| This article is written from the Real World perspective |  |
| The Spectacular Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
| |
| Beginning date | March 8, 2008 |
| End date | March 18, 2009 |
| Number of Episodes | 26 Season One Season Two |
| Writers | Matt Wayne Kevin Hopps Andrew Robinson Stan Lee (Characters) Steve Ditko (Characters) |
| Producers | Stan Lee Joshua Fine Diane A. Crea Craig Kyle Eric S. Rollman |
| Original Channel | Kids' WB |
| Previous Series | The Avengers vs. A.I.M. |
| Next Series | Wolverine and the X-Men |
The Spectacular Spider-Man is a series that ran between March 8th, 2008 and March 18th, 2009 for two seasons. The show was targeted at both young, new viewers, as well as an older, more sophisticated audience that enjoyed the previous series.
It is the seventh series to focus on the character after Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Spider-Man, Spider-Man Unlimited, and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.
Background[]
The Spectacular Spider-Man followed the adventures of Peter Parker as he deals with his social life, a part-time job, and school while being secretly being the costumed superhero named Spider-Man. Although balancing the two worlds is difficult for Peter, he always remembers the phrase: "With great power there must also come great responsibility." Unlike the Spider-Man and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series versions, this Peter Parker is still in high school. The show deals with typical teenage coming of age issues such as popularity, financial difficulties, multitasking, or securing employment, later delving into metaphors for drug use and gambling addiction.
The series used classic storylines and characters mostly based on the works of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko where the character was in high school. It also utilized material from all eras of the comic's run and other sources such as the works of Brian Michael Bendis work on Ultimate Spider-Man, and the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films.
Cancellation[]
Following The Walt Disney Company's purchase of Marvel Entertainment Sony relinquished all television rights to Spider-Man, including animation, in exchange for "some concession vis-a-vis the live action Spider-Man features" thus raising questions about what would happen to the series.[1]
With many months of near-silence on the subject, it hadn't been looking good for the series. On April 13, 2010, Marvel Comic's Tom Brevoort was asked about Spectacular on formspring, and simply said, "That was a wonderful cartoon, but finished now." Though asked for clarification, he added, "I'm not officially connected to the show, so I can't tell you anything officially; the people connected with it will have to do that." This came along with the announcement of a new Spider-Man series eventually called Ultimate Spider-Man.[2]
Cast[]
Edward Asner previously voiced J. Jonah Jameson while Jim Cummings played Shocker on Spider-Man. Jane Lynch played an Oscorp Executive on Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.
Episodes[]
The series ran between March 8th, 2008 and March 18th, 2009 for twenty-six episodes.
Reception[]
In January 2009, IGN dubbed the series the 30th best animated television series. It beat Spider-Man at 84 and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends at 59. X-Men is the only Marvel series to beat this series at 13.[3]
In July 2013, IGN ranked the series the twenty-first animated series for adults.[4]
The episode "Final Curtain" received an Annie Award nomination in Storyboarding in a Television Production.[5]
Rotten Tomatoes ranked the series among its top one-hundred superhero series with this series at forty-six above Big Hero 6: The Series at one-hundred Spider-Woman at eighty-nine, Iron Man: Armored Adventures at eighty-six, Ultimate Spider-Man at eighty-three, Spider-Man Unlimited at seventy-three, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes at sixty-nine, The Super Hero Squad Show at sixty-eight, X-Men: Evolution at sixty-six, Fantastic Four at sixty-four, Avengers Assemble at fifty-eight, Guardians of the Galaxy at fifty-five, The Marvel Super Heroes at fifty-one, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends at forty-eight and below Spider-Man at forty, Spider-Man at nineteen, and X-Men at five.[6]
Proposed Stories[]
As with any series that is cancelled, there are a number of ideas that were planned but never used. Allegedly, the villains Hobgoblin, Scorpion, Hydro-Man, and Carnage were slated to appear in the third season. Responding to a question about the show's future, Weisman said neither Hobgoblin nor Scorpion were designed even though their alter-egos were seen and mentioned, respectively. Though he did say he had lots of plans for Hobgoblin but refused to say what they were.[7]
Films[]
According to Greg Weisman, he had hoped to do a series of direct-to-video features with the series. One would have been set between seasons two and three and featuring Spider-Man going on Spring Break in Florida. Had that not been approved, the ideas would have been incorporated into the third season. Another would have been set during Peter's summer vacation between his junior and senior years, between seasons three and four. Season four and five would have been his senior year, and several more films would have been centered on his college years. If these were not approved, they would have been developed into more hypothetical seasons.[8]
References[]
- ↑ Sony No Longer Producing Spectacular Spider-Man; Studio Loses Spidey TV Rights at IGN.com
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man Comes to TV at IGN.com
- ↑ 30. The Spectacular Spider-Man IGN.com Top 100 Animated Series
- ↑ The Top 25 Animated Series for Adults at IGN
- ↑ "The Spectacular Spider-Man" Garners Annie Award Nomination, Weisman Comments at Marvel Animation Age
- ↑ 100 Best Superhero TV Shows of All Time at Rotten Tomatoes
- ↑ Ask Greg at Gargoyles
- ↑ Ask Greg at Gargoyles
External links[]
| The Spectacular Spider-Man Episodes | |
|---|---|
| Season One | "Survival of the Fittest" • "Interactions" • "Natural Selection" • "Market Forces" • "Competition" • "The Invisible Hand" • "Catalysts" • "Reaction" • "The Uncertainty Principle" • "Persona" • "Group Therapy" • "Intervention" • "Nature vs. Nurture" |
| Season Two | "Blueprints" • "Destructive Testing" • "Reinforcement" • "Shear Strength" • "First Steps" • "Growing Pains" • "Identity Crisis" • "Accomplices" • "Probable Cause" • "Gangland" • "Subtext" • "Opening Night" • "Final Curtain" |