Original cartoon series based on the web-slinging Marvel comic book character, Peter Parker, who, after being bit by a radioactive spider, assumes extraordinary powers.Original cartoon series based on the web-slinging Marvel comic book character, Peter Parker, who, after being bit by a radioactive spider, assumes extraordinary powers.Original cartoon series based on the web-slinging Marvel comic book character, Peter Parker, who, after being bit by a radioactive spider, assumes extraordinary powers.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe theme song for this show was composed by Paul Francis Webster and Bob Harris. The theme song was recorded at RCA Studios in Toronto (where the cartoon was also produced) featuring 12 CBC vocalists (members of the Billy Van Singers, and Laurie Bower Singers groups) who added to the musical backing track supplied by RCA Studios, New York. The singers were paid only for the session and have had no residuals from its use since then. The song became as synonymous with Spider-Man as his red and blue costume.
- GoofsDue to the low quality animation, Spider-Man can be regularly seen swinging off webs that appear to be connected to nothing but the sky. This mistake has been the subject of a fair few memes.
- Quotes
[theme song]
Chorus: Spider-Man, Spider-Man, / Does whatever a spider can / Spins a web, any size / Catches thieves just like flies / Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man! / Is he strong? Listen, bud, / He's got radioactive blood / Can he swing from a thread? / Take a look overhead! / Hey there! There goes the Spider-Man! / In the chill of the night, at the scene of the crime, / like a streak of light, he arrives just in time! / Spider-Man, Spider-Man, / Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man / Wealth and fame, he's ignored / Action is his reward! / To him, Life is a great big bang-up / Wherever there's a hang-up/ You'll find the Spider-Man!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Muppet Babies: Comic Capers (1989)
The first season contains the classic villains the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus and the Vulture and the background is a sky-blue motif. I think that it resembles the Steve Ditko Spider-Man comics. And the 2nd and 3rd seasons are more weird and bizarre with villains that consist of space aliens, wizards, cavemen and the background is a more dark, night-time theme. These are my favorite even though the production budget was slashed considerably for them.
Who can forget the 2nd season's "The Origin of Spider-Man"? Or the psychedelic and horrific "Revolt in the Fifth Dimension"? If you prefer more light-hearted shows, you can watch J. Jonah Jameson's comic-induced rantings from the first season as Spider-Man continues to frustrate the newspaper despot. The fact that there are two different sides to this series (1st season VS 2nd & 3rd seasons) is what makes it so fondly remembered today. If all the episodes were like the 1st season, people would easily dismiss it as a typical 1960's animated fluff. If all the episodes were just like the 2nd and 3rd seasons, it would also be discarded as weird psychedelia. The combination of the two styles perfectly portrays the evolution of Spider-Man from early 1960's innocence to the dark and forboding 1970's Spider-Man comics by John Romita and Gerry Conway.
Another strength to this series is the background music which complements the eye-pleasing visuals. Despite the repeated use of the same animation, one never really gets tired of it. The theme song that accompanies the opening and closing segments of the show is very famous and the majority of the non-Spider-Man viewing and reading public will recognize it.
My recommendation: 10 out of 10.