apology you don't mean and go right back to the poor behavior next week. They wanted to make Black Cat not entirely bad to fit her comic book history, but they don't realize all they are doing is screwing up the toddler morals. This is not an iteration of the show that can (or even should) tolerate nuance. 0.

Green Goblin's Dino Disaster:

No lie, I found Gobby kinda funny this episode. Now I didn't actually LAUGH at any of his dumb antics (I'm not an actual Philistine) but I found a lot of his "I totally meant to do that," posturing humorous. ***1/2.

Episode Overall: **.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Spidey Tidies Up / Oh No, Tomatoes!"

Spidey Tidies Up:

Somebody want to explain to me why Sandman, who is clearly a grown-ass adult, wants to use his scary and unstoppable powers to take over a sandbox and bully people on the playground? Maybe I could forgive it if he were portrayed as a little kid. But he's not, so it's super dumb instead. *.

Oh No, Tomatoes!:

Speaking of which, the villain stealing... tomatoes, feels so random and ridiculous even for a toddler show. And upon the revelation that Rhino actually thought they were apples, I was like, "Nope, that helps nothing. This is still idiotic." *.

Episode Overall: *.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Clean Power / Doc Ock & The Rocktobots"

Clean Power:

So George Stacey not only isn't the commissioner, he's not even a cop. And he's bald with a gross beard. Why is it the last two things that are really ruffling my feathers? **.

Doc Ock & The Rockobots:

The show really could have done an amusing bit with Doc Ock performing her own version of the theme song but they took shorts cuts because the writers were too lazy to come up with funny, alternate lyrics.

Speaking of lazy, am I the only one who think Doc Ock and Electro's characters designs are confusingly similar? I sometimes actually mistake who Team Spidey is dealing with if they are in the same episode.

Bah. *1/2.

Episode Overall: *1/2.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Pirate Plunder Blunder / Bad Bot"

Pirate Plunder Blunder

So apparently nobody can tell the Pirate with the green skin is Green Goblin. The people in this Universe are apparently dumb enough to fall for that. What is an open question is if the producers are cynical (and wrong) enough to believe kids in the audience will fall for it. Because it IS kinda played as a reveal and surprise.

And that level of stupidity reminds me this show and shows like it don't have to be as bad as stupid as they are. They simply choose to be. 0.

Bad Bot:

Case in point: The episode feels the weak need to overexplain that Trace-E and Fake Trace-E are two separate beings who are on different sides. It says something bad about your animated show, when things are so overexplained and explicit in dialogue, it sound even overly obvious than if it were a radio play. And this stuff is about an essentially mute character as well, so making the dialogue do ALL the heavy lifting there is especially egregious.

Again, I believe the only reason this show is this bad is because Marvel and Disney don't believe a toddler show designed to sell toys actually needs to be any good. That's the only reason it sucks. I am positive if the writers of this show were asked to write a good show, they could do it. But the mandate is that Disney prefers a stupid show that talks down to kids. It sells more toys. Am I cynical enough or what?

Cartoons back in the 1980's were horrendous. But mostly due to incompetence on the part of writers, animators, and producers. As far as bad cartoons like this in 2023 go? I actually believe they are this bad on purpose. Doesn't that idea just piss you off? It pisses me off. 0.

Episode Overall: 0.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Spin Saves The Day / Water Woes"

Spin Saves The Day:

Boring and underwhelming . **.

Water Woes:

Not pointed out is the fact that because Doc Ock keeps all of the stolen water in one vat, every bit of it is tainted. There is chlorine in pool water and if it's mixed with the rest of the water supply it's become undrinkable. I sincerely believe the writers were simply too stupid to see this and overlooked it in their dumbness. Usually I give the writers the benefit of the doubt regarding stupidity and say they are merely dumbing things down to pander to their audience. This feels like a genuine oversight to me that probably wouldn't have happened if they were smarter or better at their jobs. They wouldn't have involved a pool at all otherwise. *1/2.

Episode Overall: *1/2.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Tunnel Trouble / Mystery On Goblin Island"

Tunnel Trouble

This show is stupid. *.

Mystery On Goblin Island

This show is UNBEARABLY stupid.

For the record, what makes the professor believe the museum has a legal claim to the treasure? Sounds like cultural misappropriation to me. Carl Barks eventually got in trouble for this in hindsight for Uncle Scrooge's treasure hunts. A cartoon being produced in 2023 has absolutely no "sign of the times" plausible deniability there.

What an utterly crappy show. 0.

