The Uncertainty Principle (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
Encyclopedia
"The Uncertainty Principle" is the ninth 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 originally aired on the Kids WB! programming block on The CW Network on May 10, 2008, with a TV-Y7-FV parental guidance rating.
The episode chronicles Spider-Man
on Halloween
, as he partakes in his final battle with the villain Green Goblin
and finally discovers the villain's true identity. Meanwhile, Air Force
Colonel
John Jameson
attempts to land his badly damaged space craft back on Earth
. The episode was written by Kevin Hopps and directed by Dave Bullock. Hopps researched all the available comic books he had that featured Green Goblin in order to prepare his penning of the episode's teleplay. "The Uncertainty Principle" served as a conclusion to the Green Goblin storyline for the first season.
The supposed revelation of Goblin's identity in the episode would later be disproved by the second season finale "Final Curtain," which the writers had unplanned since the series began, and were lucky enough to think of the plot twist and created the episode. "The Uncertainty Principle" is available on both the third volume DVD
set for the series, as well as the complete season box set. The episode received a generally positive critical response from television critics—reviewers singled out elements such as the Halloween motif and Mary Jane
's vampire
costume.
, Green Goblin
gases and kidnaps Hammerhead
, taking him to a steel mill
. The Goblin tries to convince him to join his spanks, but Hammerhead refuses as his loyalty lies solely with the "Big Man," Tombstone
. Later, Goblin confronts Tombstone and steals a jump drive
he is carrying, declaring that he can take it back from him later that night before he sails off on his glider. Spider-Man
spots him and they begin to juggle. Goblin reveals that he possesses the jump drive stolen from Tombstone and that he can have it later that night, before kicking him off his glider.
Spider-Man tries to catch up with him and notices him sneaking into his friend Harry
's apartment. Sneaking in, he spots Harry's father Norman coming out of a secret passageway and theorizes that Norman is the Goblin. Spider-Man is forced to slip out after Harry walks in, and misses Harry drinking an experimental, drug-like formula. A short while later, Peter Parker calls Harry and invites him to a Bleeker Street Halloween carnival along with Gwen
, Mary Jane
and Liz. Harry accepts the invitation. On his way to the carnival, Peter attempts to sell some Spider-Man photographs to Daily Bugle
editor J. Jonah Jameson
, but he refuses and tells him to try selling them to the Globe.
Goblin breaks into OsCorp when Norman is talking with investor and steals an inhibitor prototype. Peter arrives at the carnival, still dressed as Spider-Man, but everyone assumes it is just his costume and applauds him for it. Peter slips out after spotting fireworks
caused by the Goblin erupting in the sky. He follows them to steel mill, where he finds Tombstone. The two enter together, and find Goblin has Hammerhead suspended over a vat of molten metal. The Goblin reveals that the jump drive is fake. Goblin readjusts his focus on Tombstone and Spider-Man, who are forced to team up to fight the villain. While accusing Goblin of being Norman Osborn, Spider-Man fires one of the villain's pumpkin bombs and injures Goblin's leg. Goblin escapes on his injured glider and Spider-Man follows him to the Osborn apartment. An injured Goblin takes off his mask and is revealed to be Harry. Harry collapses and Norman and Spider-Man agree to arrange the Goblin's disappearance while taking Harry on an extended leave from school so he can receive special help. The next day, Peter learns that Mary Jane has transferred to his high school.
Meanwhile, while orbiting the Earth during a routine space mission with his crew, Colonel
John Jameson
and his ship are hit by a meteor shower
. John struggles to get the ship back safely on Earth but eventually succeeds in landing it at Cape Canaveral
. The next day, Jonah learns that the Globe's cover story on the Goblin's rampage—featuring Peter's photos—is outselling the Bugle's story on John's heroic space journey. An infuriated Jameson decides to meet with the public's demand by publishing a new cover story questioning if Spider-Man is a hero or a menace. Meanwhile, John is interviewed at the shuttle hangar when he spots a mysterious, vibrating black goo
on the bottom of the shuttle.
