Review: The Spectacular Spider-Man "Interactions"

I have surprisingly little to say about this episode.

But I will start off by saying that it's a breath of fresh air to be watching a show where events carry over from episode to episode, as opposed to Jeph Loeb mandating an almost complete lack thereof.

Electro's origin is nicely done. In the comics, he was holding onto power lines while lightning hit him. Here, they still have the idea of being electrocuted by two things at once, but the mad sciencey "sludge" adds enough technobabble to keep the origin of a guy who throws lightning bolts slightly plausible. Slightly.

Here, we see many stories set into motion. Gwen's jealousy of Liz hinting at their eventual relationship, foreshadowing of Doc Connors' eventual transformation, the origin of another villain, and the Bugle's reward for Spider-Man photos. Again, it's really nice to see ongoing stories being told.

All in all, a solid episode.

Yeah, when I say "surprisingly little," I mean it.

...fine, I'll pad this out. First, here's a picture to make this Review look longer than it is.

I even made it extra large.

Actually, speaking of Electro, he looked pretty cool. His face resembling the traditional costume was a pretty creative choice.

I also like the juxtaposition of realistic blue electricity with the classically cartoonish yellow electricity; it's visually interesting and shows forethought and subtlety. Electro's electricity is yellow with blue outlines, while electricity from other sources is completely blue.

An important distinction to make when 87.03% of the episode involves electricity.

Crispin Freeman does a pretty good job voicing the character, too. Like his roles on Young Justice and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance he's at his best when he's playing a character who's bitter, but with good reason.

I also like the fact that Peter, as Spidey, made an honest, even greedy, mistake in attacking Max outside the coffee shop. It humanizes the character and shows that he still has a long way to go in terms of heroism, but not for lack of trying.

You know, I'll also analyze the title like I did last time, for old times' sake. "Interactions" has multiple meanings for this episode, being reflected in Connors' Circle-of-Life philosophy, the science chapter that Peter tries to teach Liz, everyone's character motivations, and more. This whole show is about interactions; the little details that react in huge ways and usually create supervillains.

As I already said, a solid episode altogether. Next time, Doc Connors pumps himself full of lizard juice. Hijinks ensue?