| Spider-Man: The Animated Series | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Based on | |
| Written by | John Semper |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer |
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| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 65(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Avi Arad Stan Lee |
| Producers | John Semper Bob Richardson |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox Kids Network |
| Release | November 19, 1994 (1994-11-19) – January 31, 1998 (1998-01-31) |
| Related | |
Spider-Man: The Animated Series, also known asSpider-Man, is an Americansuperheroanimated television series based on theMarvel Comics superheroof the same name.[2] The series aired on theFox Kids Network from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998, for a total of five seasons comprising 65 episodes, and ran reruns onToon Disney'sJetix block and onDisney XD. The series was produced byMarvel Films[3] and animated byTMS-Kyokuichi.[4]
The series finale was the first to introduce the "Spider-Verse" storyline, also known as the "Spider-Man Multiverse", which later inspired similar narratives in various Spider-Man comics, cartoons, and films in the early 21st century.People magazine described the show as one of the best animated comic book adaptions of all time.[5] The show was presented inDolby Surround forFox Kids.
The series followsPeter Parker, a college student at Empire State University who struggles to balance his responsibilities as the costumed hero Spider-Man with the problems of his personal life. In addition to fighting crime, Peter must navigate his romantic affections for love interestsFelicia Hardy andMary Jane Watson; maintain his friendship withHarry Osborn; focus on his academic performance asDr. Curt Connors' student; and help to support hisAunt May after the death of hisUncle Ben by working as a freelance photographer for theDaily Bugle. The Bugle is owned by loudmouth publisherJ. Jonah Jameson, who often uses Peter's pictures of his alter-ego to discredit and carry out asmear campaign against Spider-Man. Peter's peers at ESU include football starFlash Thompson, popular baristaLiz Allan, scientific geniusDebra Whitman, and research rivalMichael Morbius.
As Spider-Man, Peter faces various supervillains that threaten New York City, including criminal masterminds such as theKingpin and theHobgoblin, scientific mishaps likeDoctor Octopus and theGreen Goblin, and the extraterrestrialsymbiotesVenom andCarnage. Spider-Man is occasionally aided in his fight against crime by other superheroes, including theX-Men, thePunisher,Blade,Doctor Strange,Daredevil,Iron Man,Captain America, and theFantastic Four.
A large number of storylines and events from the comics are loosely adapted in the series, such as:
| Season | Story arc | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||
| 1 | N/A | 13 | November 19, 1994 (1994-11-19) | June 11, 1995 (1995-06-11) | |
| 2 | Neogenic Nightmare | 14 | September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09) | February 24, 1996 (1996-02-24) | |
| 3 | The Sins of the Fathers | 14 | April 27, 1996 (1996-04-27) | November 23, 1996 (1996-11-23) | |
| 4 | Partners In Danger | 11 | February 1, 1997 (1997-02-01) | August 2, 1997 (1997-08-02) | |
| 5 | The Wedding | 13 | 1 | September 12, 1997 (1997-09-12) | |
| Six Forgotten Warriors | 5 | September 19, 1997 (1997-09-19) | October 17, 1997 (1997-10-17) | ||
| The Return of Hydro-Man | 2 | October 24, 1997 (1997-10-24) | October 31, 1997 (1997-10-31) | ||
| Secret Wars | 3 | November 7, 1997 (1997-11-07) | November 21, 1997 (1997-11-21) | ||
| Spider Wars | 2 | January 31, 1998 (1998-01-31) | |||
WhileFox Kids'X-Men animated series was being produced bySaban,Spider-Man was produced by the newly formed Marvel Films Animation; it was the only series that in-house studio produced, but was animated byTMS-Kyokuchi Corporation.[4] For many years, the series was the second longest-running Marvel show created, afterX-Men, as well as the longest-running series based on Spider-Man until 2015, whenUltimate Spider-Man surpassed its record.[citation needed]
For years, it was believed that the show had been heavily censored. In some episodes, realistic guns were depicted, but only in flashbacks, such as the showing of guns being fired during a flashback about the Punisher's origins where his wife and children were killed in the crossfire during a crime. Rules for the production of the show included no punching, throwing through glass, putting children in jeopardy or vampires as well as no usage of the wordsinister.[7] In November 2014 podcasts, Semper clarified that the show was not censored more than any other show at the time and that every time this has been brought up to him, he feels it has been blown out of proportion.[8] Semper also admitted that the decision for Spider-Man not to use his fists was his own idea, because although the censors probably would have allowed it, Semper believed that Spider-Man should use more tactical methods and didn't want to teach children, the main target audience of the show, to solve problems through simple violence.[9] Semper said that Marvel had no creative control on the TV series because Marvel at the time was in a tough time and close to bankruptcy.[8] In addition, Semper stated thatStan Lee had influence on the show in the first thirteen episodes.[8]
ProducerJohn Semper was the primary credited writer on the show, receiving some sort of writing credit (usually a story, co-story or co-writing credit) on 60 of the 65 produced episodes. He wrote 8 episodes solo; many of his story credits were actually adaptations of previously published comic book stories. Mark Hoffmeier was a frequent contributor, receiving credits on 16 episodes, while Stan Berkowitz was credited on 9. Many of the other series writers had previously worked onBatman: The Animated Series, includingBrynne Stephens,Marv Wolfman,Gerry Conway,Marty Isenberg andRobert N. Skir,Len Wein, andSean Catherine Derek.
