List of The Spectacular Spider-Man characters

Character designs to some of the main characters in The Spectacular Spider-Man. Left to right: Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, Spider-Man, Peter Parker, J. Jonah Jameson, Dr. Curt Connors and Eddie Brock.

The animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man features an extensive cast of characters originally created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and other comic book creators. Greg Weisman and Victor Cook and the rest of the crew redesigned these classic characters in the series to be more modern but still to be true to its characters in the comics. Most of these characters are based on the original mainstream universe but there have been characters that have been introduced from the Ultimate Marvel universe such as Kenny "King" Kong and characters from Sam Raimi's film series such as Benard Houseman as well. The majority of the villains that have debuted in the show have started out as supporting characters before becoming villains. The character's portrayals in the shows have mainly gained positive reviews from TV critics.

Role in The Spectacular Spider-Man

The main protagonist of the series is Peter Parker, a young teenager who is still in high school but is also secretly a superhero called Spider-Man. In school his two classmates are Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn. He and his classmates are constantly being bullied and teased by the more popular Flash Thompson and his classmates. Ironically enough, much to Peter's dismay, Flash Thompson is also one of Spider-Man's biggest fans. Also at school, Peter's feelings wrestle between Gwen Stacy and Liz Allan. Peter Parker soon finds himself getting a job at the Daily Bugle as a freelance photographer working with characters such as J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, Betty Brant, Ned Lee and Frederick Foswell. Parker as Spider-Man fights a lot of villains in the series as the majority of his rogues gallery in the comics are introduced in this series. Season one introduces supervillains such as Vulture, Electro, Lizard, Shocker, Sandman, Rhino, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Venom. It also introduces crime lords such as Hammerhead and Tombstone who are partly responsible for the supervillains. Season two expanded on the villains already introduced (excluding the Lizard) and also introduces the supervillains Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, and Molten Man. It also introduced another crime lord called Silvermane. The role of the antagonist's between these villains in the series shifts and changes as the series progresses.

Creation and concept

We're retooling and redesigning things for the modern day but we want the characters to still be iconic. We want you to see our updated version of the Vulture and still say " yep, that's the Vulture"and "yeah, that's the Green Goblin." It's a contemporary version but the changes aren't there just for the sake of making changes. It's still true to what Lee, Ditko and Romita did.

Greg Weisman"

As story editor, Greg Weisman approached the character by going and buying the first seven volumes of The Essential Spider-Man and reread them. The creator Greg Weisman originally grew up on Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. and When the creators Greg Weisman created the characters and he later went back and read the original Stan Lee, Steve Ditko stories. He then re-read them and took copious notes and tried to get the voice of those early stories. He then put his own spin on some of the origins and the costume designs. He wanted to create something that was coherent, cohesive, contemporary and classic.

Greg Weisman stated:

"Peter’s life has a lot of interesting characters and we wanted to bring them in -- the important ones and the most obscure."

Because Sally Avril's character was later developed in Untold Tales of Spider-Man the creators used her. In Season 2, he used Bernard Houseman from the movie. The creators didn't want to wait several seasons to bring in Gwen Stacy or Harry Osborn or Mary Jane Watson. The creators didn't meet those characters in comics until Peter was in college. The creators wanted to stay true to it and ask, "What kind of guy would Harry Osborn have been back in high school?" Greg Weisman stated that "It doesn’t mean taking his college character and just sticking it in high school, it means extrapolating what he may have been like back then. Same thing with Gwen Stacy, and later with Mary Jane. We included those characters because they meant a lot in Peter’s life and were iconic." As for having guest stars in the show, the creators didn't want the show to be guest star of the week. The creators felt that if they started bringing people in too early, viewers would keep asking “well, who’s gonna show up next?” and it would be a distraction from their main characters who are so interesting. Greg Weisman stated:

The Marvel Universe was basically built on the fly. Since we’re starting this cartoon from scratch, we have the luxury of building a more cohesive universe from day one because we know where we’re going to go with these characters and who’s going to come later.

The characters that the creators decided to put on the show came from some kind of source and were never intended to be original characters. The characters either came from the mainstream comics, the Ultimate Spider-Man comics or in the Spider-Man films. As for the characters the characters had to do some conflating with their introductions. They didn't want to wait to have Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson when Peter got out of high school (like in the comics) so they introduced them in high school and try to figure what they would have been like in high school instead.

