The Spectacular Spider-Man "Growing Pains" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Christopher Glennon]

I don't see how they're acting like jerks. The decisions they've made have mostly been because of peer pressure.
Harry came across as more of a jerk when he treated Gwen like she was a prized trophy when talking to dear old dad.

Peer pressure shouldn't be an excuse. I said that after having watched the following episode. Peter and Gwen almost kissing shows a disregard for Liz and Harry's feelings. Maybe not outright jerkishness, but still.

Harry's is pretty blatant, I'll give you that. Kind of reminded me of the first Spider-Man movie where he told Mary Jane what to wear in hopes of impressing his father.

 

[Anwar]

Harry's always been like that, I mean the only times he's come off as a likable character were in the movies (and even then he was a jerk 1/3 of the time), the MTV show and his characterization in the recent comics where he beat the cr@p out of Norman.

 

[Gokou Ruri]

Gwen's not exactly above being petty and a jerk herself. All the characters seem to act that way.

 

[Nygma]

^^^

Explain on that, because I find that to be an extremely narrow minded view point. IMO as long as we can understand why the characters act the way they do, I would still find them likable and entertaining.

 

[Gokou Ruri]

^^^

Explain on that, because I find that to be an extremely narrow minded view point. IMO as long as we can understand why the characters act the way they do, I would still find them likable and entertaining.

Well, she started dating Harry just to make Peter jealous, so she's not above using people as well.

 

[ShadowStar]

Well, she started dating Harry just to make Peter jealous, so she's not above using people as well.

She didn't do it to make Peter jealous. She started dating Harry because she saw that her first choice, Peter, was dating someone else and that she couldn't have him, so she figured, "If I can't have Peter, why not Harry? He seems to like me a lot. I'll give him a chance". That's how I read it, anyway. It seemed to me that Gwen was so hurt by Peter's decision to date Liz that she figured she'd be mad to turn down Harry, the only guy who was actually showing interest in her. Greg Weisman pretty much confirmed that this was the case during one of the recent IGN interviews, BTW (I think it was the one called Inside Spidey's Web: First Steps).

 

[W.C.Reaf]

Well, she started dating Harry just to make Peter jealous, so she's not above using people as well.

She accepted Harry's offer to Flash's birthday because he's a friend and there was no way she could expect to see either Peter or Liz there. The relationship evolved from there because Harry was a fairly good guy.

I never saw any indication of malicious intent from her going out with harry.

 

[Christopher Glennon]

Harry's always been like that, I mean the only times he's come off as a likable character were in the movies (and even then he was a jerk 1/3 of the time), the MTV show and his characterization in the recent comics where he beat the cr@p out of Norman.

And even in TNAS, Harry did have a bit of a substance abuse problem and a pretty big chip on his shoulder when it came to Spider-Man.

 

[Anwar]

Yeah, but compared to how weaselly and wormy, or downright nuts Harry is in most adaptations his TNAS self had reasonable problems.

I think Harry may be part of the reason they made Norman more human in the movies: If he was portrayed as the cruel and heartless man he is in SSM (he's even worse than the Mackie Norman) in the movies then the audience would wonder why Harry wasn't either 1) More screwed up OR 2) An evil bastard himself (though the idea of a genuinely malevolent Harry is an intriguing one).

 

[Christopher Glennon]

I think Harry may be part of the reason they made Norman more human in the movies: If he was portrayed as the cruel and heartless man he is in SSM (he's even worse than the Mackie Norman) in the movies then the audience would wonder why Harry wasn't either 1) More screwed up OR 2) An evil bastard himself (though the idea of a genuinely malevolent Harry is an intriguing one).

That's true. Push them both too far and you get Lionel and Lex Luthor from Smallville.

Harry can have his slip into supervillainy, but in the end, he isn't evil.

 

[Anwar]

Well, the writers of the comics have tried to make Harry into a full supervillain a couple of times in the comics (Spectacular Spiderman 200) and originally he was going to be the mastermind of the Clone Saga instead of Norman (Gaunt, the cyborg guy was supposed to be Harry who hadn't been killed by the Goblin serum but it just ruined his body) before the EiC made them change it.

Too bad, I always found the conflict between Harry and Peter more deep than the one between him and Norman. And SSM seemingly is on it's way towards making Harry a http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManipulativeBastard.

