| "Secret Wars" | |||
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| Spider-Man (1994 TV series) episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 61-63 |
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| Written by | Part One: John Semper Karen Milovich Part Two: Virginia Roth Part Three: John Semper Mark Hoffmeier Ernie Altbacker |
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| Production code | 412-414 | ||
| Original air date | Part One: November 7, 1997 Part Two: November 14, 1997 Part Three: November 21, 1997 |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of Spider-Man episodes | |||
Secret Wars is the last three-part episode of the 1994 Spider-Man animated television series, right before the two-part series finale. It is based on the Secret Wars miniseries published by Marvel Comics in 1984 and 1985. This three parter consisted of episodes Arrival, written by John Semper and Karen Milovich, The Gauntlet of the Red Skull, written by Virginia Roth, and Doom, written by John Semper, Mark Hoffmeier, and Ernie Altbacker.
Contents |
The episode begins with Spider-Man floating around in limbo and Madame Web orders Spider-Man to look into her eyes as she takes off her glasses. Spider-Man is then paralyzed into standing straight. Spider-Man is then floated somewhere. Two yellow eyes from the sky look down at Spider-Man and a voice says he will accept him and Spider-Man will be put to the test. The eyes then transform into the Beyonder. Spider-Man is introduced to an alien planet where there is good but no concept of evil. The Beyonder then announces that he will introduce evil to the planet. The Beyonder then chooses Doctor Octopus, Doctor Doom, Alistair Smythe, the Lizard, and the Red Skull, teleporting them all to the planet. The Beyonder makes a year pass on the alien world. The Beyonder shows the destruction that the villains caused and the villains have made their own countries.
The Beyonder introduces Spider-Man to a machine that will let him get a fixed number of superheroes to fight alongside with him against evil. Spider-Man selects the Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and Thing), Iron Man, Captain America, and Storm. Spider-Man uses the machine to bring all the heroes at once. They all get up and wonder where they are, with the Human Torch and the Thing attacking Spider-Man due to a misunderstanding as the other heroes try to stop them. Just as they stop, The Lizard breaks in and attacks Spider-Man. All of the heroes try to stop him but initially fail. Iron Man fires out a laser to the Lizard which knocks him unconscious. The wall-crawler walks and bends down to the Lizard and tells the other heroes that it isn't the Lizard's fault. With the Lizard subdued, Spider-Man attempts to explain the situation.
Unfortunately, the Lizard recovers and runs outside where he is knocked out by the alien sand worms. The heroes fight the sand worms while Invisible Woman protects the base with her forcefield until Storm recharges the defenses enabling the heroes to fall back. The base was once used by the inhabitants of the world, who captured the Lizard but were killed by the sand worms when the power for the force-field ran out.
Later, the heroes place the Lizard's body right on a table. Mister Fantastic states he'll try to unlock Spider-Man's friend's consciousness. He succeeds and Dr. Curt Connors awakens in the Lizard. He then sits up and asks Spider-Man what's going on. After Spider-Man just finishes telling the Lizard the story about how they got to the alien planet, the Lizard then agrees to fight with Spider-Man.
Meanwhile, Madame Web and the Beyonder watch back on the moon-like place through a window on how Spider-Man got the heroes to fight with him. Web tells him that already he has led the heroes into battle. The Beyonder calls it a most promising start, but they will have to see how this all ends up....
Spider-Man, the Lizard and Iron Man then end up using a machine and teleports the Black Cat (who was with Blade and Morbius, the Living Vampire fighting Blade's mother Mirium) on the planet. Spider-Man tells her that she had been transported to an alien planet. Spider-Man explains the situation to the Black Cat while Storm calls from a computer, telling Spider-Man that she is with alien rebels led by General Torg who want to go against Red Skull's base. The heroes (minus the Fantastic Four who are launching their own offensive against Doctor Doom) then prepare to go to Red Skull's fortress.
Meanwhile, at the Red Skull's fortress Doctor Octopus has taken refuge because Doctor Doom has taken over his kingdom of Octavia. Red Skull promises Doctor Octopus he will have his kingdom back once the doctor enhances the Cyber Skull that Alistair Smythe has built. Doctor Octopus agrees and immediately begins, though implys to Smythe he is planning to take over from Red Skull.
