30th Anniversary Retrospective Of "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" - Anime Superhero News (original) (raw)
Spider-Man: The Animated Series debuted 30 years ago on the Fox Kids network, where it ran for five seasons and a total of 65 episodes. It joined other superhero cartoons of the time, such as Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men: The Animated Series, or even Gargoyles (though that was on a different network, and if you consider it a superhero cartoon). Spider-Man TAS still managed to shine and be successful enough to warrant multiple seasons. Primarily written by John Semper Jr., the show covered a lot of material from the comics, both classic and more modern (“modern” at the time the show came out, anyway), with Spidey himself mentioning things are starting to sound like “a bad comic book plot” during their version of the “Clone Saga”, which co-incidentally also celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this year. Similar to the first couple of aforementioned shows, Spider-Man TAS had the advantage of picking from decades worth of material from the comics to adapt, mixing things up a bit more and at times creating something new. Compared to previous Spidey cartoons at the time, it also had the advantage of including newer characters from the comics, such as Hobgoblin, or Venom.
Featuring some pretty tight continuity and season long story-arcs, this was the first Spider-Man cartoon to really take the time to develop Peter Parker/Spider-Man and his supporting cast of characters. Along the way, various other superheroes from the Marvel Universe made it into the show for occasional team-ups. There were however a few exceptions, due to various problems including rights issues, something that keeps happening even today. Marvel still shares the television or movie rights to some of their characters with other studios, most notably Sony at the moment. While most of the characters and set-ups on Spider-Man TAS were mostly designed only to help sell a toy-line, the show still managed to succeed in delivering solid stories, despite some of the kind of ridiculous censorship issues that were forced unto it (i.e., plasma sucking vampires, and not being allowed to even use the word “sinister”). While it’s not perfect, the show has some charm and is still an entertaining watch.
Peter Parker/Spider-Man was voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes. I don’t think the character exactly needs any sort of introduction at this point. In fact, the show didn’t start out with an origin story either (unless you count the opening credits which briefly covered the infamous radioactive spider bite), but it was brought up occasionally during the show’s run, with a much latter episode having a flashback scene of the events. This is something that you don’t really see much of these days, in animation at least, as most recent Spider-Man cartoons start out early in his career as a web crawling superhero. Spider-Man TAS didn’t need to do that; from the start you get to see Spidey is a hero and as the show progresses you get to watch all of the problems – and occasional happy moments – that come with that life style. As one would expect, Uncle Ben’s wise words “with great power, comes great responsibility” come into full effect over the course of the show. And it’s all done in a pretty organic, and entertaining way.
The show used a lot of Spidey’s villains, from the big names like Green Goblin, Doctor
Octopus and Venom to the lesser known ones such as the Spot or Big Wheel, and many others in-between. Then you had the big bad Kingpin, who at times seemed to be behind just about everything happening on the show. The rogues were, for the most part, presented rather well and left a positive impression. Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin had a pretty great role throughout the series, from him becoming the Goblin in the first place, to finding out Spidey’s real identity, battling the Hobgoblin, or his son Harry Osborn also taking on the mantle of the Green Goblin for a while. Doc Ock also ranks high on the list of Spidey rogues, as he usually does. The duality of Curt Connors/Lizard added more complexity to the show, with Spidey having to fight his friend when he transforms.
Venom’s arc was simplified from the comics; though the symbiote is still alien in nature, the “Secret Wars” didn’t happen yet on the show when he was introduced. Peter using the black suit (before it started using him) also lead to some cool visuals. Having sub-plots of Eddie Brock as a rival photographer who starts blaming Peter for all of his bad luck, before finding the symbiote and becoming Venom, was also handled well. This simplified origin for Venom caught on, as other projects over the years (i.e., the live-action Spider-Man 3 movie, or the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series) seemed to use this as a starting point. Venom’s inclusion here also lead to the introduction of Carnage later on.
The most notable omissions, as far as villains go, were the absences of Sandman and Electro, due to them apparently being “off-limits” for the show because they were set to appear in a live-action movie that was in the works at the time (directed by James Cameron), that was never produced. Electro was lucky enough to make it onto the show, in the final few episodes, though that resulted in a pretty different take on the character, revealing he was Red Skull’s son. Sandman on the other hand didn’t appear, and was basically replaced by Hydro-Man.
Peter’s supporting cast was also given enough screen time over the course of the show. From sweet and caring, but sickly Aunt May, to jolly J. Jonah Jameson. Harry Osborn likewise had a lot to deal with on the series, thanks in part to his dad’s insanity. Felicia Hardy was developed a bit before developing into the Black Cat. Her origin here also ties into Captain America’s, which was a pretty surprising addition. Then of course, you have Mary-Jane Watson. Pete and MJ’s romance was handled well enough, with all the drama that comes along with it. MJ also went through a lot during the show, including a plot based on the “Night Gwen Stacy Died” story from the comics, with her substituting for Spidey’s other girlfriend… and she didn’t die, as the show couldn’t get away with something like that. Instead, she ends up lost in alternate dimensions, something we don’t exactly see, but it’s made clear saving her would be quite a task. Though her water clone shows up later on and marries Peter, before disintegrating, just to complicate and make things even weirder than they were. Similar to Electro, Gwen Stacy was absent here, but an alternate dimension version of Gwen did show up near the end of the show.