Episode Overall: 1/2.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "The Maltese Kitten / A Day With Black Panther"

The Maltese Kitten

I have decided from this point forward to give ANY episode of this show that features Black Cat zero stars on general principle. Worst character ever.

If you happen to think this is unfair of me, I should like to point out that this episode did a bit where the villains sneak into the museum filled with priceless artifacts via an unlocked window. A window that is STILL unlocked, despite the valuable exhibits and Black Cat having used it to enter the museum and steal the statue once already. This episode EARNED the lowest grade possible with that nonsense.

The show doesn't need to be this stupid and lazy to function. It simply choose to be. 0.

A Day With Black Panther:

That was one boring-ass day. *.

Episode Overall: 0.

Marvel's Spidey And His Amazing Friends "The New Villain In Town / Spidey Cat"

The New Villain In Town

No, lie. I actually LIKE that the show had Doc Ock apologize to Cal at the end and call him a good robot. That's good to show little kids even bad people can do good things. Even if it's only for people they care about. And that DOES matter to me. ***1/2.

Spidey Cat

They are selling unlicensed Spidey masks in pet stores for cats? Peter Parker's lawyers suck.

I love Bootsie being given Spider-Powers. I also dug the gag of Gobby asking what he was laughing about. Almost nothing on the show makes me chuckle. That got a smile out of me at least.

My problem is Peter and Mile chasing Bootsie down with web shooters. She's THEIR freaking cat! They STILL don't know how to lure her? They never heard of "Here, kitty-kitty?" They think chasing and spooking a feline when they don't have the powers to back it up is the way to go here? Really?

I kind of liked some of the cartoon, but stuff like that is why I dislike the show in general. ***.

Episode Overall: ***1/2.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "A Syrup Solution / Catch As Ant Can"

A Syrup Solution

Gwen says one of those giant heavy barrels will makes three servings of breakfast pancakes. Sorry, that math don't add up. If it took THAT much sap to make THAT little syrup, each Mrs. Butterworth's would cost around $200. Talk about a waste of resources. *.

Catch As Ant Can:

"A missing ant? Sounds like a BIG problem." Um, NO Hank, the opposite. Not just a literal small problem, but it should be considered a trivial one as well.

I like that the cartoon had a bit of wish fulfillment at the end for the toddlers in the audience. What kid hasn't envisioned using superpowers to make cleaning up the room go quickly and easily? The chores are even FUN now. I like that this show had that moment. It's important to remember the actual selling points of superpowers to very small children. Hint: It's never about saving the world.

A little awful, but I dug the fun cleaning sequence at the end. ***.

Episode Overall: **.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Super Scooter / The Lost Web Shooter"

Super Shooter

It's amazing to me a cartoon with that many toyetic heroes, villains, and vehicles can be that boring, but no show fails like this show.

The scene of Rhino's truck getting stuck in the alley is pretty much a master class of how NOT to write that scene. I am appalled by the conditions for writers in the animation industry in particular. And it angers me terribly scripts like this are accepted while genuinely good writers are struggling. It's not right. *.

The Lost Web Shooter

Also badly written. Worse, the little kid guest characters both look creepy and Uncanny Valley. Another terrible outing for a terrible show. *.

Episode Overall: *.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Catnap Caper / Bunny Bonanza"

I'm struggling with this one. Sigh. Here we go.

Catnap Caper:

Every Black Cat episode on this show gets an automatic zero from me at this point. As of the time I decided the rule I have never ONCE felt the need to break it for a single episode, much less revise it.

This episode was a bit of a turning point for me. I can talk about how awful and badly written it is that Spidey promises the kids to get their stuffed animals back despite having no idea what actually happened to them, or Black Cat being forgiven again for the billionth bogus apology she's given that she doesn't mean, but the automatic zero means I don't need to delve TOO deeply into this crap. 0.

Bunny Bonanza:

I have come to a shocking realization with this cartoon. Me hating the Black Cat episode was never in question. But I realized watching this that this was equally bad for entirely different reasons. It tells me that despite the fact that I talk nothing but crap about this show, that I have still been far too lenient with it. The series is even worse than I previously imagined and I'm not sitting here and taking that fact in good humor anymore. Spidey And His Amazing Friends is NOT as terrible a show as Avengers: Black Panther's Quest. But that is the only Marvel cartoon worse than it is. And I am aware of Marvel Animation's entire underwhelming history. I stand by that statement.

