There have been quite a few Spider-Man cartoons. Let’s take a look shall we?
Although it struggled with poor production values and low budgets, and some of the references are seriously dated (Ed Sullivan Show), there’s something special about the first Spidey cartoon, and not just that toe-tappin’ theme song. Over 52 episodes Spider-Man took on Doc Oc, the Lizard, Electro, Mysterio, the Sandman, the Scorpion, the Rhino, and others (including a giant car eating robot? and Dr. Zap??) while attending New York City University and working for the Daily Bugle. The collection is available on a 6-Disc DVD set.
11 Years after being taken off the air Spidey returned for 26 episodes with an improved look and cleaner animation (which would be used for the next show on our list). Once again Peter is a college student dealing with various personal issues while battling the likes of Dr. Doom, the Kingpin, the Vulture, Dr. Octopus, and the Green Goblin (but also the likes of The Ringmaster, Professor Gizmo, and the Gadgeteer, ugh!). The show also includes other Marvel heroes as guest stars in specific episodes such as “The Capture of Captain America” and “Wrath of the Sub-Mariner. Sadly, it is not available on DVD.
Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends
To hit a wider audience Spider-Man was teamed up with Iceman and a new character named Firestar. As a group each could play against each other and there are countless fire and water gags throughout the 24 episode run. The best episodes include “7 Little Superheroes” in which the Chameleon tries to take down the friends and guest stars Captain America, Shanna, Namor, and Dr. Strange, “The X-Men Adventure” which takes place at the mansion, and “Along Came Spidey” which is one of the best Spidey origin tales. Even with a few stinkers (like “Swarm”), it’s my favorite of the bunch, but it is not available on DVD.
The FOX cartoon focused on Peter Parker as a high school student through a 65 episode run that was high on story and low on action and included long extended story arcs which could last more than a dozen episodes. Though the show was well made the episodic telling was hard to follow if you missed a week or two, it also faced constraints on action and violence allowed (no guns, no death, no Spidey punching out a bad guy???), and was a little too closely tied to the Marvel toy line (the creators have gone on record that the best way to get a script made was to convince Avi Arad he could sell a toy off the concept). Several story arcs are available individually on DVD.
A spin-off from FOX’s Spider-Man this show focuses around a Spidey who travels to an alternate dimension to Counter-Earth under the control of animal humanoids known as beastials led by the High Evolutionary, where humans are second-class citizens, and the Vulture is a hero. Totally different than any other Spidey cartoon the show had trouble bringing in casual fans and lasted only 13 episodes ending in a cliff-hanger which was never resolved. The show was a gutsy, but a complete misfire, and is not available on DVD.
Spiderman: The New Animated Series
This MTV computer generated cartoon follows the characters from the first Spider-Man flick as Peter, Harry, and MJ all attend Empire State University. Lasting only 13 episodes the look of the show was horribly inconsistent and resembled a fan film done with computer generated software bought at Best Buy, and the stories weren’t that much better. The show also painted itself into a corner by forcing itself into the movie universe – one where the vast variety of Spider-Man villains don’t exist. Memorable on for the casting of Neil “Don’t Call me Doogie” Patrick Harris as the voice of Spider-Man. Oddly enough some episodes are available on DVD.