Spider-Man TV (1967) - Season 3, Episode 3 (Story 1)

Background

Another episode involving Spider-Man fighting an aerial opponent that isn't 100 years old with liver spots? C'mon, guys, uou can't do this too often. It gets old.

Story 'Sky Harbor'

The Nazi Baron Von Rantenraven [Whoa!! Rant and raving??? Did they sneak in a name pun? Awesome!!] has developed Sky Harbor, a mobile aerial platform capable of launching attacks from anywhere. They have been working on this in secret since World War I [He called it "The Great War", so I'm going with that] and are now ready to show the world what they have made.

Rantenraven leads an attack of the vintage German biplanes against a commercial airliner. They drop their "dispersion dust" on it, causing it to stall in mid-air. They capture the plane and return it to Sky Harbor.

This creates an international incident. Rantenraven demands that the U.N. grant him complete control of the skies. Due to the hostages, military action is not an option. While the mayor and his military advisor confer on what to do, Spider-Man volunteers to stop Rantenraven.

Spider-Man waits for the Baron to make another sweep of the city in his plane. He tricks the Baron into thinking he's killed him and hitches a ride on his plane. His presence is soon noticed but the incompetent pilot destroys the Baron's plane on accident. Spider-Man climbs aboard the wing and directs it into Sky Harbor destroying the platform. This causes it to crash into the river. [Uhm, hostages? Hello!]

The Baron and his henchmen are put behind bars and the hostage aspect is never mentioned again.

General Comments

I've noticed a disturbing trend with these cartoons. They're make an important plot point then abandon it toward the end, expecting us to follow suit. There were hostages involved so as to prevent military action, but they really didn't count when it came to Spider-Man taking down the platform. Oooookay.

I don't expect much, but I do expect them to remember things like that. Or is that too much?

Overall Rating

1.5 webs. I'm not quite sure how someone from World War I could still be alive and kicking 40 years later. Despite this point and the hostage issue, the episode held together decently. A simplified story and short run time saves this from being too annoying.