Finally, someone I agree with.
In hindsight, I\'ll admit the hate toward the show (which I did take part into sadly) was disproportionate. But I still disagree with people who defend it and say it\'s \"not that bad\", or worse, argue that the show that came immediately after was worse. Marvel\'s Spider-Man also was somewhat subpar, but at least it genuinely felt like a Spider-Man show, it had less of an identity crisis, and it give me a Peter I didn\'t want to punch in the face. Good for people if they remember USM foundly, but personally I\'m not missing it.
I also took part in the hyperbolic hate way back when. But really, what show or movies doesn’t have very vocal and overpassionate fans and detractors? Justified or not, extreme fan reactions don’t lower or improve the quality of the product itself. It still needs to be judged on its own merits, and “It’s overhyped/overhated” is a non-argument usually used by people to shut up others who don’t agree with them XD
Leave a Comment:
Probably the Worst Adaption of Spider-Man
Some claim this show is overhated, I wholeheartedly disagree. I agree as much that there are certainly fans who took the hate too far....but as far as the general criticism about the quality of the show itself goes? Yeah, I think most of that is pretty warranted.
That’s not to say the show has no merits but its many issues far outweigh them. For one, I really liked the premise (conceptually). I always appreciate people taking familiar properties in bold new directions but the neat idea of Spidey being a S.H.I.E.L.D trainee and leading his own team of young heroes was utterly wasted. I also liked the show’s reinvention of Doctor Octopus. But again, the show’s writing did not do this intriguing new take on Doc Ock justice.
The issues with the show can be summed up as:
1. It's very much rooted in the “animation and superheroes are for kids” mentality, and that’s perhaps its biggest issue. There’s a difference between something being Lighter and Softer and being "dumbed down for kids". Batman: The Brave and the Bold is an example of the former, this show is an example of the latter.
2. Likewise, this show also has a massive identity crisis, which results in a lot of gratuitous Mood Whiplash. On one hand, it tries to be a wacky comedy, down to having Spidey constantly break the fourth wall and use cutaway gags (perhaps the most jarring and intrusive aspect of the show’s wishy-washy tone), and yet other times, it takes itself rather seriously (while not having the writing to back it up). There are plenty of animated shows that manage to balance out humor and drama but this one does not.
This issue also extends to the show struggling to balance out the new premise and characters with the traditional Spider-Man lore (MJ, Harry, Aunt May, JJJ, etc.), never properly marrying the two and in the end, they just end up fighting each other for attention.
3. I really don’t like how Peter is portrayed. Part of that is due to him being the biggest victim of the inconsistent tone and lackluster writing. Sometimes he’s the traditional Spider-Man, other times he’s a moronic teen, and at his worst, he’s very unsubtly a family-friendly rip-off of Deadpool. The other issue is the casting of Drake Bell. After having seen him voice a more traditional Spider-Man in other Marvel works, it has become increasingly clear that he was grossly miscast. At best, he’s subpar, at worst, he's aggravatingly annoying in the role.
4. There was clearly a lot of Writing by the Seat of Your Pants involved, and once the show tried to incorporate story arcs and character development, many plot threads and character journeys either petered out, went in random directions, had very weak pay-offs, or resolved themselves in very convoluted and hackney ways.
Overall, yes, in my humble opinion, I think the show really is as bad as people claim it is. I will not miss it and whatever Marvel/Disney do with the ol'Web-Head, they'll be hard-pressed to do worse.