Natural Selection (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
Encyclopedia
"Natural Selection" is the third episode of the animated
television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book
character Spider-Man
, created by Stan Lee
and Steve Ditko
. In the episode, Spider-Man must face "The Lizard
," who was a lab professor he was interning for until he was mutated by a serum designed to regrow his missing arm.
"Natural Selection" was written by Matt Wayne
, known for his work on Justice League Unlimited
, and was the first time he had done so for The Spectacular Spider-Man. David Bullock directed it. "Natural Selection" originally aired on March 15, 2008
, on the Kids WB! block for The CW network, and met overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, who praise it for its action sequences, narrative direction, and the new design for Lizard.
stops a group of thieves who are breaking into a bakery
. Simultaneously, Spider-Man takes pictures to give to the Daily Bugle
. He happily leaves and makes it back home in times for his curfew, but discovers after developing his photos that he has messed them up. Meanwhile Dr. Curt Connors
injects himself with lizard serum to aid the regrowth of his arm. When he awakes, his arm has regrown, but knowing that he experimented on himself, his wife, Martha, is furious.
At school, Peter is attacked with water balloon
s by Flash Thompson
and the popular crowd, which he dodges until he realizes it might reveal his secret identity as Spider-Man. Gwen
steps in and gets everyone to laugh at Flash instead. Gwen and Peter go to the Connors lab and help Eddie
clean up from a previous battle
with Electro. Martha announces that Curt's arm had grown back and they celebrate until they realize scales are growing on his arm, determining that the reptilian half of his brain his taking over. Peter tries to comfort the Connors's son, Billy, but gets interrupted when Curt transforms into a hulking, humanoid lizard and runs off.
While Eddie goes in pursuit, Peter manages to slip out and goes after Connors as Spider-Man. While trying to communicate with him, they end up on a subway train fighting both inside, outside, and underneath it. Finally, Spider-Man falls off the train and Connors escapes. Spider-Man returns to the lab and is given a gene cleanser from Martha which must be administered to Connors orally. He then goes off to Bronx Zoo
, where Connors is reportedly at.
Spider-Man enters the lizard room where Connors has taken refuge. Connors knocks him out and Eddie arrives to help him out. When he regains consciousness, Spider-Man comes up with a plan to trick him into the Polar Bear
pond. They almost succeed when Connors is alerted by Spider-Man's cellphone ringing. Billy then arrives and tries to talk some sense into his father, but it is useless and Spider-Man leaps in to get Connors into the pond. Spider-Man pours the cleanser into the mouth of Connors who, as a result, returns to normal, his arm lost once more.
The next day, Peter gets the Lizard photos published in the Bugle and gets the money he needs. However, when Gwen, Eddie, and the Connors find out, they are outraged that he ran off simply to take pictures and say he has lost their trust. Peter is fired but secretly grabs another vial of gene cleanser; when he returns home, he contemplates taking it to get rid of his powers, but decides against it and hides it in his room.
. Wayne had previously worked on the DC Animated Universe
in the final season of Justice League Unlimited
. Wayne wrote two other episodes in the first season: "The Invisible Hand" and "Persona." David Bullock was the episode's director. Dee Bradley Baker, a voice actor for animated series and video games, continued his role as Dr. Connors/The Lizard.
The episode originally broadcast on March 15, 2008
, on the Kids WB! programming block for The CW Network. When Disney XD
premiered The Spectacular Spider-Man on March 23, 2009, it aired "Natural Selection" after the previous two episodes, "Survival of the Fittest
" and "Interactions
." It carried a TV-Y7-FV rating.
, one of The Spectacular Spider-Mans producers came up with a continuing title scheme that follows "The Education of Peter Parker." The first three episode titles ("Survival of the Fittest", "Interactions", and "Natural Selection") follow a biology
theme. Peter's ringtone is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider
." The episode incorporates several bullet time
moments that are referent to the same style employed in The Matrix films.
gave it an 8.8 out of 10 ("Great"). Goldman praised the Lizard's design, calling it "the most visually familiar villain the show had introduced yet" and called the fight sequences "great," especially that of the climactic fight between Spider-Man and Lizard. Goldman called Peter's loss of the Connors's and Eddie's trust "a very well done, classic Peter Parker-can't-win scenario" and that the episode did a "great job" blending the normal and Spider-Man parts of Peter's life.
