Customer Reviews

Spectacular Spider:Man: Attack of the Lizard

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Five stars for the animated series; one star for the dvd (averages to three stars).

You just can't keep an old webhead down. On March 8, 2008, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN debuted on the Kid's WB, this being the wallcrawler's sixth animated TV show. And while there are some new twists, this new series remains true to the core of the Spidey mythos. This incarnation returns Peter Parker to basics and to nerdy teenhood. Pete is back in high school, and all the angst and acne that goes with that. Classic themes resurface as Peter strives to juggle crimefighting with school and with domestic life with his Aunt May. The Parker household suffers from financial woes. Peter is highly intelligent but unpopular at school. As Spidey, he applies science and logic (and jokes) to best his opponents. And, as ever, Peter clings to that hard-earned life lesson: "With great power comes great responsibility." Which means, Spidey is righteous, but broke.

What's new? Well, Gwen Stacy (who in the comics is Pete's other great love) becomes a regular for the first time in a Spidey animated series, and she's been revamped into a brainy, glasses-sporting girl. She's still cute, though, and she's one of Peter's best friends (along with the boring Harry Osbourne). Fans of Venom will recognize Eddie Brock's name, but, here, he's now a college freshman, instead of a disgraced newspaper journalist. And he's chums with Peter and Gwen. Meanwhile, Flash Thompson is still a first-class bully and jock. And if you're wondering about a certain redhead, well, she shows up later in the season.

In Spidey's personal timeline, it's only been less than a year since he'd gone public. He's still mostly thought of as an urban legend, but, geez, how badly does Daily Bugle publisher, J. Jonah Jameson, want a photo of him? Peter enters his high school junior year convinced that things for him have changed for the better, since, you know, he's now got super powers ("Peter Parker is a wallcrawler, not a wallflower."). Instants later, a popular cheerleader humiliates him in public when he asks her out on a date. So it's back to dorkhood for Peter.

Spidey here looks pretty dope and dynamic, a bit reminiscent of how Ultimate Spidey is rendered in comics. His lean physique just underscores the webhead's youth and there's even more of an underdog feel as he faces off against more massively built foes. I've always found Spider-Man cartoons to be highly watchable stuff, and this one's no different. Following Stan Lee's footprints, these stories combine an element of high school drama with gritty urban crimefighting. Season one treats us to new takes on Spidey's rogue gallery and to four main story arcs (centering, respectively, on the Lizard, the "Big Man," the Green Goblin, and the black suit). This dvd, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN: ATTACK OF THE LIZARD, deals with the first story arc.

First, regarding this dvd release, will all the gullible fan boys please bend over yet again? It's this old thing again, as Sony Pictures Home Entertainment tries to make extra duckets by doling out on the skimpy. So buyers beware. SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN: ATTACK OF THE LIZARD, at around 69 to 70 minutes long, edits and incorporates the first three episodes ("Survival of the Fittest," "Interactions," and "Natural Selection") into one single story. In it, Peter and the bookish Gwen win internships at Dr. Curt Connors' laboratory, where Connors is secretly experimenting with a serum to regenerate his missing arm. Spidey tussles with new versions of the Vulture and Electro, and with the Enforcers and even one felon named Flint Marko (in his pre-Sandman stage). This, even as a shadowy crimelord works his behind-the-scenes skullduggery. It all culminates with Connors predictably taking science too far, which then leads to the emergence of the grotesque Lizard.

In the "So What?" department, the dvd also promises to contain "The Spectacular Spider-Man Music Video" as an exclusive bonus feature. Because that makes the dvd less of a rip-off.

Spidey's my favorite. Grew up on him; loved the guy ever since. He just offers that combination of wicked super powers, vulnerability, and relatability. And he's an unrepenting jokester, which I dig ("My fans expect a certain amount of quippage in every battle."). With the recent cancellations of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES and THE BATMAN, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN is very welcome news. Hope it sticks around for a while.

Meanwhile, as good as these episodes are, you'd still do better to hold out until the full season dvd is released.

