User blog:ARTaylor/Marvel Celebrates 50 Years of Animation

Marvel Comics may be celebrating their eighty year anniversary, but at this year's San Diego Comic-Con panel Marvel Animation celebrated fifty years of animation from the original series The Marvel Super Heroes, the beloved 1992 X-Men, to the currently airing Spider-Man.

The panel was hosted by Senior Vice President of Animation and Family Entertainment Cort Lane, writers Mark Hoffmeier and Marty Isenberg, actress Jennifer Hale, and actor Josh Keaton.

The panel discussed their personal interactions with the late Stan Lee, offering a loving tribute to him. They showed clips showcasing some of his most memorable appearances. They also discussed his final recorded role for Avengers Assemble. Lane said, "I've been coming to comic-cons for over thirty-seven years, and I remember seeing Jack Kirby. My very first cast hire was Stan as the voice of the Mayor in Super Hero Squad because I wanted to meet him."

Keaton said, "I'm sure he told this to all the Peter Parkers, but he told me he was his favorite."

They then told the audience that new episodes of Spider-Man would be airing this September on Disney XD. They showed a clip of the upcoming episodes in which, following the controversial comic story, Doctor Octopus takes over Spider-Man's body. They also talked about the third season titled Maximum Venom that would be coming in 2020. They also showed a picture of the Venomized Captain America.

The panel also showed a clip of the upcoming short Lego Marvel Spider-Man: Vexed by Venom. The short will air on Disney XD on August 3rd and then be available on Marvel's YouTube channel.