Well that was certainly a long hiatus. The last time I look at this series was August of 2018, and the season has only now just wrapped up. Better late than never I suppose.
So when we last left the series, Doctor Octopus had transferred his mind into Spider-Man's body, leaving Peter Parker's consciousness in the Neuro-Cortex. It was a hell of a cliffhanger to end on, though it kind of sucks there was thirteen month gap between episodes. But I digress. Let's jump back into the series.
Before we pick back up with Ock in Spidey's body, we have an episode focusing on Gwen getting her spider-powers back and now creating the Ghost Spider identity. While it is nice to have Gwen get her powers back, I really hate the Ghost Spider name Marvel's been pushing for the character the last few years. I know she probably needed a unique name aside from being another Spider-Woman and Spider-Gwen doesn't do much for a secret identity, but why Ghost Spider? Even though she wears a white mask and hood, her powers have nothing do with ghosts. At least in the comics, Earth-65 Gwen took on the name as reference to her deceased 616 counterpart. Here, they just think it sounds cool. Still, it's not as bad as Miles being given the codename "Spy-D" later on in the season; suddenly "Kid Arachnid" seems more dignified.
But back to the main plot with Ock, who has retreated to a secret lab he set up in the city, initially calling it an "Octo-Lair" before redubbing it "the Spider's Nest". Ock takes off his mask and his flabbergasted to find out Spider-Man is Peter Parker. What's interesting is that while Ock's inner thoughts are still done by Scott Menville, Robbie Daymond still provides Peter's voice, but now speaking like Menville's Ock would, using his inflections. I'm betting that during recording, Menville would say the line first and Daymond would do his best to mimic him. It sounds a little off at the beginning, which is probably the point, but Daymond as Ock as Peter soon enough sounds natural. It only gets really cringey when he tries to sound hip with his "peers", calling them "dude" or "bro".
While Ock plans to resume his criminal life as Spider-Man, he begins experiencing flashes of Peter's life, including memories of Uncle Ben and reliving the origin story, seeing Peter's inaction lead to Ben's death. This has a profound effect on Ock, who decides to take Ben's mantra of "With great power comes great responsibility" to heart. Otto declares his intent to live by Ben's words and carry on Peter's heroic mission, now as the Superior Spider-Man.
The series adapts many elements from the original Superior run. Otto goes straight into the red/black suit, uses a legion of spider-bots to patrol the city, and begins brutally dismantling the criminal underworld, which earns the suspicion of the Avengers and surprise admiration from J. Jonah Jameson. Also like the comics, it's the moments where he tries to live out Peter's life that get awkward, particularly when his arrogance comes through. Everyone picks up on Peter's bizarre behavior, thinking he's just under stress from having to find a way to pay his tuition and lacking on sleep (so pretty much everything that's happened since the previous Venom two-parter). But things reach a tipping point when "Peter" feels insulted that he has to pay for school and quits Horizon High, feeling it is beneath his intellect. This leads to "Peter" going back to Midtown High. While Otto is at first annoyed by this idea, he tries to make the best of the situation, saying that he can excel in his classes, standing out and securing a bright future for "Peter". It's here that he meets Anna Maria Marconi, a student teacher who hopes to bring Midtown to the level of Horizon High. The two form an immediate connection, with Otto admiring her determination. Otto also begins to form a bond with Flash Thompson. While not fond of Flash's physical affection, Otto does seem to take his opinions on Spider-Man's recent behavior under consideration, that being he feels being a hero is more about heart and not just statistics.
So while Otto's living it up in Peter's body, Peter's mind has been trapped in cyberspace, trying to find a way to reach the outside world and figure out how to get his body back. After getting out of the Neuro-Cortex to the Horizon web network, Peter finds Otto's data storage where he apparently digitized his memories. Peter finds out that he and Otto are quite similar, being kids who loved science but bullied by their peers. The major difference is that while Peter had a nurturing figure like Uncle Ben, Otto had an abusive father who was jealous of his son's intelligence while also belittling him for not being a physical boy. Eventually, Peter is able to transfer into Otto's robotic arms where he's finally able to get a message about the situation to Miles, who was the most suspicious about Peter/Spider-Man's behavior. The two battle with Otto in an attempt to swap minds again, with Peter also trying to appeal to Otto's rational side now understanding him a little better. Otto declares he will never give Peter his body back, nearly destroying the his old arms. Miles saves Peter at the last minute and the two retreat.