, with a parental guidance rating of TV-Y7-FV. It proceeded a repeat of the episode "Catalysts
," which marked the introduction of Green Goblin into the series. The episode's title, "The Uncertainty Principle," expands the series theme "The Education of Peter Parker" chosen by developer Greg Weisman
. Episodes in the third season one arc all shared a naming scheme based on chemistry
.
Hopps, who had previously written for animated series such as Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
, Justice League
, and Darkwing Duck
, researched for the episode by re-reading every available comic book that featured Green Goblin. Hopps notes that "you might consider him [Green Goblin] crazed, but he's truly brilliant and has thought things out far in advance. He's always several steps ahead of where you think he is. So while I'm writing Goblin, I'm always trying to keep in mind where he's going next." While penning the fight sequence between Goblin and Spider-Man, Hopps paid close attention to brawls detailed in "Catalysts" in order to better grasp "how we could make it different and really up the stakes."
The episode served as the conclusion of the Green Goblin storyline for the first season that started with "Catalysts." In the climax
, Spider-Man supposedly discovers that Harry has been the Goblin the whole time after stealing the experimental Goblin formula from OsCorp. The second season finale
, "Final Curtain," would disprove this revelation and explain that Norman was in fact the actual Green Goblin and he had pitted the blame on his son after learning he had been taking the formula secretly. The episode also revealed that the Chameleon
had been impersonating Norman so he could secretly be the Goblin without raising suspicion. The writers had planned the revelation since the series began.
"The Uncertainty Principle" became available on the DVD
The Spectacular Spider-Man, Volume 3, on March 17, 2009, alongside the episodes "Catalysts
" and "Reaction
." The volume featured episodes that detailed Green Goblin as a prominent character. "The Uncertainty Principle" also became available on the full season DVD box set entitled The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete First Season DVD Review, which featured every other episode of season one for the series.
gave the episode an 8.8. ("Great") rating. He enjoyed Mary Jane's "sexy" vampire
uniform and the large, three-way battle between Tombstone, Goblin, and Spider-Man, writing that it was "one hell of a fun fight" and "amazing." Goldman opted that the supposed reveal of Goblin's true identity could possibly be false based on the original comic book
story and noted that Jonah's hatred of Spider-Man that was formed in the episode was "perhaps the most understandable and best way it's ever been portrayed before."
Writing for DVD Talk
, reviewer Justin Felix considered setting the episode on Halloween to be "a nice touch." Tim Janson of Mania named it among the best episodes of the season, describing it as "a Halloween episode complete with a gothic setting." Ultimate Disney
reviewer Luke Bonanno did not include the episode among his top five episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man's first season, but "feel[s] obligated to point out that the uniform excellence of the lot [makes] this a challenging task."
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....
. It originally aired on the Kids WB! programming block on The CW Network on May 10, 2008, with a TV-Y7-FV parental guidance rating.
The episode chronicles 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...
on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, as he partakes in his final battle with the villain Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
and finally discovers the villain's true identity. Meanwhile, Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
John Jameson
John Jameson (comics)
John Jameson is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.-Publication history:...
attempts to land his badly damaged space craft back on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The episode was written by Kevin Hopps and directed by Dave Bullock. Hopps researched all the available comic books he had that featured Green Goblin in order to prepare his penning of the episode's teleplay. "The Uncertainty Principle" served as a conclusion to the Green Goblin storyline for the first season.
The supposed revelation of Goblin's identity in the episode would later be disproved by the second season finale "Final Curtain," which the writers had unplanned since the series began, and were lucky enough to think of the plot twist and created the episode. "The Uncertainty Principle" is available on both the third volume DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set for the series, as well as the complete season box set. The episode received a generally positive critical response from television critics—reviewers singled out elements such as the Halloween motif and Mary Jane
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
's vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
costume.
