Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors "The Spider-Verse, Parts One - Four" Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

Ultimate Spider-Man is back with a four-part epic! Part One of "The Spider-Verse" airs tonight at 9:00pm (ET/PT) on DisneyXD.

Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors "The Spider-Verse, Part One"
Episode Debut - March 5th, 2015
When the Goblin opens portals to alternate worlds, Spider-Man must team up with alternative versions of Spider-Man to stop him, including a future version from the year 2099 (guest voice Freddy Rodriguez), and Spider-Girl (guest voice Olivia Holt), from a world where everyone’s gender has been swapped!

Comments?

Mod Note: Please use spoiler space when discussing upcoming "The Spider-Verse" installments that have yet to officially debut on DisneyXD, Ultimate Spider-Man's home network. Don't ruin it for those checking out these episodes out for the first time! Disciplinary action will be taken if necessary. Let's have fun and enjoy this Ultimate Spider-Man event!

 

[Greg91]

And so begins Spider-Verse. Season three of Ultimate Spider-Man has started off great, and while this may be early to say, I think this season will finally be a season fans are proud of overall. This show has finally become the show I wanted to see since the beginning.

I thought this was a pretty great start to the crossover event. Following the Goblin through a portal, Spider-Man finds himself in the world of Marvel 2099! At first, I was turned off by the idea of a CG 2099, but it actually works. It’s kind of a cross between Spider-Man: The New Animated Series and the Heroes United movies (and I mean that in the best way). After discovering Alchemax, the first alternate hero Spidey meets is Spider-Man 2099. Before I continue, I must say Spider-Man 2099 is easily my favorite alternate universe Spider-Man. I’m so glad he’s finally in animation. I couldn’t believe Iron Man 2099 beat Miguel to the punch. Miguel O’Hara looked pretty good, and he sounded like a cross between Dan Gilvezan’s voice (Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions) and Christopher Daniel Barnes’ voice (Spider-Man: Edge of Time). Christopher actually reprises his role as Electro in this episode. I don’t quite understand Electro’s inclusion, other than being a wink and nod to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 maybe.

Anyways, after showing off his speed and agility to take on Spidey, Miguel and Peter come to an understanding, all in time to take down the Goblin, who looks really ugly in CG (that’s a good thing, since he’s supposed to look gross). The music, here, sounded like something out of Tron. Drake Bell’s voice keeps you connected to the USM world since everything else feels so different. (Plus, cutaway Spidey appears in CG!).

After that really cool adventure (did I mention Spider-Man 2099?!), the animation returns to normal as Peter meets his female counterpart Petra. Some fans complained about Mayday Parker’s exclusion, but it might have been confusing to explain here. Olivia Holt works nicely here as Spider-Girl. It’s interesting to see how this show tackled gender inequality by switching the roles. Men are looked down upon, while women stand strong. It really shows just how messed up our real world is. Norma Osborn (Norman Osborn’s counterpart) appears, beautifully voiced by Hot in Cleveland star Wendie Malick. She sounds great here (though it also helps that I like her voice)! Appearing in a classic green and purple costume, the Goblin gives Norma some of his serum and juices her up. It’s funny to see Spider-Man react to the classic pumpkin bombs for the first time, and being called adorable! There’s even a reference to Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends and The Night Gwen Stacy Died.

All in all, this episode was an awesome start to an awesome crossover event. I’m glad this general storyline premise was brought to animation. Even though Spider-Man 2099 never got to say “What the shock?”, this episode really clicked with me. Let’s hope this stellar event keeps its momentum!

Side-note: I've seen these episodes last year, so I recommend reading these reviews after you've seen the episodes. And beware of spoilers.

