Revealed [HD]

Disappointing considering the quality of 'Spectacualr' and 'Avengers: EMH'
If you're a fan of the Spectacular Spider-man series, approach with caution. I never read the "ultimate" comic books, so my expectations may be misplaced to begin with, but this series seems to be aimed exclusively at the 7-11 year-old segment, whereas SSM was more like 7-50.

Ultimate Spiderman is loaded with trying-too-hard-to-be-funny wisecracks and random cut scenes (ala Family Guy) featuring cutesy caricature skits of Lil' Spidey which come off like a bad Teen Titans rip-off. Despite canceling what I felt was the best adaptation of Peter Parker/Spider-man in the Greg Weisman/Victor Cook series, I thought Marvel would produce something similar to the excellent Avengers EMH series. To my disappointment, it's not a show I'll continue to watch. It has the look of a teen-adult targeted series (e.g. the re-imagining of Doc Ock, etc), but the dialogue is painfully immature. I didn't like the supporting superhero cast (shovelware anyone?), the fact the heroes attend Peter's...

Great potential let down by a lack of subtlety
Let me start by saying that this is not a BAD show. Unfortunately, a comparison between it and its immediate predecessor, the excellent and unfairly curtailed "Spectacular Spider-Man", makes it painfully clear that we've taken a step down in terms of quality.

"Ultimate"'s biggest failing is its lack of subtlety. With Spectacular, the interior monologue of Peter Parker - which I'll admit is a hallmark of the comics - was only heard and never seen. In Ultimate, we're repeatedly asked to suspend watching the story in order to watch Peter's often downright silly thought processes. The result is a surreal and frequently frenetic atmosphere which makes it difficult to take the show seriously. Another problem is the show's humor, which misses the mark far too often. Once again, Spectacular was subtle enough to be truly funny. The jokes in Ultimate are, for the most part, clumsily obvious and wind up detracting from the plot.

That being said, there are some good points...

Ultimate Spider-man in title only
This series biggest sin is not following the framework of the amazing comic book series. There isn't a hint of Brian Michael Bendis in this. That is the worst decision. USM is Bendis. The second worst thing is that there is not enough Peter Parker. The third and final thing is why would you put Spiderman on a team of characters that aren't interesting in the least. I have loved USM from the beginning and this is a bastardization of that great idea. So much potential...waisted.

Click to Editorial Reviews