Main characters

The main characters featured in the opening credits:

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Main article: Spider-Man

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (voiced by Josh Keaton ) The protagonist of the series, bitten by a genetically altered spider, Peter donned a spider costume and sought to fight crime after allowing a burglar to escape, only to have that same criminal - later identified in this series as Walter Hardy - who was thought to have killed his Uncle Ben. He learned that "with great power comes great responsibility", a phrase that now drives him to act as a super hero. The series focuses on the character struggles while leading a double life as Peter Parker in Midtown High and as the superhero - Spider-Man. He is depicted as good natured. He gets a job at the Daily Bugle so he can support his Aunt May with financial troubles. Despite their financial troubles, 16-year-old Peter Parker and his Aunt May have a great relationship. His best friends in school are mainly Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn. He as Peter Parker is often bullied and being referred to as "Puny Parker" by his peers, even still Peter's newfound powers has given him confidence. Josh Keaton, the voice of the character, stated :"I grew up reading comic books and Spider-Man was always one of my favorites. I felt that I always identified with him. Spider-Man is awesome. I definitely was a huge Spider-Man fan growing up and still am." Before he was chosen for Spider-Man, he auditioned for the role of Harry Osborn and Eddie Brock as well.

Gwen Stacy

Main article: Gwen Stacy

Gwen Stacy: (voiced by Lacey Chabert) Gwen is the deuteragonist and is the main love interest of Peter Parker in the show. Gwen is the daughter of police captain George Stacy, and is one of Peter Parker's best friends and intellectual equal. Although initially fairly shy and unconcerned with her appearance, she gradually evolves into a more confident and attractive character more closely resembling her comic book counterpart. She is always supportive of Peter. Although she is Peter's best friend, her weakness is that she has a colossal crush on Peter.

Harry Osborn

Main article: Harry Osborn

Harry Osborn: (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) Harry is portrayed as Peter's best friend and is the son of industrialist Norman Osborn. He constantly lives in his father's shadow and considers Peter a good friend, though at times also resents him for earning Norman's respect, which Harry has never been able to do. Being ignored by his father and overprotective of his mother and just like Peter, he is an unpopular kid at school. With his lack of approval he is prone to do anything to get it.

J. Jonah Jameson

Main article: J. Jonah Jameson

J. Jonah Jameson: (voiced by Daran Norris) Jameson is portrayed as a loudmouth, egotistical publisher and editor of the Daily Bugle, a major tabloid newspaper. Showing excessive pride in his son, John Jameson, he is obsessed with exposing fraudulent claims to heroism, and is therefore always demanding pictures of Spider-Man so that he can continue his smear campaign against the vigilante. Even though he loves to sell newspapers of Spider-Man he feels that the real heroes are ones that have nothing to hide such as his son, John Jameson. And will do anything to get him on the spotlight instead of Spider-Man.

Mary Jane Watson

Main article: Mary Jane Watson

Mary Jane Watson: (voiced by Vanessa Marshall) Mary Jane is portrayed as the niece of Aunt May's friend, Anna Watson. She attends the Fall Formal as Peter's date before ultimately switching schools to be at Midtown. Mary Jane befriends Peter and Gwen, and is initially determined to stay single, desiring to be a 'free agent'. Vanessa Marshall, the voice of the character states "I always make sure my choices for Mary Jane are that of an independent thinker, that she’s not concerned with what the people around her think, which is an uncommon trait in teenage girls, There’s a distinct confidence about her that I try to emulate." She also explained about the character she played "Mary Jane’s character is incredibly complex, Her strength plays a major part in Peter’s growth and maturation she really keeps him on the straight and narrow. Even though our characters are still only in high school during this cartoon, and you’re not going to get a lot of that character development at this point of the series, I know it’s going to be there in the future and so that has an effect on how I play her now."

Flash Thompson

Main article: Flash Thompson

Flash Thompson: (voiced by Joshua LeBar) Flash is a star football player at Midtown High. While he idolizes Spider-Man, he frequently bullies and harasses Peter Parker, believing him to be a "stuck-up egghead," despite the fact that they had originally been friends when they were much younger. Even though he is the bully of Peter Parker, he idolizes the superhero Spider-Man, being one of his biggest and most loyal fans. The voice of the character, Joshua LeBar, said this about the character he played. "I think Flash has a certain brashness, but he also has a likeability, so he's not a complete doof that you hate. He's a dichotomy – he's got a few different sides, and he surprises people. I was both a theatre guy and a football guy in high school, and people tried to stick me into that one-note category, depending on how they knew me – and I didn't like being stereotyped. So when the (Spider-Man) show gives me the opportunity to represent his other sides, like this week when you see Flash's compassion rather than just all that testosterone, I really enjoy showcasing that part of his character because I can relate to his situation."

