Fridge examples in Ultimate Spider-Man (2012).
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Fridge Brilliance
- It may not be intended as such, but there are some cool ironic reversals of events in past incarnations. For example, we have Peter and Spidey "talking to each other" in a mirror, just like the scenes with Norman Osborn on the way to becoming Ax-Crazy in the first film.
- Also, Nick Fury's whole approach to Spidey. In the comic, Fury is very threatening and sounds downright evil, telling him that because he's a minor he can't touch him yet, but when you turn 18, "you're mine." Diplomacy, not his strong suit. In this version, Spidey's first meeting with Nick Fury has Fury pointing out the damage his battle caused, and telling him that with SHIELD's help, he could become a better hero, capable of solving problems more efficiently without anyone getting hurt. Spidey voluntarily joins SHIELD by the end of the series premiere. (He rejected it at first, but then he finds out that the bug the Trapster planted on him earlier led the bad guys to his school. Comes Great Responsibility did the rest.)
- In the comics, Fury practically treats Peter like a favorite nephew. That wasn't a "You're mine" conversation, that was Fury telling Peter that once Peter turned 18, he'd be eligible to join SHIELD and the Ultimates. Fury was very fond of him and, despite his actions elsewhere, honestly only wanted the best for Spider-Man. After all, he knew Peter's parents. It sure didn't sound that way in the earliest Ultimate Spider-Man comics, though, and left Peter considerably freaked out.
- Harry being Venom makes sense when you look at how he was the Hobgoblin in the Ultimate comics. Both times are the result of an experiment, and both are a anti-reflection of another character, and Anti-Hero version his father in the comics and and Anti-Villain Spider-Man in the cartoon. It's essentially a way of getting the Hobgoblin storyline in without Norman having to be the Green Goblin yet.
- It also works because Venom is the dark reflection of Spider-Man. What could be more dramatic than his dark reflection taking over his best friend? More pertinently, Peter is poor, lost his birth parents, but has an adoptive family that loves him, then loses his adoptive father. Harry is rich, lost his mother some time ago, but still has his birth father...who is distant and cold.
- Doctor Octopus's dislike of Osborn looming over him in "Me Time" can be compared to Spider-Man hating the omnipresence of Nick Fury and SHIELD in his current life. Peter and Octavius are going through incredibly similar problems.
- In "Venom Attack", why did Fury and the rest of SHIELD instantly know that Peter wasn't behind the near-fatal attack on Batroc (even though the rest of the city did)? Because the very next episode reveals that Peter's house is under 24/7 surveillance. They knew Peter wasn't the one who attacked Batroc because the surveillance showed that he was at home asleep. Plus, by that point Fury would likely know Spidey well enough that he knows Spider-Man wouldn't go that far.
- While the Spider-Cycle doesn't really make a lot of sense, it is understandable why Peter likes it: he's 16. That's the age American kids start to drive and become impressed by cool vehicles.
- Like how 616 Spidey briefly had a vehicle himself.
- I just figured it was the show's version of the Spider-Mobile
- And when it was introduced, They said it was a more efficient way to get around: Faster, and since it's SHIELD, no strained arms or using up expensive web fluid.
- Spider-Man works best in areas like cities or jungles, where there are lotsa trees or buildings he can swing from. On flatter terrain, it's faster to travel by motorcycle.
- Remember in Iron Octopus when Norman said that Otto Octavius "perished in [his] arms"? In a very odd way, he was not lying-I mean, think about it. There isn't really anything to say that his personality wasn't altered at least partially due to the trauma of that accident...and then made worse by promptly being forced to shut himself away by the man he probably trusted a lot.
- Many villains will have moments were they either imply or outright state that the person they were before is no more. Every single episode has at least a few seconds of Spider-Man without his mask, showing that he retains his humanity while his villains can't/don't.
