The Ultimate Spider-man

This is a cartoon so it doesn't really fall into the anime category. So why am I reviewing the ultimate Spider-man cartoon? Because I really enjoyed watching it, despite it being tailored to a much younger audience. It's very childish at times and tailors to the attention deficit disorder kids of today. Some of the jokes are really pathetic, but isn't that what Spider-man does? If you want something to watch and aren't particularly averse to cartoons, give it a go.

He's very cocky.

We all know the story of Spiderman. Peter Parker, bitten by a radioactive spider- gains superhuman abilities similar to that of a spider. He has increased strength, incredible agility, and is able to climb walls. His spider sense alerts him to immediate danger, saving him from many surprise attacks. Peter also creates web shooters, which allow him to swing across the city on biodegradable webs.

So what makes this new Spider-man cartoon stand out? It's a reboot using the ultimate Spider-man comic as opposed to the older one. The changes to the franchise in this edition are small but many, which adds overall flavor to the original Spider we know and love. Peter Parker is still in high school in this series, so he's more immature and less experienced than usual. Hence, he joins S.H.I.E.L.D to fight alongside the more established superheroes like Iron Man and Wolverine.

Nick Fury often scolds Spider-Man for collateral damage.

So instead of Peter Parker solo action, the cartoon features many additions to the superhero roster through Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury is essentially a manager, he monitors and trains superheroes to become better at their jobs whilst maintaining ulterior motives dedicated to the greater good. Although his intent is always towards making the world a better place, sometimes he uses questionable actions that make him the bad guy.

One thing that is a little out of place but sometimes works is the abundance of cutaways made famous by Family Guy. The part where it fails is Family Guy often did it ironically, knowingly making you watch pathetic side scenes that weren't even moderately funny. That was the joke. In Spider-man this technique isn't used as effectively and kills off the humor on many jokes.

Since he's a teenager, Peter Parker idolizes the older and more famous heroes.

My favorite part of Spider-man is his talkative side. He spends more time insulting his adversaries than he does fighting them. He always has a quick comeback on hand which make a lot of his encounters more showmanship than anything. This aspect of Spider-man is more prevalent than usual in the cartoon, which is partly why I enjoyed it so much. Out of his many tools his witty banter can prove to be a powerful weapon, saving him from many bad situations.

Among the various changes including S.H.I.E.L.D, Peter joins a team of developing heroes instead of swinging the streets alone. He is joined by Power man, Iron fist, White Tiger and Nova. All of which have pretty weak powers, but hell I'd use them if I had them.

Spider-man and his team. They suck ass, by the way.

Overall the show is a great way to get the younger generation into Marvel, whilst retaining a modest enough approach for the experienced Spider-man enthusiast. Other reviews have labelled the show as bland, but I'd say it's a couple of notches above that. Sure, it's simplified so the target audience doesn't get lost in years of age old Spider-man lore- but with something like this it's hard to cater to everyone like the Simpsons.

If you've read every single comic I wouldn't watch this program. But if you're like me; and you like Spider-man but don't have the money or time to buy and read every edition- I'd catch a couple of episodes of Ultimate Spider-man and you may like what you see.