Liz Allan

Main article: Liz Allan

Liz Allan: (voiced by Alanna Ubach) Liz is depicted as a popular cheerleader at Midtown High. Instead of the comic book mainstream version where she is caucasian and a blonde, she is depicted as more hispanic in this series. She is initially the girlfriend of Flash Thompson and shows great resentment towards Peter. As the series progresses, her true feelings become apparent as she demonstrates a much more open and accepting side. She commonly refers to Peter as "Petey". Peter and her begin to date for some time until Peter gets honest with himself about who he really wants to be with.

George Stacy

Main article: George Stacy

George Stacy: (voiced by Clancy Brown) George, just like in the comics is depicted as Gwen's protective father and a police captain. He is open-minded, believing in Spider-Man when others like J. Jonah Jameson dismiss his vigilante activities. Just like in the comics, it seems apparent that he knows that Peter is Spider-Man by giving him strong signals and helping him out with rough situations.

Supporting characters

See also: List of Spider-Man supporting characters

The series sports a very wide supporting cast. Every named character who appears in the series, even very minor characters, is at least loosely based on a character who appeared in the original comics, Ultimate Spider-Man series (such as Kenny Kong), or film series (such as Bernard Houseman).

• May Parker: (voiced by Deborah Strang) May is Peter's aunt and widow of Ben Parker. She constantly worries about Peter's well-being (going so far as to establish a strict curfew) and works hard to pay the ever-growing stack of bills that keep coming, though she is equally adamant about Peter not giving his hard-earned money to her without thinking of his own needs as well. In two straight episodes, May has mentioned Mary Jane Watson, who eventually came on the show herself in "The Invisible Hand".
• Ben Parker:(voiced by Edward Asner) Peter's Uncle Ben raised him along with May when his parents died in a plane crash when they were young. Peter, while competing in a wresting competition, allowed a thief (later revealed to be the infamous Cat Burglar) to escape as revenge against Sullivan Edwards for not paying him the prize money. The same thief who was not the one who killed Uncle Ben while stealing his car. Ben's spirit returned to help Spider-Man fight off the symbiote in Peter's mind, and assured the distraught Peter that he would 'always be there' for him.
• Dr. Curt Connors: (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) Dr. Curt Connors is a respected scientist, interested in genetics. He runs a biology lab at Empire State University with his wife Martha. Although his primary interest was in lizard DNA, he also experimented on spiders, splicing together the best traits from multiple species into 'super-spiders'. It was due to his research, and in his very laboratory, that Peter Parker was bitten and transformed into Spider-Man.
• Martha Connors: (voiced by Kath Soucie) Martha is Dr. Curt Connors' wife and fellow scientist.
• Randy "Rand" Robertson: (voiced by Phil LaMarr) Randy is on the Midtown High School football team with Flash, but is shown in the show to be much nicer and more neutral than his teammates. He is dating Sally Avril and is the son of Joe "Robbie" Robertson.
• Kenny "King" Kong: (voiced by Andrew Kishino) Kenny is on the Midtown High School football team and sidekick to Flash Thompson as the school bully and he is also the boyfriend of Glory Grant through most of the show.
• Hobie Brown: (voiced by Charles Duckworth) Hobie is a friend of Flash Thompson's. A recurring joke in season two of the series is having him not having a speaking role in the series, and is usually interrupted when he is about to speak. The one time he was able to speak so far was when he was cast as Puck in the school play, as a substitute for Harry Osborn.
• Glory Grant: (voiced by Cree Summer) Unlike most of the other popular kids at the Midtown, Glory is one of the few in the show who seems less arrogant about her status and behaves more friendly towards the unpopular kids such as Peter and Harry. She is shown to be Kenny Kong's girlfriend through most of the show.
• Sally Avril:(voiced by Grey DeLisle) Sally is Rand Robertson's snobby cheerleader girlfriend and one-time crush of Peter Parker.
• Sha Shan Nguyen: (voiced by Kelly Hu) Flash Thompson's love interest after being dumped by Liz Allan in the show.
• Aaron Warren: (voiced by Brian George) Aaron Warren is Midtown's biology teacher. He considers Peter and Gwen to be his brightest students and recommended them for the internship positions with Dr. Connors at Empire State University. .
• Betty Brant: (voiced by Grey DeLisle) Betty is J. Jonah Jameson's personal secretary. She is shown in the show to be calm and collected, even during Jameson's constant outrages.
• Joseph "Robbie" Robertson (voiced by Phil LaMarr) Robbie is the Editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle and father to Randy Robertson. He is shown to be one of the few people who considers Spider-Man as a True Hero.
• Ned Lee: (voiced by Andrew Kishino) Ned is a reporter for the Daily Bugle and one of Peter Parker's coworkers.
• Frederick Foswell/Patch: (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) Federick is a reporter at the Daily Bugle who works for J. Jonah Jameson.
• John Jameson / Colonel Jupiter: (voiced by Daran Norris) An Air Force colonel, astronaut, and son of J. Jonah Jameson.
• Felicia Hardy / Black Cat: (voiced by Tricia Helfer) Briefly appears in the episode "The Uncertainty Principle", and full debut in the episode "Persona", the Black Cat is depicted as a simply being a thief, and her real identity has yet to seen. She is shown to possess a wit like Spider-Man does, and has even implied to have a romantic interest for him, having flirted with him every time they met.