Semper watched previousSpider-Man adaptations for inspiration, but he was not impressed by most of them. The only previous adaptation that impressed him was the live-actionJapanese Spider-Man (1978), which he thought was a "great" show and "goofy fun". Japanese Spider-Man's giantmecha robot influenced the final multi-partparallel universe arc where Spider-Man's wealthy alter-ego has a robot.[3]
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To reproduceNew York City's appearance, background illustrators undertook a large amount of visual research by using photo archives from above New York, particularly rooftops. Maps were consulted for references and buildings were faithfully reproduced. The animation cels depicting Manhattan'sPan Am Building (recently renamed the MetLife Building) were scrapped after being complete because the California-based art staff learned theMidtown landmark had been given a new sign more than a year earlier. The animation staff were directed to populate the city with cars and crowds on the street level. Semper believed that was one of the limitations of earlier Spider-Man animated projects. Originally, Marvel Films planned to make the backgrounds completelyCGI while Spider-Man swung around New York, yet due to budget constraints were forced to use traditional cel based animation while occasionally using CGI backgrounds by video game developerKronos Digital Entertainment.[10] Reuse of animation became more common as the series progressed, which also included reuse of animation involving a character speaking (these scenes were sometimes slowed down in order to better match the actor's voice to the animation).
Marvel outsourced the show's music toSaban Entertainment, who were also responsible for the music in the concurrentX-Men cartoon airing on Fox Kids. The theme for the series was performed byJoe Perry of thehard rock bandAerosmith, although the song was written byShuki Levy. Levy,Haim Saban and Udi Harpaz are credited as composers of the orchestral background score. The music was conducted with a live orchestra inIsrael.[citation needed]
In July 1995,News Corporation and20th Century Fox acquired the rights to the show and all of Marvel's other animation assets, spinning them off into their children's division theFox Children's Network (not to be confused with the Fox Kids block itself). In 1996, Saban Entertainment merged with the Fox Children's Network to form Fox Kids Worldwide, with this deal giving Saban distribution rights over the Marvel animation catalog.[11][12] During the late 1990s, the show was released onto VHS by Fox and Saban as a result of their ownership, and Saban's involvement with the production also increased during the fourth and fifth seasons. Their control over the show ended in October 2001, when Saban Entertainment and Fox Kids Worldwide were sold to Disney, who themselves subsequently took over Marvel in 2009.[13] The Saban/Fox Kids Worldwide sale also included cable network theFox Family Channel, which was renamed to ABC Family, and which started airing reruns of the series in the following years.
In 1998, Marvel sold the film rights for theSpider-Man IP toSony. This deal gives Sony exclusive film and live action television rights to over 900Spider-Man characters, including several characters created specifically for the 1994Spider-Man animated series, and other pre-1999Spider-Man cartoons.[14][15]
Similarly toX-Men: The Animated Series, the series inspired a number of comic books. The first one wasSpider-Man Adventures, published for 15 issues between December 1994 and February 1996, which loosely adapted the plot from the series' episodes. It was followed byAdventures of Spider-Man, a 12-issue series with original stories, published from April 1996 to March 1997.
