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Review and Media by Stu
Episode #12 - Mind Games, Part 1 Directed By: Alan Caldwell, Vincent Edwards, Audu Paden Music By: John Digweed, Nick Muir and William Anderson Animation By: Mainframe Guest Starring:Kathy Griffin as Roxanne Gaines, Jeremy Piven as Roland, James Marsters as Sergei, Virginia Madsen as Silver Sable, Michael Dorn as Kraven the Hunter, Angelle Brooks as Indy. Review: Mind Games is the first 2-part story from our new Spider-Man cartoon, and certainly a memorable one, and these episodes are clearly in a league above that of those that came before them. I usually find a lot of 2 part stories are either needlessly extending a story that could’ve been told in a single episode or are cramming far too much of a story into an hour, but Mind Games managed to stray from that bunch, as each episode needs the other in order to work to their full effect, but they are very different enough from each other. For example, this episode is perfectly enjoyable, and isn’t simply building up to the climax.Dream episodes are tricky to pull off, but make for some fantastic episodes when done correctly. Some dream episodes feel like a cop out when the end credits roll, but this one had a great story behind, and actual real life consequences. Still, MJ was still a shocker! I knew it was a dream sequence, but I still wasn’t expecting them to actually kill her! Whilst this episode still isn’t as good as it’s conclusion, it’s obvious that steps were being made to correct the problems of the rest of the season. By having Silver Sable, Pterodax and introducing Kraven into the show, they managed to get rid of the 'freak of the week' feeling that has been plaguing the show, they didn't need to have the villains connected to Peter/Mary Jane/Harry the villains turned up to make life miserable for everyone else, and to kill Spider-Man. The new villains, the twins, where given good motivation for their plan, it worked well into the theme of the episode, and they were damn creepy. We get all the good stuff this show is known for, it’s incredible fight scenes, it’s snappy dialogue, plus we got some great development for Peter especially. Plus, we got some fanboy nods! Fanboy nods! On MTV! Peter unmasking was a great little scene. I liked how it wasn’t a big epic unveil, but a small, ‘let it all go’ moment. The fact that MJ dies mere minutes after she finds out is a great way of showing just why Peter keeps his identity a secret. Plus, this episode's conclusion is a perfect set up for the next episodes opening. Screenshots: 
 
 
 
 
 
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