Spider-Man (1994 TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
 This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (August 2007)
Spider-Man
Image:Smanimatedtitle.png
Title sequence.
Format Animated cartoon
Action
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Voices of Christopher Daniel Barnes
Jennifer Hale
Edward Asner
Country of origin  United States
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 65 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Stan Lee
Avi Arad
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel FOX (Fox Kids)
Original run November 19, 1994 – January 31, 1998
Chronology
Preceded by Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Followed by Spider-Man Unlimited

Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated series starring the famous Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. The show ran on Fox Kids from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998. The producer/story editor was John Semper, Jr. and production company was Marvel Productions. Reruns can currently be seen on Jetix Europe and Disney XD.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

The series tells the story of a 19-year-old Peter Parker in his first year at Empire State University, and his alter-ego Spider-Man. As the story begins, Peter has already gained his powers, is single and a part-time photographer for the Daily Bugle. The show features most of Spider-Man's classic villains, including the Kingpin, the Green Goblin, the Lizard, the Scorpion, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, the Rhino, the Shocker, The Vulture, and the Chameleon, as well as more recent villains such as Venom, Carnage, and the Hobgoblin. Over the course of the series the single Peter Parker contends with the romantic interests of Mary Jane Watson, Black Cat and her alter ego, Felicia Hardy.

[edit] Production overview

While Marvel's X-Men: The Animated Series was being produced by Saban, Spider-Man was produced by the newly formed Marvel Films Animation; it was the only series that in-house studio produced, but was animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha with Korean studios. The series is the second longest-running Marvel show created, after X-Men, as well as the longest-running series based on Spider-Man. It is currently owned and distributed by The Walt Disney Company, which acquired all Fox Kids-related properties from News Corporation and Saban International in 2001.

[edit] Creation

 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

Avi Arad was the executive producers of the show. One of the obligations of working with Fox was to make the show educational by introducing resolvable, child-appropriate social issues. Semper said he believed Spider-Man to be particularly good for this because the show takes place in real world New York making it able to tackle problems "closer to home".[citation needed]

[edit] Animation

Concept art for Spider-Man.

To reproduce the New York's style background illustrators undertook a large amount of visual research, using photo archives from above New York, particularly rooftops. Maps were consulted for references and buildings were faithfully reproduced.

It has been reported that the animation cells depicting Manhattan's Pan Am Building were scrapped after being complete because the California-based art staff learned the Midtown 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[citation needed] that was one of the limitations of earlier Spider-Man animated projects.

Originally, Marvel Films planned to make the backgrounds completely CGI while Spider-Man 'webslinged' around New York, yet due to budget constraints were forced to use traditional cel based animation while occasionally using CGI backgrounds. As well, 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).

[edit] Censorship

 This article or section may contain unpublished synthesis of published material that conveys ideas not attributable to the original sources. See the talk page for details. (December 2007)

By 1994, heavy censorship was being enforced by Fox because certain shows were being banned for excessive violence in some countries. So in a bid to make Spider-Man as politically correct as possible, the producers of the show were instructed to abide by their extensive list of requirements.[1] Among the notable restrictions were:

