I grew up watching this series when it was airing in the early 1980's. Now, watching it 20 years later, one wonders what some of the artists were doing when they created some of the backgrounds for it - namely the purple-yellow-red colored skies that Spidey often swung across. Understandable in some episodes, but they appeared in most of them. Some of the villains, such as the Green Goblin, Rhino, & Doc Oc came from the comics, but it was some of the more unconventional villains I was especially impressed with - ones such as the Radiation Specialist, the Skymaster, and Pardo (the weird thief with the giant cat).
No doubt my favorite was the psychopathic radiation specialist - a very human villain, unlike some of the others. He could have been a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, who was fired for his grandiose ideas. This maniac appeared in 2 episodes: 'Swing City', where he is referred to as the 'Master Technician', and 'Specialists & Slaves'. The latter was more chilling as this creep revealed his grandiose plans to make Manhattan his 'kingdom' after being thwarted by Spidey earlier. He sends a wave of low-dose radiation across Manhattan, brainwashing everyone, including the police - traditionally Spidey's friends - into unquestioning loyalty. Again, he lifts Manhattan into the sky, and Spidey, undeterred by his threats, comes after him. But the specialist triggers a number of earthquakes to send Spidey falling into the streets, where he is soon captured. Only Captain Stacey, whose strong mind has immunized him against the specialist's radiation, comes to Spidey's help. Playing both sides of the fence to avoid detection, he manages to help Spidey escape the prison hospital. Spidey heads to the reactor for a showdown with the specialist, who discovers that Spidey has escaped and lets him into the reactor for the confrontation. The specialist tries to turn Spidey into a slave with high-dose radiation, but by force of will, Spidey resists the radiation & kicks the specialist in the face. The specialist, enraged at his failure, fires a ray at Spidey, which misses Spidey & hits the controls sustaining the anti-gravity ray. Manhattan starts to fall and Spidey overpowers the specialist, trapping the madman with his webs. Spidey lowers the island safely & shuts off the reactor, stopping the brainwashing radiation.
This had to be one of my favorite episodes. The specialist shows some of the traits we see so often in criminals today - especially an over-exaggerated sense of self-importance.
The series has some cheesy moments, but what series made in that time didn't have them? And the 'cheesy' factor makes it that much more fun to watch now, almost 40 years after it was made.
No doubt my favorite was the psychopathic radiation specialist - a very human villain, unlike some of the others. He could have been a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, who was fired for his grandiose ideas. This maniac appeared in 2 episodes: 'Swing City', where he is referred to as the 'Master Technician', and 'Specialists & Slaves'. The latter was more chilling as this creep revealed his grandiose plans to make Manhattan his 'kingdom' after being thwarted by Spidey earlier. He sends a wave of low-dose radiation across Manhattan, brainwashing everyone, including the police - traditionally Spidey's friends - into unquestioning loyalty. Again, he lifts Manhattan into the sky, and Spidey, undeterred by his threats, comes after him. But the specialist triggers a number of earthquakes to send Spidey falling into the streets, where he is soon captured. Only Captain Stacey, whose strong mind has immunized him against the specialist's radiation, comes to Spidey's help. Playing both sides of the fence to avoid detection, he manages to help Spidey escape the prison hospital. Spidey heads to the reactor for a showdown with the specialist, who discovers that Spidey has escaped and lets him into the reactor for the confrontation. The specialist tries to turn Spidey into a slave with high-dose radiation, but by force of will, Spidey resists the radiation & kicks the specialist in the face. The specialist, enraged at his failure, fires a ray at Spidey, which misses Spidey & hits the controls sustaining the anti-gravity ray. Manhattan starts to fall and Spidey overpowers the specialist, trapping the madman with his webs. Spidey lowers the island safely & shuts off the reactor, stopping the brainwashing radiation.
This had to be one of my favorite episodes. The specialist shows some of the traits we see so often in criminals today - especially an over-exaggerated sense of self-importance.
The series has some cheesy moments, but what series made in that time didn't have them? And the 'cheesy' factor makes it that much more fun to watch now, almost 40 years after it was made.