Month: June 2017

  • Ingenuity vs. Laziness: Spider-Man Cereal Prizes

    My, what has become of toys these days? Cracker Jacks used to come with little prizes and knick knacks, and now you just get not-so-fun “fun facts”.  Large, elaborate playsets are now cheaply painted hunks of plastic. But I’m limiting my scope to these three web shooters I pulled out of cereal boxes over time, from the Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), and Spider-Man Homecoming (2017) eras.

    So I was at the store the other day, and I see Cinnamon Toast Crunch has a Spider-Man ‘web’ shooter, that squirts water. Like a sucker, I bought two boxes (because Spider-Man has two web shooters, I’m sort of OCD like that). So I get home, I open the box, and…

    Well, let me get to that. I want to start with the good stuff. So, the first Raimi Spider-Man movie, this is what all the kids were getting in their cereal boxes.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    It’s a great design, fits right on the wrist, and when you do the web signal, the water comes out in spades! I love these things, I actually feel like Spider-Man when I’m wearing them!

    Next up we’ve got Spider-Man 2. Now this doesn’t shoot webs, but if you turn out the lights, it shines an awesome Spider Light on the wall! Which, actually, Peter has in the new movie, so… missed opportunity there. But this is even better because it’s got an adjustable strap! As you can see, I kind of wore it down, but I was a kid, and it was fun to shine the light. Hours of entertainment!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Then there’s these. Let me continue my story: So I get home, I open the box, and… out come these soulless machinations of man! First of all, I figured out that there’s six different kinds, which sucked since I was trying to get a matching pair. Next, the little squirter holds about ¼ of the water the Spider-Man 1 ones did, barely getting off 1.5 squirts (And they have the nerve to put target practice markers on the back of the box!) And lastly, they go on backwards, which is not only counter-intuitive, but it takes away the thrill of actually ‘spinning a web’, and you have to press it with your other hand for water to come out! I will admit, however, they do look cool.

    So, if anything, I just feel sorry for the kids of today, since this is all they get to play with. I hope they find some joy in them, but in my opinion, these big cereal companies need more ingenuity, and less lazy designs! I write this out of love! For Spider-Man, and for the children!

  • First Inhumans Trailer!

    Watch the trailer below!

    Marvel has dropped the first trailer for Inhumans, and I’ve got to say, I am very pleased. This looks like an Inhuman comic coming to life. A Maximus coup, teleporting Lockjaw, and the costumes are so comic accurate and colorful! Oh, and Attilan is on the moon! And this is a TV show! Granted, the first two episodes are going to be in IMAX theaters, but that just makes me even more excited. What are you guys thinking? Comment below, let’s start a conversation.

  • Marvel’s Spider-Man: All-New Animated Show

    So Spidey’s been put through the wringer quite a few times on TV. Everyone has their favorites, people tend to lean towards either Spectacular Spider-Man or the 90’s series (it’s 90’s for me, but Spectacular is a close second!). Then there’s Ultimate Spider-Man. Now, Ultimate Spider-Man definitely has its episodes. The season 1 finale pitting Spider-Man against the Green Goblin, the Spider-Verse and the Return to the Spider-Verse, responsible for animated debuts of Miles and Spider-Gwen respectively. And for some reason, I really like the Iron Spider episode (real early season 1). But for the most part, I admit Ultimate was inferior to previous incarnations. And you all know why, so I won’t get into all that.

    But Ultimate Spider-Man is gone, thankfully with an actual (and full circle) ending, which is more than most cartoons get these days (*cough* Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Tron, Thundercats, Young Ju- oh wait… never mind). Now they’ve got this new show, simply called Marvel’s Spider-Man, conveniently coming out around the same time as Homecoming. Now, I have to say, I like what I see so far. Here’s the clip:

    So apparently this is the first of six shorts telling Peter’s origin, similar to what they did with Secret Wars earlier this month. They name dropped a ton, so let’s dig in.

    • Harry, science nerd. Kind of defeats the purpose of his friendship with Peter because Peter always helped him with science, but I guess this new direction they’re taking has them connecting on a nerdy level, so I’m fine.

    • Smythe is a student, and his dad is a teacher at Midtown! Now, we all know Alistair went rogue because his dad died dishonored and with no respect on his name, which I think might be a little dark for the show, but maybe they’ll go the 90’s route and put him in a coma, forcing Alistair into some Spider-Slayer action!

    • Liz Allen. Hm. She had quite the role in Spectacular and even played a good supporting part in the 90’s series, but it looks as if they’re using her as the main girl here. You know, because of Homecoming. I’m not gonna make any assumptions, but I really miss the days of Spider-Man and Mary Jane (Dang Mephisto… dang One More Day… gosh dang Brand New Day!!!). Also the neck tie reminds me of Pepper from Iron Man: Armored Adventures, but that may or may not be related to the fact that I’ve started re-watching that show from the beginning…

    Now, I like the animation just fine, some people were complaining about it in the Scorpion clip (Found Here!) but I think it’s fine. Peter is nerdy, which is good. And the tone of the show seems perfect. I’m gonna wait on the other five parts to come out, but I’m already excited. I’m a little upset that we still don’t have a release date, but let’s hope it’s soon!

    So what are you guys thinking? Comment below, let’s talk! New Spider-Man show, yay or nay? Let me know!