bus careens out of control, a woman is attacked on the subway,
construction workers are nearly crushed in an accident ... it's all in a day's
work for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man (Harris). Only, this time,
someone is watching and keeping track of Spider-Man's strength, speed and
reflexes. Someone who feels Spider-Man might just make a worthy opponent.
That someone is Shikata, who's just been hired by Richard Damian, a collector of rare
species, to capture the rarest species of all ... Spider-Man. Shikata agrees to capture Spider-Man for the eccentric rich man.
Meanwhile, Peter Parker (Harris) and Harry Osborn (Ziering) watch Mary Jane
(Loeb) in an audition. She gets the part in a new movie financed by none other
than Richard Damian.
Shikata sets a trap for Spider-Man and does battle. She finds him to be a noble
fighter and is impressed with his skills. Unfortunately, the police break
things up, but not before Spider-Man can retrieve a phone that leads him to
Shikata. She tells him he is a worthy adversary, worthy enough to kill. She
vanishes, telling him he'll get a chance to fight her soon enough.
As Shikata sets out to kill a spider, she only becomes more impressed with
the webslinger's skills. In the middle of it all is Mary Jane, who's off to
meet with Damian about the movie and her part. With Shikata determined to meet
him in a battle to the death, Spider-Man must discover Shikata's secret or die
trying.
Adult adventures for the amazing hero
The hype for MTV's all-new animated adventures of Spider-Man is that
this is the first time Spidey has been animated in 3-D. While true enough, there
are many other reasons to recommend MTV's long-awaited return to the
wallcrawler's adventures. This smartly written, exciting and uniquely drawn
series is a worthy addition to the world of Spider-Man.
The series picks up with Peter Parker in college, juggling his work as a
photographer, his war against crime, and his relationship with Mary Jane.
Peter, Harry and Mary Jane are friends, and it's a good place to start the
series, allowing plenty of room for the characters to grow.
In "Sword of Shikata," the excellent script immediately enters
Spider-Man's world, identifying who and what Spider-Man is without too
much nasty exposition getting in the way. All the characters get clever
dialogue, although Spider-Man gets a large share of the wittiest things to
say. The action plays out nicely, following a logical progression for the
characters, and it's a good story.
Voicing Spider-Man is Neil Patrick Harris, and he is perfect for the role,
whether delivering a Spidey quip or spitting out exposition. Loeb and Ziering
also do justice to their roles, with Loeb being Mary-Jane-worthy.
The animation is 3-D with an anime influence, which gives the brightly
colored series a rich look that mixes classic and modern. The world and bodies
of the characters are 3-D, while the characters' faces are drawn in the
expressive anime style. It's a wonderful stylistic effect that works well for
Spider-Man.
While there's little to complain about with this first episode, "Sword of
Shikata" does feel a bit adult, even though much of the violence happens off
the screen. Most kids will have no problem with the level of violence; however,
the series belongs in its Friday-night timeslot.
