Episode #3 - The Spider Slayer
Original Airdate 04th February 1995

Indebted to crime boss The Kingpin, multi-millionaire Norman Osborn commissions cybernetics engineer Spencer Smythe to create the powerful robot Spider-Slayer to destroy Spider-Man. When Parker's college rival Flash Thompson and J. Jonah are kidnapped, Spider-Man must save them while avoiding Daily Bugle reporter Eddie Brock's planned televised revelation of the web-slinger's secret identity.

Credits
Story By: John Semper
Written By: Stan Berkowitz
Music Composed By: Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahchi
Animation Services By: Toyko Movie Shinsha (TMS)
Guest Starring: Christopher Daniel Barnes as Spider-Man/ Peter Parker, Ed Asner as J. Jonah Jameson, Linda Gary as Aunt May, Rodney Saulsberry as Robbie Robertson, Jennifer Hale as Felicia Hardy, Hank Azaria as Eddie Brock, Roscoe Lee Brown as The Kingpin, Maxwell Caulfield as Spencer Smythe, Edward Mulhare as Alyster Smythe, Patrick Labyorteaux as Flash Thompson and Neil Ross as Norman Osborne

Review: Wne of the most noticeable things about this show was the strong sense of continuity that was displayed from the very first episode right though it's 65 episode run. Here we are introduced to several of the people who would become key players in the series, like Norman Osborn, Alister Symthe and of course, The Kingpin.

Whilst Symthe and Osborn don't become villains until later on in the series, The Kingpin is introduced as the main villain of the show, as a man behind the strings, manipulating whoever he can in order to become the biggest crime-lord in the world. Here, he is shown starting with Norman, again adding on pressure which comes into play when he becomes The Green Goblin, and when that fails, with young Alister, whom he tricks into believing his father was killed as a result of Spider-Mans actions as another attempt to kill Spider-Man.

This episode also fleshed out a lot of the characters who had been previously introduced, in the form of a party hosted by Jameson and one of Peter's romantic interests at the time, Felicia Hardy, who went onto become the Black Cat, yet more continuity.

The animation shines, as does the humour. Berkowitz always did manage to get nail some of Spidey's classic one-liners in this show. I always find this episode to be one of the funniest the show ever did. The best part being being the

PETER:"Well, what would you like to me to say?"
FLASH *SPOTS SPIDER SLAYER*: "Ahhhh!"
PETER: "OK. Ahhh! No!"

The fights were also especially interesting throughout the episode. This show had an ungodly amount of robots in it, but the original Spider-Slayers were clearly the best to look at.

A fine episode, which was topped by it's conclusion.

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