User blog:ARTaylor/25 Years of Spider-Man

Today the twenty-fifth anniversary of the premiere of Spider-Man. The series tells the story of the superhero Peter Parker (Christopher Daniel Barnes) 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 (Linda Gary and Julie Bennett) in the wake of Uncle Ben's (Brian Keith) death, help his friend Harry Osborn (Gary Imhoff) find his place in the world, maintain a job at The Daily Bugle, and find time to date the lovely Mary Jane Watson (Sara Ballantine). As Spider-Man, he continually faces the forces of evil in villains such as the Kingpin (Roscoe Lee Browne), Hobgoblin (Mark Hamill), Green Goblin (Neil Ross), Venom (Hank Azaria), 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 (Cathal J. Dodd), Blade (James Donald Hall), and Punisher (John Beck). He must deal with his continuing genetic mutation (Jim Cummings). He saves the world and prevents his alternate self (Barnes) from destroying the entire universe. Before the end he will even meet the real life Stan Lee (Himself).

The series came about due to Avi Arad and his then-newly formed company Marvel Films Animation as he wanted to bring Marvel characters to life in order to sell merchandise through Toy Biz. Stan Lee called in John Semper, Jr. to head the show as story editor. Semper faced numerous restrictions like excessive censorship demands, the inability to use certain characters due to a proposed movie, and Arad's desire to make a big toy commercial. However, he otherwise had great freedom and was allowed to include numerous guest stars while also referencing numerous stories like the infamous Clone Saga. The casts of both X-Men and Iron Man were included in the show providing a greater continuity with the other shows airing at the same time. With the Neogenic Nightmare, Semper overrode one major restriction against season-long story arcs.

The series was one of the first to integrate traditional and the then-emerging computer animation. Unlike other shows, like X-Men and Iron Man, Spider-Man integrated the two styles together so that at times a traditionally animated Spider-Man would swing around a computer animated world. The main theme was provided by Joe Perry of Aerosmith, who referenced the beloved theme song of the 1967 Spider-Man series, while the show's musical score was created by Shuki Levy, Udi Harpaz, and Haim Saban.

It eventually reached five seasons and sixty-five episodes making it the second longest running Marvel animated series ever, behind only its counterpart X-Men. The series came to an end due to an ongoing feud between Arad and Fox Kids head Margaret Loesch. Semper had planned more stories, but he did feel that the two-part finale of Spider-Man saving the Multiverse was a big enough ending and anything after would have been a let-down.

The series went on to become one of the most beloved animated superhero shows. It scored the highest ratings during its time slot. During its run, it won an Annie Award and NAACP Image Award. It commonly ranks amongst the greatest superhero shows ever made. It had a significant impact on the comics and other Spider-Man media. Elements introduced in the show would later become standards of the franchise, such as the symbiote suit making Spider-Man darker. Director Sam Raimi reportedly used the show as research when developing his iconic trilogy. Barnes and Edward Asner (J. Jonah Jameson) would later appear in numerous other Spider-Man projects due to their notable roles in the series.

While the series had a limited home video release on DVD, it is currently available to stream on Disney+.