- Despite all the complaints, Spidey fighting so many villains for other heroes' rogues galleries makes perfect sense: most of the Marvel universe is set in New York. How can a superhero who lives in NY (who web-swings, which is known to be a very speedy form of travel) not encounter so many other villains who run around causing trouble if it's all in the same city?
- People have complained about things breaking Power Man's skin. But it's a case of Fridge Brilliance because his Exact Words was his skin was bulletproof, meaning something that strong enough can break through.
- Will Friedle voices Deadpool in this series, using a tone of voice that sounds similar to how he voiced Ron Stoppable as opposed to who tends to be the go-to guy for voicing the character in most modern media, Nolan North. This choice makes sense when one considers that this version of Deadpool is implied to be significantly younger than he's usually depicted, with him having been a former member of the team prior to Spider-Man joining, as well as the most credible backstory for his origin being that he was a teenager who was found and trained by Nick Fury.
- In a way, he's basically Kidpool!
- "Guardians of the Galaxy" had Nova being in general a lot more serious and humble than usual. Given that he nearly died in the episode and expressly told Peter when they were beaming away that this might be the last time they see each other, it explains a lot about his behavior. On Earth, he can goof off and brag because most of the stuff he confronts seem like small potatoes compared to the galactic threats he faces.
- Keeps the weapons and glider, wears a costume that doesn't look copied from the Hulk, but physically transforms into a goblin. This isn't Ultimate Green Goblin. It's the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends Green Goblin.
- Well, Stan Lee really did come up with S.H.I.E.L.D..
- Cap's line "I try not to live in the past" from "Not A Toy", when you consider his origins.
- Why is Deadpool more kid friendly in this version? Simple. He's in a show for younger audiences. Being Deadpool, he's completely aware of this.
- At the end of Field Trip, Loki is surprised that he, as Trickster God, was fooled by Spider-Man, a mere mortal. It may be unintentional, but this makes a whole lot of sense when you remember that another famous trickster god is Anansi, a spider!
- The fact Spiderman Took a Level in Jerkass and his teammates are all pretty jerkassy themselves makes a lot of sense after reading the entry on Character Rerailment for SpiderGwen's YMMV page: this show takes Spidey and co back to their roots back when Steve Ditko first wrote the character — as a high-school student. And, under Ditko, everyone was, frankly, a jerk. It's one of those homages to more obscure branches of Spider-continuity.
- Even if you don't buy that, there's a simple explanation: Spiderman and his teammates are teenagers in this show. Not to say that Teens Are Monsters, but teenagers are hardly 24/7 paragons of virtue, morality and maturity. Not helping is that they all have scars of their own — which just makes them less "friendly". Peter has his uncle's death on his conscience, plus the strain of his double-life on his home, and listening to Jameson slandering him all the time even as he tries to help doesn't make things easier. Ava has both the death of her father (who, let's not forget, was hunted down and butchered like an animal by a madman) and the White Tiger Amulet itself trying to reduce her to the mindset of an animal — it's Played for Laughs, but, her comment after gorging on pasta in the start of "Kraven the Hunter" implies she has very legitimate concerns that the Amulet may eventually drive her to the point of eating human flesh, which can't be doing much for her attitude. Luke has his presumed dead parents, and Danny has the strain of knowing he will have to leave the world he knows to become king of K'un-L'un; they've both made peace with that, though, which is why they're generally the nicest of the team. Even Nova ultimately admits he's an orphan who never knew his parents, alongside whatever led him to become Nova in the first place.
- There's also the fact that the team starts out really bad in the first season, but gets better in the second. Why? Because whilst the Shield Quartet were an existing team before the first episode, neither they nor Spidey were asked to work together; Fury made them team up. Of course they fight all the time — they don't even know each other, so naturally they don't like each other, and the fact they pick on each other because of that only makes the hate grow.