As such I an going back to the grading rules I established for Transformers Rescue Bots Academy. I usually grade shows on a curve and give the best episodes of a given franchise five stars, even if an episode of that identical quality of a better show would not earn it. For example a five star episode of Power Rangers would be worth two and a half stars if Andor had a script with a similar level of quality. But for Rescue Bots Academy I decided the curve is no longer valid for a show with no redeeming qualities. Therefore every single episode was graded a zero, unless it didn't actually deserve that grade. Few episodes of that show made it out of the zero zone. And I'm applying the same standard to this show from here on out. Not just every Black Cat episode, every episode PERIOD gets an automatic zero stars unless it deserves better. As far as the curve goes, for this show, the zero rating shall be the baseline from here on out. And for the second worst cartoon in Marvel history, that's probably a HELL of a lot more generous than it deserves. 0.

Episode Overall. 0. For real.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Dino-Rama / Daytime At Nighttime"

Dino-Rama

This is stupid.

Also this next bit might be an unpopular opinion, but I find Reptil to be a VERY creepy, off-putting character. Not just this version. The character in general is something I find hard to stomach. 0.

Daytime At Nighttime

Also stupid. I mentioned in last week's review that each of these cartoons will now get an automatic zero grade unless they somehow don't deserve one. Neither this cartoon of the last one moved me enough to change the base grade. 0.

Episode Overall: 0.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Stolen WEB-Quarters / Spideys In Space!"

Stolen WEB-Quarters

New subtitle for the season means new heroes and villains in the main title.

Let me be blunt. They shouldn't be putting Armin Zola in a preschool show. I don't care that they gave him the same design as Nickelodeon's Face, he's an inappropriate character to adapt for little kids. This show shouldn't be showing Punisher, Red Skull, or the Purple Man either.

Whatever. It's not like the cartoon was any good, so maybe that entire rant is just me complaining about the wrong thing. *1/2.

Spidey In Space

It's both cynical and obnoxious that the new premise and subtitle mostly exist to sell toy repaint variants. Remind me why little kids should watch this show again. *.

Episode Overall: *.

Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Hide And Seek / Whale Of A Time"

Hide And Seek

A jolly green goofball Hulk who is never really angry is something I can accept. The concept of Hulk allows for a LOT of different versions and variations in personalities. But a version of The Thing WITHOUT a chip on his shoulder? Doesn't work at all, and I don't buy it for a second. 0.

Whale Of A Time

I've leveled this criticism at the show multiple times, but it bears repeating after seeing this: The show does not have to be as stupid and badly written as it is to function. It simply chooses to be. 0.

Episode Overall: 0.
 

RoyalRubble

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Reporter
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
18,034
Location
A Valid Location
spidey.png


Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Rollin Rhino / The Octopus and the Kitty Cat"
Episode Debut - September 1, 2023

Rhino and Green Goblin plot to ruin a roller-skating race. / Black Cat and Doc Ock make an unstoppable team as they commit a lot of trouble.

Comments?

We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. Please do not post any improper or inflammatory material, as we will issue warnings if we believe it necessary. And remember to keep the discussion ON-TOPIC!
 

Fone Bone

Matt Zimmer
Joined
Jan 19, 2004
Messages
35,267
Location
Framingham, MA
Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Rollin' Rhino / The Octopus And The Kitty Cat"

Rollin' Rhino

Mea Culpa to my readers. I have been a bit of a gadfly regarding Marvel Animation. After the final season of the last Avengers cartoon aired (Black Panther's Quest) I boldly proclaimed it was the stupidest and worst-written Marvel cartoon ever. In fact, I said it was also the worst Marvel show, period, and worst animated superhero show, period, (DC has done some worse live-action stuff). I realize after seeing this episode my opinion that this show was second worst in that regard was me giving the show too much credit. It IS after all, the worst Marvel cartoon, the worst Marvel show, and the worst superhero cartoon ever. I never felt right taking that specific slam against Black Panther's Quest not only because it featured a diverse cast, but because the showrunner was an old online acquaintance of mine named Geoffrey Thorne whose posts on Dwayne McDuffie's forum were always super insightful and far more admirably extreme leftist than I could ever aspire to be. You put one of my most extreme leftwing rants up against his I sound closer to Dick Cheney than Thorne. And I love, admired, and respected the hell out of him for that. And it bummed me out a guy I liked and interacted with, a smart guy no less, was responsible for the worst written and stupidest Marvel cartoon ever. He finally hit the big time and it's the worst Marvel toon ever. What a bum deal.