Additionally, Marvel published a second series inspired by the animated series titledSpider-Man Magazine, that went on for 19 issues from March 1994 to March 1997. Two special issues were also published in 1995.
A tie-in series titledMarvel Adventures went on for 18 issues from April 1997 to September 1998.
Bibliography
A number ofvideo games based on the series were also produced:
Electronic versions of classic Spider-Man comics were released by Marvel that included narration byChristopher Daniel Barnes and featured animation and theme music from this series. Spider-Man novels inspired by selected episodes were also released. A wide variety of themed merchandise (lunch boxes, cereals, clothing, etc.) was produced.McDonald's produced a themed line ofHappy Meal toys for the show.
After the success of theSpider-Man films, the series began to air in reruns through its new owners,The Walt Disney Company.[citation needed] This show had been shownstreaming entirety onDisney+ service since November 12, 2019.[21]
A single VHS volume containing the "Hobgoblin" two-part episode was released on July 2, 1997 by20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[22]
From November 1996 until October 1999, Telegenic Entertainment released ten VHS volumes of the series in Canada. They were compilations that featured episodes edited into 70–80, 90-100 minute movies based on the particularstory arc. The releases were "The Venom Saga", "Revenge of the Goblins", "Spider-Slayer", "Insidious Six", "Mutant Agenda",[23] "Tablet of Time",[24] "Neogenic Nightmare",[25] "Forgotten Warriors",[26] "The Sins of the Fathers"[27] and "Secret Wars".[28] The tapes also contained bonus episodes of other Marvel cartoons.
From April 2002 until June 2005,Buena Vista Home Entertainment released several VHS and DVD compilations of the series. The first BVHE release - "The Ultimate Villain Showdown"[29] contained episodes 2-5 of the "Sins of the Father" arc (Season 3) and special features such as a bonus episode from the1967 series.[30] "The Return of the Green Goblin"[31] contains episodes 12-14 of the "Sins of the Father" arc and the first episode of the "Partners in Danger" arc (Season 4) with special features including the eighth episode of the arc, while the DVD also included a bonus episode from the 1967 series.[32] "Daredevil vs. Spider-Man"[33] contains episodes 6-9 of the "Sins of the Father" arcwith special features including a 1967 series episode featuring Kingpin while the DVD has a bonus episode from the second season ofFantastic Four that guest stars Daredevil.[34] "Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock"[35] contained a Season One episode and episodes 2, 3 and 5 of the "Partners in Danger" arc, with a 1967 series episode as an extra.[34] The fifth BVHE release - "Spider-Man: The Venom Saga",[36] contains the three-part "The Alien Costume" saga from Season 1 and Episodes 10-11 of "The Sins of the Fathers".
A compilation release containing "The Ultimate Villain Showdown", "The Return of the Green Goblin" and "Daredevil vs. Spider-Man" was also released.[37]
Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the compilations on VHS and DVD in the United Kingdom and select other territories. While the main content was the same, they contained different bonus features from the North American release.
