Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Reviews

The Awakening
Review and Media by Stu

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Episode #47 - The Awakening
Original Airdate: May 10th, 1997

Debra Whitman and Clay Marks locate Morbius and bring him to ESU to work on a cure. At the same time Herbert Landon and the Shocker are hired by the Kingpin to capture Morbius in an effort to unlock the secret to immortality. The Black Cat hears of the news and teams up with Spider-Man to stop the Kingpin and make sure Morbius doesn't lose control.

Credits:
Story By: John Semper and Sandy Fries
Written By: Sandy Fries
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, Nick Jameson as Morbius, Jim Cummings as The Shocker, Patrick Laborteaux as Flash Thompson, Oliver Muirhead as Whistler and Bob Bergen as Ned Leeds

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Review: This episode is when the season really started dragging. Morbius already had far too many episodes focused on him at this point, and after getting an excellent send off in season two, he's rather pointlessly brought back here. It did help develop Debra a little, and fleshed out the supporting cast a little more, especially Black Cat, but I find the whole episode simply isn't needed.

There was some great chemistry between Spidey and Black Cat going on this season. This particular episode does a great job of adding to it at the beginning, but the whole thing quickly goes downhill as soon as Morbius is brought back to New York.

Undoubtedly the best part of this episode is the return of The Shocker! I always thought The Shocker was so cool in this show. He had a great design, an outstanding voice and, most of the time, he had brilliant dialogue. Whereas his comic book counterpart is nothing short of a joke now, this series did an excellent job with him. Maybe this is hyperbolic, but it's quite easily the best version of The Shocker ever.

Another special mention must go to Jim Cummings, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest voice actors of all time. They tended to drop the ball on the odd occasion with casting, Harry and Mary Jane being the prime examples, but the majority of the cast was great. The likes of Neil Ross, Mark Hamill and, of course, Chris Barnes himself more than make up for it.

Overall, not an especially good episode, but it has a few cool bits in it. The highlight? The Shocker!

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