 

[RoyalRubble]

Pretty good episode and a nice start to the Spider-Verse arc. Goblin's plan to collect DNA samples form different Spider-Men is pretty interesting and should lead to some more stories later on. I thought the two alternate Spideys seen here were pretty cool. Spider-Man 2099 was pretty interesting and the futuristic scenery was a nice change. The CGI used in this segment wasn't the greatest but it worked. This team-up was fun. But I think I enjoyed the reversed gender alternate dimension a little more, with the likes of Spider-Girl, Norma Osborne, J. Joanna Jameson and even a quick glance at Nicole Fury. All in all a pretty good episode and while I'm sure these team-ups could have been handled even better, they were fun and entertaining enough for me. The story isn't over yet, so seeing even more alternate dimensions will hopefully be just as fun.

 

[JoeMabbon]

After a long hiatus, Ultimate Spider-Man returns with the much-anticipated Spider-Verse arc. It looks like each episode is going to be split into two parts if the debut is anything to go on. Goblin's motives aren't clear at this point. Hopefully, we'll have a better idea of what he's trying to accomplish before the finale.

The CGI in Spider-Man 2099 was pretty lackluster. It looked like a cutscene from the PS3-era. Miguel O'Hara was pretty plain all things considered. He's tired of being Spider-Man, but changes his mind after a brief encounter with Peter. The very short time frame didn't give the writers much time to explore the 2099 setting or develop this world's Spider-Man.

Spider-Girl's world was bit more interesting. It was a fun little adventure and the animation was less distracting than it was in the first segment. Unfortunately, this story was pretty rushed as well. I would've liked to see more gender-swapped heroes and heroines, but it was over before I knew it.

Jameson Watch: A giant CGI hologram in his image and J. Joana Jameson.

Animation (2-D): 8
Animation (3-D): 5
Dialogue: 5
Gender Commentary: Superficial
"Let's You and Him(Her) Fight": Yes.

Final Score: Does what a spider can./50

 

[BlackoutCreature]

Ok, I have to do this before my head explodes.

I enjoyed the first half with Spider-Man 2099. While the CGI wasn't the best, it's use gave the story a definitive AU feel to it which I really appreciated.

The second half with "Spider-Girl" not so much. Ok, I understand why they wouldn't want to use Mayday, her story is kinda complicated and it might've been awkward to write Peter interacting with his "daughter". But the best alternative the writers could come up with is a gender-swapped universe? That's like the oldest, cheapest, most unimaginative cliché in sci-fi storytelling. The use of this idea was stupid, stupid on every level. Nobody could come up with something better to get us a Spider-Girl? They couldn't use Anya? Or a clone? Peter's cousin from San Francisco? Anything, ANYTHING, had to be better then this fanfic drivel.

 

[macattack]

Ok, I have to do this before my head explodes.

I enjoyed the first half with Spider-Man 2099. While the CGI wasn't the best, it's use gave the story a definitive AU feel to it which I really appreciated.

The second half with "Spider-Girl" not so much. Ok, I understand why they wouldn't want to use Mayday, her story is kinda complicated and it might've been awkward to write Peter interacting with his "daughter". But the best alternative the writers could come up with is a gender-swapped universe? That's like the oldest, cheapest, most unimaginative cliché in sci-fi storytelling. The use of this idea was stupid, stupid on every level. Nobody could come up with something better to get us a Spider-Girl? They couldn't use Anya? Or a clone? Peter's cousin from San Francisco? Anything, ANYTHING, had to be better then this fanfic drivel.

Unfortunately Spider-Gwen was scarcely a gleam in their eyes when they came up with this version of the comic book arc . . .

 

[Gold Guy]

Pretty solid first episode. However, I feel it already runs the risk of becoming too formulaic (both worlds in this episode followed the same pattern of having Spidey fight both counterparts, then convince them to continue the good fight). Still, it was fun and entertaining.

 

[James Harvey]

The second installment of the four-part Ultimate Spider-Man episode "The Spider-Verse" airs tonight at 9:00pm (ET/PT) on DisneyXD.

​

Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors "The Spider-Verse, Part Two"
Episode Debut - March 12th, 2015
Spider-Man continues to pursue Goblin on a chase through parallel dimensions. First, he teams up with a Spider-Man from a noir world (guest voice Milo Ventimiglia), and then he has a zany adventure with Spider-Ham (guest voice Benjamin Diskin).

Comments?

Mod Note: Please use spoiler space when discussing upcoming "The Spider-Verse" installments that have yet to officially debut on DisneyXD, Ultimate Spider-Man's home network. Don't ruin it for those checking out these episodes out for the first time! Disciplinary action will be taken if necessary. Let's have fun and enjoy this Ultimate Spider-Man event!

 

[Greg91]

Continuing the road to new universes, Spider-Man finds himself in the Noir universe. Interestingly, Spider-Man Noir is voiced by Wolverine Anime’s Milo Ventimiglia who does a pretty good job in my opinion. While I did kind of miss Christopher Daniel Barnes in the role from Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Chris’ character Electro is absent here), Milo was a relatively good choice, and a second try at a Marvel hero. Plus, he wore his fedora hat and trenchcoat, which is awesome. Spider-Man and the Goblin had lighter versions of their own color schemes, to match the black and white version of Noir. Spider-Man Noir’s mystic spider origins are even referenced.

Each Spider character has had problems and Noir is no different. This Spider needed to reconnect with loved ones. Mary Jane appears here to good use (since following season one, mainstream MJ has meant practically nothing). The blimps return from Shattered Dimensions as well (where inspiration for the Spider-Verse comics started off). The Goblin facing Spider-Man Noir reminded me so much of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Man, I have to play that again). The episode even includes a welcome reference to Iron Man 3. Sadly Felicia Hardy isn’t mentioned, but you can’t have everything. And as a side-note, I don’t think Slinger from Avengers Assemble has any relation to this Spider-Man.

Moving on, Spidey finds himself in the wacky Looney Tunes/Tiny Toons esque Spider-Ham world. Fortunately the episode references Spider-Man’s own Spider-Ham adventure to separate the two. I actually liked Spider-Ham’s design in that episode a bit more. Peter Porker appears denying the existence of a Spider-like hero. When the Goblin attacks, Peter shows his worth, and hilarity ensues. I thought this was a nice world, but one I would have liked to see more thoroughly explored. Peter’s farm is the only real environment we see (which leaves itself open to The Wizard of Oz references). So, it was pretty good, but not great for me. And if people complained that Ultimate Spider-Man was too goofy, the series could have been more like this!

Overall, this episode was a solid follow-up to the previous Spider-Verse adventure. I’m hoping the worlds are explored properly like Spider-Girl and Spider-Man Noir. I’m letting Spider-Man 2099 off the hook because of the limitations of CG (and that he’s awesome). This episode gets a bonus for a Spider-Man No More! reference, though. If the show keeps up this level of fun, it might just get a better reputation.

Side-note: For anyone wondering why a new Spider-Girl was chosen in place of the comic version in Part 1, Eugene Son's Twitter account has some explanations: http://twitter.com/eugeneson/status/574027391518961665 and http://twitter.com/eugeneson/status/574029196965490689 You can check his account for more notes: http://twitter.com/eugeneson

 

[TheVileOne]

Really enjoyed the Noir segment, especially the implication of romance between Noir Spider-Man and Mary Jane. I especially enjoyed Noir Mary Jane's old timey 1930s movie dialect.

This storyline really reminds me a lot of the Spider-Wars series finale from the 1990s animated series. Just hope it doesn't end with Spider-Man going to the real world and meeting the real Stan Lee.

 

[RoyalRubble]

For me, the Spider-Man Noir segment was pretty reminiscent of the "Steam Lantern" episode from Green Lantern TAS. I really liked the setting, designs and dialogue in this segment; it was my favorite this week. Pretty nice seeing Mary-Jane (or at least an alternate version of her) again on the show, since I doubt we'll be seeing her again that much in the main universe. The Spider-Ham portion was decent but I didn't find it as fun as I hoped it would be. The designs were pretty good but the story and humor didn't really manage to be as wacky (or should I say Looney) as the older classic cartoons I'm guessing it was trying to recreate. All in all, a pretty good episode and a neat showcase for two more alternate Spider-Men from the comics. Hopefully the rest of this arc will not disappoint.