In April 2008, Liberation Entertainment secured the home media rights to select Marvel shows fromJetix Europe in select European territories, includingSpider-Man.[38][39] The company however shuttered their UK division at the end of October 2008, leaving releases of the show in limbo.[40]
Clear Vision later took over rights in the UK, Sweden, and Germany and released the complete series in season sets. Season 1 on June 22, 2009,[41] Season 2 on August 3, 2009,[42] Season 3 on August 17, 2009,[43] Season 4 on September 14, 2009[44] and Season 5 on October 19, 2009.[45] The company followed this off with a complete series boxset released on November 11, 2011.[46]
Bootleg DVDs of the show have become popular among fans due to a lack of official DVD releases. The bootlegs feature all of the episodes but some of them have low video quality and watermarks. This is likely to change as the entire series becomes available in the UK. The series is currently the 9th most wanted unreleased DVD at TVShowsOnDVD.com.[47]
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The last two episodes ofSpider-Man: The Animated Series, about multipleSpider-Man characters crossing dimensions todifferent universes, was the firstSpider-Man story involving parallel universes. This inspired theSpider-Verse, which later appeared in various Spider-Man comics, cartoons and films in the early 21st century, the most notable of which being the animatedSpider-Verse feature films produced bySony Pictures Animation.[48]
On November 1, 2014, at theComikaze Expo, where the show's 20th anniversary was celebrated, John Semper Jr. revealed that much of the cast and crew ofSpider-Man, himself included, had agreed to reunite for a newcrowdfunded series entitled "War of the Rocket Men".[49][50] In addition, in late 2014, Semper Jr. started a website (cartoonspiderman.com) that features behind-the-scenes content, podcasts about the show, a link to the Facebook page that Semper regularly posts on and more. In April 2016, Semper's YouTube account posted a video in which he revealed that he had written a short story following up on the series, detailing Peter finding Mary Jane with Madame Web's help in a Victorian-age setting, referring to the story as "an autobiographical fan-fiction" in which he reminisced on what it was like writing the last episodes of the series, as well as detailing how Peter and Mary Jane would have been reunited, adding one could think of it as "the lost episode ofSpider-Man: The Animated Series". Semper explained that he would be releasing this as a perk on a crowd-funding campaign for "War of the Rocket Men". The video also featured the returning voices of Christopher Daniel Barnes and Sara Ballantine as Spider-Man/Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson respectively in an audio promo prologue entitled "Peter Finds Mary Jane".[citation needed]
AfterX-Men '97 was announced as arevival of theX-Men TV series byMarvel Studios for the streaming serviceDisney+, it marked a possibility thatSpider-Man could be revived for Disney+ as well. In July 2022, Semper addressed this, stating that he would happily do it if he had the same creative freedom he had on the series:
I think, right now, they're doing an updated Spider-Man. They've done a number of[television] shows since mine and they're doing [Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man] right now, I don't think that the politics of the situation will allow for [Spider-Man: The Animated Series] to be revived. If they did revive it, I don't know if I'd get to be involved. I was in a very good position because I was really able to have a lot of creative control over that show after [season one]. I don't know if I'd ever have that situation again, so it would really make it a different kind of thing. I don't know if I'd get that on a Spider-Man revival given it's now a property that's owned by [Disney and Sony] and there’s a lot of politics involved, but hey, if someone wants to call me and say, 'Hey, we're gonna do more episodes and we're going to leave you alone', I'd be there in a heartbeat.
—John Semper, showrunner ofThe Animated Series[51]
In February 2024, Semper expressed interest that he would consider reviving the series on Disney+, ifMarvel Studios Animation reaches out to him. Christopher Daniel Barnes also expressed interest in reprising his role as Spider-Man if asked. In March 2024, Brad Winderbaum later commented on the possibility of a revival for the series:
We're doing that right now. We’re in production onDaredevil: Born Again in New York, they're shooting as we speak. I’m seeing text messages come up from set," Winderbaum said. "That’s probably the next show that is going to kind of revisit and revive a really strong, and one of my favorite pockets of our universe and our fandom. And… you never know, is the answer!
—Brad Winderbaum, head of Marvel Studios Animation[52]
Spider-Man made a non-speakingcameo appearance in theX-Men '97 episode "Tolerance is Extinction – Part 1," being among the witnesses to theelectromagnetic pulse (EMP) wave sent out across the world byMagneto. He appears again in the season finale, "Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3," this time as Peter Parker, as he, Mary Jane, and Flash watchAsteroid M hurtle towards Earth on a TV in the window of an electronics store. Series head writer Beau DeMayo later confirmed that the character is the same iteration fromThe Animated Series,[53] and that he successfully rescued Mary Jane after the events of the series cliffhanger ending from season five.[54] Christopher Daniel Barnes acknowledged the cameo, expressing interest in returning as Spider-Man in a potential revival, though no one has contacted him about it.[55]
In June 2025,Marvel Comics announced thatThe Animated Series would receive a 4-issuelimited series continuation titledSpider-Man '94 written byJ. M. DeMatteis with art by Jim Towe.[56] The comic series picks up with the cliffhanger ending of "Farewell, Spider-Man" in season five, with Peter searching for and rescuing Mary Jane Watson within the multiverse, before returning to New York to resume his heroics. The series will also debut two majorSpider-Man villains who had been previously unadapted inThe Animated Series.[57]Spider-Man '94 began publication in September 2025.[58] Semper Jr. confirmed that he had no involvement in the series and that he did not find out about the series until it was announced.[59]
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