 

[GregX]

"Growing Pains"
Another Sunday, another episode of "The Spectacular Spider-Man" come and gone. And, as far as episodes go, I almost wish there was a bad one so I could stop heaping praise on this show, it gets a tad predictable. But, a great show is a great show, and I'm glad we have one. Good stuff

Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive.

Okay, the quote may not be Shakespeare as all the auditions were, but I think that sums up this episode quite well. Our tangled web is being weaved by Venom. He is deceiving the city into believing Spider-Man has become a criminal.

I've spoken my thoughts and opinions on Venom in previous reviews, but I have to say that I like this Venom. I like this Venom a lot, and I hate that I do. But, really, this is what he should be. He is the evil Spider-Man. None of this misunderstood, lethal protector of the innocent garbage. This Venom is completely obsessed with Peter Parker and doesn't care who he hurts to get to him. Which is really what he was in his first two appearances, before Marvel decided they had a cash cow and turned him into something else entirely.

Now, the main plot of this issue is loosely based on Amazing Spider-Man #42 where John Jameson was infected by alien spores and gained power, and at his father, J. Jonah Jameson's insistence, he attempted to hunt down Spider-Man. That very same issue also marked Peter Parker meeting Mary Jane Watson for the first time, complete with the popular phrase "Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot." But, obviously we already did that in the first season.

I enjoyed the treatment of John Jameson here. I think a lot of people thought the creators of this show would jump right into Man-Wolf with him, but nope, they chose to adapt a fun, if somewhat forgotten story from Lee's run. But, considering how this episode ends, with John at Ravencroft lusting for more power, I can foresee a Man-Wolf down the road.

This episode also marked J. Jonah Jameson's return this season. Yes, we got a brief glimpse of him in "Destructive Testing" but it was a brief glimpse and with no lines. Here, well, Darran Norris is still in top form. I love his take on this character, and I just love how Jameson is written. What I enjoy the most about this Jameson is how his hatred of Spider-Man has slowly built up. First, Spidey was just some mook in a costume who sold papers. Second, Spidey participated in trashing the offices of the Daily Bugle... okay, that was Rhino's fault, but still. Then Spidey, without meaning to, upstaged John Jameson's heroic landing of a doomed space shuttle. Now... as far as Jameson is concerned, Spidey is responsible for John being a mental case. Well played, Weisman.

The whole cast auditioning for St. John Devereaux's play was enough to tickle the Shakespeare geek in me. And looking at the cast list at the end, the play is "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Let's see who I can make out... some of the name's are obscured by Devereaux's arm.

Puck..... Harry Osborn
Titania.. Sha Shan Nguyen
Oberon... Kenny Kong
Cobweb... Glory Grant
Hermia... Mary Jane Watson
and all the way at the bottom... Seymore O'Reilly;
and below him... Greg Weisman. LOL, I love these little Easter Eggs.

The ending of the episode, well, I love a good cliffhanger, and you can't get a bigger one than Venom bursting into the offices of the Daily Bugle and announcing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. What, I have to wait a week? Aw well.

Another spectacular one.

 

[DBTrilogy100]

Venom's Revenge Arc, Part II

The 2nd (and my least favorite) episode of Venom's Revenge Arc. This episode's character commentary is reciting Shakespeare lines. This is also the 1st episode written by Nicole DuBuc.

*Are those crooks the same ones from Natural Selection? Spidey's half-human half-alien doppelganger is back and just pulled a Chameleon. Except he's impersonating ("final stage") Black Suit Spider-Man.

*John's metamorphosis did seem a little...rushed. Perhaps they could have shown some hints of it in the (1st) Venom Arc; then again I suppose there was so little time. At least he keeps his sense of humor...for now.

*Sha-Shan speaks for the 1st time and she's voiced by Kelly Hu. Most people probably know her as the Sorceress from The Scorpion King and Lady Deathstrike from X-Men 2.

*Kenny's an actor, who knew?

*The way Spider-Man pleaded for Chameleon was funny and also showed a little of his fear for you-know-who.

*Uh Sally? This is drama, not cheerleader try outs. Nice try, but no.

*Venom's "fun house mirror" line was just perfect. He's also been redesigned: his legs are longer, his arms arn't "gorilla looking" and he has a full set of teeth. This is also the only Venom episode where Eddie Brock and the Symbiote are not separate, we don't even see Eddie's face.

*Colonel Jupiter makes a Superman reference and makes the sound effects from The Million $ Man. Mr. Parrot was great too.

