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Daredevil vs. Spider-Man
Framed The Man Without Fear The Ultimate Slayer Tombstone Features: Bonus Episode "And A Blind Man Shall Lead Them" From The Fantastic Four Bonus Episode "Kingpinned" From Spider-Man (1967) Episode Introductions by Stan Lee Stan Lee's Soapbox Trailers As a Daredevil and Spider-Man fan I thoroughly enjoyed the two-part Daredevil episode. It showed the origins of several characters. The first one, obviously, is Daredevil. The story is spread out over the episodes "Framed" and "The Man Without Fear." While not entirely faithful to the comics, it is still an interesting story that played out well in the episode. It also delivers the origin of The Kingpin, who longtime Spidey villain, who appeared in most episodes throughout the show. Episode three on the disc is "The Ultimate Slayer." This episode deals with the events from the previous two-parter. It involves Smythe, the Kingpin's assistant, being changed into a cyborg after he attempted to double-cross the Kingpin. While the story felt slightly rushed to me, it was still an enjoyable episode. Up next is "Tombstone," which has nothing to do with the previous three episodes but is next in the production order. The episode which shows the origin of Tombstone, is a definitely underrated episode which stays faithful to the comic series. The DVD looks great. It has very little grain and the picture presentation is up to par with the previous two releases. In addition, the audio is slightly better this time around, and Spidey's voice isn't as deep as before, which I prefer. The episodes are still shown in full screen, but that was expected. The extras are enjoyable as well. I watched the bonus Fantastic Four episode and noticed the improvement in the animation when compared to the Spider-Man series. It's a shame it was wasted on a disappointing episode with a lackluster script. Daredevil wasn't as nearly as decent a character as he was in the Spider-Man episodes. He was more like you might expect Spider-Man to be. His design was great, resembling the design from the Spider-Man episodes, but the voice was off. Speaking of which, the voice cast in the Fantastic Four cartoon is sub-par - especially the Human Torch and Sue Storm. Dr. Doom is not much better. However, fans of this show (which I'll admit I'm not) might enjoy this one. The 1966 bonus episode was a treat. It had a "Spider-Man: Year One" feel to it. In the episode, no one knows about Spider-Man's existence yet and Peter talks to his Aunt May about the death of his Uncle Ben. The episode has the Kingpin as the villain and also introduces J. Jonah Jameson to the series. Someone has to put all these on DVD soon! This is the only 1960s episode on the disc, but it gives you an incredibly hammy, brilliant preview of "next week's episode." The episode introductions from Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee were enjoyable, much like the previous DVD releases. Stan Lee's Soapbox was also a treat, but more focused on one subject than the previous discs. Though he focused mostly on Daredevil, he also talked about his meetings with Spider-Man and what they would talk about when they "met for a sandwich." Stan also talks about Daredevil's short-lived yellow costume and why it was changed, and the Kingpin becoming a Daredevil villain as well as a Spider-Man one. There are three Easter eggs on the disc in the same place as they where on the previous Spider-Man: The Animated Series discs. In one Easter egg, Stan Lee talks about his catchphrase. The menu has also been slightly tweaked from the previous DVD releases. It still has the villain theme featured in the previous two, but it then changes into "Shadow World." The effect looks really good! If you like either Spidey or Daredevil I would strongly recommend picking this DVD up. It should keep fans of Spider-Man: The Animated Series happy.
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