Minor characters

• Officer Jean DeWolff: (voiced by Irene Bedard) Jean is police officer for the New York City Police Department partnered with Stan Carter. Unlike Captain Stacy and Stan, she does not consider Spider-Man as much help as most of the criminals he captures wind up being released.
• Sergeant Stan Carter: (voiced by Thomas F. Wilson) Stan is a New York City police officer partnered with Jean DeWolff. He has a short temper and has shown an appreciation of Spider-Man's vigilantism.
• Anna Watson: (voiced by Katherine Soucie) Anna Watson is a friend of May Parker, and Mary Jane's aunt who lives next door.
• Seymour O'Reilly: (voiced by Steve Blum) A student at Midtown High School, Seymour appeared in the episodes "Destructive Testing", "First Steps", "Identity Crisis" and "Opening Night".
• "Tiny" McKeever: Tiny is on the Midtown High School football team with Flash. He is usually seen when the members of the football team in group.
• Billy Connors: (voiced by Max Burkholder) Billy is the son of Curt and Martha Connors.
• Dr. Bromwell: (voiced by Dorian Harewood) Dr. Bromwell is a doctor at the New York City Emergency Hospital and a good friend of Aunt May.
• Dr. Ashley Kafka:(voiced by Elisa Gabrielli) Dr. Kafka is a psychiatrist at Ravencroft.
• Dr. Ted Twaki: (voiced by Clyde Katustu) Dr. Twaki is the head scientist of Tri-Corp who appears in the episode "Reaction".
• Mayor Waters: (voiced by Betty Jean Ward) Waters is mayor of New York City with hopes of reelection.
• Dillbert Trilby: (voiced by Steven Blum) He is a newscaster who reported on the shuttle that John Jameson piloted.
• St. John Devereaux: (voiced by Jeff Bennett) Mr. Devereaux is the Midtown High School theater teacher. He cast, produced and directed a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, where many students took part. He first appeared in the Season 1 episode "Group Therapy", where he was to play Falstaff in a production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, before the show was cancelled due to Spider-Man's fight with the Sinister Six.
• Crusher Hogan: (voiced by Jim Cummings) Crusher Hogan was the wrestler that Peter Parker as Spider-Man faced as seen in a flashback accessed by the symbiote suit. Spider-Man easily beat him in a wrestling match.
• Debra Whitman: Debra Whitman is an employee of Miles Warren and is explained to be the replacement of Eddie.
• Calypso Ezili: (voiced by Angela Bryant) Calypso is Sergei's partner and lover.
• Blackie Gaxton: (voiced by Steven Blum) Blackie Gaxton is the manager and bookie in the Big Sky Lounge and is one of the men responsible for the creation of Molten Man.
• Morris Bench: (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) Morris Bench first appeared in the episode "Shear Strength" as a demolition expert.
• Donald Menken: (voiced by Greg Weisman) Donald Menken is a loyal employee of Norman Osborn.
• Joan Jameson: (voiced by Jane Lynch) J. Jonah Jameson's wife.
• Bernard Houseman: (voiced by Jeff Bennett) Norman Osborn's personal butler who serves the Osborn's family.
• Erin: (voiced by Grey DeLisle) A young girl who happens to admire Spidey. She appears in the show's intro and the episodes "Interactions", "The Invisible Hand", and "Nature vs. Nurture".
• Vin Gonzales: Vin Gonzales, along with his partner, Alan O'Neal, are prominent police officers.
• Walter Hardy / The Cat Burglar: (voiced by James Remar) Felicia Hardy's father and the man who was believed to have shot Uncle Ben.
• Roderick Kingsley: One of the men who participated in the auction of the Rhino supersoldier blueprints and outbidded everyone else. He is said to work in a perfume factory.
• Emily Osborn: Emily Osborn is the wife of Norman and mother of Harry. Interesting enough this version of Norman Osbron is not a widower. Mrs. Osborn is still alive but never says anything.
• Cletus Kasady: He makes a small cameo in episode "Reinforcement" wearing a Santa Claus hat in Ravencroft, during a group therapy session with Doctor Octopus and Electro when Kraven the Hunter attacks to break out the two villains.

