Spider-Man: Maximum Venom part 3, 2020
My third episode of this lively series was the second to be storyboarded with my dream team. There were four of us, backed up by a gang of five revisionists, all under the watchful eye of our supervising director, Dan Duncan. The number of on-screen characters exploded due to an alien symbiote invasion of New York City, so this was where the long runup in pre-production served us best. By the time we got to this one, every character and set piece had been designed and were ready for action.
This wasn’t the case when I directed my Avengers Assemble episodes. Whenever I was handed a script, there was always a scramble to get everything designed in the space of a week or two. There were plenty of times when storyboard artists had to work with temp designs simply because it’s all we could prepare in the time we had.
In comparison, this series was a luxury. We could put all our creative energy into the storyboards and we turned out some of the best work I’ve ever seen. If you’re not in the habit of watching the animatics I post, I strongly recommend that you view this one. It’s not as refined as the finished episode, of course, but for my money the dynamics packed into these drawings do a much better job of capturing the raw energy of the action. Whenever I see finished animation, it always feels like that’s been toned down, and I miss it. (Plus, there are always bits and pieces that don’t make it to the final edit.)
Here is how the storyboards were assigned:
Start to 1:25: my storyboards, cleanup by Gerald Kaye
1:25 to 1:53: Shaan Khan
1:53 to 2:45: Jess Cuffe
2:45 to 3:20: Dan Duncan
3:20 to 6:48: my storyboards, cleanup by various revisionists
6:48 to 7:12: Ibraheem Jara
7:12 to 7:40: my storyboards, cleanup by Gerald Kaye
7:40 to 9:57: Shaan Khan, revisions by various
9:57 to 13:46: my storyboards, cleanup by Gerald Kaye
13:46 to 17:16: Shaan Khan
17:16 to 21:38: Jess Cuffe, revisions by me
21:38 to end: my storyboards, revisions by Dan Duncan
Vengeance of Venom
Broadcast on DisneyXD June 21, 2020
Storyboard production period: May/June 2019
Watch it on Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV, Roku Channel, and Hulu. Or right here if you scroll down.
Part 1, directed by me
Finished Animatic
Guest stars:
Iron Heart, Totally Awesome Hulk, Dr. Strange, Toddler Groot, Cloak & Dagger, Venom-vengers, Spider-team, Hobgoblin
Synopsis:
Having been “Venomized” by the Klyntar, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Captain Marvel are sent to Earth as an advanced hunting party. The possessed Avengers begin capturing the remaining superheroes on the planet, including Doctor Strange, Groot, Totally Awesome Hulk, and Cloak. Despite the growing danger pushing him to his breaking point, Spider-Man must find a way to stop the Klyntar before they clear the planet for a complete invasion.
Finished Episode
Part 2, directed by Sol Choi
Finished Episode
Synopsis:
The Klyntar invasion continues to spread through New York, as Miles, Ghost-Spider, Spider-Girl, Hobgoblin, Ironheart, Dagger, and most of the civilians have been captured. Spider-Man must persuade Marc Spector to come out of retirement as Moon Knight so they can find Max, May, and other survivors amidst the chaos. Upon capturing the Venomized Groot, Spider-Man and Max get to work on creating a more powerful synthetic symbiote that could perhaps thwart the Klyntar’s invasion and save everyone.
Next time: Spider-Man Unmasked