 

[JoeMabbon]

This is a big step up from last week. I think the two worlds were given much better development this time around compared to how rushed things felt in part 1. It helps that they also contrast so effectively against one another. I was beginning to wonder if we would ever see Mary Jane again, so it was nice to see her in the Noir-setting. Dialogue is still shaky and I could do without all the exposition at the beginning of each portal segment, but an improvement is an improvement.

Jameson Watch: This time he's a radio host with a news blimp and a literal big, bad wolf.

"I work alone.": -2
Well-developed, Contrasting Settings: 25
Traffic-less/Pedestrian-less Car Chase: 5
Unnecessary Recaps: 5
Foregone Conclusions: Are getting predictable

Final Score: Crawlin' through the night/50

 

[Gold Guy]

The Spider-Ham part was so much better than I thought it'd be. Genuinely made me smile and laugh, and I was impressed with the visuals. The animators didn't hold back.

 

[GWOtaku]

OK, Ultimate Spider-man isn't appointment TV to me, but this multi-part episode has been pretty enjoyable so far. It's hard to say no to Spider-Ham and THIS GUY in the same episode:

I like the witticisms and Peter's difficulty in getting along with his oddball counterparts, and particularly that they often go out of their way to change styles significantly as Spidey hops dimensions. The gender flipped universe has been the only "normal" one so far, and Miles Morales' universe will probably be the other one, which is fine since the novelty of that meeting makes up for it. But yeah, Spidey Noir in particular was cool to watch, and with Spider-Ham that's basically Looney Tunes x Spider-Man.

The writing, however, is a bit spotty. Spider-Girl's whole gimmick was "boys can't be Spider-Girl!", which which is a not-so-clever shot at the cliche it's taking on. It doesn't really communicate anything about it, it just reverses it and counts on the audience to laugh at it. As a consequence, Spider-Girl kind of comes off as a jerk and doesn't stop until obligatory butt-kicking ensues. Meeeeh. It also doesn't help that plot is playing out in a formulaic way, in that no matter what goes on you know the Goblin will get the sample he came for and then get away until part 4. It's good Spider-Verse is this long so they can include more alternate Spideys, but a plotline less easy to predict along the way would have been nice.

Still, this is fun. Definitely going to see the rest.

 

[Christopher Glennon]

Although Goblin getting DNA from each Spider is a foregone conclusion and it's weird how a second portal (Siege Perilous?!) waits for Spider-Man when sometimes Goblin needs Electro to activate his, I'm not going to complain while I'm enjoying the ride. Liked the costume on 2099 (particularly the texture), but so far Noir has been my favorite. It may be spoofing grimmer, darker heroes, but him not having seen Aunt May in years is a real depressing thought, and I like that it went there. I only wished they outright said something romantic could've happened between him and Mary Jane and that he broke up with her before it got too serious. Okay, one stupid nitpick, if this world is in black and white (and Spider-Man specifically says it is in the beginning), how can Noir refer to MJ as "Red"?

Spider-Ham was a lot of fun, a good counterbalanace to Noir. We got to see J. Jonah Jackal and animal Avengers too! I laughed at "not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" as well as Goblin's "That'll do, pig" when he got his DNA sample.

The second half with "Spider-Girl" not so much. Ok, I understand why they wouldn't want to use Mayday, her story is kinda complicated and it might've been awkward to write Peter interacting with his "daughter". But the best alternative the writers could come up with is a gender-swapped universe? That's like the oldest, cheapest, most unimaginative cliché in sci-fi storytelling. The use of this idea was stupid, stupid on every level. Nobody could come up with something better to get us a Spider-Girl? They couldn't use Anya? Or a clone? Peter's cousin from San Francisco? Anything, ANYTHING, had to be better then this fanfic drivel.

