The Second Season of the Spectacular Spider-Man is in full swing (pun intended) and ComicsOnline wants to let you know what you can expect:
Blueprints– Mysterio, the self proclaimed Master of Illusion, has just entered Spider-Man's world in the exciting Season Premiere of the Spectacular Spider-Man. As if Peter didn't have enough to deal with, he must face off against this new foe as well as figuring out his strained social life. Can he fix his relationship with Gwen before he misses out on his chance? Writer Kevin Hopps gave us his take on this episode: "I liked the way the Mysterio episode turned out. The director on it was Jennifer Coyle and she brought in a lot of her own cool ideas. I'm always trying to keep in mind that some viewers will know a lot about the Spider-Man universe while some won't know all that much about it. So it's a constant struggle to try to please both factions. The goal with this Mysterio episode was to initially play him more as a master of the dark arts but also have it all make sense about his magic when the viewers find out who he really is. I hope I'm not being too vague but I don't want to give too much away in case some readers haven't seen the episode yet."
Full interview can be seen here: http://comicsonline.com/node/
Destructive Testing– This episode introduces Kraven the Hunter to the animated series. We recently spoke with Director Kevin Altieri (Batman: The Animated Series) regarding this episode and the process of bringing this new hunter to life: "One of the things I liked about Spider-Man was that he is slippery. His Spider-Sense just gives him that ability to get out of the way of danger. While Kraven is shooting arrows at him he doesn’t even try to stop the arrows, he just avoids them. The writing is something that I also like about the entire series. I have to hand it to Greg because of how well he has handled the whole story arc and the whole adaptation of. He has done a great job of taking classic Spider-Man stories and updating them to the modern world and using stuff like cellphones that hadn’t existed before. He works the High School dynamics perfectly and if you read the original comics you know that that was what it was all about. It wasn’t about this guy and his supermodel girlfriend. It was about a kid in school dealing with his normal life and trying to save people and to show that you just go back to the beginning. I think that was something that we did with Batman as well…you go back and tell the Year One story."
You can read the rest of the interview here: http://comicsonline.com/node/6
Reinforcement– A brand new Sinister Six takes the stage as Spider-Man has to take on new and old foes. The last time he faced the Six he had an alien symbiote to help him out, but can he stop all of these villains on his own? And what does the mysterious Master Planner have in store for our hero? And when our hero is faced with a tough decision, who will he choose: Gwen…or Liz?
Shear Strength– This episode is the climax of the Master Planner story. New Years Eve is here and the Master Planner has decided it's time to take over the world. Can our favorite wallcrawler stop the bad guy in time and save the girl? Handled by Writer Randy Jandt and Director Jen Coyle, Shear Strength proves to be one of the best episodes to date. With a reveal on the same level as the identity of the Big Man from season one, these two have handled our favorite characters with amazing skill.
You can read the interview here: http://comicsonline.com/node/
The team involved with the Spectacular Spider-Man has continuously proven that they have a deep understanding and love of these characters and their rich history. In an interview we did with Michael Vogel (Head of Animation for Sony) from 2008, he explains "there are always people asking if this is a kid show or if its an adult show and is aimed at the geek audience or people who don't know the character…I think what we have done successfully is do a show that everybody likes. We are not doing an Adult Spider-Man that kids cant watch. If you are a kid, you are watching Spider-Man kick butt with these villains and you get to have a blast watching it. As an adult, you get to see these character dynamics and little moments that make you love the show."
ComicsOnline gives the Master Planner Arc 5 out of 5 Classic Stories.
We are also pleased to announce that Matt Sernaker from ComicsOnline will be moderating Sony's Spectacular Spider-Man panel on Sunday, July 26th at San Diego Comic-Con. Stay tuned for more information regarding the upcoming season as well as coverage from Comic-Con.
