Episode Review - Spider-Man: The 1967 Animated Series

Episode #30 The Evil Sorcerer
Original Episode Airdate - November 9, 1968
Kotep, the Scarlet Sorcerer, is frozen in time by a rival until revived by a dismissed college professor in the present who seeks to use Kotep for revenge.

Review by KrankyBoy, Media By Stu
Another episode which relies heavily upon past animation from one of Ralph Bakshi's other Saturday morning cartoon efforts, "The Evil Sorcerer," and forgoes the classic villains of the comic books in favor of demonic monsters from the netherworld. Young fans probably won't mind, but viewers expecting a close representation of Spider-Man's adventures in the comics will be sorely disappointed.

Nevertheless, it's nice to see Peter Parker engaged in a rivalry over a love interest's affections and having his masked identity of Spider-Man continually getting in the way. After Susan turns him down for a date at the beach, Peter grouses about how "she'd change her mind if she knew that I'm really Spider-Man." Of course, he follows up this failed attempt by having to feign fear and rush off during a time of crisis, giving Susan the impression that Peter is a spineless weakling and not the fearless hero he truly is. It's rather simplistic for adults, but such complications for the main character work rather well for young children.

Once again, the animation is terribly limited. But fans of the show should get a kick out of this second season episode.

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