Our favourite web-slinger continues his winning streak with the 5000 release series...

The nostalgia continues this month with yet another release in the Spider-Man 5000 series. This time it’s volume three and, much like last month’s volume two, there’s lots on offer for all you Spidey fans out there.

This instalment sees Peter Parker continue to suffer the wrath of boss and uber-aggressor J. Jonah Jameson, the ongoing failure of his romance with Betty Brant, the blissful ignorance of his Aunt May, and all the while trying to fend off a hostile public and a host of Marvel supervillainy.

Speaking of supervillains, this release has more than its fair share and sees Spidey do battle with old enemy Dr. Doom in not one, but two episodes. Continuing the story arc established in previous volumes, the Lord of Latveria is back for more and continues to prove a worthy adversary for our favourite wall-crawler.

Doom’s appearance this time sees him wield his evil ways with a new laser cannon, unleashing a new earthquake fault line in the heart of New York city; while his second turn sees him threaten the world at large after a Latverian freedom fighter turns on his master and stirs up some bad press. Marvel fans are in for a treat with this latter episode too, as it provides an origin story for Doom and how he came to be – he used to be a good guy, don’t you know?

Doom is not the only villain here, though. Far from it. Also here are lesser-known villains Professor Gizmo, Kraven the Hunter, and the Gadgeteer. The latter provides some light comedy as he takes it upon himself to shrink our hero down to a mere two inches in height, allowing for a mini adventure all of its own.

While these villains are entertaining enough, Spidey fans will no doubt want to see some of his better-known enemies take to the screen. Enter The Red Skull, popping up here to capture his nemesis, Captain America. Cap does OK on his own as he fends of the Nazi monster of yesteryear, until, that is, Spidey swings into action and scuppers it for the all-American hero. Determined to make amends, but fearing the retaliation of an angry public, Spidey has no choice but to pose as Captain America himself in order to save him. It has to be said that this is one of the better episodes on the disc, allowing for some much-needed expansion of the Marvel universe in Spidey’s world.

Not that the remaining episodes aren’t fantastic in their own right. Each episode here is a classic and each serves as a faithful reminder of how good the cartoons of old really were. Like volumes one and two, volume three continues with the wonderful retro animation, taking its lead from the classic artwork of John Romita Sr. and the comic strips of old. Purists will complain that, in a few instances, the quality of the footage is not up to scratch, appearing lined and discoloured due to years of neglect. These are so few and far between, though, that the average viewer will barely notice them, with interruption kept to a minimum.

It’s worth mentioning, too, the lack of extras on this disc. The same has been true for previous volumes and will no doubt prove a sticking point with buyers of future releases. It would certainly do no harm to include the odd documentary or special feature, but nothing of the sort so far.

Minor criticisms such as this, though, do nothing to damage what has, so far, proven to be a successful run of releases for retro Marvel classics. With only one more volume to go, it’s fair to say that Spider-Man 5000 will hit a home run, providing Marvel and animation fans with even more hours of worthwhile entertainment. A must for old fans as well as new, volume three proves another fantastic outing for everyone’s friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. Go get it.

TITLE: Spider-Man 5000 – Volume 3 (SINGLE DISC)
PRICE: £14.99
RUNNING TIME: 2 hours 12 mins
CERTIFICATE: U
RELEASE DATE:  2nd August 2010

Spider-Man 5000, Volume 3 is released on Monday August 2nd

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS ARTICLE, PLEASE HELP SUPPORT OUR SITE, AT NO COST WITH ONE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK 'LIKE' BUTTON BELOW: