Recap / The Spectacular Spider-Man S2 E03 "Reinforcement"

Electro: Show yourself, you wallcrawling—
Spider-Man: Now now, watch the mouth, thewe awe chiwdwen pwesent.
Electro: What?
Spider-Man: *sigh* I buwned mah tongue, okay?

As Christmas Eve approaches, Spider-Man cases the Big Sky billiard hall, a hangout for street thugs, looking for intel on where the equipment Mysterio stole vanished to. Interrogating a bookie named Blackie Gaxton, Spider-Man learns Mysterio was fronting for a new crime lord who's been hiring everyone from two-bit thugs to construction workers. Spider-Man catches sight of a man in an eyepatch - aptly named Patch - escaping and corners him. Patch informs him that Mysterio's boss is called the "Master Planner", and Phineas Mason, watching from a hidden camera, informs the Master Planner that Spider-Man is closing in. The Master Planner instructs him to round up the "usual suspects" - Rhino, Kraven, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Mysterio, Electro, and Vulture. In Ryker's Island Penitentiary, a prisoner inspection reveals Adrian Toomes to be a hologram and Quentin Beck to be an android. As the prison is sent into lockdown, the guards discovered Sandman and Rhino have escaped as well. At the Ravencroft Asylum, Otto Octavius and Maxwell Dillon are attending a group therapy session when Kraven breaks in to free them. Electro coldly denounces Octavius, who has reverted back to his original meek, mild personality and leaves with Kraven.

At the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza, Peter and Liz flirt while Gwen watches forlornly. Flash attempts to skate with his broken leg, prompting Liz to rush to his side, and when Peter attempts to regain her attention she rebukes him. At the Master Planner's base, Mason introduces Kraven and Mysterio to the other members, and the Master Planner, appearing as a silhouette on a TV screen, announces his intent to inaugurate a new age - that of the super-villain - by killing Spider-Man. Back at the skating rink, Gwen finally confronts Peter, telling him that she's gotten tired of waiting for a response from him and that if he wants to go after Liz she won't be his "second choice". Mary Jane chides Peter for his indecision, telling him he has to make a choice and focus on what he wants. Peter's discussion with Mary Jane is interrupted by the arrival of Electro and Vulture, and - despite having burnt his tongue on hot chocolate - Peter changes into his Spider-Man costume to confront them. Taking MJ's words to heart, Spider-Man manages to pin Vulture beneath the giant Christmas tree and seal Electro in molten rubber, but is ambushed by Sandman and Rhino. Spider-Man lures them to the docks, using a fire hydrant to turn Sandman into mud and goading Rhino into jumping onto the frozen ocean- his weight shattering the ice and causing him to sink. The water saturating Sandman freezes him solid, with a little help from Spider-Man and a tree full of snow, and Spider-Man spots Shocker and Doctor Octopus on the roof of a nearby skyscraper. He attacks them, only to discover they are one of Mysterio's illusions and is ambushed by Kraven. During their fight, Spider-Man, Mysterio, and Kraven trash Macy's, with Mysterio accidentally taking out Kraven with an exploding android.

Spider-Man interrogates Beck, who refuses to reveal anything, and the police arrive to arrest him. Back at the rink, Peter arrives and is berated by Gwen, who thought he had been crushed by the tree. Peter begins to apologize to Gwen, only to be interrupted by the police discovering that the Vulture has vanished, along with Electro, Sandman, and Kraven. At the Master Planner's base, Mason informs him that the extractions are "nearly" complete, as at Ravencroft Otto is dragged away screaming by his own disembodied tentacles. At home, Peter and Aunt May unwrap a picture of Uncle Ben, and reminisce about him.

This episode provides examples of:

• 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: The Christmas tree, especially when it collapses.
• Actually a Doombot: The Quentin Beck in prison is revealed to be an android during the prison break.
• Actually Pretty Funny: After Rhino knocks Spider-Man into a car.
  Spider-Man: [dazed] Anyone get the number of that sleigh?
  Sandman: [laughs] Ain't he a clever boy?
• Amusing Injuries: Zig-zagged. Ninety-nine percent of the time in this series, injuries are portrayed seriously (with Peter sometimes being shown in pain even after fights). Here, however, his burned tongue is Played for Laughs ^note  You have to admit, it's Actually Pretty Funny
• Batman Gambit:
  • Spider-Man exploits Vulture's, Electro's, Sandman's, and Rhino's personalities and weaknesses to defeat them. The Master Planner also exploits his behaviour and flaws to lure him into an ambush.
  • Spider-Man gets Blackie to cough up information about the Master Planner by simply hanging out in the bar. A well-known superhero scares off anyone interested in placing bets or doing anything else.
• Broken Pedestal: Electro is very disappointed to see what's become of Otto.
• Christmas Episode: Takes place on Christmas Eve, making it An Ass-Kicking Christmas.
• Continuity Nod: Vulture is quite wary of Spider-Man targeting his head-armor, as ripping it off was how he had been taken out in the Six's last battle. As Spidey had not actually been conscious for that fight, he is unaware of that particular weakness, but does note Vulture's paranoia and uses it to his advantage.
• Curse Cut Short: Spider-Man dives in before Electro finishes his threat, which seemed to be going somewhere profane.
• Dramatic Irony: Sandman points out how the Sinister Six failed last time in a six on one fight. Unlike the viewers, they are unaware the Webhead never truly stopped him, and only succeeded thanks to an alien symbiote.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Cletus Kasady appears during the group therapy session at Ravencroft, setting up his transformation into Carnage ^note  Which, sadly, we never got to see
• Eating the Eye Candy: Peter starts gawking at MJ when she starts talking to him, but she (literally) snaps him out of it.
• Heel–Face Turn: Otto Octavius has reverted back to his original personality.
• Heroes Gone Fishing: In between his interrogation of Blackie and his fight with the Six, Peter was at the ice skating rink with the rest of Midtown's students, simply having fun on Christmas Eve. Of course, then Electro shows up...
• Manipulative Bastard: It's shown here (via an Aside Glance) that Flash is playing up his busted knee to get sympathy from Liz and possibly get her to leave Peter. Peter outright says in the next episode that Flash is milking his injury to get sympathy.
• Mission Control: The Tinkerer is described as the villains' technical support.
• Never Recycle Your Schemes: Lampshaded when Sandman asks how a reshuffled team will do any better than the last version. The Master Planner simply changes the strategy: instead of all six attacking at once, they wear Spider-Man down with teams of two.
• New Era Speech:
  Master Planner: A new Sinister Six will suffice.
  Vulture: Suffice for what, exactly?
  Master Planner: To help me inaugurate the age of the super criminal. This is your time, my colorful friends, once you dispose of a certain red-and-blue-clad pest.
• No Indoor Voice: "ARACHNID!"
• Run the Gauntlet: Rather than face six villains at once, Spider-Man faces teams of two. When he bests one pair, another immediately appears before he has the chance to rest up.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: The guard who figures out that the Beck in the prison cell is an android.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Blackie Gaxton smugly responds to Spidey's request for information by asking what exactly the hero is going to do if he doesn't talk. Before Spidey can answer, a guy runs in ready to put down money for a bet, sees Spider-Man there, and immediately remembers he's left the stove on.
  Spider-Man: I dunno, maybe just, hang around...
  Blackie: (sour) Okay, okay...
• Shout-Out:
  • Kraven does a variation of Henry Morton Stanley's greeting towards David Livingstone: "Doctor Octopus, I presume?"
  • "Oh, fudge."
  • "Spider-Man, come out to plaaaayyyy!"
• Sinister Surveillance: The Tinkerer has set up cameras all over New York.
• Speech Impediment: Spidah-Mah burth hith tongue an hath to talk like dith until ith health.^Translation Spider-Man burns his tongue and has to talk like this until it heals.
• Toilet Humor: Sandman isn't too keen on Kraven, as he's "had bad experiences with cats."
• Villainous Friendship: While they're fighting Spider-Man, Sandman comments to Rhino that it's "just like old times". The two notably get along better than most of the other villain duos in the episode.
• Villain Team-Up: The Sinister Six regroup, with a few reshufflings of the roster.
• Xanatos Gambit: The Master Planner sent the new Six out explicitly to kill Spider-Man. They fail, but the Master Planner still benefits from Spidey being distracted after getting too close to interfering with his ultimate plan.
• You Fool!: After Vulture gets webbed up, Electro sets out to blast him free.
  Vulture: No, you fool! I'll be free in a moment! [gets zapped]