Cameos of real people

• Greg Weisman: The supervising writer for the series, makes an appearance during the introduction of every episode; he appears in the scene with a crowd standing in front of a television store.

• Victor Cook: Victor Cook, the supervising director for the series, makes an appearance during the introduction of every episode; he appears in the scene with a crowd standing in front of a television store. He also makes a cameo appearance in the crowd during the 4 way fight between Spider-Man, Tombstone, Doctor Octopus and Silvermane in the season 2 episode "Gangland".

• Sean Galloway: Sean Galloway, the character designer of the series, makes an appearance as the DJ at the Fall Formal during season 1 episode 7: "Catalysts".

• Stan Lee: Stan Lee makes an appearance at the docks in the episode "Blueprints" as a worker named Stan.

Villains

See also: List of Spider-Man enemies

Picture of the original Sinister Six in the series, a group consisting of Spider-Man villains in The Spectacular Spider-Man.

The series incorporates a number of villains from different eras of the Spider-Man universe, almost all of whom are introduced as regular characters in first episodes before they transform into established villain identities. (For example, Eddie Brock was introduced at the very beginning of the series, but only became Venom in the season 1 finale).

• Norman Osborn/Green Goblin:(voiced by Steven Blum as Goblin and Alan Rachins as Norman) The Green Goblin is a mysterious supervillain and the primary antagonist of the series. The Green Goblin's ruthless plan was to take over the Big Man's operation and he eventually succeeded. The Green Goblin was originally thought to be Harry Osborn to Spider-Man but was eventually revealed to be Norman Osborn who framed Harry.While Norman is depicted as a behind the scenes antagonist in the series,he is Harry's father and the head of OsCorp. A ruthless businessman who believes himself incapable of failure and never apologizes, Norman is involved in many shady dealings with the Big Man such as helping create supervillains.
• L. Thompson Lincoln / Tombstone / Big Man: (voiced by Keith David and then Kevin Michael Richardson) As one of the lead antagonist's of the series, L. Thompson Lincoln is believed by Spider-Man to be the true identity of the "Big Man," though he says he's gone by many names, his favorite being Tombstone. Tombstone is one of the few villains to best Spider-Man in a fight. He is made to be a replace to the Kingpin which they could not use due to copyright issues.
• Hammerhead: (voiced by John DiMaggio) Hammerhead was originally Tombstone's second in command, and organized much of the mysterious Big Man's criminal empire, providing its face (and more frequently, muscle) in its various dealings. It was through Hammerhead that the Big Man made a deal with Norman Osborn to continue making supervillains so Spider-Man would be too distracted to stop the Big Man's operations. He also once worked for Silvermane, and had a relationship with his daughter, Sable.
• Enforcers / New Enforcers: Tombstone employed the Enforcers to take care of Spider-Man. Among its members are:
  • Montana / Shocker: (voiced by Jeff Bennett) Montana is the field leader of the Enforcers and is a trained mercenary. Despite his criminal activities, he is very much a professional, having no personal grudge with Spider-Man, just considering it his responsibility to bring him down. He speaks with a southern accent and enjoys wearing a cowboy hat when out of uniform. For Greg Weisman, the decision to make Montana the Shocker instead of Herman Schultz like in the comics is because he wanted to go with something that has an iconic feel for it. He stated that "we are trying to create something that is the three C's: Coherent, cohesive and contemporary. And yet, still, the fourth C: Classic." Greg looked carefully at the fictional character and said, "Who is this guy? What is it that's iconic about Shocker? What is it that really matters?" And according to Weisman it was the powers, the suit, the relationship with Spider-Man. And he and the creators felt that the identity of Herman Schultz didn't have that. He stated that "he's not Otto Octavius and he sure as hell ain't Norman Osborn". He also stated that he is speaking "as a fan, not just a producer" and that he "felt that tying that in with the Enforcers and with Montana worked better for the show".
  • Fancy Dan / Ricochet: (voiced by Phil LaMarr) Fancy Dan is the martial artist of the Enforcers and is shown to be able to dodge Spider-Man's web with ease and can take him in hand-to-hand combat.
  • Ox: (voiced by Clancy Brown and then Danny Trejo)Ox is the brute force of the Enforcers, being able to break Spider-Man's web with ease.
• Adrian Toomes / Vulture: (voiced by Robert Englund) Adrian Toomes is an elderly scientist tricked by Norman Osborn to reveal his plans for flying technology, not knowing that Osborn was planning on stealing his invention and blaming his friend Octavius until he learns the truth. After Osborn showed no remorse for his actions, Toomes donned his own flying suit and dubbed himself Vulture (based on an insult Norman had given him earlier in the day) in order to force Norman to apologize until Spider-Man stopped him by attacking Vulchie's humming hump.