- Even if you don't buy that, there's a simple explanation: Spiderman and his teammates are teenagers in this show. Not to say that Teens Are Monsters, but teenagers are hardly 24/7 paragons of virtue, morality and maturity. Not helping is that they all have scars of their own — which just makes them less "friendly". Peter has his uncle's death on his conscience, plus the strain of his double-life on his home, and listening to Jameson slandering him all the time even as he tries to help doesn't make things easier. Ava has both the death of her father (who, let's not forget, was hunted down and butchered like an animal by a madman) and the White Tiger Amulet itself trying to reduce her to the mindset of an animal — it's Played for Laughs, but, her comment after gorging on pasta in the start of "Kraven the Hunter" implies she has very legitimate concerns that the Amulet may eventually drive her to the point of eating human flesh, which can't be doing much for her attitude. Luke has his presumed dead parents, and Danny has the strain of knowing he will have to leave the world he knows to become king of K'un-L'un; they've both made peace with that, though, which is why they're generally the nicest of the team. Even Nova ultimately admits he's an orphan who never knew his parents, alongside whatever led him to become Nova in the first place.
- Why is Nova such a jerk, even by this show's standards? Because he's a former cosmic-tier hero; he doesn't really care about Earth or anything that happens on it, because he thinks that A: it's just not as important, and B: he's a big-shot by virtue of where he's coming from. Earth in the Marvelverse is literally a nameless backwater on the grand galatic stage; Nova's the equivalent of the big city kid who's come out to the boonies for a vacation. His attitude is wrong, of course, but that doesn't stop him from being a Smug Super, especially since one could believe that he's been off-planet for most of his life and so he literally doesn't identify as an Earthling anymore.
- Was Doc Ock a complete fool to think that turning Norman into the Goblin won't get him an ass whooping each time? Well, after being Norman's underground slave for years, perhaps Ock wasn't willing to give up on his chance to "return the favor" by having Norman as his own personal goon for life. It could also be seen as way of Octavius putting his triggers to rest. Judging from his dialogue, he is still angered and, albeit subtly, traumatized by the experience. What better way for him to fight his demons than ultimately controlling said demons?
- In "Agent Web", why is Spidey more paranoid than usual about trusting Madame Web and suspecting her a Hydra agent? You have to remember the last time Spidey trusted another Spider-person, he turned out to be a mole for Doc Ock (in this case Scarlet Spider) and stabbed him in the back. Clearly, that betrayal still stings him.
- Nova being upset about Spidey being given the leadership role in the team makes more sense when you find out that he used to run with the Guardians, which means that not only does he also have previous heroing experience, he's probably the only one who has previous experience working in a team. Small wonder he thought he'd be best for the role.
- The Grand Finale has Spider-Man leading his three teams in the same order in which they were featured throughout the series (SHIELD Team, New Warriors, Web-Warriors).
Fridge Horror
- In episode "Venomous" Spidey's teammates are all too willing to hurt, beat, kill and destroy Venom, despite the fact that there is a completely innocent person inside Venom and that he is possesed by symbiote and is not in control of his actions, and they know that but they don't care. Granted, Spidey tells them that the person inside Venom is Harry Osborn and they are trying to stop Venom and free Harry from symbiote's control, but consider this: before they found out about Harry being Venom they were willing to kill Venom and did not care a bit that they might have possible murdered completely innocent person, who was not in control of his actions and was controlled by the symbiote, and despite knowing this, they didn't care. And what would have happened if Spidey didn't intervene...
- In-universe for the Asgardian hunters in "Run Pig Run" once they realize the pig they'd been hunting and planning on making into their holiday feast was a human. Also, Skurge mentions mounting the heads of "other talking pigs" and after about a minute, Spider Ham says "...others?". The implication that Loki's carried out this plan before (and succeeded) is laid on fairly thickly.
- Maybe they just have talking pigs on Asgard.
- THAT STILL ISN'T NICE!
- "I am Spider Man" reveals Miles Morales exists in this show, so...
- Yeah, because a Mythology Gag clearly means that the show is going to follow the exact same plotline of the comics, even though the whole premise of the show, that Spidey is part of a SHIELD team training alongside Iron Fist, Nova, Power Man, and White Tiger, didn't happen in the comics.