As all the heroes going to the Red Skull's fortress are flying in a hovercraft to travel across the desert, a sandstorm immediately puts a lot of pressure to the craft and it crashes. All the heroes exit the craft and begin walking. Captain America asks Black Cat how she came to be the Black Cat. Black Cat explains her father John Hardesky was hired by the Red Skull into thinking he was working for the Allies and spying on the Nazis. Unfortunately, he made a formula (which he memorized) that created Cap and after the destruction of the lab where Cap was created, Hardesky went back to the Skull but realized he was fooled. He then ran off, never telling him anything. Years later, a crime lord known as the Kingpin captured him and forced him to reveal the same formula by kidnapping his daughter Felicia Hardy. Hardesky gave the crime lord the information he knew and to test if he was telling the truth, the formula was tested on Felicia and she was instantly turned into the Black Cat.
Later, Iron Man collapses and he states his power source has been destroyed. The Lizard tells the heroes he can fix Iron Man's power source. Spider-Man asks how much time he needs. The Lizard states he needs an hour and quickly begins working and a short time later. Storm contacts Spider-Man through a walkie-talkie telling him that the rebels are getting impatient, and attack and they fight against the newly created Cyber Skulls. Spider-Man asks Iron Man if he can fly up to the top. The Lizard tells him he can't because he only gave him enough power to climb the mountain and fight. They all just climb to the top with no complaints.
Soon, the heroes all arrive and Spider-Man orders the villains to surrender. A short fight breaks out in which the villains escape, except for Smythe. The Black Cat watches as the Skull runs off and runs off after him. Smythe says that though it is strange, he agrees with Spider-Man's idea of defeating the Cyber Skulls. Alistair Smythe just wants to get back to his father and uses the self-destruct code, but the entry is denied. Spider-Man wonders if he can crack that code. Storm then buys the wall-crawler some time by having a sandstorm cover the robots. Spider-Man continues and gets the right password, making the Cyber Skulls blow up and the rebels cheer in victory.
Meanwhile, as the Red Skull still runs, the Black Cat drops in front of him and says that what she will do to him is for her father John Hardesky and all the others he deceived. Before she can do anything, Doctor Octopus appears behind the Cat and one of his tentacles grabs her, preventing her from killing the Red Skull. Captain America shows up and Doctor Octopus tries to shoot Captain America. Spider-Man shows up, and a short fight pursues, where the wall-crawler and Cap successfully save the Cat but the Skull and Dr. Octopus escape.
Back on Earth, Blade watches Mirium's castle from a ledge and Morbius arrives to tell him that Mirium and her vampires are gone. Blade tells Morbius he thinks that the Black Cat is in a dire situation. Morbius says that may not be the case, as he senses that she is in good hands and those hands will bring her back to them safe and sound no matter what... To Be Continued...
The last episode of this saga begins with Spider-Man and the Lizard going to Doctor Doom's kingdom. The Fantastic Four had given them the coordinates to where they should meet them. Suddenly, a few giant cockroach-like robots arrive out of the sand and Spider-Man and the Lizard battle and defeat them. Later they find that Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Human Torch lying on their backs and the hovercraft destroyed. Mister Fantastic explains as they were flying in low to avoid detection, Doctor Doom's cockroach-like robots had crashed their hovercraft. When they got out to fight, the Thing was grabbed by a metallic cord and the robots flew off with him.
As the heroes get to the walls of New Latveria, the doors suddenly open and the heroes enter. The heroes see that New Latveria is a peaceful country where the aliens of the planet are enjoying themselves. As they enter Doom's castle, Ben Grimm comes out of the shadows in his human form. Ben explains that Doom has a power separator. He then tells them that he can change back and forth between the Thing and Ben Grimm and he thanks Doom for all this. Doctor Doom then appears from a balcony above the heroes, telling them he wants nothing back from Ben, other than for him to be happy. That's what he wants for all of his people in New Latveria, as he explains. Mister Fantastic protests, stating that he desires nothing more than the aliens' praise and servitude - he is indeed a tyrant and tries to attack Doctor Doom, but robots try to restrain him and the heroes and robots shortly fight each other with the robots winning, restraining them. The Thing tells the heroes that they don't understand as he owes Doctor Doom too much. Doctor Doom, who is standing back on the balcony, tells the heroes they are all under arrest and they will be bombarded to trial. The charge is treason against New Latveria and if found guilty in trial, they will all die.
