Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Reviews

Day of the Chameleon
Review by Stu, Media by Kolbar

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Episode #13 - Day of the Chameleon
Original Airdate: June 11, 1995

A new villain, The Chameleon, is impersonating other people through an image-inducing belt and plans to assassinate two major diplomats on the brink of signing an important peace proposal. But the Chameleon makes a misstep when he unwisely takes the appearance of Peter Parker while Spider-Man is around. Spider-Man battles his doppelganger to ensure that the peace treaty goes according to plan.

Credits:
Written By: John Semper
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, Linda Gary as Aunt May, Phil Abbott as Nick Fury.

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Review: The first of many episodes to feature a guest star in Spider-Man: The Animated Series! Nick Fury was introduced into Marvel cartoon continuity here and it's handled. I preferred him over in Iron Man rather than Spidey, as he was often a useless guy floating in a chair up at S.H.I.E.L.D. in Spider-Man, but this episode was a solid start for to the character.

The most interesting aspect of this episode however was the Chameleon. Slightly retooled as a terrorist for hire, rather than a criminal who simply dresses up as other people, he was great in this episode. One of the more daring characters in the series, The Chameleon didn't speak himself, he always changed into other when he spoke. It worked well in contrast to a lot of villains, who simply didn't shut up when they where on screen. A great change of pace.

Not to forget about our hero of course. A different more secret agent style episode, Spidey worked well, especially as Peter Parker had as much screen time as Spider-Man. And of course, when you have Peter Parker, you have the Daily Bugle, which means J. Jonah Jameson is bound to appear, in all his glory. Easily the show's funniest character, it's always great to see Jonah, especially when he's arguing with people. Ed Asner couldn't be praised enough for what he brought to the role.

Jameson played a big role, as he was more or less the only one who could stop The Chameleon, but was terrified to do so. It also fleshed out the Bugle supporting cast, Robbie and Glory Grant a bit more. For a show with such a large supporting cast, it did a very good job of developing the majority of them. There was only the occasional slip up, usually with MJ and Aunt May.

Memorable scenes include Spidey chasing an ever-changing Chameleon through the Daily Bugle and fake Peters kiss with MJ, and his 'reward' for his efforts. I personally thought the slap was a brilliant way to end the season.

Nothing too epic, just a nice episode of Peter and Spider-Man both doing what they do best.

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