Plot summary
On the night before HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
gases and kidnaps Hammerhead
Hammerhead (comics)
Hammerhead is a fictional character, a supervillain that has appeared in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics. He is primarily an enemy of Spider-Man and a member of organized crime who exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe...
, taking him to a steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
. The Goblin tries to convince him to join his spanks, but Hammerhead refuses as his loyalty lies solely with the "Big Man," Tombstone
Tombstone (comics)
Tombstone is a supervillain in the fictional Marvel universe. The character was created by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk and first appeared in Web of Spider-Man #36 .-Fictional character biography:...
. Later, Goblin confronts Tombstone and steals a jump drive
USB flash drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
he is carrying, declaring that he can take it back from him later that night before he sails off on his glider. 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...
spots him and they begin to juggle. Goblin reveals that he possesses the jump drive stolen from Tombstone and that he can have it later that night, before kicking him off his glider.
Spider-Man tries to catch up with him and notices him sneaking into his friend Harry
Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn is a fictional character, a supporting character of Spider-Man in the . In addition to being Peter Parker's best friend, Harry was the second Green Goblin and is the son of Norman Osborn...
's apartment. Sneaking in, he spots Harry's father Norman coming out of a secret passageway and theorizes that Norman is the Goblin. Spider-Man is forced to slip out after Harry walks in, and misses Harry drinking an experimental, drug-like formula. A short while later, Peter Parker calls Harry and invites him to a Bleeker Street Halloween carnival along with 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 ....
, Mary Jane
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
and Liz. Harry accepts the invitation. On his way to the carnival, Peter attempts to sell some Spider-Man photographs to 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...
editor J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
, but he refuses and tells him to try selling them to the Globe.
Goblin breaks into OsCorp when Norman is talking with investor and steals an inhibitor prototype. Peter arrives at the carnival, still dressed as Spider-Man, but everyone assumes it is just his costume and applauds him for it. Peter slips out after spotting fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
caused by the Goblin erupting in the sky. He follows them to steel mill, where he finds Tombstone. The two enter together, and find Goblin has Hammerhead suspended over a vat of molten metal. The Goblin reveals that the jump drive is fake. Goblin readjusts his focus on Tombstone and Spider-Man, who are forced to team up to fight the villain. While accusing Goblin of being Norman Osborn, Spider-Man fires one of the villain's pumpkin bombs and injures Goblin's leg. Goblin escapes on his injured glider and Spider-Man follows him to the Osborn apartment. An injured Goblin takes off his mask and is revealed to be Harry. Harry collapses and Norman and Spider-Man agree to arrange the Goblin's disappearance while taking Harry on an extended leave from school so he can receive special help. The next day, Peter learns that Mary Jane has transferred to his high school.
Meanwhile, while orbiting the Earth during a routine space mission with his crew, Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
John Jameson
John Jameson (comics)
John Jameson is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.-Publication history:...
and his ship are hit by a meteor shower
Meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
. John struggles to get the ship back safely on Earth but eventually succeeds in landing it at Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
. The next day, Jonah learns that the Globe
Symbiote (comics)
In the Marvel Comics universe, The Symbiote is a specific parasitic species of extraterrestrial organism...
on the bottom of the shuttle.
Note
During the fight between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, when the Goblin is dragging Spider-Man by his own web-line, there's a moment that bears a resemblance to the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #39. Like the episode, in the comic the Green Goblin's identity is revealed. However, unlike the comic, in the show it's later revealed to be false.Production
"The Uncertainty Principle" was written by Kevin Hopps and directed by Dave Bullock. It originally aired on the Kids WB! block for The CW on May 10, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern/Pacific timePacific Time
Pacific Time may refer to:* Pacific Time Zone , a time zone on the west coast of the United States, Canada and Mexico* Pacific Time , a radio program produced by KQED and carried on several other NPR stations...
