The Spectacular Spider-Man

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Preview
WB Site

Set to premiere this March, Marvel and WBkids are teaming up to bring everyone's favorite wall-crawling-web-head back to television with the Spectacular Spider-Man Animated Series. Borrowing its name from the short lived '68 Magazine and the long running two volume comic book, the series focuses on the trials and tribulations of a 16 year old Peter Parker as he tries to live the double-life of high school nerd and high flying superhero.

Season One is set for 26 Episodes. The first episode is titled "Survival of the Fittest" and is said to focus on Adrian Toomes claiming that Norman Osborn's company stole sophisticated technology from him and plots his revenge.

Joining him are some familiar faces:
- Aunt May
- Mary Jane Watson
- Gwen Stacy
- Harry Osborn
- Liz Allan
- Sally Avril
- Jean DeWolff
- George Stacy
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Betty Brant
- Ned Leeds
- Flash Thompson
- Anna Watson
- Martha Connors
- Kenny "King" Kong
- Felicia Hardy/Black Cat
- Doc Bromwell
- Glory Grant

And some unfriendly foes:
- Dr. Curt Connors/Lizard
- Adrian Toomes/Vulture
- Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus
- Norman Osborn/Green Goblin
- Max Dillon/Electro
- Herman Schultz/Shocker
- Eddie Brock/Venom
- Hammerhead
- Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone
- Flint Marko/Sandman
- Enforcers
- Quentin Beck
- Chameleon
- Phineas Mason/Tinkerer

So it would seem the show has been bumped back a week but gained and incredibly hot Cylon...er woman doing the voice of Felicia Hardy. Fortunately we now have a precise time slot. Unfortunately her official site spells the show's title wrong...twice.

"Short Lived"? I was still collecting that line in the 80s and early 90s, so how can 20+ years be "short-lived?"

Oh well.
Seems they like to keep reviving the spidey cartoons.
Hopefully it will be better than that awful MTV cartoon that looked like a bad anime videogame trying to immitate the Matrix movies.
The late 90s series was probablly the best version I've seen. The original 60s cartoon was done be a studio that also had done a lot of superman cartoons, and they didn't seem to know the difference between the two characters.
SM & his Amazing Friends in the 80s was OK, but still very childish, with clunky art and animation--a few good jokes though. I particularly liked Firestar and Iceman powering up, then having to wait while Parker is stashing his clothes & trying to get his shoes off.

Check it again.

There was indeed two volumes of the Spectacular Spider-Man comic book series, Volume One consisting of 263 issues from December 1976 to November 1998, and Volume Two consisting of 27 Issues from September 2003 to June 2005. However there was a magazine published in 1968 by Marvel and was the first publication to bear the name "Spectacular Spider-Man" lasting only two issues. Thus it was short lived.

Oh.


I bow befor my superior geek

No need...I got all that info from Wiki.

If you missed this weeks ep you really are missing out. Its sincerely the best Spider-Man I have seen in years. Not only did it start out with a bang with the creation and rampaging of The Rhino, which of course led to some of the best action this series has yet seen, but the last five minutes were absolutely...WOW! I am really happy to see that they are using three very classic elements that have been a staple of Spider-Man from the beginning:
1) The sharp wit and endless jokes that make us laugh and drive the villains insane.
2) The inner monologue that pulls us into Spidey's mindset.
3) The crafty solutions to a particularly troubling villain...each one unique to the situation at hand but each one as clever as the last.

All three elements are something that was lacking in the movies and really help to shape the subtle nuances of the character that make him so lovable. I am relieved to see them present.

Spoilers:
The revelation of "the Big Man" was somewhat surprising. I had honestly suspected the Kingpin though I am sure he will factor in eventually. But even more surprising they used the soft-spoken, hard-as-rock Tombstone. It was nice to see him be so confident and incredibly threatening. I don't think there has been a character this series that has taken Spidey down so fast. Its also nice to know that they are keeping with the webhead's convictions and are diving into the larger established plot they have been building.

I was slightly disheartened after the revelation last week that Gwen has a thing for Peter that they would immediately set her up with Eddie in what, I am sure, will be the drama that completely fractures Eddie and Peter's relationship before Eddie becomes Venom, much like the movie...which isn't a good example to be following. I really hope this isn't heading towards the cliche death of Gwen scenario.

And I am not sure but I think that the blond Detective was Gwen's Dad.

But the ending was what made the episode. Though I will always be a Gwen fan I was very relieved that the introduction of Mary Jane was done in homage to the comics, right down to "Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot." And he did. They seem to have gotten MJ just right. I have to say that I am relieved. The question is, if and when will they introduce the troubled homelife stuff with her and if she already know's Peter's secret.

As far as I am aware... Gwens died twice? Once in ASM and USM. I don't really see how it's cliched?

She is often left out of series and the movies because the people adapting the stories wrongly assume that if she is used its a requirement that she die. Raimi was hesitant to use her in the movies for this reason and the Fox Kids 90s Animated Series cut her down to a brief and unsatisfying cameo because they felt it was inappropriate to kill off a character on a children's program. Even her death in USM was virtually pointless and unnecessary. Its not done because its poignant, its done because people assume that its the defining characteristic of Gwen.

Haven't seen the series at all.

Is it better than that horrible MTV Video-game style cartoon?

The 90s cartoon wasn't bad.

Did Parker and Brock ever actually meet in the comics?
I thought that was written in later.

In the 616 they didn't meet until after Brock was turned into Venom (at least to the best of my knowledge), but in Ultimate Spider-Man they were childhood friends, their fathers worked together on the suit that would become Venom with the intention of creating a cure for Cancer.

As for the new series I personally feel its one of the better series so far. The cartoony character design is somewhat offputting but six episodes in I completely forget about it. The animation is pretty slick and the characterizations for the most part are great. And they have slowly been seeding story after story...so there is great potential for this to be a lasting series. Its not as accurate as the first 90s series (people forget about Spider-Man Unlimited and rightly so) but to me it feels like it has a greater potential for drama without watering down the mythology for the kiddies too much.

Absolutely without a doubt the best Spider-man brought to the small screen. I say this is to Spider-man as Batman The Animated Series was to Batman. These little inflections of new stuff mixed with a DEAD ON characterization of Peter Parker. I dare anyone to not watch the Green Goblin and Venom arcs and tell me they are not fantastic.

Also, check out the next series Marvels got up their sleeves:

Wolverine and The X-men