Things come to ahead when the Venom symbiote awakens and abandons the comatose body of Eddie Brock, now able to move and speak without requiring a host body, once again bent on destroying Spider-Man. It first goes to Horizon High to find Peter, only to discover he isn't there (at least technically physically), badly injuring Miles in the process. As the symbiote heads to Midtown High, Peter contacts Otto to warn him Venom is coming and that he'll use his weaknesses against him. Otto, however, is not worried, claiming he has no weaknesses. Venom does indeed attack Midtown, outmatching Otto and making quick work of the spider-bots, eventually taking both Anna Maria and Flash hostage. There's a significant character moment for Flash, revealing he has some PTSD from being possessed by the symbiote back in season one, frozen with fear when it arrives. Venom says he'll release them if Spider-Man rebonds with him, but upon beginning to, Venom automatically realizes he tastes off, tossing Otto aside and demanding the real Spider-Man. For the first time, Otto is full of doubt and fear. He's afraid of losing the two people he cares about and has no idea what to do to save them. Suddenly, Peter arrives in Ock's damaged arms to try and help, only to be tossed aside by Venom. Otto follows Peter and begins a mind transference. What happens next would be an injustice to merely describe.
Back in his own body, Peter doesn't waste any time, first saving Flash who promptly escapes. Venom takes note of Spider-Man actually making jokes and after getting a taste realizes he is finally dealing with Peter Parker, saying his name in front of Anna Maria. The battle ends with Peter overloading Venom with electricity, causing the symbiote to explode (don't worry, Venom is already announced to be the main villain of season three). In the aftermath, Peter has to explain the situation to Anna Maria, officially introducing her to Otto, whose mind is now in the damaged arms. Otto states his sacrifice was worth it knowing that Anna Maria is safe as the circuitry in the arms dies. Peter then realizes there may still be a way to save Otto by transferring his mind back into his comatose body. The transfer is successful, and while Otto's still in a coma, there's more brain activity showing. And with that, Peter Parker returns to the red and blues and reclaims his spot as the original Spider-Man.
The series does a fairly adequate job adapting the Superior Spider-Man storyline. While it doesn't last as long as it did in the comics and may seem to go by quick, it kind of makes sense given it's a different medium. For all intents and purposes, Otto was still the antagonist who took over the protagonist's body, not fully redeeming himself until he relinquished control back to Peter. Since this is a kid's show, they probably wouldn't want to be following the villain for half the season. I really enjoy the ending, as it not only recaptures the emotional moment of Otto's sacrifice, but it offers a happier outcome to Otto and Anna Maria's relationship. Considering their relationship didn't progress as far as it did in the comics, it avoids much of the ethical dilemmas that one could point out. Even though it was Peter's body, Anna Maria was able to get to know Otto and see the good person he was deep down, signaling a more positive future between the two compared to how it would go in the comics.
The rest of the season deals with much of the fallout of Otto's actions as Peter and Spider-Man. As Spider-Man, Peter is able to restore his good public reputation, with his supposed incompetence leading to Jameson hating him again, as well as make amends with the Avengers (since supervillain body takeovers aren't such an outlandish claim in the Marvel universe). Peter's life isn't as easy to fix. As Peter, Otto practically ostracized Max, Gwen, Anya, and everyone at Horizon High, save for Miles. Even if Peter did have some way to pay tuition, he's unwelcome.
Otto would soon awaken from his coma, and while not Spider-Man anymore, he's still inspired by Uncle Ben and seeks to try and do good. Though Peter is initially angry and untrusting of Otto at first, his help in defeating both Regent and Slyde would lead to Otto becoming Spider-Man's "guy in the chair." Anna Maria was also putting plans into motion to bring Otto on as a teacher at Midtown, since the two still hoped to elevate the school's status.
The season wraps with the four part "Goblin War", an adaptation of the "Goblin Nation" story that ended the initial Superior title; so I was half right about my predictions in the previous analysis.
New York is being overrun by a gang using Harry Osborn's goblin tech, calling themselves the Goblin Nation and doing the bidding of someone named Goblin King. Peter calls Harry about the situation, who immediately comes home to help deal with it. Unfortunately, there's not much of a united front as Harry and Otto don't trust one another, with Harry perplexed why Peter would work with Otto after what he had done to him. Both theorizing that the Goblin King could be Norman, since his body was never recovered, Peter and Harry suit up as Spider-Man and Hobgoblin and travel down a hidden tunnel they discovered in the Osborn family crypt at the cemetery. This leads them to a cache full of goblin tech where they're attacked by the Goblin King and his minions. It is then revealed that the Goblin King is actually Adrian Toomes, the Vulture. Between discovering the cache and taking advantage of the Superior Spider-Man's dismantling of the criminal underworld, it was easy for Toomes to gather an army and equip them with Goblin tech.