At first I thought they wanted to just use people who have Spider-Man's exact DNA, alternate versions of Peter Parker specifically, but that logic probably wouldn't fly with Miles Morales, and was it confirmed Spider-Man 2099 was Miguel O'Hara or did they just skirt that issue? I love Mayday and seeing her would've been a dream come true, but I would've been okay with a genderswapped adventure (female Jameson and Fury were great) if it made sense. Petra isn't just a female version of Peter, she's more narrow-minded than he's ever been. Spider-Man has never looked down upon someone because of their gender, and he's met and fought alongside heroines like White Tiger and Black Widow. Shouldn't there be an Avram Ayala or a Nikolai Romanov running around? Why would the idea of a male hero be so ridiculous to Spider-Girl?

This storyline really reminds me a lot of the Spider-Wars series finale from the 1990s animated series. Just hope it doesn't end with Spider-Man going to the real world and meeting the real Stan Lee.

I was thinking the same thing about the Spider-Wars comparison. I doubt this Spider-Man meeting Stan Lee will be as momentous a moment, though, since there's already two or three Stan Lees running around his universe already.

 

[James Harvey]

The third installment of the four-part Ultimate Spider-Man episode "The Spider-Verse" airs tonight at 9:00pm (ET/PT) on DisneyXD. Featuring Miles Morales!

​

Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors "The Spider-Verse, Part Three"
Episode Debut - March 19th, 2015
Spider-Man chases Goblin through a portal to Medieval York, where he meets Spyder-Knight (guest voice Christopher Daniel Barnes), and then to a parallel universe where Peter Parker has died and 13-year-old Miles Morales (guest voice Donald Glover) is now Spider-Man.

Comments?

Mod Note: Please use spoiler space when discussing upcoming "The Spider-Verse" installments that have yet to officially debut on DisneyXD, Ultimate Spider-Man's home network. Don't ruin it for those checking out these episodes out for the first time! Disciplinary action will be taken if necessary. Let's have fun and enjoy this Ultimate Spider-Man event![/QUOTE]

 

[JoeMabbon]

At first I thought they wanted to just use people who have Spider-Man's exact DNA, alternate versions of Peter Parker specifically, but that logic probably wouldn't fly with Miles Morales, and was it confirmed Spider-Man 2099 was Miguel O'Hara or did they just skirt that issue?

Now that you mention it, Spider-Man 2099 was the only one who didn't unmask at some point...

 

[Greg91]

This episode was pretty strong. We're introduced to Spyder-Knight and Miles Morales. I'm not exactly sure who Spyder-Knight is, but he seems like Spider-Man 1602 in the Ends of the Earth armor.

Spidey finds himself in the original York. Here, he meets medieval villagers who believe he's a witch. I didn't like that part of the episode because Peter's a male. But the episode addresses this quickly when Spider-Man states that he would more likely be a warlock, based on his gender. Spyder-Knight comes out of nowhere to save Spidey, and following Spyder-Knight's lead, the Goblin comes out of nowhere to take Spyder-Knight's DNA.

Spyder-Knight's voice actor, Christopher Daniel Barnes, sounded pretty solid. His speech sounded similar to Thor. He also had a few interesting tricks up his sleeve like a horse, and a blade in his gauntlet. I guess Chris has voiced at least four Spider-Men now; his most well-known role being from the 1990's animated series. Spider-Man himself has to decide to help Spyder-Knight take down a different threat or chase after the Goblin in one of the portals. I liked that Spidey had to make a hard choice as well.

The sub-plot for this part of the episode focuses on a man called the Alchemist who demands fees from the villagers to hold off an evil beast called the Kraken. Attempting to fight the Kraken alone, Spyder-Knight struggles to protect the villagers who despise him. Fortunately Spider-Man helps him stop the Kraken, only to find the Alchemist, this world's Doctor Octopus, inside the bestial machine. The defeat of the Kraken also helps Spyder-Knight gain the trust of the villagers. Of course, this battle leaves Spidey stuck in this medieval world until Spyder-Knight introduces Peter to Merlin, who looks quite similar to Doctor Strange (Marvel 1602 anyone?). One annoying point I'd like to mention is that Spidey explains what he's doing to the audience while traveling to the next world. He already did this in the opening, and I'm sure the audience didn't forget what was happening during the commercial break.

