Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Reviews

Attack Of The Octobot
Review by Stu, Media by Kolbar

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Episode #30 - Attack of the Octobot
Original Airdate: May 11th, 1996

During Doctor Octopus' attack, Spider-Man loses his memory. Realizing the opportunity at hand, Doctor Octopus convinces Spider-Man to become his partner in crime. Luckily for Spidey, Tyana and a cabbie named Mousie witness the incident and hatch a plan to save their favorite super hero!

Credits:
Story By: John Semper
Written By: Meg McLaughlin
Music Composed By: Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahchi
Animation Services By: Toyko Movie Shinsha (TMS)
Guest Starring: Christopher Daniel Barnes as Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Ed Asner as J. Jonah Jameson, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr as Dr. Octopus

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Review: Continuing from the last episode, the "Make a Wish"/"Attack of the Octobot" two-parter takes a different turn after a pretty straight-forward first installment, and unfortunately it (and our hero) takes a turn for the worse - amnesia.

The focus of the episode also shifts towards the little kid as the focus, whilst Doc Ock has an amnesiac Spider-Man helping him steal things. Why Doc Ock couldn't do it himself, no one knows. The young child continues to annoy, and now she was joined by a stereotype-riddled cab driver.

Thank goodness for J. Jonah Jameson, and his ongoing campaign against Spider-Man, to bring a little levity to these drab proceedings. His "very reliable sources tell me" speech was easily the highlight of the episode. You can always count on Ed Asner to save the day. This version of Jonah was nothing short of hilarious.

And as with most episodes where the kids are thrust into the spotlight, it was a little too hard to believe that a young kid could beat Doc Ock, especially after episodes such as "Dr. Octopus: Armed And Dangerous," when Doc Ock could hold off Spidey with minimal effort. This episode has a lot in common with Batman: The Animated Series' equally terrible "I've Got Batman In My Basement."

The ending scene was surprisingly touching, considering most of the episode was fluff, especially the score. It's the only part of episode that really sticks the landing. Basically everything not involving Spidey's origin recap and his heart-to-heart with the young child ends up flat.

Overall, it was a mediocre storyline. Some nice touches here are there, but nothing special at all.

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