Micheal Tanaka of Firefox News
wrote that the storytelling style was the "level of sophistication that culminated in the two year gone Justice League Unlimited". Similar to Goldman, Tanaka praised the action which he called "fast paced". Tanaka reviewed positively the other elements of the episode as well, such as the foreshadowing with Eddie and the approach done by the writers for the Lizard, and said it was "the greatest [episode] so far, with some nice payoffs to the past two and some great story progression and set up".
Season Elliot, senior editor of iF Magazine, gave the episode an A-, writing "The Lizard himself was a nice update of the original Lizard and he was still in his torn pants, shirt, and lab coat." Elliot praised the design for differentiating itself from that used for Spider-Man
or Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
, and that he "can't wait for the action figure of this guy!" Like Goldman and Tanaka, Elliot enjoyed the action style and fight sequences and the callbacks to Lizard's original comic book appearance.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, created by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
. In the episode, Spider-Man must face "The Lizard
Lizard (comics)
The Lizard is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and enemy of Spider-Man. The Lizard first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 , and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
," who was a lab professor he was interning for until he was mutated by a serum designed to regrow his missing arm.
"Natural Selection" was written by Matt Wayne
Matt Wayne
Matt S. Wayne is an American writer of comic books and television. Wayne is probably best known for his work on the animated series Justice League Unlimited and The Super Hero Squad Show, and writing and editing comic books for Milestone Media....
, known for his work on Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
, and was the first time he had done so for The Spectacular Spider-Man. David Bullock directed it. "Natural Selection" originally aired on March 15, 2008
2008 in television
The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2008. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel launches.-January:-February:-March:-April:-May:-June:-July:-August:...
, on the Kids WB! block for The CW network, and met overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, who praise it for its action sequences, narrative direction, and the new design for Lizard.
Plot summary
During his patrol, Spider-ManSpider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
stops a group of thieves who are breaking into a bakery
Bakery
A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...
. Simultaneously, Spider-Man takes pictures to give to the Daily Bugle
Daily Bugle
The Daily Bugle is a fictional New York City newspaper that is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media...
. He happily leaves and makes it back home in times for his curfew, but discovers after developing his photos that he has messed them up. Meanwhile Dr. Curt Connors
Lizard (comics)
The Lizard is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and enemy of Spider-Man. The Lizard first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 , and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
injects himself with lizard serum to aid the regrowth of his arm. When he awakes, his arm has regrown, but knowing that he experimented on himself, his wife, Martha, is furious.
Water balloon
A water balloon or water bomb is a latex rubber balloon filled with water. They are commonly used in water balloon fights and as a practical joke device.-History:...
s by Flash Thompson
Flash Thompson
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 ....
and the popular crowd, which he dodges until he realizes it might reveal his secret identity as Spider-Man. Gwen
Gwen Stacy
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 ....
steps in and gets everyone to laugh at Flash instead. Gwen and Peter go to the Connors lab and help Eddie
Eddie Brock
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
clean up from a previous battle
Interactions (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
"Interactions" is the second episode of the animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book character Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
with Electro. Martha announces that Curt's arm had grown back and they celebrate until they realize scales are growing on his arm, determining that the reptilian half of his brain his taking over. Peter tries to comfort the Connors's son, Billy, but gets interrupted when Curt transforms into a hulking, humanoid lizard and runs off.
While Eddie goes in pursuit, Peter manages to slip out and goes after Connors as Spider-Man. While trying to communicate with him, they end up on a subway train fighting both inside, outside, and underneath it. Finally, Spider-Man falls off the train and Connors escapes. Spider-Man returns to the lab and is given a gene cleanser from Martha which must be administered to Connors orally. He then goes off to Bronx Zoo
Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo is located in the Bronx borough of New York City, within Bronx Park. It is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising of park lands and naturalistic habitats, through which the Bronx River flows....
, where Connors is reportedly at.
Spider-Man enters the lizard room where Connors has taken refuge. Connors knocks him out and Eddie arrives to help him out. When he regains consciousness, Spider-Man comes up with a plan to trick him into the Polar Bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
pond. They almost succeed when Connors is alerted by Spider-Man's cellphone ringing. Billy then arrives and tries to talk some sense into his father, but it is useless and Spider-Man leaps in to get Connors into the pond. Spider-Man pours the cleanser into the mouth of Connors who, as a result, returns to normal, his arm lost once more.
