Recap / Spider Man The Animated Series S 04 E 05 Partners

Black Cat is kidnapped by Alistair Smythe, now working for Silvermane, and he forces Spider-Man to help him find the Scorpion and the Vulture in exchange for Black Cat's freedom.

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This episode provides examples of:

• Batman Gambit: To get the Scorpion out of hiding, Spider-Man gets Curt to publicly announce he's recreated all of Stillwell's research.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Silvermane wanted more than anything to not be a baby anymore. By the end of the episode, he's restored to his age before he used the Tablet of Time.
• Bittersweet Ending: More sweet than bitter. Silvermane, Alisa and Smythe escape via helicopter while Vulture soars off into the night, all parties no doubt intending to plot another day. Black Cat and Scorpion are rescued, the latter reuniting with Sarah. While Mac bemoans still being a freak Sarah reaffirms they'll face the future together. Spider-Man finally asks Black Cat to be his partner with her giving acceptance by smooching him on the cheek, teasing that they'll be more than that, much to Spidey's subdued delight.
  Spider-Man: Y'know, I think my life just got alot more interesting...
• Bound and Gagged: Black Cat in this episode.
• The Bus Came Back: Both the Vulture and the Scorpion return after being absent for during the previous season.
• Continuity Nod:
  • After Smythe stopped working for the Kingpin he began working for Silvermane.
  • Silvermane is still a baby after he attempted to use the Tablet of Time to make himself young again until the end of the episode where he is returned to his his normal age.
• Didn't See That Coming: Spider-Man's reaction to Silvermane still being alive.
• Dragon with an Agenda: Smythe couldn't care less about Silvermane's desire to take over the city's criminal underworld. He just wants the resources to resuscitate his father and build him a new bio-engineered body.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • Smythe seeks to reverse-engineer Neogenics, and he needs either Scorpion or Vulture to fill in the gaps because they're the only experiments he knows of. He's completely unaware that Spider-Man (the guy he's blackmailing) got his powers from Neogenics and that the much easier to find Curt Connors is the Lizard.
  • Smythe observes that Scorpion is practically a road map to all Neogenic work. Fitting since Scorpion was the work of Farley Stillwell, who knew even more about the stuff than even Curt.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Scorpion is unapologetic when fighting with Spider-Man and others, but he's devoted to Sarah and rushes her out of the lab before it explodes.
• Flashback with the Other Darrin: When Scorpion recalls his origin, Richard Moll dubs over Martin Landau.
• Foreshadowing: Silvermane's operation seeks to reverse-engineer Neogenics for their own benefit. The next episode reveals that Kingpin and Landon have similar ideas and have targered another notable Neogenic subject, Morbius.
• Hypocrite: Smythe derides Scorpion as a freak of nature. Spider-Man lampshades a cyborg saying this.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: As ever, Scorpion wants to be restored to Mac Gargan.
• I Warned You: Scorpion told Spider-Man to go away. In the face of repeated resistance, Scorpy dangles him off a roof's ledge and says he warned him to back off.
• Involuntary Shapeshifter: Toomes spends most of the episode randomly switching between his young and old selves.
• Nothing Personal: Smythe has no real ill will towards Spider-Man, but he works for Silvermane now, which makes them enemies once again.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Scorpion fully admits that he saved Vulture's life because a scientist (particularly one familiar with Neogenics) is the only way he'll ever be returned to normal.
• Retired Monster: Scorpion insists he's trying to go straight out of devotion to Sarah and has been lying low in her apartment, but it doesn't take much for him to fall back into crime.
  Spider-Man: Looks like retirement didn't mellow you any.
• The Reveal: After not having been seen since the end of Season 2, the episode reveals the Scorpion has been staying under the radar with his girlfriend, Sarah, and keeping the Vulture captive.
• Sealed with a Kiss: How Cat officiates her & Spidey's partnership, with a peck on the cheek.
• Shapeshifter Mode Lock: Vulture cures his own age shifts by entering Smythe's hook-up and swapping energy with Silvermane while in his older state.
• Shout-Out: "So, here's another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into, Ollie."
• Unexplained Recovery: Toomes no longer suffers from the Man-Spider mutation. It may have something to do with his age shifting.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: All of them before the lab explodes. Silvermane and his cronies flee in a helicopter, Smythe uses his hoverchair to leave with his father, Scorpion gets to a rooftop with Sarah, and Vulture flies off for parts unknown.
• Villainous Rescue: The Vulture saves everyone by breaking into the lab.
• Virtue Is Weakness: According to Silvermane, Spider-Man's weakness is that he cares too much for others.
• You Fool!: Smythe's reaction to Scorpion frying the main console.