Spider-Woman

I was only four years old when this originally aired, so my memories of watching the show were pretty vague until MCA released a set of episodes on VHS several years later, during the success of "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends". Since I was an avid watcher of THAT show (and had taped nearly every one), I recognized that the music score to "Spider-Woman" shared several pieces and themes with "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends", and the syndicated "Spider-Man" animated series from 1980, albeit re-recorded for those shows. The difference is that the "Spider-Woman" music was recorded with what sounds like a full orchestra, whereas the other series went for more of a jazz/rock feel. The result of the earlier score gave the show a feeling of scope, which otherwise would have left it just as another "Superfriends". Still, for fans of Marvel and other superhero animation, this show is a must, and deserves to have its own release on DVD (as well as other Marvel titles). Hopefully, Saban/Buena Vista will wake up and give us a Marvel DVD Collection, as Warner Bros. has managed to release a number of the DC series to great success.

This show was lame with a capital 'L', Jessica Drew has super spider powers because as a young kid she was dying and her father, damning modern science, injects his kid with an experimental spider serum. Teaming up with Spider-man in the first episode (to draw in the audience that he had), this cartoon shouldn't have even bothered. It had insipid dialog, corny villains (exept the Kingpin" in one episode, but he was wasted in this craptoon as well), a laughable horrendous allusion to "Super-friends" in the way it sequeways between scenes. Thank god it only lasted 16 episodes (though I'm surprised it lasted that long) Oh and by the way, the episode "Games of Doom" had nothing to do with Dr. Doom in the least.(wishful thinking on the part of one of the previous reviewers) The villain of the piece was a crappy Frenchman.

My Grade: F

Spider-Woman was a fantastic animated series from Marvel at a time when cartoons had begin to dumb down. What you get from Spider-Woman is still quite juvenile, but it manages to capture enough of the Marvel/Stan Lee spirit to make it a hit. The characterisations of Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman and co are good enough to make this an interesting Cartoon, and it has the added plus that it doesn't talk down to the viewer.

It was very interesting for Marvel to choose to make an Animated series about Spider-Woman in the first place. The character had only appeared briefly in the pages of Marvel Comics and then she was cast as a villain. The comics writers had to create a whole new character to accomodate the series, and with a fresh origin etc. The character of Spider-Man is all but jettisoned from the proccedings albeit as a guest star in the pilot episode Pyramids Terror. This series was exciting, funny and is well worth a look for Marvel afficianadoes.

Marvel Comics are the best comics line in the world (along with DC Comics) and Marvel have always made great cartoons too.

Spider Woman was fantastic-it's impossible to dislike any fantasy show in my opinion. Spider Woman was a strong heroine who needed absolutely no help from any males when it came to vanquishing the bad guys. And she has a cool costume as well.

There were some great episode-my favorite one was "Pyramids of Terror" guest starring Spider-Man. But it was Spider Woman who ended up saving Spider-Man on a few occasions.

The tune for this show just sticks in your head and I couldn't stop humming it at one point.

If you like Marvel Comics, then you'll like this show.

Spider-Woman is one of those older Marvel cartoons that aired in the 1970's and 1980's, and is the final production.

In this series, Jessica Drew is a reporter for Justice Magazine, who has the secret identity of Spider-Woman. As the intro reveals, Jessica was bitten by a venomous spider while visiting her father's lab, which results in him using an untested spider serum, which cures her, and gives her spider powers. Now, she becomes Spider-Woman to stop evil while saving her nephew Billy and photographer Jeff Hunt, the two always getting captured.

A cartoon based on the comic series by Marvel comics, Spider-Woman is a cartoon that differs a lot from its comic book source material. As the comic was said to be a lot darker (especially since the heroine started out as a villain, as she was a member of HYDRA), this show tones down the dark elements and adds in lighter elements, like Jeff and Billy, who are basically there to be the characters Spider-Woman has to save every episode (similar to how Superman has to save Lois Lane). In the show's sixteen episodes, Spider-Woman goes on adventures around the world, facing mostly supernatural danger, from vikings who found a way to travel to the present day, to an alien mummy leading an army, and even android athletes. Yeah, these are mostly original villains, with a few episodes involving actual Marvel Comics supervillains, like The Kingpin, Dormanmu, and even Marvel's version of Dracula. In two episodes, Spider-Woman even teams up with Spider-Man.

Yeah, this does have some problems, like some of the sillier storylines and the cheesy plots, but I got to used to them as this was a product of a time where such things were common in cartoons. The last Marvel cartoon made by DePatie-Frelend Enterprises, who afterward was reincorperated into Marvel Productions (which two years later, would release the 1980's Spider-Man cartoon, and would go on to make a some of the decade's most-remembered cartoons, like G. I. Joe, The Transformers, and Muppet Babies), Spider-Woman only lasted sixteen episodes, but they are a neat example of how a cartoon with the main protagonist being female can be done, even if it is cheesy and silly.