After Spider-Man fails to stop Venom and Carnage from hijacking Colonel John Jameson's space shuttle to mysterious planet, and is blamed for the Colonel's apparent death, he fakes his own death and travels to the planet save John and bring him home.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Dye-Job: In contrast to the source material and all other portrayals, the series portrays J. Jonah Jameson as having greying brown hair as opposed to greying black hair.
- Adaptational Villainy: The mainstream Eddie Brock as Venom would never willingly work with Carnage, let alone do some of the other things he does here. Granted it's more the Symbiote, but even then, they'd be more likely to tear each other apart.
- As You Know: The episode opens with Colonel John Jameson narrating the discovery of Counter-Earth in this manner.
- Borrowed Without Permission: Spider-Man's suit is stored in his wristwatch and consists of nanobots that cover him head-to-toe when he opens the watch. It also has sonic weapons that can harm Venom and Carnage, and can even turn invisible. In his narration, he says this suit was "discreetly borrowed from the lab of Reed Richards."
- Clear My Name: One of Spidey's reasons for going to Counter-Earth is to rescue John Jameson after it's generally believed that Spider-Man sabotaged his shuttle, with—as usual—John's dad, J. Jonah Jameson, unsurprisingly, leading the bulk of it.
- Composite Character: Spider-Man sports a similar buzzcut to Ben Reilly and the reddish-brown color and Badass Cape of Miguel O'Hara.
- Demoted to Extra: Both J. Jonah Jameson and Mary-Jane Watson only appear in this episode.
- Easily Condemned: Everyone is quick to believe that Spider-Man killed John Jameson, and he soon becomes a pariah to all of New York.
- The Ghost: Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, is mentioned in this episode, but doesn't make an appearance, as do neither any of the other Fantastic Four members.
- Help Mistaken for Attack: In the episode, Spider-Man pushes a fireman out of the way of falling debris of a burning building, and subsequently gets buried by said debris. Spidey is presumed dead in the collapse, while the fireman confesses on TV that he believes that Spidey was actually trying to attack him, and that he was saved by the falling rubble.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Taken to the extreme in this episode, after Spider-Man gets blamed for John Jameson's death. It's taken to the point when Spidey pushes a fireman out of the way of falling debris while he himself is buried, said fireman is actually convinced that Spidey was trying to attack him and that he was saved by the collapsing building!
- Mythology Gag: When Peter first suits up in his traditional costume in the premiere, the theme to Spider-Man: The Animated Series plays.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Nick Fury. While he initially shoots at Spider-Man when he tries to hijack the shuttle, he's soon persuaded to allow Spidey to do so to bring John Jameson home and clear his name, acknowledging that if anyone is capable of doing so, it's him.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: The High Evolutionary is normally a cosmic Marvel villain, coming into conflict with Thor, Adam Warlock, and Galactus, among others; he was the driving force behind the 1980s "Evolutionary War" event and also has ties to the X-Men (via Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Mr. Sinister). Here, he battles Spider-Man (who he doesn't really have any ties to, aside from Spidey's foe Jackal having been colleagues with HE when the latter was a normal human).
- Skewed Priorities: In the first episode, a group of firefighters blasts Spider-Man with fire hoses after he saves a woman from a burning building, more concerned with apprehending him and firing accusations at the hero than actually doing their jobs and putting out said burning building.
- Time Skip: After the news reports John's warning message, the story skips ahead six months.
- Ungrateful Townsfolk: After a week of Hero with Bad Publicity in New York, Spider-Man has this reaction:Spider-Man: After all the times I've risked my life for this stinking city, this is the thanks I get?!
- You Don't Look Like You:
- Carnage looks nothing like himself beyond being red and black, having a monstrous, skeletal form with exaggeratedly large, clawed hands and spikes jutting out of his joints. Unlike the rest of the villains in the show, this isn't justified by this being a different incarnation, as this is the same Carnage Peter met and fought on Earth.
- Venom isn't as bad as Carnage, but still has an exaggeratedly long neck and an exaggerated muscle-bound, hulking upper torso.
