Spidey, Cat & The Chameleon

"Persona," the tenth episode of Spectacular Spider-Man aired today. In this episode we get introduced to a number of characters and Spidey gets decked out in a new suit!

This isn't my favorite episode but it is a good one and there is a lot to like about it. More of Eddie Brock's anger at Peter is expanded on. Eddie thinks Spider-Man is now a criminal for stealing the alien specimen. In reality the alien had escaped and because Peter had taken pictures of all the commotion, Eddie thinks Peter cared more about getting a scoop than calling the police. Once again, in reality, Peter as Spidey was trying to prevent the theft. When Gwen tries to defend Peter, Eddie says he is "done." Looks like Eddie may have just closed the door on their friendship. That was a nice way of killing two birds with one stone and it will be interesting to see just how Eddie develops from here.
The guy giving the web-head the most trouble in this episode was none other than the Chameleon, setting him up to take the fall for his crimes. This guy has always been one of my favorite villains and he's strictly old-school here. No morphing belt to change his appearance. The Chameleon uses masks and costumes to impersonate people and he gets extra help from Quentin Beck and Phineas Mason, both better known as Mysterio and the Tinkerer (though they've yet to assume those identities.) Steven Blum voices Chameleon and unlike Spider-Man: The Animated Series, he actually talks even when isn't impersonating someone. Chameleon's regular voice is calm, yet threatening, just the way I'd imagine he'd sound.

Spidey exchanges his red & blue costume for a sleek new black one. Now anyone that's read the comics or has seen this episode knows that Spidey's new costume is in fact an alien that has a mind and goal of its own. The aliean costume enhances Spider-Man's spider powers and can mimic any article of clothing. The suit also seems to be subtly changing Peter. Instead of amping up his aggression from the get go, the suit itself worked as a evil conscience to change Peter's mind about telling Captain Stacy about the alien's whereabouts. Very nice touch.

Speaking of Captain Stacy, it was great to see him again. True to his character, he refused to believe Spider-Man had gone bad when nearly everyone else did. Like a real detective, when he got a look at the "Spider-Man" robbing rich folks on the cruise ship, he noticed that he was "too tall." When the bad guys were apprehended, Captain Stacy told Spidey he knew he wasn't a crook, but told him that as long a he wears a mask, people will always wonder about him. Thus, the Spidey/Captain Stacy friendship is formed.

By far, my favorite parts of this episode was the interaction and banter between Spider-Man and the Black Cat. The feline is clearly quite taken with our young hero. She even helped Spidey clear his name by showing him where Chameleon would strike next. When Spidey asked why she helped him out, she lifts up his mask and plants a nice, long kiss on his lips. Words cannot express how much of an amazing job Tricia Helfer does voicing the Black Cat. She sounds, sexy, sultry, every word in the English dictionary you can use to sum up how hot she sounds, she is it. Black Cat was spouting off so much suggestive dialog and innuendo, I thought the FCC was gonna break down my door and take my TV away. "My kitty sense is purring." How the heck did they get away with that? Nice job, guys.