Making Toomes the Goblin King is a mixed bag for me. I give them props for being a little original by not making him Norman, but it just seems kind of random to make it Vulture. It reminds me a lot of making the Riddler into Hush, though they used some plot threads in the comics and altered them to fit the narrative. Still, they do give Adrian decent motivation in the identity change, blaming Norman for ruining his life and wanting to use the goblin tech to ruin the Osborn legacy in return. I do wish that they hadn't reveal his identity right away though. One of the best things about the Goblin plotline in the original Superior run was the ambiguity, that we weren't 100% if it was really Norman Osborn until the final issue. I think the Toomes twist would have worked better if they let us think it was Norman for a little longer.
With the major threat growing stronger, Spider-Man organizes Harry, Otto, Gwen/Ghost Spider, Anya/Spider-Girl (the previous two initially working as a duo to fight the goblins), Miles, and Anna Maria to combat the Goblin Nation, saying they need to put aside their differences and mistrust of one another in order to save the city. As Otto and Anna Maria direct from the Spider's Nest and the rest of the spider team deal with goblins across the city, Peter and Harry attempt to prevent Toomes from reaching his true endgame, the Goblin Mech. See, Norman left plans for Harry to build a Goblin Mech, a war machine that could take control of any form of machinery and technology. Harry had intended for the Goblin Mech to be used for police and military purposes, though Peter points out the obvious risk of it falling into the wrong hands. Toomes does acquire the Goblin Mech, also revealing that he was the one who designed the Goblin Mech and that Norman had stolen his plans (and it's here where I think they should have revealed Toomes to be the Goblin King).
The Goblin Mech is a force to be reckoned with, quickly knocking most of the spider team out of commission. Peter's still in the fight, but his costume gets torn up, and you know things are serious when the Spidey suit gets ravaged. As they realize Toomes is controlling the Goblin Mech through a mental interface, Peter and Otto theorize they can use the Neuro-Cortex to send a strong mental blast to override Toomes' control and disable the Mech. Harry does his best to distract Toomes while Spidey heads to Horizon High to get the Neuro-Cortex as Anna Maria calls Max to get him to evacuate the school and prepare for Spider-Man's arrival. However, Otto reveals that the energy output from using the Neuro-Cortex in such a way only has a 2% chance of survival to whoever wields it. Peter is willing to make the sacrifice, but Otto arrives on the scene with his arms and takes the Neuro-Cortex from Peter, using it himself to bring down the Goblin Mech and ends Toomes' rampage. As predicted, the energy from the Neuro-Cortex is too much for Otto's body. In his last moments, Otto reveals that he considered Peter to have become his best friend, and that the world needs Spider-Man more than it needs him. It's a pretty emotional moment, though it's kind of undercut by Otto's body dissipating into pure energy.
Sometime later, Peter, Anna Maria, Max, Gwen, Anya, Miles, and Harry all pay their respects to Otto at his tombstone. With everyone present, Peter uses the opportunity to make amends for "his"/Otto's behavior. They forgive him, with Otto's own change in character inspiring them to give Peter a second chance. Max also reveals that before his death, Otto transferred part of his estate into a scholarship to Horizon High along with a letter of recommendation for Peter. So Max welcomes Peter back to Horizon, while also hinting that he's figured out he's Spider-Man, based on the previous conversation he had with Spider-Man when he came for the Neuro-Cortex (I also think the torn up Spidey mask revealing his eye and mouth may have also played a part in that).
And so wraps the second season of the 2017 Spider-Man animated series. While it had some issues, I think season two as a whole is much better than the first, bringing a lot of dramatic and emotional moments. The standout star of the season is Otto with how much he grows as a character, going from self-centered to self-sacrificing. The best parts are the interaction and growth of his and Peter's relationship as they slowly understand and trust each other. I'm really hoping that the series lets Otto rest, because bringing him back would cheapen his death.
One major issue I do need to bring up though is that Gwen and Anya still don't know Peter is Spider-Man, even after everything that happened in "Goblin War." With all of Peter's friend group now having spider-powers, I think it's kind of crappy behavior from Peter to have Miles be the only one who knows. Hopefully it's rectified in the next season.
Speaking of which, when season three starts up next year, the series will now go by "Spider-Man: Maximum Venom", with Venom and a symbiote invasion incoming. It's a storyline done to death with so many versions, but I'm willing to see how this series handles it.
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