- The last season (plus the series finale) shows that Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man/Kid Arachnid in an alternate dimension, and he later came to Peter Parker's New York with his mother so he could keep working with Spider-Man.
- Before taking the animated brick that revealed to be a mindless creature that eats and grows, Spider-Man checked on two other things and dismissed them. One was "too small", and the other was "too bright". The first one was the Ultimate Nullifier, which can destroy the universe. And the other is the Cosmic Cube, which can make any random wish become true. The chance that Spider-Man was just a random impulse away from manipulating such forces is really scary.
- In his debut episode, Electro takes all the electricity from New York City. Let me repeat that, he takes ALL the electricity. Even Nova's Gameboy and Iron Fist's mp3 player were drained. Think for a minute what that means for every person in NYC with a pacemaker, on hospital life support, flying in a plane, and so on. Electro may have just become one of the greatest mass murderers in human history.
- Well, we're aware that Iron Man, the man whose heart runs on electricity, is alright so maybe those on life support and with a pacemaker are fine?
- In Carnage's debut episode we see him fighting a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, but the fight is mostly obscured in a dust/debris cloud. What little of the fight we can make out is very violent... and we don't see these Agents ever again. Considering Carnage's track record in the comics...
- In the season four premiere, what did Harry mean when he said that a third dose of Goblin Serum would destroy Norman? Well, multiple drug use is pure poison for any human being, realistically. His body probably wouldn't handle another fix of the serum. However, a worse case scenario: Norman's essence is absorbed and dominated by the Goblin persona, thus permanently destroying any last shred of his humanity. Thankfully, Norman was able to cook up a cure beforehand, and used it on himself in case Ock would try to jam him with the needle once again.
- In "Strange Little Halloween", people were turning into real life versions of their costumes. There was a little girl who was a real zombie. Chances are, she wasn't the only person in the city dressed up as a flesh-eating zombie. On top of that, there were also werewolves, vampires, and other monsters running lose, which means some of the citizens were possibly killed and/or devoured off-screen.
- If it makes you feel better, there were probably quite a few kids AND adults dressed up as superheros that would have protected the civilians once they got their bearings.
- Part fridge horror and tearjerker, the fact that Wolf-Spider was the Peter Parker of his universe. Since most people don't wake up one morning and decide to kill superheroes and become king of the multiverse for kicks, it begs the question. What exactly causes one to become an murderer and universal conqueror?
- Considering this is the multiverse where anything and everything can and will happen, I'd say that yes, Wolf Spider did wake up one day and want to do what he did.
- With great power comes great responsibility
- The same reason the other Peter Parkers became spiderman in the first place.
Fridge Logic
- You'd think that Fury would care about Spidey's bad PR given that it could give S.H.I.E.L.D. bad PR by association as Spidey is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent himself. Instead he essentially calls Spidey a big baby and tells him to get over it.
- There's also the fact that it was obviously having a bad affect on Peter's mental health, which could affect how well he does in the field. You'd think Fury would want one of his most powerful agents to be in tip top shape.
- Spidey signing a paper that allows Fury to monitor his home is this for several reasons. For one Spidey was clearly surrounded by things that was diverting his attention, so you'd think a hyper vigilant super spy like Fury would have noticed and at least closed the door to be sure Spidey was paying attention. Secondly there's the fact that Spider-Man doesn't own his home, his Aunt May does, so he has no legal right to be able to sign the papers in the first place. Lastly there's the fact that Spidey was a minor at the time, so even if he did own their home he still wouldn't be able to sign a paper that allowed 24/7 surveillance without a legal guardian also signing it. In real life you can't even so much as take a picture of a minor for a school photo/promotion without getting written consent from their legal guardians on a permission slip of some sort.
- In fact, a MAJOR part of contract law, is that any minor who is in a contract, can back out at anytime, period, with one or two notable exceptions. (Essentially, they can't take the money and run).