After this episode I am pleased to say he no longer needs to carry that specific burden. I will certainly be glad I no longer have to say it. What this horrible episode also taught me is that perhaps this show had dethroned Black Panther's Quest ages ago and I was just unwilling to admit it. But damn, there's no room for debate there left in my mind. It is now the worst. You are off the hook, Geoffrey Thorne. Thank God. 0.

The Octopus And The Kitty Cat

Black Cat episode. Automatic zero stars. Nothing more needs to be said. 0

Episode Overall: 0.

Series Overall: Worst animated Marvel Show ever. Worst Marvel show, period. Worst animated superhero show, period.
 

RoyalRubble

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Reporter
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
18,034
Location
A Valid Location
spidey.png


Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Go With the Lava Flow / An UnBEElievable Rosh Hashanah"
Episode Debut - September 15, 2023

Team Spidey must rescue wildlife after Doc Ock triggers a volcanic eruption. / When Gobby steals all the bees, Team Spidey and The Thing must get them back and save Rosh Hashanah.

Comments?

We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. Please do not post any improper or inflammatory material, as we will issue warnings if we believe it necessary. And remember to keep the discussion ON-TOPIC!
 

Antiyonder

Amalgam Universe Overlord
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Sep 13, 2002
Messages
17,995
Location
Washington
Cur Nicolas Cage screaming "Not the bees" or Batman's toned down response to the dreaded bee weapon.
 

Fone Bone

Matt Zimmer
Joined
Jan 19, 2004
Messages
35,267
Location
Framingham, MA
09/16:
Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Go With The Lava Flow / An Un-bee-lievable Rosh Hashanah"

Go With The Lava Flow

I made the mistake of watching and reviewing this immediately after watching the Adam West Batwheels episode. Big mistake. If I seem a bit unforgiving, that's why.

Mea Culpa: I was about to give the show crap for Miles talking up these rare pink iguanas and then Team Spidey RANDOMLY being called on a rescue mission to the exact same damn island where the last 200 of them exist. But it's actually a trick by Peter and Gwen to fool Miles into seeing his favoritest thing ever he never mentioned before this week, and will forget all about during his next favoritest thing next week. So maybe the show should get credit for being less stupid than I predicted.

Except Miles himself should have noticed this suspicious coincidence himself, so partial credit at best, and no credit, if I'm actually being fair. Miles isn't supposed to be a stupid character and neither is Peter, and yet they are always portrayed as such.

Ugh. Why can't this be Batwheels? *.

An Un-bee-lievable Rosh Hashanah

Gotta give the show credit: There are not many cartoons that get to a holiday before Charlie Brown ever did. Did they actually beat Teen Titans Go! there too, which celebrates alternate Tuesdays? I think they might have. Bonus points for pulling THAT off.

Cool exploring Ben Grimm's Jewishness.

You know, when a villain randomly calls him "The Thing" it sounds like a rude insult. I get it's his chosen superhero ID, but I guess hearing the "The" in front of it sounds weirdly dehumanizing in 2023. Damn the 1960's! This is all Stan Lee's fault, you know.

Not as terrible as the show usually is, although as always Gobby episodes are always a bit of a chore to get through. **.

Episode Overall: *1/2.


09/23:
Spidey And His Amazing Friends "Final Review"

I was going to discuss this in the next episode, but I don't have it in me to watch another one. A lot of people ask me, "Matt, if you HATE something so much, why just watch it to complain about it?"

It's a fair question, or it would be if it were entirely true. But it misses the mark quite a bit, and it's not the case.

It is true there are some shows that I watch that I tend to bash every single week. No question. But I usually watch those shows because they are either adjacent to a thing I like, or a small part of a thing I like. I HATED Rescue Bots Academy. I thought it was the worst Transformers show I'd ever seen, and probably the worst preschool show in years, at least since Barney (and yes, it was routinely worse than this show). And yet it was part of the Aligned Continuity, and maybe you can call it a bit of gatekeeping, but that's my favorite Transformers Universe, and I ain't missin' a bit of it. Similarly, I have noted that Titans is the single worst superhero TV show that ever existed, and I still watched it from beginning to end for the ties with the Multiverse it shared with the Arrowverse and other related shows. Also why I stuck with The Flash until the end despite it spending its last six seasons awful week in and week out. If I watch something I hate, it's usually because it's connected to something I like.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see this continuity popping up in the next Spider-Verse movie do you? It certainly wasn't in the last one, because its happy-go-lucky nature completely works against that movie's insistence all Spider-Mans must have tragedy in their lives. I feel comfortable ducking out now and not feeling like I'm missing anything.

Any final notes to offer about the series itself? Yes.

