| This article is written from the Real World perspective |  |
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| Series | Spider-Man | |||
| Release Date | August 19, 2017 | |||
| Season Number | 1 of 25 | |||
| Episode Number | 1 | |||
| Writer | Kevin Shinick | |||
| Director | Philip Pignotti | |||
(Series premiere)
Story[]
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Peter is accepted into Horizon High: a school for geniuses like Anya Corazon and Miles Morales. After Spider-Man stops a Vibranium machine that was secretly sabotaged by Spencer Smythe, his best friend Harry Osborn gets suspended by Max Modell pending an investigation when Spencer claims that Harry sabotaged the machine. Peter makes his debut as Spider-Man and must battle the Vulture when he targets his former employer Max Modell.
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Cast[]
Background[]
Reception[]
Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the two-part premiere a 7.4 Good rating saying it was enjoyable but imperfect. She noted the difficulty in adapting a long popular character such as how it will tie in to other characters and series, if it will work with other adaptations, and how it will serve both longtime fans and newcomers. She felt the premiere struck a good balance between the familiar and new. She said it quickly and successfully set up Peter as a relatable teenager while skipping over well-trodden territory like his origin. She felt that this series stood out by using more Uncle Ben to learn more about who Peter is and, along with Harry, grounded Spider-Man. She claimed Daymond gave Peter lots of charm, infusing energy into every moment. She praised Oswalt as Uncle Ben for adding layers of wisdom and confidence to the character. She did complain about the dialogue saying the series relied too heavily on Spider-Man being verbose and delivering quips. She felt the one-liners were more groan inducing than laugh-out-loud funny. She claimed Peter talked to himself too much and explained to excess, wishing the series would show more than speak. She felt this was fine for younger audiences to see him working through a problem but was verbose for adults. She brought up a continuing discussion about animated series that they are usually made to be targeted to children but could reach audiences as well. She noted that Marvel was less successful than others at finding the balance and this series wasn't changing anything. She praised the dynamic action saying fans would like the creative web-slinging. She said the series stretched what Spider-man could do with his webbing. "Marvel's Spider-Man has enough of a different approach to make it stand apart from other animated takes on the character. Peter learning to be a hero while also attending a new school means prime territory for internal conflict alongside the external conflicts of him trying to stop and capture wrongdoers. The show needs to refine dialogue and humor, but it's made a good start." [1]
George Marston of Newsarama, in a joint review of both this and the follow-up, gave the episodes a four out of ten calling it slow, safe, and boring. He felt it failed to capture the essence or likability of Spider-Man. He did note that it had a solid foundation and strong visual identity. He claimed that the key to Spider-Man is nailing Peter Parker, but felt that the two-part premiere crammed in too many cameos, threads, and Easter eggs. He felt that Spider-Man was missing the charm that made him relatable. He claimed the premise of the series was similar to the Big Time storyline with threads hinting at The Superior Spider-Man and Spider-Verse. He felt it was hard to keep up with the number of characters and Easter eggs. He noted the series was too close to Ultimate Spider-Man with the high school setting. He disliked the general, vague concept of science as it was not used as a tool for teaching or driving the story but as something that bogged down the pacing while turning Peter into a know-it-all nerd. He particularly pointed out Spider-Man constantly changing the PSI on his webshooters, comparing it to someone constantly checking their watch, and Peter constantly correcting others on their science. He compared this version to Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons. He felt the pacing of the fights dragged on with characters stopping to talk. He complained that Spider-Man seemed unable to move and talk at the same time. He did not like the Flash-style animation calling it stilted. He thought the fight scenes at least worked with Spider-Man's poses but felt the "seams" would show in anything with normal characters or wide shots. He also complained about the oppressive sound design, like music drowning out a conversation between Peter and Harry. He did praise the character design saying it was one area the series did excel, comparing them to the works of Hayao Miyazaki. He did like the expressive anime influence feeling they fit the characters perfectly. He claimed that Scorpion looked better than he has in years. Though he did feel that they looked too good against the flat environments. He felt the voice cast was hit or miss. He said the standouts were Tatasciore's Max Modell and Minichino's Corazon, Oswalt was just right as Uncle Ben, and Menville offered a unique twist on Octavius. However, he felt Daymond was charmless in the lead. He wondered why, with the recently released Spider-Man: Homecoming delivering a new Spider-Man experience, that this series would feature relationships and stories that have been played out so many times before, feeling it was closer to the The Amazing Spider-Man films than anything else. He did claim the second part picked up with Peter acting less insufferable. He noted that there were attempts to add humor, but it was tempered by the slow pacing and monologues about the nature of heroism. "The brilliant character designs and 'everything and the kitchen sink' approach to continuity in Marvel’s Spider-Man certainly set up some building blocks for a show that could be really special. Instead what we get is a show that attempts to straddle the line of the various portrayals of Spidey in other media, and winds up feeling true to none of them." [2]