With The Spectacular Spider-Man returning to the airwaves on March 23rd, Sony and Marvel are releasing the next TWO Volumes of the hit animated series on DVD on March 17th!
Continuing the story of young Peter Parker’s early career as our web-slinging hero, Volumes Two and Three introduce some major villains into Peter’s world and will change his life forever!
Volume Two:
This volume contains episodes 4, 5, and 6 of the First Season of Spectacular Spider-Man
Market Forces: Peter steps up to help Aunt May pay the Bills by becoming a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle. Peter learns that his camera won’t cut it when it comes to taking action shots and must decide between helping Aunt May or purchasing a new camera to help bring in a larger paycheck. Meanwhile, the Enforcer known as Montana gets an upgrade and is sent after the wall-crawler in new duds as the Shocker!
Competition: Peter decides to put his new abilities to use in High School and tries out for the Football team! He soon realizes that he can’t use his powers without someone learning his secret identity and ultimately decides to tone back. This episode also re-introduces former thug Flint Marko as he is given new abilities and becomes the Sandman!
The Invisible Hand: The Rhino makes a smashing debut as he takes on Spidey. Peter has a lot going on in this episode as he is desperately trying to find a date for the Fall Formal and asks Betty Brant out. Aunt May interferes believing Betty is too old for Peter and gets caught in the middle of a fight between the Rhino and Spider-Man! The Rhino slips up and reveals the location of the “Big Man” who has been behind all of the recently created Super Villains. Spidey confronts the mastermind and is given an offer that he may not be able to refuse…(It’s Spidey…who are we kidding? Of course he refuses). Peter makes it home to find that Aunt May has set him up with her friend’s daughter…who turns out to be Mary Jane Watson!
Volume Three:
This Volume contains episodes 7, 8, and 9 of the First Season of Spectacular Spider-Man.
Catalysts: Peter’s life starts changing for the better when he arrives to the formal with the incredibly hot Mary Jane Watson. He might have the cut the night short however when the Green Goblin makes his Spectacular Debut! The Goblin makes his move on the Big Man’s territory and now Spider-Man must step in and protect his nemesis!
Reaction: Dr. Otto Octavius, the mind behind the upgrades for the villains, is worried that Spider-Man will follow the modifications back to him. But he won’t have to worry for too long because the Green Goblin decides to get rid of Octavius! An “accident” happens and the mechanical arms get fused to his body. Octavius believes that Spider-Man is responsible for the accident and decides to seek revenge for his new condition.
Uncertainty Principle: As Halloween approaches, Spidey traces the Green Goblin back to the Osborn home…only to find that things aren’t as they seem. We are also introduced to Colonel John Jameson whose space shuttle seems to be in danger. The shuttle lands safely but returns with some surprise cargo (yay foreshadowing!) Peter shows up to the Halloween carnival dressed as “Spider-Man” and gets several compliments from Mary Jane, Liz and Gwen. The Green Goblin attacks Spider-Man and The Big Man which leads to the discovery of who exactly is behind the mask!
Overall
The best part about this show is that it not only takes classic characters and does justice to their history, but it still manages to take exciting narrative twists and turns that keep even long time Spidey fans guessing! Volume Two’s main storyline revolves around the true identity of the Big Man and has a very exciting reveal. Volume Three’s story is who exactly is the Green Goblin and what is his motivation behind attacking certain people? These two reveals are really too good to spoil, so you will have to watch the DVDs to find out for yourself!
It is unfortunate that the new volumes were not released in the movie format as Volume 1…but it does not detract from how great these episodes continue to be.
Executive Producers Greg Weisman and Vic Cook understand that with “great power comes great responsibility” and they have shown that with each and every episode they have released! If you are a true Spider-Man fan then these DVDs are a must for your collection.
The 4th and final volume of Season One containing the remaining 4 episodes is slated to be released in April.
ComicsOnline gives Spectacular Spider-Man Volumes Two and Three 5 out of 5 accurate interpretations of a beloved childhood hero!
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