A hub for the "Book of Masks" universe. |
Today's episode in the alternate Spider-Man series: "S01E13 "Ultimate Spider-Man"" One of the things I really don't like about the Disney XD series is the way it gives everyone spider powers. (To paraphrase The Incredibles, when everyone is Spider-Man, no one is Spider-Man.) The only difference between the boys and the girls is that the girls are bossy and humorless, where the boys are goofy and clumsy. The only difference between Peter and Miles is that Miles is slightly nerdier. So, mazel tov: They robbed Peter of distinction without adding anything pleasant to the experience. But I did kind of like it that Peter got Miles to play with, so I bent far enough to add Miles as a Spider-Man- like colleague, though I thought it would better for the character if Miles, instead of suffering an identical spider bite and getting almost identical powers, used his brains to construct gear that mimicked Spider-Man's abilities. I also thought this would be a better demonstration of his talent and brains than giving him a lot of random, plot-saving techobabble in standalone episodes. It's also better if a character goes after something and gets it instead of waiting around for the writers to just bite him. Plot-wise, this one is fairly similar to "Ultimate Spider-Man", but with significant changes to certain details. |