The second of six one-hour editions of Spider-Man: Maximum Venom debuts this Sunday on Disney XD and the DisneyNOW app. And while this outing may not be what you expect coming out of last month’s installment, the show keeps bringing the fun and filling the Marvel void while we wait for comics and Marvel films to return.
The episode begins with Toddler Groot showing up with an urgent message for Peter Parker. Unfortunately, when the message gets damaged, Groot’s limited vocabulary sets Peter Parker and his amazing friends on a new adventure. While the warning is known by the audience, it is still fun to see Spider-Man on a fun adventure ahead of the scary challenges we know that are coming.
That doesn’t mean Spider-Man doesn’t face foes. A.I.M and Baron Mordo combine the power of sorcery and science to bring forth a unique threat. But this adventure allows the show to showcase that famed Parker wit and continuing to build his relationship with Miles Morales. Spider-Man also gets to make new friends such as Ironheart and Amadeus Cho. Ironheart continues to be voiced by Andi Mack’s Sofia Wylie who previously performed the role in the Marvel Rising series.
Also finally making her appearance in this iteration of Spider-Man is Mary Jane Watson. Voiced by famed fan Felicia Day, she brings a fun sensibility to the role. While her role in this episode is brief, fans of other iterations of Spider-Man will be overjoyed to know that we will have more instances of “tiger” coming in subsequent episodes.
Spider-Man: Maximum Venom continues to surprise by not taking the obvious path. If the dearth of Marvel content has any silver lining, it is gaining a greater appreciation for what this series has accomplished. Even as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns and comics return to retailers, I will continue to look forward to further releases of Spider-Man: Maximum Venom.