Guest-stars like Daredevil, Iron Man, the X-Men or the Fantastic Four showed up during
various episodes. At the time, it was especially awesome seeing the X-Men in action on Spidey’s show, which had a bit better animation than the then-current X-Men TAS. The characters’ voice actors also returned for this guest-spot, which was a nice bonus. Seeing Spidey and Wolverine in action together was especially satisfying. Daredevil’s appearance here is still kind of the most notable appearance he’s had in a cartoon (with his appearance on Fantastic Four TAS being a close second). The show even brought in a few lesser known heroes from the “Golden Age” of comics, during their Captain America story-line. Not to mention, the show put a modern and more sci-fi themed twist on Cap’s “being frozen in an iceberg” bit from the comics. The Fantastic Four only showed up in the final few episodes, during the show’s version of the “Secret Wars” story from the comics. Last but not least, the show is kind of the most notable example when it comes to Spider-Man and Human Torch team-ups, as far as animation goes. Which is kind of a shame, considering their decades old friendship in the comics could provide some entertainment.
All of these – and other gust-stars not mentioned – helped make the show more fun, considering they all also helped continue Spidey’s own stories instead of being thrown in for no reason at all. It makes the series a pretty consistent take on the Marvel Universe, and fits in nicely with the concept of teaming up Spidey with various other heroes… a trend that has continued in most animated series since then. Having said that, it should be noted that more modern cartoons also throw in a bunch of other spider-themed heroes on a regular basis, which seems kind of redundant at times.
Spider-Man TAS also basically introduced the whole concept of the Spider-Verse. You know that theory of Spider-Men (and Women) from various alternate dimensions, that has been covered in comics, video games and especially a couple of animated movies that have been box office hits (with a third one on the way), as well as a live-action movie set within the MCU? It all started here. Spider-Man TAS brought in a few different Spideys, such as Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly), an Iron Man armored Spidey, a Spidey wearing Doc Ock’s mechanical tentacles, a six-armed Spidey (not yet fully mutated into the Man-Spider), and someone dressed as Spidey, but who has no super powers at all. While this last person’s identity is never actually revealed (and ever since this episode aired the list of potential suspects has grown a lot!), the finale explains a bit more about him – and by extension, just how big of an impact the real Spider-Man had on his world.
Of course, the show also had the guest-star of all guest-stars, Stan Lee. He’s been
making cameo appearances just about everywhere for decades, though at the time this show came out it wasn’t as mainstream considering the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn’t a thing yet. Seeing Spidey meet his maker was pretty surreal and offered a fun surprise for the series’ final episode, making it even more emotional than it needed to be. Stan is still missed, but the characters he helped create still live on, with Spidey being one of them.
This might be a controversial thing to say but I personally never really considered the series ending to be THAT big of a cliff-hanger. Spider-Man is alongside the all-powerful Madame Web, who tells him it’s time to reunite him with Mary-Jane. Even if we don’t see their reunion, that seems pretty conclusive to me. Yes, there are ways to complicate things some more, and there were plans for another season that wasn’t produced, but the way the show ended seems fine.
The following Spider-Man Unlimited animated series, which premiered in 1999, started out as a take on the Spider-Man 2099 comics, in an attempt to compete with the then-new Batman Beyond animated series… but it didn’t last too long (and this one did end on a cliff-hanger!) and there wasn’t much continuity with Spider-Man TAS to begin with. It doesn’t exactly count as a follow-up. Since then, every new Spidey cartoon started an entirely new and different continuity.
There’s definitely some demand for a Spider-Man TAS continuation, I won’t deny that. There have been rumors about discussions being held about making this a possibility, but nothing has been confirmed as of this writing. Personally, I don’t see it happening anytime soon – especially with a different new Spider-Man cartoon on the way, _Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man_… and then there’s also the Spidey & his Amazing Friends series aimed at pre-schoolers, but I doubt that would affect the show much. Personally I am fine with how the show ended. That said, I felt the same way about X-Men TAS, which for the longest time I thought had a pretty finite and coherent ending, and didn’t see any need for it to continue. And then X-Men ’97 debuted earlier this year, and the first season was, dare I say, awesome! -while also having an overall positive reception from fans and critics alike. The show also has a couple of cameos from 90’s Spider-Man, which will have to do, for now. In short, I’m not opposed to a potential “Spider-Man ’98” or whatever you would call a continuation, in case this article hasn’t made clear. I’d watch it if it was made, and chances are, would enjoy it.
Spider-Man TAS was far from perfect, but it was an entertaining show that many still care about. It’s not praised as much as some of its contemporaries, like Batman TAS or Gargoyles, and there have been other Spidey cartoons that might have higher production values or be more enjoyable, but Spider-Man TAS is still quite an experience that I feel has earned it’s place as one of the most fun Spider-Man animated projects ever. I watched it and pretty much loved it as a kid, and still enjoy it as an adult (an adult who watches a lot of animation, both modern and old, but still). The show is memorable enough and I imagine people will still be thinking and talking about it for years to come. Admittedly, other viewers might consider the Spidey show they grew up with as their favorite. Ranging from the 1967 series up to the current cartoon aimed at pre-schoolers; kids watching this latter show will most likely grow up to be big fans of the character, and considering his popularity, the future is looking pretty good in regards to more Spider-Man content.
Spider-Man TAS should still be available to stream on Disney+ in most countries. It’s worth a watch, or a re-watch, whatever the case might be. Perhaps more folks are now discovering the show (or will soon), and maybe they’ll become fans, or at the very least, enjoy it for what it is: A not perfect, but still lovingly executed representation of Spidey’s adventures within the Marvel Universe.