The next day, Peter gets the Lizard photos published in the Bugle and gets the money he needs. However, when Gwen, Eddie, and the Connors find out, they are outraged that he ran off simply to take pictures and say he has lost their trust. Peter is fired but secretly grabs another vial of gene cleanser; when he returns home, he contemplates taking it to get rid of his powers, but decides against it and hides it in his room.
Production
"Natural Selection" was the first episode to be written by Matt WayneMatt Wayne
Matt S. Wayne is an American writer of comic books and television. Wayne is probably best known for his work on the animated series Justice League Unlimited and The Super Hero Squad Show, and writing and editing comic books for Milestone Media....
. Wayne had previously worked on the DC Animated Universe
DC animated universe
The DC Animated Universe is a fan term that refers to a series of popular animated television series and related spin-offs produced by Warner Bros. Animation which share the same continuity. Most of these series are adapted from DC Comics properties...
in the final season of Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
. Wayne wrote two other episodes in the first season: "The Invisible Hand" and "Persona." David Bullock was the episode's director. Dee Bradley Baker, a voice actor for animated series and video games, continued his role as Dr. Connors/The Lizard.
The episode originally broadcast on March 15, 2008
2008 in television
The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2008. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel launches.-January:-February:-March:-April:-May:-June:-July:-August:...
, on the Kids WB! programming block for The CW Network. When Disney XD
Disney XD
Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
premiered The Spectacular Spider-Man on March 23, 2009, it aired "Natural Selection" after the previous two episodes, "Survival of the Fittest
Survival of the Fittest (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
"Survival of the Fittest" is the pilot episode of the animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book character Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The episode was written and directed by the series developers, Greg Weisman and Victor Cook...
" and "Interactions
Interactions (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
"Interactions" is the second episode of the animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book character Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
." It carried a TV-Y7-FV rating.
Cultural references
Greg WeismanGreg Weisman
Greg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
, one of The Spectacular Spider-Mans producers came up with a continuing title scheme that follows "The Education of Peter Parker." The first three episode titles ("Survival of the Fittest", "Interactions", and "Natural Selection") follow a biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
theme. Peter's ringtone is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Itsy Bitsy Spider (song)
"Itsy Bitsy Spider" was the debut single by the Norwegian/Danish dance-pop group Aqua, under their original name of Joyspeed....
." The episode incorporates several bullet time
Bullet time
Bullet time is a special and visual effect that refers to a digitally enhanced simulation of variable-speed photography used in films, broadcast advertisements, and video games...
moments that are referent to the same style employed in The Matrix films.
Reception
Reviews for "Natural Selection" were overwhelmingly positive. Eric Goldman of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave it an 8.8 out of 10 ("Great"). Goldman praised the Lizard's design, calling it "the most visually familiar villain the show had introduced yet" and called the fight sequences "great," especially that of the climactic fight between Spider-Man and Lizard. Goldman called Peter's loss of the Connors's and Eddie's trust "a very well done, classic Peter Parker-can't-win scenario" and that the episode did a "great job" blending the normal and Spider-Man parts of Peter's life.
Micheal Tanaka of Firefox News
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
wrote that the storytelling style was the "level of sophistication that culminated in the two year gone Justice League Unlimited". Similar to Goldman, Tanaka praised the action which he called "fast paced". Tanaka reviewed positively the other elements of the episode as well, such as the foreshadowing with Eddie and the approach done by the writers for the Lizard, and said it was "the greatest [episode] so far, with some nice payoffs to the past two and some great story progression and set up".
Season Elliot, senior editor of iF Magazine, gave the episode an A-, writing "The Lizard himself was a nice update of the original Lizard and he was still in his torn pants, shirt, and lab coat." Elliot praised the design for differentiating itself from that used for Spider-Man
Spider-Man (1994 TV series)
Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated series starring the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. The show ran on Fox Kids from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998. The producer/story editor was John Semper, Jr. and production company was Marvel Films...
or Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series is an animated series featuring the Marvel comic book superhero Spider-Man, which ran for one season, 13 episodes, starting on July 11, 2003...
, and that he "can't wait for the action figure of this guy!" Like Goldman and Tanaka, Elliot enjoyed the action style and fight sequences and the callbacks to Lizard's original comic book appearance.
External links
- "Natural Selection" on Marvel.com