, with a parental guidance rating of TV-Y7-FV. It proceeded a repeat of the episode "Catalysts
Catalysts (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
"Catalysts" is the seventh 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...
," which marked the introduction of Green Goblin into the series. The episode's title, "The Uncertainty Principle," expands the series theme "The Education of Peter Parker" chosen by developer Greg Weisman
Greg 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...
. Episodes in the third season one arc all shared a naming scheme based on chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
.
Hopps, who had previously written for animated series such as Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command is an American animated science fiction/adventure/comedy series produced by Walt Disney Television. The character is from the planet Zurtron. The series originally aired on UPN and ABC from October 2000 to January 2001 as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning...
, Justice League
Justice League (TV series)
Justice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics...
, and Darkwing Duck
Darkwing Duck
DarkWing Duck is an American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991–1992 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured the eponymous anthropomorphic duck superhero whose alter ego is mild-mannered...
, researched for the episode by re-reading every available comic book that featured Green Goblin. Hopps notes that "you might consider him [Green Goblin] crazed, but he's truly brilliant and has thought things out far in advance. He's always several steps ahead of where you think he is. So while I'm writing Goblin, I'm always trying to keep in mind where he's going next." While penning the fight sequence between Goblin and Spider-Man, Hopps paid close attention to brawls detailed in "Catalysts" in order to better grasp "how we could make it different and really up the stakes."
The episode served as the conclusion of the Green Goblin storyline for the first season that started with "Catalysts." In the climax
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
, Spider-Man supposedly discovers that Harry has been the Goblin the whole time after stealing the experimental Goblin formula from OsCorp. The second season finale
Season finale
A season finale is the final episode of a season of a television program...
, "Final Curtain," would disprove this revelation and explain that Norman was in fact the actual Green Goblin and he had pitted the blame on his son after learning he had been taking the formula secretly. The episode also revealed that the Chameleon
Chameleon (comics)
The Chameleon is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko; the Chameleon is the first member of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, based on issue...
had been impersonating Norman so he could secretly be the Goblin without raising suspicion. The writers had planned the revelation since the series began.
"The Uncertainty Principle" became available on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
The Spectacular Spider-Man, Volume 3, on March 17, 2009, alongside the episodes "Catalysts
Catalysts (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
"Catalysts" is the seventh 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...
" and "Reaction
Reaction (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
"Reaction" is the eighth episode of the American 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 originally broadcast in the United States on the Kids WB! block for The CW on May 3, 2008,...
." The volume featured episodes that detailed Green Goblin as a prominent character. "The Uncertainty Principle" also became available on the full season DVD box set entitled The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete First Season DVD Review, which featured every other episode of season one for the series.
Reception
"The Uncertainty Principle" was critically applauded by critics. 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 the episode an 8.8. ("Great") rating. He enjoyed Mary Jane's "sexy" vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
uniform and the large, three-way battle between Tombstone, Goblin, and Spider-Man, writing that it was "one hell of a fun fight" and "amazing." Goldman opted that the supposed reveal of Goblin's true identity could possibly be false based on the original 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...
story and noted that Jonah's hatred of Spider-Man that was formed in the episode was "perhaps the most understandable and best way it's ever been portrayed before."
Writing for DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
, reviewer Justin Felix considered setting the episode on Halloween to be "a nice touch." Tim Janson of Mania named it among the best episodes of the season, describing it as "a Halloween episode complete with a gothic setting." Ultimate Disney
Ultimate Disney
The Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD is a website dedicated to covering Walt Disney home video releases with a focus on Disney DVD and Blu-ray. The site has been online since 2001 and acquired its own domain and online forum in 2003...
reviewer Luke Bonanno did not include the episode among his top five episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man's first season, but "feel[s] obligated to point out that the uniform excellence of the lot [makes] this a challenging task."
External links
- "The Uncertainty Principle" at Marvel.com
- "The Uncertainty Principle" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- "The Uncertainty Principle" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...