The third season of the animated Spider-Man series keeps the longer length of fourteen episodes. Each episode’s title has the subtitle of The Sins of the Fathers, which hints at the central theme of the season. It’s not a hard and fast rule but there is a prevalence of evil (or not so evil) things done by the fathers of several characters and how it affects their children. We see the consequences affecting characters from Osborne to Mary Jane to Smythe and even Kingpin. It is surprising at how many characters have a broken or unhealthy relationship with their fathers.
After the cliffhanger of the last season where Peter sees Mary Jane disappearing into the shadows, it is pretty much instantly resolved in the first episode. That said, it was a great first episode as Spider-Man teams up with Doctor Strange and fights off mystical villains. Then it has a wicked ending that promises that this season is going to be bigger and better than the ones before it. At times, it does feel that there is a slightly shift to the more mystical side of things in the Spider-Man universe, but a lot of villains also get enhancements based on (exaggerated fantasy) science.
The season continues the trend of having Spider-Man team up with various other Marvel superheroes, to fight against the supervillains. It is like a gateway to Marvel’s other properties, which is probably its intentions but that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch. With all this going on, it seems like New York is filled with these strange characters that no one is aware of, which is hard to believe since several villains have flashy powers and no qualms about using it in public.
Around half of the episodes are based on the comics but the other half are original story arcs. The quality of the season is actually pretty consistent but Spider-Man is shown to be a bit irresponsible in a few episodes. New villains continue to get introduced as well as returning staples such as Dr Octopus. Fisk remains a big part of the show and he is behind a lot of the crimes and creation of several villains. He had always managed to hide his true identity as Kingpin but Spider-Man is slowly catching on. Then there’s the appearance of the mysterious Madame Web, who seems to be a mentor to Spider-Man but due to her powers and the way she engages with Spider-Man, you just can’t trust her.
The story arcs have evolved to become more complex and as a result, more enjoyable. Characters aren’t completely one dimensional anymore and have a bit more to their personalities and motivations. This leads to some of the best arcs in the show yet with plenty of foreshadowing and arcs that spans over several episodes. It does find an excuse now and then to do a retread and summarize past events and the origin story. While this is beneficial for anyone who’s just started watching, it can be repetitive as it’s around the third time these events have been summarized.
There are events that show a softer side to several characters. Peter’s relationships to them are complex and he is shown o be a good person even if it means that he hurts himself or others. Being Spider-Man affects Peter’s normal life and it is rather messy at times. Things are definitely progressing even when it seems like they are not, and his love life is starting to turn around, and perhaps it is becoming too successful.
The animation quality remains as strong as the second season but now with even better action sequences. There are more examples of good usage of the 3D CG. Yes, sometimes it clashes but at other times, it actually makes the scene a lot more dynamic. Overall, the third season of Spider-Man has a strong beginning and a strong ending. The middle is solid if not spectacular so the quality is fairly consistent throughout the season. The best part is that the season doesn’t keep things as they were and ends progressing things such as relationships and the reveal of secret identities.
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