Spider-Man TV (1967) - Season 2, Episode 16

Background

Given that the title of this episode includes the word "thunder", Marvel fans might presume to think that this episode would involve Thor. You would be wrong. For reasons I don't care to research they didn't want to use Thor in this episode. They came up with a different god-like being that wielded the lightning.

Story 'Thunder Rumble'

Under cover of a severe thunder storm, two crooks, Boomer and Borer [The first resembles a 19th century chimney sweep; the other that looks like Scooter from the Muppet Show] embark on a series of crimes. Boomer notices that there have been a lot of storms lately and wonders if it's natural or something else.

Boomer's [I can't take this guy seriously. He's got a name synonymous with pant-load.] intuition serves him well. The planet Mars is actually host to a pantheon of gods. One of which is Volton [Not to be confused with the being that is composed of five robotic lions. Or the vehicle version. Whichever works for you.] who is responsible for the increased electrical activity on Earth. They have conquered every other planet in the solar system and have set their sights on Earth. Volton is granted permission to pay a visit to Earth and take over the planet for the Martian gods. He accepts the honor for his brethren as Earth is a great source of gold that he can use for personal gain. Volton then flies to Earth under his own power, transforming himself to a comet.

Spider-Man finds Boomer and Borer in mid-crime. Borer escapes through a window, but Spider-Man chases Boomer through Central Park. At this point Volton appears and attacks Spider-Man, but is knocked out by his smaller, yet surprisingly strong, adversary.

For some undisclosed reason a group of teenagers arrive in their cars. Spider-Man uses them to help secure Volton to the ground with his webbing. [This is a very strange sequence. Teenagers helping Spider-Man. What is this, the Teen Brigade? How were they contacted? ]

While Spider-Man talks to his new allies, Boomer resurfaces and strikes up a bargain with Volton. In exchange for freeing him, Volton will be his partner. Volton agrees and he is freed.

Volton resumes his attack on Spider-Man throwing what we'll call a "devil bolt" as it resembles the New Jersey Devils logo. It catches Spider-Man and takes him on a one-way trip to the moon. With Spider-Man out of the way the new partners decide to steal the gold from the Gold Bullion Bank of Nations downtown.

Volton's presence results in the expected crowd panic and the military response. One is as effective as the other, leaving New York at the mercy of the mad god. [A mad god dressed like Aquaman in a skirt.]

Spider-Man frees himself from the devil bolt and quickly locates the pair. After dodging all of Volton's lightning bolts, Spider-Man taunts him. Volton conjures an uncontrollable lightning bolt to get rid of Spider-Man once and for all. But as you can imagine it soon finds its way back to its creator, carrying him back to Mars. He knocks out Boomer and leaves him for the police.

General Comments

Spider-Man vs Volton, Martian god of thunder. What could possibly be wrong with this idea?

• Spider-Man doesn't have the power to combat a real god.
• There is life on Mars, but they're all gods.
• The gods have "conquered" the rest of the planets in the solar system. Pretty easy when they're uninhabited, don't you think?
• Teenagers showing up out of the blue to help Spider-Man.
• Teenagers helping Spider-Man tie up a god.
• Spider-Man's webbing is strong enough to hold down a god, but unable to stand up to wire cutters.
• The devil bolt
• The uncontrollable bolt
• The substances consumed to think that this was a good idea.

Overall Rating

1/2 web. Bad idea, boring execution. As if gods would have nothing better to do than take over planets. Or allow a chimney sweep to give them orders.