It is not just the worst animated Marvel superhero show of all time. It's the worst Marvel show period. It's the worst animated superhero show period (DC or Marvel). It's the worst animated show based on a comic book. The worst thing about the show to me is how badly written and stupid it is. Why? Because it doesn't need to be. I believe Disney cynically (and probably correctly, truth be told) noted that dumb preschool shows are more popular than clever ones. Bluey makes a liar out of this theory, but before it, and not counting Sesame Street (which frankly HAS been dumbed down a little over the years) it was mostly true. And the more popular this show is, the more toys it will sell. In other words, I don't believe this show is as stupid as it is because the writers are, and can't write decent scripts if they chose to. I believe the show is as bad and stupid as it is because Disney cynically believed it would make them more money. Basically, this show's poor quality is down to financial considerations.

And I can question both the morality and the intelligence of the writers of awful crap like Titans, Riverdale, and House Of The Dragon. But I think that crap is as bad as it is because the writers are either terrible writers or terrible people. This show is so awful because it wants to offend as few toddlers as possible, so they'll pester their parents to buy the toys. And really, why should I stick around if that's the case?

Let me be blunt. I mentioned people had a point about not watching shows just to complain about them. But I also said the idea misses the mark, and not just because the stuff I watch I watch for reasons of either connectivity, or if it's sometimes occasionally even, GOOD. The reason the gripe of "If you don't like it, don't watch it," doesn't work for me is because I believe writing critical reviews in an informed manner is a great help to my writing skills, which pays off in my comic book. I think me exploring why something doesn't work helps me understand how to write better and analyze works of fiction better.

The problem for me, is there often becomes a point where I am putting more into my negative reviews of the show, than anything I'm getting out of it. I stopped Riverdale for that reason and bailed on House Of The Dragon early on because of it too. I don't enjoy watching crap. I don't. Hard to believe, but true. If I can find reasons to avoid it, I will. The show seeming to be unconnected to everything else Marvel means I feel I can drop it with no regrets. It's probably finally seeing the latest Spider-Verse movie that drove that realization and decision, but I'm happy I will not have to watch this horrid show anymore, and I can use the time on things I DO enjoy. Writing bad reviews can sometimes be productive for me. But I'm spent over 45 minutes on this one so far. And the episodes are 22 minutes long. That's not good time management. I have better things to do than spending 22 minutes watching something terrible and taking twice as long to complain about it. In fairness, few of my reviews for this show get this in-depth. But the principle is still the same.

I will not miss this show or the fact that Disney coldly calculated the best way to sell more merch was to feed kids garbage every week. Believe it or not, Disney used to have high standards, especially regarding their animation. But with the exception of a few bright spots (Elena Of Avalor springs immediately to mind) Disney makes their preschool shows dumb, loud, and annoying. Obviously this makes them more financially successful, so who am I to argue? But them being this terrible means I don't have to watch them either. And I'm ducking out now. This show is the worst. Series Overall: 0 stars.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

RoyalRubble

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Reporter
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
18,034
Location
A Valid Location
spidey.png


Spidey and His Amazing Friends “Bootsie’s Haunted Adventure / Too Many Tricks, Not Enough Treats"
Episode Debut - September 29, 2023

With help from Bootsie, Team Spidey must foil Sandman’s theft of priceless Egyptian artifacts. / Team Spidey must save Halloween from Green Goblin and his candy stealing scarecrows.

Comments?

We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. Please do not post any improper or inflammatory material, as we will issue warnings if we believe it necessary. And remember to keep the discussion ON-TOPIC!
 

RoyalRubble

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Reporter
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
18,034
Location
A Valid Location
spidey.png


Spidey and His Amazing Friends “How to Train Your Doggy / Dome Alone"
Episode Debut - November 10, 2023

Gobby and Rhino steal Lockjaw, a teleporting pup, in hopes of making him an accomplice. / When Zola traps The Thing, Spidey and Ghost-Spider under a dome, Miles must save the day.

Comments?

We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. Please do not post any improper or inflammatory material, as we will issue warnings if we believe it necessary. And remember to keep the discussion ON-TOPIC!
 

Spotlight

Staff online

Who's on Discord?

Latest profile posts

Remember back when people were saying that "Streaming is the (bright) future"?
"I can't wait to eat this baby" - Paramount, presumably looking for tax write-offs
Happy Baseball Opening Day
"I'm probably going to watch Nymphomaniac Part II on Disney+ this weekend" isn't something I didn't think I'd ever say, but here we are.

Featured Posts

Top