Anyone here watch the Spectacular Spider-Man CW Cartoon which just started?

[Spiffy]

Anyone else here watch it?

I didn't see it till this morning. I've still only watched one of the two episodes.

The choices made in it are interesting.

--The origin is firmly in the past, but its clearly very early in his Spider-Man career. Uncle Ben is dead and gone, but because this is Saturday Morning TV, its not really focused on (at least yet). Spider-Man has been operating for months, it appears, but isn't past the stage of being a growing Urban Legend. At this point, there are no Supervillians--Spidey's been battling thieves and stopping street crime. This is clearly laid out by his reaction to seeing Toomes decked out as The Vulture (although The Vulture as "the old man villain" has always been a source of humor in the Spider-books) and by what the unseen crime boss (who's clearly The Kingpin) says.

--The Girl of the Moment is Gwen Stacy. No Mary Jane, even in the credits. And yet sharp observers will catch that Aunt May is clearly talking to Anna Watson in her first scene. And where there's Anna, clearly Mary Jane must follow. But Gwen as a fellow nerd going to the same high school as Peter? I'm not sure where to go with that one.

--We see not one, but a BOAT LOAD of villains in their pre-super stage. Its an interesting way to lay them out for a whole season. Sandman, Vulture, Green Goblin, The Lizard, Venom--all there from stage 1. And I like seeing Hammerhead and Kingpin at an early stage of their "relationship" too. And having Curt Conner's lab be the birthplace of Spider-Man makes a lot of sense, in terms of making it easy to seamlessly rope The Lizard into things. But I'm not sure I like the new role of Eddie Brock though. It just seems shoehorned in. EDIT - I also saw someone mention on another board that another one of the crooks in this episode was the pre-super Electro, so that's another in that column.

--May as a bit younger is a good idea. It falls in line with this toon' being more of a takeoff of Ultimate Spider-Man than the original, although if you look at other aspects, I'd say this is about 40% Ultimate, 40% Classic and 20% Brand New.

--The Daily Bugle being in the Flatiron Building is... an interesting if improbable choice.

So... reactions?

And heh. It just occurred to me that Marvel's flagship franchise is now airing on the network that I believe is STILL corporately aligned with DC (the Saturday programming block is still called "Kids WB" apparently, even though the network is now The CW). But they did justice to it, I'll admit.

[Red Berens]

I liked it - it was fun. My 6 year old little boy really liked it, so I guess thats all that matters. :)

[Aggie]

just based on the first ep. i already like it more than the batman...i think it's going back to spidey's roots as the affable loser and that's not a bad thing...it's one of his characteristics that is very relatable even now...it also has a sense of fun, so we'll see where it goes from here...

[scout1279]

I loved it, mostly because it helped me discover that Marvel hasn't made me completely hate my all time favorite character. I can't read a 616 Spider-Man comic, but I can thoroughly enjoy this cartoon. YAY!

I thought they did a really good job with the characterization on most of the characters. Harry resembled the character I know and love far more than the one that's roaming around the comics right now. I thought most of the villains were really well done, though I'm not thrilled about what they did with Eddie Brock. I totally geeked out at the mere inclusion of The Enforcers though.

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed to see Gwen Stacy in the credits and not Mary Jane, but between the fact that I've seen the character design for Mary Jane and the fact that we saw Anna Watson already I feel certain she will show up soon. (As a matter of fact, I got the impression that the Lizard would be in the next episode, and I can't help but think that would be a great time to introduce her.) I actually think that having a Mary Jane who flits in and out of Peter's life would be more appropriate, and it would be nice to finally get an adaptation of the character that's closer to the comic book version.

The fact that they basically overhauled Gwen Stacy pretty much validates my opinion that she's a completely useless character. I kind of resent the fact that they turned her into a character I could see myself really liking, though I have to wonder when Smallville's Chloe Sullivan became an archetype. Why, all of a sudden, do heroes suddenly need cute, blond sidekicks who have unrequited crushes on them? I think I'm going to continue disliking her just on principle. Also, their Liz Allen reminded me a bit more of Ditko era Gwen Stacy than Liz Allen. I think it was the whole "Peter ignored me, so I am suddenly interested in him" thing.