Like others have said, this just is not worth buying. They should release the whole season for $20, not some episodes for $15. thats just dumb.

I'm tired of studios releasing a few episodes on a disc and giving it a fancy name, then later on releasing the entire season on DVD to force the kids to buy something twice if they want all the episodes.

Support FULL-SEASON releases ONLY and they will stop these shady practices of double dipping the consumer (namely kids in most cases). Usually the full season release is much cheaper than buying seperate "volumes" anyways.

My boys, ages 2 and 4, love Spiderman. They've never seen any Spiderman movies or TV programs, so I don't really know how they became such huge fans... This DVD was on sale at Toys R Us for $5, so I thought, "What the heck?" and I'm very glad we purchased it. The boys think it is the "coolest" show (as much as they love Elmo, I guess he just isn't as "cool"). I like that although this program was not really geared for such a young audience, there is nothing inappropriate in the language or content and it is kept simple enough for kids to easily follow the storyline. I'm excited for the entire season to be released. I think my little Spider-men will love it. FYI, notice this is the "Spectacular Spiderman", not the original "Amazing Spiderman." Most the characters are the same (in this episode), but the context of the story is pretty different.

My sons (ages 6 and 4) love this new animated series, The Spectacular Spider-Man. The show is much better suited for younger audiences than Spider-Man's last animated series, which lasted only one season on MTV in 2003.

This series features all of Spider-Man's most famous villians, including the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Vulture, Rhino and Electro.

If you absolutely must buy a DVD right now (birthday present, etc.) this is a good choice for Spider-Man fans. Amazon has the DVD priced $5 below suggested retail price ($19.95) and this is a good choice for young children who love Spider-Man.

The more economical decision is to wait for a DVD set release of all 26 episodes from Seasons 1 and 2, which should be priced around $30. It was announced earlier this year that Season 2 would move from the CW network to Disney XD. Season 2 is scheduled to begin in March 2009. However, the Spectacular Spider-Man ended production after completing the 26th episode (the end of Season 2). A third season might happen, depending on the ratings Season 2 gets on Disney XD.

There are other Spectacular Spider-Man gift options to consider if you hold off on the DVD purchase. Amazon has a great set of action figures modeled that were modeled from the animated series. I recommend the action figures listed below but check out my Amazon lists for other superhero toys and books.

One final note on these action figures: we paid about $5 each but many collectors have driven up prices to more than $20 each. Compare Amazon sellers and be selective. You can still find affordable action figures on Amazon but you need to do some research.

Spiderman Animated Action Figure - Spider-Man
Spiderman Animated Action Figure Black-Suited Spiderman
Spiderman Animated Action Figure - Doc Octopus
Spiderman Animated Action Figure - Venom
Spiderman Animated Action Figure - Green Goblin
Spiderman Animated Action Figure - Sandman
Spiderman Animated Action Figure - Electro
Spiderman Animated Action Figure - Rhino
Spiderman Animated Action Figure - Lizard

In summary, I'd rate The Spectacular Spider-Man series four stars based on the entertainment value for young superhero fans. The shows are accessible without being too scary or adult for the under-10 audience. However, by marketing the first season into four DVDs, I deduct three stars. The series is overpriced, especially in light of the current economy.

He loves all Spider-Man movies. This was the first one I purchased for him and he hasn't stopped talking about it. He now refers to this movie as "Spider-Man's big fight with the Green Lizard." He loves it.

I want the season one box set or nothing at all. Re-editing Tv episodes is just a bad idea anyway you look at it.

Note the Young Indiana Jones, no unedited release to this day.

This new series combines the very best from each version of Spidey to create an amaz...I mean spectacular new whole. Great plots, character development, and dialog make this a must-see for any fan of Spider-Man.