*Wow "angry mob", are you that dense? Spidey can't change his size and mass or change clothes with the snap of a finger. I know the Symbiote can do that, but they don't. Jupiter, you should know it's dangerous for a hero trying to keep his loved ones safe to "talk" to the police.

*Peter & Liz, Harry & Gwen. Anyone see something wrong here.

*I love how Flash used both letters and numbers.

*Thank you George! Thank you for being as smart as us audience members!

*Colonel Jupiter is not on steroids!

*How fitting that the battle takes place in the Planetarium. That Greek Myth reference was great too. Only fitting that the Colonel holds up his planet.

*Poor John, he was such a nice guy. I feel so sorry for him...and yet...I can't help but laugh at how many times he says "the power".

*Wow Electro, you've gone a long way haven't you?

*I spy with my little eye Greg Wiesman on the cast list.

*This was a (pardon the pun) spectacular ending! Venom storms the Bugle in dramatic, window crashing fashion and does what no other version of him has done! "PETER PARKER IS SPIDER-MAN!", Bravo Ben Disken, Bravo!

Next episode features interviews, paparazzi and a rematch between the wall crawling "bros."!

 

[Medinnus]

This would have been an excellent episode if not for the presence of Venom, who both bores me to tears and pains me (because he's so popular I can't escape him, even on an excellent show like this). Other than that, an excellent show, especially the tryouts.

 

[Antiyonder]

Been watching Season 2 again, and after some viewings of this episode, it does one thing that the comics fail to do. Actually keeping in mind that Spider-Man was framed for crimes before.

Sure Spider-Man remembers being framed constantly, but the public at large and the other heroes seem to forget that when said events occur repeatedly.

George sums that up best with his comment: This isn't the first time that the Bugle got it wrong when a copycat dressed up as the webslinger. Now do you really want to embarrass yourself and your paper, again?

 

[W.C.Reaf]

Been watching Season 2 again, and after some viewings of this episode, it does one thing that the comics fail to do. Actually keeping in mind that Spider-Man was framed for crimes before.

Oh god yes. I think this episode might have actually spoiled me from reading all the "Spider-Man framed" stories again.

In the recent Ultimate Spider-Man Chameleons arc I was really annoyed that no one seemed to remember that someone in a Spider-Man costume was robbing banks before, and everyone thought it was the real Spidey then too. This was when Spidey was meant to be recognised as a hero to NY as well, so no one questioning if it was the real Spidey was an even bigger problem.

I like the "Spider-Man framed" story and I think it's a classic, but after the first one there needs to be a new spin on it and people need to question if it is the real deal or not. Like this show did. I think people questioning it makes the story more realistic as not everyone would believe it.

 

[Nygma]

Well nothing from his encounter in Intervention was that incriminating. Spidey asked for a job, Lincoin gave conditions before he would trust him. There was nothing that he said or did that was illegal.

The only thing was him saying "fight no crime for one week" which trying to explain that away to a Judge would be strange but not impossible.

They'd want absolute proof that Lincoin is the Big Man before they'd do anything because Lincoin has a lot of money and power, so he could easily spin it.

On a similar note, why wouldn't George have footage of Spidey's 1st encounter with Lincoln, if he had their 2nd one?

And while Lincoln DIDN'T refer to himself as the big man, he did allegedly say yes to Spidey when he said he was making supervillains to distract spidey. Which would fall under disturbing the peace perhaps? But then again you have to connect more dots to prove he knows anybody that was doing that, I guess.

 

[ShadowStar]

Harry's speech early on in the episode irks me because part of it is omitted. It should be "Presume not that I am the thing I was / For God doth know, so shall the world perceive / That I have turn'd away my former self".

Mentioning God in a cartoon is taboo, even when it's Shakespeare? *sigh*

 

[Stu]

There's a new superhero in New York, bad news for Spidey?

​

The Spectacular Spider-Man
Episode #19: "Growing Pains"
Original Airdate - July 20th, 2009

Venom is back and framing Spider-Man. Meanwhile, alien spores infect John Jameson, increasing his size, strength and mass. J. Jonah Jameson convinces his son to become a super-hero to capture Spidey.

Comments?

 

[M.O.D.O.K.]

Re-watching this episode, I just remember that this is probably one of the only times I thought Venom looked great and on-model, the only other time being Intervention. Though the following episode has a stronger fight scene, he looked a bit too sloppy there.

The scene with J. Jonah visiting his son at Ravencroft still gives me some goosebumps.