So yeah, I loved it, and I look forward to being able to spend my Saturdays watching this and LOSH, instead of The Batman, which I watched, even though it really pissed me off. Green Arrow was awesome in the finale though.

[Sabrinaset]

I had it TiVo'd, and I liked the stories ... I'm not so sure about the ART of the show, though ...

I really didn't like the new Electro's look ... and I'm waiting to see what they do with Mysterio ...

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f336/sabrinaset/Newerfigures003.jpg

[Spiffy]

I kind of resent the fact that they turned her into a character I could see myself really liking, though I have to wonder when Smallville's Chloe Sullivan became an archetype.
I can see a bit of that, but the Ultimate Spider-Man influence is there too. Spectacular Gwen is somewhat like Ultimate Mary Jane. Maybe a bit more nerdy (I'd characterize Ultimate MJ as more of an emo type). And the way May is portrayed is straight Ultimate Spidey. So there's a real blending of Spideys going on. And for the most part, one that seems to work.

I loved it, mostly because it helped me discover that Marvel hasn't made me completely hate my all time favorite character. I can't read a 616 Spider-Man comic, but I can thoroughly enjoy this cartoon. YAY!
I think Joey Q. wants to present the current Amazing Reboot as if its like this show--a kind of stripped down simpler more compact Spider mythos. But the problem is... its not. What works here doesn't there. You can't put things aside as easily in that continuity.

[Sabrinaset]

--The Daily Bugle being in the Flatiron Building is... an interesting if improbable choice.

I can't believe I missed this one. The Daily Bugle has been located in the Flatiron building since the first Spider-Man movie.

[Spiffy]

I can't believe I missed this one. The Daily Bugle has been located in the Flatiron building since the first Spider-Man movie.
Really? I never noticed that.

It's still... kinda dumb in a way. The Flatiron is not a building that's very practical for an operation as large as the Bugle is supposed to be.

[scout1279]

I can see a bit of that, but the Ultimate Spider-Man influence is there too. Spectacular Gwen is somewhat like Ultimate Mary Jane. Maybe a bit more nerdy (I'd characterize Ultimate MJ as more of an emo type). And the way May is portrayed is straight Ultimate Spidey. So there's a real blending of Spideys going on. And for the most part, one that seems to work.
I hope so. I have to admit that I have never been a regular reader of Ultimate Spider-Man because, while I think Bendis' Peter Parker is great, I didn't really like the way he screwed around with the supporting cast. I'm kind of a purest. I'm getting over that a bit now, but nothing compares to the original for me, even when it comes to the stuff about the original I didn't really like (see Gwen Stacy).

I think Joey Q. wants to present the current Amazing Reboot as if its like this show--a kind of stripped down simpler more compact Spider mythos. But the problem is... its not. What works here doesn't there. You can't put things aside as easily in that continuity.
Agreed, and I think the big difference is that Peter Parker is in school in the cartoon. That's an unavoidable responsibility that all kids have and can relate to. There's also the fact that while grown up Peter may be living with Aunt May, he's still an adult, so she has no real say in his life, besides general disapproval and disappointment. She can't, for example, make Peter be home by 10 every night.

In the cartoon, Peter has a life as Peter Parker, and responsibilities there that his responsibilities as Spider-Man can conflict with. I haven't been reading ASM, but as far as I can tell, Peter doesn't really have anything to hold him to his life as Peter Parker. The character who is all about power and responsibility doesn't seem to have any responsibilities to worry about. They've even put an emphasis on the fact that Aunt May doesn't need to be taken care of. TPTB at Marvel claim that they have made Peter more relateable to new, younger readers, but really they've just made him more relateable to the people already reading the comics.

[scout1279]

Really? I never noticed that.

It's still... kinda dumb in a way. The Flatiron is not a building that's very practical for an operation as large as the Bugle is supposed to be.
Yeah, I've always found it distracting. I think they should have chosen one of the older buildings downtown - less recognizable, but with an equally authentic New York feel.