• Max Dillon / Electro: (voiced by Crispin Freeman) Maxwell Dillon was a young 20 year old electrician and a friend of Dr. Curt Connors until he suffered a terrible accident which transformed him into the supervillain Electro.
• The Lizard: (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) The Lizard is a monstrous result of Doctor Connor's transformation after he tested Lizard DNA on himself.
• Flint Marko / Sandman: (voiced by John DiMaggio) Flint Marko is introduced as a petty crook, seen working alongside Alex O'Hirn under the Big Man. He is then transformed into the supervillain Sandman by Norman Osborn after the Big Man wanted supervillains to distract Spider-Man. Unlike his partner O'Hirn, Marko's motivation remained solely to seek out money despite Spider-Man's constant foilings, referring to his eventual goal as getting his "big score."
• Alex O'Hirn / Rhino: (voiced by Clancy Brown) At first Alexander "Alex" O'Hirn is just a petty crook, seen working with Flint Marko under orders of the Big Man. He is captured by Spider-Man with ease times and time again, which increases his annoyance and hatred of Spider-Man. Just like his partner he was experimented by Norman Osborn after the Big Man wanted supervillains to distract Spider-Man. Unlike his partner though, money is a secondary interest to him, his primary one being revenge. And with Rhino's titanium suit, he got superhuman strength.
• Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus / Master Planner: (voiced by Peter MacNicol) Dr. Octavius is a research scientist working under Norman Osborn at OsCorp. He is very timid and willing to apologize for every little thing, a direct contrast to his boss, Norman. He is one of OsCorp's most intelligent scientists and the creator of a four armed harness that makes him able to do dangerous experiments, playing a part in the creation of Sandman and Rhino. Eventually, as the result of a devastating accident (orchestrated by the Green Goblin), his arms became permanently fused to his back and he was driven out of his mind, becoming the vengeful Dr. Octopus. In season two he is revealed to be the "Master Planner".
• Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon: (voiced by Steven Blum) The Chameleon is an international spy-for-hire, master of disguise and a former FSB agent.
• Eddie Brock / Venom: (voiced by Benjamin Diskin) Brock has had a life-long connection to Peter Parker, with both of their parents having died together in a plane crash. But while Peter had May and Ben Parker to act as his legal guardians, Eddie did not have anyone to take him in. Because of this he has always carried an envious subconscious hatred towards Peter for being able to live an easier life. However, he has repressed this attitude over the years by acting as a friend and mentor to Peter, often calling him "Bro". As the series progresses, Eddie develops animosity towards Peter due to a series of misunderstandings, often involving photographs Peter had taken while secretly disguised as Spider-Man. This ultimately damages their friendship. In the series Spider-Man finds himself merged with an alien symbiote . Spider-Man eventually manages to separate from the symbiote after revealing it's true intentions. The symbyote then subsequently bonds with Eddie, revealing to him Spider-Man's identity as Peter Parker making him the first and only person in the series to figure out his secret identity. Together, they formed the creature known as "Venom".
• Dr. Miles Warren: (voiced by Brian George) Dr. Warren is a scheming scientist and the younger and ruthless brother of Aaron Warren.
• Quentin Beck / Mysterio: (voiced by Xander Berkeley) Beck was originally one of the Chameleon's partners in crime being an expert of special effects. Beck is revealed to Mysterio in "Blueprints." using his illusions while claiming to be a sorcerer.
• Phineas Mason / Tinkerer: (voiced by Thom Adcox) Along with Quentin Beck, Phineas Mason is one of the Chameleon's partners in crime. His main expertice is technology but is useless in a fight. He is then shown in the show working for the Master Planner in season two and helps create the New Enforcers.
• Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter: (voiced by Eric Vesbit) Determined to hunt Spider-Man, Kravinoff first appeared in the season 2 episode "Destructive Testing", garbed in a lion-themed vest similar to his original comic book counterpart. He is the most skilled hunter in the known world, relying only on his natural talents to subdue his prey. Using a serum concocted from Warren's own research (and based on Curt Connors' own Lizard formula), he is then mutated into a human-feline hybrid, with elements of leopard, cheetah, and lion DNA calling himself "Kraven the Hunter" much like his Ultimate comic book counterpart.
• Sable Manfredi / Silver Sable: (voiced by Nikki Cox) Sable Manfredi is the daughter of Silvio Manfredi, the crime lord known as Silvermane, and takes the name of Silver Sable. She was once in a relationship with Hammerhead, when he used to work for her father.
• Silvio Manfredi / Silvermane: (voiced by Miguel Ferrer) Silvermane is a rival crime lord in New York to Hammerhead, Tombstone and Dr. Octopus.
• Mark Allan / Molten Man: (voiced by Eric Lopez) Mark Allan is Liz Allan's brother. He first appeared in "First Steps" where it was mentioned that he just got out of juvenile hall. He is a love interest of Mary Jane Watson. Due to his gambling addiction he turns back to his life of crime and becomes the Molten Man.

