This season introduces a couple of new enemies for Spidey. A new force of evil is pulling all of the strings behind the scenes in New York; someone mysterious who is only known as the Master Planner (Peter MacNicol) is setting events into motion... and against Spider-Man. In Blueprint, we meet Mysterio (Xander Berkeley), a grand magician and master of the arcane arts... or is he? When dealing with Mysterio, the one thing that's certain is that nothing's as it seems. You can't believe anything you see when he's around. Luckily, Spider-Man has his Spider-sense, which is immune to such chicanery. He'll have to use his wits, in addition to his Spider-sense, however, to see through Mysterio's illusions and take him in. I enjoyed the version of Mysterio presented here; he's a bit full of himself, and craves fame and attention, being offended when Spidey doesn't recognize him from an earlier run-in. Blueprint also features an amusing cameo of Stan Lee. Stan Lee plays the part of a dock worker on a dock that Mysterio attacks. Stan Lee doesn't know what to make of Mysterio when he first sees him, suspecting that he is being "Punk'd." Too funny.
Destructive Testing introduces Sergei Kravinoff (Eric Vesbit) who becomes "Kraven the Hunter" in the same episode, when he purchases a serum that genetically alters him, heightening his strength, senses and reflexes. The Master Planner sends an agent to meet with Sergei to convince him that Spider-Man is the perfect game to hunt. Kravinoff tracks Spider-Man's scent back to the lab he worked in (as Peter Parker) and realized that he had gotten his powers from the genetically altered spider experiment. Miles Warren (Brian George), a disreputable scientist that had recently come to work at the lab, not only tricked Kravinoff into being his test subject for his genetic enhancement serum, but he actually made him pay for the privilege. In the end, both men got what they wanted; Dr. Warren got his test results, while Kravinoff became Kraven, with new abilities to help him capture Spider-Man.
In Reinforcement, Master Planner has assembled a new Sinister Six, featuring Sandman (John DiMaggio), Rhino (Clancy Brown), Vulture (Robert Englund), Electro (Crispin Freeman), and the newly introduced Mysterio and Kraven. He had attempted to procure Doc Ock as well, but the Doc didn't want to leave, so he was forced to settle for alternative arrangements. Spidey's definitely going to have his hands full this time, but to make matters worse, it's Christmas and Petey's not alone; he's with the gang from school, at the Christmas Tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. It's very public and Parker's going to have to figure out how to defeat the baddies, protect the bystanders (including his friends and love interests), keep his friends from realizing he's Spider-Man and - oh, yeah - not get killed. This fight scene is hilarious, since you have all of the typical sarcasm, witticism and banter, but all with a Christmas theme. Too funny.
The final episode in The Spectacular Spider-Man: Volume 5 is Shear Strength. In this episode, we discover the identity of the Master Planner as well as his plan: to take control of the world electronically by gaining access to video cameras around the world via the Internet and by taking control of all systems, everywhere on the world wide network, as well. He manages to access enough cameras to see pretty much anything in the world and takes Gwen Stacy (Lacey Chabert) hostage and uses her as leverage to get her father, Capt. George Stacy (Clancy Brown), to infiltrate the F.B.I. and steal some pass-codes he needs. It's up to Spider-Man to get to the bottom of things, find Gwen and rescue her and shut the Master Planner down. If he manages that, he still needs to try to find a date for New Year's Eve.
During this entire volume, our poor Peter Parker is trying to figure out what he really wants, in terms of a girlfriend. Gwen Stacy had kissed him earlier, and he liked it, but hasn't managed to work up the nerve to talk to her about it and let her know. Meanwhile, Liz Allan (Alanna Ubach) continues to intimate that she has feelings for Peter, as well. She and Flash are still "together" (sort of), but she's mainly playing the part of his nurse, due to his leg injury and has grown unhappy with him and wishes to be with Peter instead. At one point, Peter approaches Mary Jane Watson for advice on what to do, but he gets distracted, even in this brief conversation, at the possibility of a romantic relationship with Mary Jane. She merely tells him to focus and tries to help get Gwen and Peter to work things out. At the end of Shear Strength, however, we find Peter trying desperately to reach Gwen on the phone only minutes before New Year's Eve, when Liz shows up in person to reveal exactly how she feels just in time for the ball to drop.
All-in-all, Volume 5 was entertaining and pretty good. For one, you get a Christmas episode and a New Year's Eve Episode, which is seasonally appropriate, based on when The Spectacular Spider-Man: Volume 5 was released. Also, the Master Planner story arc is completely contained within Volume Five, so it has a certain continuity and a satisfying conclusion, even when taken on its own, without considering the rest of the series. Some fans of Kraven may not like the depiction they chose here, but other than that, I would highly recommend The Spectacular Spider-Man: Volume 5 for watching this Christmas season.
