Spider-Man TV (1967) - Season 1, Episode 11 (Story 2)

Background

With a title like "Here Comes Trubble" you have to assume that the villain will in fact have Trubble as a code-name or surname. Let's find out which.

Story 'Here Comes Trubble'

One night while out on patrol, Spider-Man discovers a robbery in progress at the Museum of Art. When he investigates he learns - much to his dismay - that the thief is a mythological centaur trying to steal an ancient Greek vase. Spider-Man confronts the centaur and makes a few well-placed jokes. However when he tried to capture him with his webbing, the centaur disappears, leaving Spider-Man even more confused.

At the Daily Bugle, as news of the attempted robbery makes its way to Jameson's desk, he received a phone call. The caller is "Miss Trubble" middle-aged owner of a used bookstore. [A woman her age going by "Miss"? Something is wrong here.] She tries once more to convince Jameson to run a column - written by her of course - on Greek mythology. Jameson adamantly refuses and hangs up. Trubble then vows to make him pay. She turns to her special chest and opens it, unleashing a cyclops upon an unsuspecting New York. It becomes very clear that she is doing this in order to raise the interest in Greek mythology so she can write for the Daily Bugle.

The cyclops soon finds Spider-Man sitting on a rooftop trying to make sense of his last battle. The cyclops begins throwing large rocks at Spider-Man from a nearby construction site. When Spider-Man is able to redirect one of the boulders, the cyclops vanishes before it can strike him.

Spider-Man makes his way to Trubble's bookstore. When he lands on the ground, he is suddenly attacked by the archer Diana [Uhm, "Artemis". Diana is the Roman god. Someone should have looked that up]. When Spider-Man tries to snare her with his webbing, she disappears as well.

Later at the Daily Bugle, Jonah informs Peter of the theft of a rare statue of Cerberus, watchdog of Hades. Jonah receives another phone call from Trubble asking about a daily column on mythology. He again refuses. When Peter learns of her intentions, he decides to investigate.

When he arrives at Trubble's Bookstore, he finds the statue that was reported stolen. Trubble appears, but asks him to leave when she finds out he's from the Bugle. She refuses to talk to anyone other than Jonah.

Peter leaves but returns later that night as Spider-Man to confirm his suspicions. Trubble discovers him snooping around and admits that she is in possession of Pandora's Box. She promises he won't live to tell anyone her secret.

She summons Vulcan to take care of Spider-Man. [Should be "Hephaestus". Vulcan is the Roman equivalent. Some expert.] He forges chains to bind Spider-Man's hands and feet. He then follows up by throwing hot coals at him in an effort to burn him. Spider-Man dodges all of the projectiles, which sets the books in the store on fire.

Trubble screams at Vulcan to stop but he knocks her aside and resumes throwing hot coals at his clearly mobile target. [You're the god of fire, not the god of accuracy.] Spider-Man webs Pandora's Box and pulls it into the flames, destroying it and returning Vulcan to limbo. He then grabs Trubble and the Cerberus statue and escapes the inferno.

He turns Trubble over to the paramedics and turns the statue over to the police.

General Comments

I have a minor issue with using Pandora's Box as a conduit for summoning Greek - or Roman - gods. I don't think that was the true purpose. It unleashed generic "evils" upon the world. This seems to be at odds with its use here. However, this is a minor issue as it makes the most sense for a children's cartoon.

I am also forced to ask why these constructs disappeared when they came in contact with Spider-Man's webbing. Many of them were able to touch real-world objects and appeared to be quite strong. The requirement that they vanish upon contact seems arbitrary.

Overall Rating

3.5 webs. I was impressed with this episode. It doesn't employ any of the familiar villains and "Miss Trubble" is obviously a one-shot villain, but I thought it worked out very well.

Aside from a few minor issues, the writer(s) did a good job advancing the story logically. It was simple enough for a child to follow, but there is some entertainment value for adults as well. This is one of the few episodes where Spider-Man's humor is used effectively during his battles.