The two coolest things about the "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" episode I watched this weekend

1) This is a constant in every episode: The Hulk poster directly over on the couch on which Peter Parker sits as the gang hangs out in their cool college pad during the opening.

For some reason, this gets me each time. Why would 3 superheroes, even if they're in college student mode, have a prominent Hulk poster in their apartment? I'm not sure offhand what Hulk's place in the Marvel universe was in 1981/1982. Maybe he was looked up to and admired at this point instead of being feared and scorned as a menace. But I doubt it. Even if he IS, isn't it kind of lame for Iceman, Firestar, and Spider-Man--3 powerful individuals in their own right--to slap a poster of another superhero on their wall? I mean, does Tom Brady keep a Peyton Manning 8x10 in his locker?

It's even more intriguing if Hulk is a menace at this time period in which "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" is set. If so, is this poster a sign of rebellion? Are the Amazing Friends expressing a little youthful counterculturalism by touting one of the most destructive threats mankind has ever known? Or are they expressing a little faux counterculturalism by putting the poster up in a conspicuous location so that unsuspecting visitors to their domicile will think, "Yeah, these are just typical, cool college students?"

2) The arcade in which Video Man is born: We could get into a long discussion about the story of this particular episode, a barnburner that spotlights the heinous villain The Gamesman, who exerts mind control over the citizens of New York through video game waves or something like that. There's also the lighthearted saga of a nebbishy master game player who is zapped while going for a high score and becomes Video Man, a force of blipic energy (a phrase I just invented) who has extensive powers but no superheroing experience.

That's all fun to watch, but what strikes me is a smaller detail: The numerous fake standup arcade games you can see people playing. There are generic titles like "Were Wolf" and parody titles like "Indiana Johnson." But my favorite by far is a takeoff on that 1980s classic that later gained new attention in a "Seinfeld" episode. You see, the youth in this episode do not play "Frogger," but instead they play...

"Flogger."

Now, unfortunately, we do not get even a glimpse of the screen, but part of me would love to see what kind of action the kids get into when standing in front of a game called "Flogger." The other part of me is actually a little terrified.