When I was informed earlier today that Carnage would be making his debut next week on Ultimate Spider-Man, I realized that I never actually watched an episode. So I decided to sit down and watch the four Venom-centric episodes of season one.
The Story: Episode 4: Venom - Doc Ock uses Spidey's DNA to create the Venom symbiote. Spidey fights it as it jumps from host to host. Episdoe 8: Back in Black - Harry Osborn bonds with the symbiote and becomes the new Black Suit Spider-Man. Episode 11: Venomous - Venom attacks Spider-Man and his friends. Episode 26: Rise of the Goblin - Venom joins the Green Goblin and attacks Spider-Man
The Good: Animation - The fight scenes were simply amazing for a kids animated show. The flowing of the symbiote as it attacks was spot on. I thoroughly enjoyed the action in episode 11 when it was Venom versus Spidey and his friends. Black Suit Spidey - It was an interesting take on the Black Suit Spider-Man. Having Spider-Man actually fight this evil incarnation of himself was a pleasant surprise.
The Bad: Symbiote Origin - I am not taking about Venom's origin (I actually didn't mind Harry and the symbiote bonding to create Venom), I'm talking about Doc Ock creating the symbiote from a strand of Spider-Man's blood. I understand that they only have 22 minutes to do an origin story, I would of just preferred this origin to mimic the Ultimate comics more. Brock - Zero mention of Eddie Brock was the biggest disappointment for me. Like I said, I didn't mind Harry becoming Venom; it is a different universe and I enjoy changing the story up a bit. However, Eddie Brock is synonymous with Venom's origin. To not have him in the story at all is a disgrace.
The Overall: 3.5 outta 5. After reading all of the hatred towards this cartoon, I might lose some credibility with that score, but I actually enjoyed these episodes. I grew up with the 1994 Spider-Man the Animated Series and nothing will ever top that in my book. Sure this is obviously a kids show (it reminds you of that every 2 minutes), but when it is free to show some action I was glued to the TV. I look forward to more symbiote craziness in season two.