I thought The Batman was the only comic book character to get many cartoon series created of him but, boy, was I wrong. Spider-Man has had over six different cartoon series created of him through the years. Each different, in it's own way, but staying close to the source material. My personal favorites were Spider-Man('94 through '98), Spider-Man Unlimited('99) & Spider-Man:The New Animated Series(2003). To be honest, I was quite skeptical of this show doing Spider-Man any justice. It seemed geared more toward kids with it's art style. Well, after watching a few episodes, I can safely tell you it is anything but. This series brings it: great stories, plenty of action & new takes on old villains. I couldn't love it more. So, what do I have to say about the full-length animated movie? Well, it is actually the first three episodes of the show made into a feature-length movie. The movie starts with Peter starting his junior year in high school. Having gotten newfound powers and lost his uncle during this time, he decides to follow his uncle's last teaching. Aunt May is having monetary problems, the girls are not paying any attention to him, he can't get a job, and that is only as Peter Parker. As Spidey, he's faced with all sorts of madness as The Vulture, Electro & Lizard give him trouble. What I love most about this movie is it features 'my' favorite Spidey villain:The Lizard(one villain I've always wished they'd put in the movies). As an added bonus, they included the Spectacular Spider-Man video that was shown in theaters. While that is cool and all, I was hoping for more special features(like talking with the creators, commentary, trailers). Course, it seems alot of DVDs aren't showing special features anymore, wonder how come? To get people to go blu-ray? Who knows. It was directed by Victor Cook, Troy Adomitis,& Dave Bullock. Written by Stan Lee (characters), Greg Weisman, Kevin Hopps, & Matt Wayne. Josh Keaton, Deborah Strang, Lacey Chabert, Ben Diskin, James Arnold Taylor, Alan Rachins, and Robert Englund(Yes, 'Freddy Kruger' Robert Englund) all provide voices for the film.

In my opinion, this feature will appeal to even the hardcorest of fan of Spider-Man. I loved it and I'm a big Spidey fan. Once you get past the cartoony childish look of the show, it's all Spidey through and through.

As I get older, I've come to notice that many of my favorite shows have come and gone and while I have usually collected new shows to watch as old ones depart, I find myself being less enthralled by the latest shows on television, animation or otherwise. It's a recurring thought that one day my favorite old shows to watch will depart before I find new ones to take their place . . . perhaps killing my TV habits once and for all.

Thankfully I've not come to that conclusion just yet, as Sony's new show, The Spectacular Spider-Man is without a doubt not only one of the best incarnations of the epic tale of Peter Parker but one of the best cartoons currently on the air.

I may not be the best expert when it comes to all things Spidey, but I have been a pretty decent Spider-Man fan, having watched both the 90's FOX show as well as the movies -- but both of these predecessors pale before the new show, thanks to a combination of original Lee/Ditko & Ultimate Spider-Man storylines and the masterful storytelling of Greg Weisman himself (Gargoyles, W.I.T.C.H, just to name a couple of his other works). Seriously, this show differs in many, many ways from the 90's show and the movies but one thing's definitely for sure -- they got Spider-Man ABSOLUTELY right this time. You'll actually won't recognize the Web Head in the other versions after you watch this show!

The end result is a refreshing new series that's not only fast paced and filled with high drama, but contains many hilarious moments . . . not to mention that ever-so-elusive aspect of modern television: character development. Needless to say, many of the main characters get their proper growth, but what really seals the deal is the amount of attention paid to the secondary characters, from Flash Thompson to Hammerhead, among many, many others. To put it bluntly, this show is smart and respects the enough audience to be so.

While I too usually wait for a complete season set myself, I'm definitely leaning toward buying this set too, mostly because the crew has refashioned the first three episodes into a single story, which will include NEW MATERIAL that was originally removed due to TIME and/or CONTENT restrictions. I may have already seen these episodes on Saturday mornings not too long ago, but I'm pretty confident that I'm going to remain entertained nevertheless.

Like I said, if you would rather hold out for the season sets, go right ahead . . . nothing wrong with that. But if you've never seen the show before (or you just love it at that 'right' level), then get this DVD. If you can afford it, why not buy a really awesome show?