Reception

Goldman wrote that Electro's redesigned costume retained "some nice visual nods to the Electro many of us grew up with." Liz Allan's characterization, though, he found confusing, with the character's accent and background unclear. Goldman also praised the Lizard's design, calling it "the most visually familiar villain the show had introduced yet". Goldman enjoyed the design of Shocker which he felt stayed true to his original design and was "intrigued" by changing his secret identity. Goldman also praised the unveiling of Tombstone and Mary Jane Watson. Goldman gave a mixed response about Green Goblin — noting that he is "perhaps a bit hyper sensitive on how he's portrayed" — considering the design, while similar to the comics, be more of an exact version of it; Goldman considered the character's personality was "a bit too evocative of the Joker," the iconic villain from DC's Batman comics, but believed that his "malice side" worked. Goldman also praised Mary Jane Watson for being "much like Stan Lee created her – a quick witted, fun loving girl." He also applauded the mysterious factors of Green Goblin's true identity. Goldman opted that Jonah's hatred of Spider-Man that was formed in the episode was "perhaps the most understandable and best way it's ever been portrayed before."

Season Elliot, senior editor of iF Magazine, wrote "The Lizard himself was a nice update of the original Lizard and he was still in his torn pants, shirt, and lab coat." Elliot praised the design for differentiating itself from that used for Spider-Man or Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, and that he "can't wait for the action figure of this guy!" He also stated "Even the Shocker was more interesting on this show, so I continue to have high hopes for future episodes, characters, and villains." When talking about the change of Shocker's secret identity, he quoted that it "saves the writers from having to come up with a completely different origin for a character that pretty much is a second tier villain anyways." Elliot was "pleased" with the portrayal of Rhino as an unintelligent brute; he also enjoyed the change of the "Big Man's" identity from that of the comics - where he was a Bugle reporter named Frederic Foswell - and found it humorous to have Foswell be the reporter to tell Peter who the "Big Man" is rumored to be. Similar to Goldman, Elliot applauded the mystery of Goblin's true identity, which he described as a "bait and switch."

Rob M. Worley of Mania described Dr. Octopus' introduction as "explosive," while praising MacNicol for balancing such a heavy workload between both the episode and other series.

External links

• http://www.nick.co.uk/shows/spiderman/characters.aspx
• http://thespectacularspider-man.webs.com/villains.htm