That aside, the last world Spider-Man finds himself in, is quite similar to his New York City. Once Miles Morales shows up, Peter knows he's still in an alternate reality. I liked how some of the civilians looked flabbergasted when they saw Spider-Man. I'm also glad this show tackled the fact that the series is already pretty much set in the Ultimate universe. This world comes off as more of an alternate Ultimate universe; one much more closely tied to the recent Ultimate comics. Enter the Goblin. No, not the armored up, glider Goblin from Peter's world; the winged, flame throwing version from this world. This Goblin is much more menacing than the 'mainstream' Goblin, which, fortunately, is noted by Miles. When the Goblin goes after Miles' DNA, the power hungry Ultimate Goblin takes him on, unlike Norma Osborn. When Peter and Miles finally meet each other, their conversation echoes the Spider-Men crossover minus the fight (heroes don't always have to fight each other when they meet, you know). Peter comes off as an experienced Spider-Man even though he's still a teenage, which shows how much he's come from the beginning of the series. When Peter sees Miles' face, he's shocked at how young Miles looks. Okay... so we're just avoiding the whole different race situation. Sure, why not? Miles' costume looks ripped right out of the comics with a beautiful sheen in his intro shot. Community star Donald Glover brings life to the character with a nicely pitched voice. He doesn't sound too old, or like he's trying too hard to sound young. And of course Donald Glover's unsuccessful online campaign to play Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man movie led to Miles Morales' creation.

This all leads to Peter finding out he died in this universe. Miles reveals that he could've helped Peter, but was too afraid. I found myself hoping the conversation would be longer, but it wasn't too short either. When the Ultimate Goblin returns, he gives Miles a second chance to save (a version of) Peter. This battle was relatively brutal. Peter gets battered around, and almost gives the Ultimate Goblin a chance to kill him. I really like how weak Peter became when he started stumbling to dodge the blows. After jumping through multiple portals, and fighting in different worlds, Peter must have been tired and with the hits he was taking from Ultimate Goblin, he was understandable unable to defend himself. When Miles saves the day, he uses his Venom Blast (an electric attack only Miles possesses), which was a nice touch. My only issue with this battle is the destroyed tombstones. People were buried there, and the place was wrecked. Even Ultimate Peter's tombstone was broken. I know it's just an animated world, but that was unnecessarily rough in my opinion.

I personally wished Ultimate Gwen Stacy and Aunt May showed up in this episode like Spider-Men just to emphasize the emotion of losing a loved one. Either way, Peter lets Miles know he doesn't need to be Peter to be a great Spider-Man.

Out of all the worlds, I liked Spider-Man 2099's the most (no surprise there, huh?). Spider-Girl's was pretty fun. Spider-Man Noir was very... noir as Goblin puts it. Spider-Ham's world could have had more development for me. Spyder-Knight needed a little more development as a character, because I liked him, but I still didn't know much about him. Miles Morales, the most anticipated story, lived up to the hype in my opinion (but could've used a bit more focus on emotion).

[FONT=&amp]Lots of great moments were mixed with the action and the cutaways were completely absent (!). We got a great end fight, we met some fun characters, and Ultimate Spider-Man has become a stronger show for trying out a multi-part event. Overall, it was a really great way to wrap up the world hopping. Looking forward to the finale![/FONT]

 

[TheVileOne]

Now that you mention it, Spider-Man 2099 was the only one who didn't unmask at some point...

It is Miguel O'Hara because it's Spider-Man 2099, but he never unmasked. Nor did Spyder-Knight.

 

[trance2009]

I like how they didn't skirt Peter's death in the Ultimate universe.