Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Reviews

Shriek of the Vulture
Review by Stu, Media by Kolbar

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Episode #26 - Ravages of Time
Original Airdate: February 17th, 1996

When Norman Osborn attempts to take over Toomes Aeronautical, Adrian Toomes, using the Tablet of Times to steal youth from anyone he touches, suits up as the Vulture to destroy Norman Osborn!

Credits:
Story By: John Semper, Gilles Wheeler and Evelyn A-R Garbai
Written By: Evelyn A-R Garbai
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, Liz Georges as Debra Whitman, Joseph Campanella as Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard, Patrick Labyorteaux as Flash Thompson, Neil Ross as Norman Osborn, Eddie Albert as Adrian Toomes/ Old Vulture, and Alan Johnson as Arthur Avis/ Young Vulture

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Review: This is the penultimate episode to the "Neogenic Nightmare" arc and it's quite a memorable one. It introduced The Vulture, who was handled pretty differently here. He's not the old man who robbed jewellery stores, but now sucks the youth out of people (as the character did in the comics at the time). This show did have a tendenancy to mix the old stories with the newer material (at the time), but the old stuff usually won out. Given how most of the writing staff seemed to lean towards the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko/John Romita Sr. villains, seeing the revamp The Vulture was a shock, but no less entertaining.

As most villains in this cartoon did, The Vulture went after someone Spidey knew, Norman Osborn. Osborn, who is shown here as a ruthless businessman trying to buy The Vultures Company, believes that he is too old and feeble to run it. I loved seeing pre-Green Goblin Norman. He really was really evil before he became ... well ... evil.

I especially liked seeing Flash again. Some of Spidey's supporting cast was give or take in this show, but Flash was always pretty cool. I loved thier little confrontation in Toomes' building.

FLASH: C'mon Spidey, we make a heck of a team! Remember when we fought the Spider Slayers!
SPIDEY: Flash I remember... go home.

It was an enjoyable episode, which had a great finale. After Spider-Man figured out what was going on he was saved by Flash Thompson and had his youth sucked out of him. The finale shot was Spidey maskless, as an old man. It left me really looking forward to the next episode, which is the text book example of a good cliffhanger (thankfully, the follow-up works)!

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