Doctor Doom, back in his castle, asks Ben why everyone was brought here. Ben says he will explain but in return he has to promise to let his friends go. Doctor Doom says he'll keep his word. Ben then tells him that Spider-Man says that a mystical figure called the Beyonder used some sort of machine to bring them here the Beyonder wanted to see who's better, Good or Evil. When Doctor Doom was brought to the planet with the other villains across the galaxy, he was traced by coordinates from a lab, he demands that Ben would take him to the place where they were brought. They arrive at the base as Doctor Doom's giant robot deals with the alien sand worms. When they enter the lab, Ben tells them the machine in front of them is how they were brought here, as Spider-Man told them. Doctor Doom then gets into the machine and is transported off.
Meanwhile in a moon-like place where Beyonder is, Doctor Doom appears and uses his elemental splitter to have the Beyonder come in towards him, the Beyonder instead actually goes into him. Doctor Doom transports himself back into his throne room along with Ben. Doctor Doom explains that he has taken over the powers of the Beyonder. Doctor Doom then frees the heroes and sends all the villains back to Earth and says all the heroes are his guests. The Lizard loses control and runs towards Doctor Doom to attack him. Spider-Man tells him to stop but is too late as Doctor Doom has a running portal go towards the heroes and the portal instantly has every hero disappear. Doctor Doom states that he promised Ben he won't harm them and he kept his word. Spider-Man realizes they're over fifty miles away from New Latveria.
Back in New Latveria, as Ben wonders through his castle, gremlin-like creatures appear and thrust towards him, and he changes into the Thing to fight them. Meanwhile, the gremlins seem to be coming out of Doctor Doom as he sleeps. Spider-Man arrives to find the Thing fighting off against the gremlins. The Thing asks the Spider-Man where these creatures are coming from. Spider-Man realizes that they are coming from Doctor Doom while he sleeps. He kicks Doctor Doom off his throne and wakes him up, thus stopping the gremlin-making process. Spider-Man shows him the gremlins that he created while he slept, thus giving Doom the point on why he can't control the Beyonder's powers. Spider-Man tells him the gremlins are from his troubled, unhappy mind. The Thing tells Doctor Doom (as Thing fights off the gremlins) that Spider-Man is right and the Beyonder's powers are going to kill him from inside. Doctor Doom calls the Thing a simpleton and tells him this is what he wanted all his life...absolute control. When Spider-Man came in to attack Doctor Doom, he uses his powers to grab Spider-Man and have him go against a wall. The Thing charges in to stop Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom attacks the Thing with his powers and throws him back behind him next to his throne. All the heroes arrive and Doctor Doom uses his powers to hold down the heroes. Doctor Doom states that this planet isn't big enough for all of them as he prepares to kill the heroes. But the Thing sees the elemental splitter and fires the splitter towards Doctor Doom and it separates him from the Beyonder, knocking Doctor Doom unconscious and the Beyonder states that it is over, having all of them disappear before a blink of an eye.
The heroes then find themselves floating around in space. The Beyonder appears and says that the heroes have won and all of them will go back to Earth with no memory of any of these events, as they were prior to their summoning, to the distress of the Thing, as this meant he would no longer be able to change into his rocky form at will. The Beyonder then transports the heroes and then Doom, back to Earth. Spider-Man is the only hero left with the Beyonder and asks why are they playing this game. The Beyonder answers that he needed to make sure that Spider-Man is worthy to be the leader of the real task at hand, as they both disappear.
Various of the characters' dialogue in the saga includes references to aspects in other medias:
This episode is based on the 1984 Secret Wars comic book miniseries. One completely written chapter of "Secret Wars" involved the X-Men, but transporting the X-Men cast to L.A. (Where production for the Spider-Man animated series was based) from Canada (Where the X-Men animated series was based) was too costly in the previous episodes the X-Men appeared in, so the episode was dropped and only Storm was used for the rest of the chapters of Secret Wars.[1][2] Hulk and She-Hulk weren't used in these episodes because the Hulk show was on UPN.[1][2] Furthermore, Quinton Flynn was the only voice actor to reprise his role from the Fantastic Four animated series.[2]
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