Spider-Man (TV Series)

Spider-Man: The Animated Series, also known as simply Spider-Man or New Spider-Man, is the animated television series featuring Spider-Man in the Marvel Animated Universe. The series ran for five seasons for a total of 65 episodes starting November 19, 1994 and ending January 31, 1998.

Story
The series tells the story of Peter Parker and his struggle to maintain a job, keep a girlfriend, pay the rent, and occasionally beat up supervillains as the masked hero Spider-Man. As Peter he must assist his Aunt May in the wake of Uncle Ben's death, help his friend Harry Osborn find his place in the world, maintain a job at the Daily Bugle, and find time to date the lovely Mary Jane Watson. As Spider-Man he continually faces the forces of evil in villains such as the Kingpin, Hobgoblin, Green Goblin, Venom, and many more. Although balancing the two worlds is difficult for Peter he always remembers his uncle's words: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Over the course of the series Peter faces his dark side with the symbiote suit. He faces off with the likes of Wolverine, Blade, and Punisher. He must deal with his continuing genetic mutation. He saves the world and prevents his alternate self from destroying the entire universe. Before the end he will even meet the real life Stan Lee.

Animation
The show combined traditional cel based animation with computed generated imagery, something which at the time was fairly new and experimental. Illustrators did a large amount of visual research to accurately portray New York City instead of the common buildings and skyscrapers most shows tended to default on.

Censorship
At the time of production, heavy censorship codes were in place in order to make children shows seem politically correct. Among them were the inability to show guns or mention death, though these things had been present in the DC Comic animated show Batman: The Animated Series. These codes most affected the characters Morbius and Cletus Kasady (Carnage). Censors would not allow true vampires to appear on television so Morbius was made to be genetically altered. Also he was not allowed to suck blood through his fans so the holes in his hands were introduced. Kasady could not be a serial killer as he was in the comics but simply a madman. He also could not kill anyone but instead drained their lifeforce. In addition, when the Sinister Six (comic name) were introduced they had to be called the Insidious Six.

There were notable exceptions to the censorship rules. Hydro-Man, his clone, Mary Jane's clone, Mysterio, and Kingpin's father all apparently died without ever been seen nor heard of again. Certain words like "kill" were inserted into some episodes through various means.

Awards
Writer / Producer John Semper Jr. won an Annie Award in 1995 for Best Individual Achievement for Writing in the Field of Animation for the episode "Day of the Chameleon". Spider-Man was nominated for 1 1996 Image Award for Outstanding Animated/Live-Action/Dramatic Youth or Children's Series/Special.