Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Reviews

The Return of Hydro-Man, Parts 1 - 2
Review and Media by Stu

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Episode #59 - The Return of Hydro-Man, Part 1
Original Airdate - October 24th, 1997

Peter Parker and Mary Jane's honeymoon at Niagara Falls turns into a harrowing situation when MJ's ex-boyfriend, Hydro-Man, reappears! Overcome by jealousy, Hydro-Man kidnaps MJ and takes her to a nearby water factory while Spider-Man races to find their location. Luckily, he has the help of an old friend...the Black Cat!

Episode #60 - The Return of Hydro-Man, Part 2
Original Airdate - October 31st, 1997

With the emergence of Mary Jane's hydro powers still a mystery, Spider-Man follows Hydro-Man to an underwater lab and discovers a shocking secret!

Credits (Part One)
Story By: John Semper
Written By: Eileen Fuentes & James Krieg
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, Rob Paulsen as Hydro-Man and Jennifer Hale as Black Cat

Credits (Part Two)
Story By: John Semper
Written By: John Semper and 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, Rob Paulsen as Hydro-Man, Jonathan Harris as Miles Warren, and Joan Lee as Madame Web

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Note: This review covers both parts of "The Return Of Hydro Man"

Review:
This is the one. The one where you can't help but think, "what the heck is going on?" This series often did some of the more daring stories on a Saturday morning cartoon, but unlike most of them, this one was complete and utter failure.

Part one was tolerable, and even had a pretty good cliffhanger. The fight scenes were well done, and the animation was pretty good. But that was weighed down by some really stupid moments, like MJ getting arrested and The Black Cat's pointless appearance. Still, I guess, part one fares better than part two.

Part two is where things just go completely off the rails Just entirely, and it just can't quite recover. Whilst it's not as bad as "The Rocket Racer" or "The Spot," this episode is hated more than the aforementioned episodes, because it sorta ruins the end of the series (in my opinion, remember).

Even the beginning was mind-boggling. MJ's "It's going to lead to my destruction!" was arguably the worst line in the entire show. Her delivery was exceptionally awful too. Over the top and hammy, even for this show.

Spidey gets to flex some new muscles here, as it was nice to see him doing some detective role, which he didn't get to do a lot in this show. A completely pointless and unnecessary fight with a giant toy then ruined it. And no, I'm not kidding. A giant toy that assembled itself together. Just... I don't know.

As soon as this scene ends, that's where everything goes out the window. Miles Warren is introduced, and thankfully, there's no sign of his alter-ego, The Jackal. Given how much everyone utterly hated that "The Clone Saga" comic storyline back in the 1990s, I'm surprised this series even touched him considering this series tend to stick mostly 1980s-type characters, just slightly moderized. After watching this episode, I wished they had ignored it.

The reasoning behind MJ's disappearance did indeed need an explanation, but I still to this day question why they decided to make her a clone. The only purpose it really served was to get rid of MJ ... again! The whole story simply had me rolling my eyes. I've praised this show where others have bashed it before, but here, I honestly couldn't believe what I was watching. In hindsight, I still don't understand it. The next three episode have Spider-Man busy with "Secret War," and the following two after have him in an alternate reality. MJ doesn't appear in either of those episodes, so her disappearance served absolutely no point in the story. Had they come up with any other explanation, anything at all, we would not have been left wondering just what happened to the real MJ ... and we'd have had an almost perfect two-part finale. Instead, a great episode ("Farewell Spider-Man") is held back due to a pointless plotline.

As you're probably aware by now, I don't like this episode. At all. I think the show would've been far better off without it. And to top it off? Madame Web returned. Geeze! Kick a guy while he's down!



Screenshots:

Part One








Part Two