Ultimate Spider-Man has become a rather controversial part of Disney XD’s Marvel Universe line-up. I’ve heard from a few different Marvel fans that they’re put off by the occasionally chibi art style and breaking the 4th wall writing. I also know  fans of The Spectacular Spider-Man were disappointed their show wasn’t continued. But for what it’s worth, I enjoyed the hell out of Ultimate. I like the 4th wall narrative stuff, I like the jokes and I like that he’s a part of a team instead of just working on his own. On top of that, I like how they’ve connected him to S.H.I.E.L.D., which gives him plenty of opportunities to work alongside the Avengers. But on top of that, I like that the show is never afraid to go silly … and hence we have “Run Pig, Run.”

Loki takes revenge on Peter for their last encounter by tricking him into eating a cursed hotdog that turns him into a pig (because he is what he eats, you see). Longtime Marvel fans know that Spider-Ham is indeed the Spider hero of Earth-8311 — the anthropomorphic Earth — and was actually briefly referenced in the Iron Spider episode of Ultimate earlier in the season. It’s not really a surprise that this is the revenge Loki had in mind for Peter. I mean, the trickster god has already shown his penchant for ridiculous animal transmogrification — I mean, during his series introduction the main plot thread involved him turning Thor into a frog. So the logical next step would seem to be another goofy animal spell for the kid who helped turn Thor back into Thor. A nice touch was Loki popping up in various disguises (including a Dick Van Dyke-eque one-man band and Stan the Janitor) to mock Peter as he ran for his life.

And why would Peter be running for his life? Well, of course Loki timed this with the legendary yearly Asgardian boar hunt and guess which spandex-wearing talking pig the hunting party decides will be their quarry? Yes, it’s our as-of-now-swinely hero Spider-Ham (which Thor just starts calling him). You’d think the fact that the pig could talk would send up red flags but nope, the hunters just go, “Oh sweet, I bet the fact that he can talk means he’ll be even more delicious!”

What ties the episode together is seeing how many of Peter’s allies come to his aid once the hunt begins. Sure, they all laugh at him a little and there are so, so many pig jokes to make, but they don’t hesitate in protecting Peter until the spell and hunt ends at sundown. Considering the episode starts with Peter bemoaning how much the city dislikes him, it humbles him to see Thor, his teammates and all of SHIELD ready to fight for him.

Speaking of S.H.I.E.L.D., the other reason I can’t help but love this show is that it’s the only Marvel entity that has Agent Phil Coulson alive. Every time Phil has to balance his principal duties and his S.H.E.I.L.D. responsibilities is a hilarious episode. Seeing the hidden wall of giant guns in his office made me pause the episode to laugh. All I can say is God bless Clark Gregg. Oh, and Thor calls him “Son of Coul” … like in the movie. Oh man, my day was made. Made I tell you!

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