"Ultimate Spiderman: Great Power Review"

I missed the actual pilot for Ultimate Spiderman yesterday.

I did see the second one, though, so that's why I went ahead and wrote up my Great Responsibility review. But now that I watched the first one this morning, I can write its review!

In case you haven't read my other review, or haven't seen this show and are simply looking to see if it's worth watching or not, here's a brief overview before I start:

Peter Parker, aka, our Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman, gets an offer from Nick Fury to join a league of teenaged superheroes named S.H.I.E.L.D.

And before you scoff, yes, they are awesome.

At first, Spidey declines, but then one he realizes that he's not as epic as he thinks he is (well, he is epic - duh), he takes Fury up on his offer, so he can become the Ultimate Spiderman. He'll train alongside fellow teen superheroes Power Man, Nova, Iron Fist, and White Tiger.

And now that you know, things I loved about this episode?

For one, the originality.

Well, to the Spidey universe, anyway.

Backstory lasted just a few seconds. Just the way it should be. Nothing would have annoyed me more than if they'd spent the entire episode getting people up to date on everything that has happened to Spidey before the actual show beginning.

That would have been slow and tedious and I would have been pulling my hair out.

But, they did it quickly and awesomely, just so we can get the feel of it a bit and then moved right into the action. Thank you, writers and directors.

I also enjoyed the comedic aspect. A must-have for Spidey is his attitude, and I love how the writers didn't skimp. Yes, he feels bad about Uncle Ben*, but he doesn't seem to be wallowing in it like how he's sometimes portrayed.

(* If you don't know who Uncle Ben is, his name is Ben. And he is an uncle. To Peter, I should mention. Not to mention, he's also awesome. Oh, and he was killed. And Petey feels bad he couldn't save him. It's slightly tragic.)

And I love Aunt May. Her character has totally progressed over the years. Of course, who couldn't love the original, and any other portrayal, really, but I like how modern they made her.

Something I'm skeptical of? Gwen. Where is she? Or is she not in this series? I've always kinda like Gwen more than Mary Jane, to be honest, if they must have a romantic interest. White Tiger is awesome too (that's a wink-wink and a nudge, Peter), but if Petey's going to end up with someone, in my opinion, it should always be Gwen.

But she died in The Amazing Spider-Man #121.

That's sooo beside the point here.

So never mind.

Also, about Mary Jane. Sorry if I rant, but her character is off to a little bit of a rocky start with me. Don't get me wrong, I admire her whole journalism dream - it's awesome. But in the cafeteria scene, where The Frightful Four (three, actually, because Trapster is a little bit locked up, haha) come in and attack the school looking for any student who might be Spiderman (a tracking device planted on Spidey during an earlier skirmish let them there), she pauses amidst the ruckus and smiles and takes pictures for her article, resulting in Harry Osborn's (uh-huh, I'm getting to him) injury.

I mean, seriously?

But anyway, Harry. Harry Osborn is, of course (aka, duh), still the son of Norman Osborn. Kind but workaholic father Norman wants Spidey. Petey unknowingly works against Norman.

In the words of Petey, awkwaaaard.

Not sure if there will be a Joker. We can only wait to find out, right?

And another small thing I didn't like about Great Power - the stunning lack of Iron Fist. But, moving on...

I know I'm psyched for the next episode. Are you?

- your most erratic hero

(Fun Fact: I find it hilarious that Stan Lee voices Stan the Janitor, and totally awesome. The greatest brilliance can never be squelched!)