  • Not mentioning "death", "die", "kill" or other words with a strong negative meaning. Death was to be avoided, leading Semper to skirt around the issue. "Destroy" and "destruction" were frequently employed as synonyms.[2] For example:
    • Rather than explicitly stating that Uncle Ben was killed it is only said that he "was shot" and that Peter "let him down."
    • It is stated that the Punisher's family was "caught in a crossfire between rival gangs", and the same applied to the wife of the Destroyer.
    • After the Lizard is transformed back into Dr. Conners, he is unconscious. His wife asks Spider-Man, "Is he-" and Spider-Man says, "He'll be okay." cutting her off.
    • At one point, when the Green Goblin returns after seemingly perishing, Spider-Man says, "You?! But I thought you were-" and the Green Goblin cuts him off with, "I'm not.. but you'll soon be!" before throwing a Pumpkin Bomb at Spider-Man.
    • When Hydro-Man was defeated and evaporated, Mary Jane asked "Is he-?" Spider-Man cuts her off by saying "Not necessarily." He goes on to explain that water that evaporates always eventually returns to the earth in the form of rain.
    • There were exceptions, such as when Felicia's mother was attacked by Kraven, and stated "That madman nearly killed you." or when Mary Jane suggested that Harry was trying to "avenge the death of his father." And even in the episode "Sting of the Scorpion", when J. Jonah Jameson offers Gargon to get back at Spider-Man. He replies by saying that he'd "kill for the chance."
  • Many realistic guns were not allowed, and no firearms could shoot bullets, so instead they fired lasers complimented by 'futuristic' sound effects. This often led to scenes in which ordinary policemen wielded futuristic pistols. However, in Episode 3.09, Robbie Robertson's son Randy finds a real-looking gun in his father's desk, though it is never fired on screen, and in Episode 56, when Keane Marlow is telling the story of how he lost his wife, the bank robbers are firing a pistol and a semi-automatic. In "Day of the Chameleon", the Chameleon is about to pull out a realistic looking pistol from behind his back before Spider-Man stops him. In "Sting of the Scorpion" a flashback shows Jameson's wife's killer supposedly using a realistic gun in a drive by shooting. In the episode "Make a Wish", a police officer is also pointing a realistic looking pistol at Spider-Man. It is worth noting that the roughly contemporary Batman: The Animated Series, which also aired on Fox Kids, portrayed realistic, if anachronistic, firearms onscreen throughout that show's run without ever having an episode banned or censored as a result.
  • Spider-Man was not allowed to hit anyone with his fist, however there were a few exceptions.[2] In Episode 39 ("The Spot") in which he used his spider-sense to guide a punch through a dimension portal and knock out the Spot. He also punched the Scorpion's tail near the end of the episode, "The Sting Of The Scorpion," & punched the villain twice in "The Final Nightmare."
  • No crashing glass was allowed. However, in Episode 43, when Spider-Man and Doc Ock were battling in Felicia and Anastasia Hardy's home, Ock accidentally smashed a glass window with one of his tentacles.
  • No children in peril, although there was a scene where the Rocket Racer, a teenager by the name of Robert, was stuck to the bottom of an elevator, about to be crushed until Spider-Man saved him.[2]
  • No vampires were allowed on the show. This created complications with the use of the characters Morbius the living vampire and Blade the vampire hunter. Consequently, Morbius only drained victims through suckers on his hands, rather than by biting them in the traditional vampire style on the neck, and rather than blood, his sustenance was referred to only as "plasma." However, the word "blood" is used regularly in non-vampire episodes. True vampires later appeared anyway, primarily in the form of Blade's vampire mother, but they are not shown actually biting anyone.
  • Spider-Man was not allowed to harm any pigeons when he landed on rooftops.[2]
  • Cletus Kasady a.k.a. Carnage was not a serial killer in the series, he was just a madman. Carnage never actually used his symbiotic blades to harm anyone, he was either stopped or dodged. He also absorbed people's energy rather than killing them outright. However, he has made a few references to attempts to murder. For instance, when Baron Mordo stated to him that he needed a few more life forces, Carnage said "Only a few? Too bad!". He also referred to his process of draining life force as "feeding".

There are, however, notable exceptions to these rules. Examples include:

  • When Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson confront Hydro-Man in Episode 2.03 for the last time, Hydro-Man vaporizes when he touches hot ground, and never returns.
  • Due to the unstable DNA structure of the clones of Mary Jane Watson and Hydro-Man, they vaporized and died.
  • Several other characters, including Mysterio, Jameson's wife and the Kingpin's father were implied to have died off-screen.
  • It should be noted that the restricted words were sometimes mentioned regardless of Fox's censorship. For example, in "The Insidious Six", Scorpion states that he'd "kill to work for the Kingpin" (a common exaggeration used by many). Another variation appears in "Hydro Man", where Liz Allan says the word in pig latin to Mary Jane. When trying to reason with The Spot, Spider-Man said "You're no killer." Scorpion even said the word "kill" in his first appearance and the death words were used regularly in the Six Forgotten Warriors five-part episode saga.
  • Perhaps another well-known exception is the series' finale. Spider-Carnage, an insane version of Peter Parker combine with the Carnage symbiote, was snapped to his senses by a still-living Uncle Ben of the rich Spider-Man of that reality. Because the Carnage Symbiote was trying to regain control, Spider-Carnage commits suicide by detonating a 'reality bomb' in a small portal to kill himself and the symbiote.
  • The Kingpin was portrayed as a very obese man who would put Spidey in some massive bear hugs, many parents found this very negative since a fat man was able to hug Spidey and crush him.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, ABC Family heavily edited the season one finale "Day of the Chameleon" to remove the World Trade Center buildings, parts of the New York skyline, and a helicopter crashing into a building, exploding, and falling to the ground below, among other shots. This resulted in the first scene being impossible to comprehend as it was originally intended. Dialogue was re-looped to match the new, shorter version. Some production credits from the episode are missing as well, due to their being on screen during the omitted footage. Another noticeable edit can be viewed in season three's "Enter the Green Goblin." In the original, the Goblin Glider slams into a building with Spider-Man riding on top. In the newly edited version, the scene is cut, and Spider-Man is shown simply emerging from a hole in the side of the building. Another edit occurs near the end of season two's "Duel of the Hunters," when it is revealed that Kraven and Punisher's last battle with the "Man-Spider" was in fact inside the parking garage of the World Trade Center, and that Kraven had deduced the location by smelling some webbing left at a previous battle and detecting remnant soot in it from the terrorist bombing of the early 1990s. The whole sequence of Punisher finding out where they are and Kraven's explanation of how he knew where to look for them was cut, though the battle scenes within the garage are left intact, since obviously they could belong to any parking garage until the final revelation.

[edit] Missing features

Betty Brant was missing in the series. Instead, J. Jonah Jameson started out right away with a black secretary named Glory Grant, who was Jonah's secretary after Betty left in the comics.

Also, the show's producers were instructed to leave long time villain Sandman out of the series because he was the villain in the film being developed by James Cameron. That project eventually fell through.

[edit] Reception

Spider-Man: The Animated Series was one of the most popular shows on Fox Kids, ranking with and occasionally above other hit shows such as Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men: The Animated Series. Even after the series ended, it still had an impact on the entertainment industry, boosting sales of myriads of Spider-Man merchandise and popularity. The show was named the 84th best animated series by IGN.[3]

[edit] Merchandising

First series of the show's toy line.

Three comics based on the series were produced:

  • Spider-Man Adventures (December 1994 to February 1996)[4] Spider-Man Adventures #1-4 was later reprinted in Kellogg's Froot Loops Mini-Comics #1-4.[5]
  • Adventures of Spider-Man: (April 1996 to March 1997) This featured new stories based on the series.[6] Adventures of Spider-Man was later reprinted in Spectacular Spider-Man (UK Magazine) #11-21 from August 1996 to May 1997.[7]

A number of video games based on the series were also produced:

Electronic versions of classic Spider-Man comics were released by Marvel that included narration by Christopher Daniel Barnes and featured animation and theme music from this series.

Novelisations of select episodes were also released.

A extensive toy line that ran over 8 series and included a staggering amount of play sets and vehicles.

There was a wide variety of themed merchandise produced such as lunch boxes, cereals, clothing etc.

Also, McDonald's produced a themed line of Happy Meal toys.

[edit] Release availability

Despite the fact that the show ended more than a decade ago, the success of the live-action Spider-Man films have sparked more interest in new fans, allowing the series to air in reruns thanks to its new owners: Disney. Notably, the episodes aired in their chronological order, not Fox's original air dates - albeit (as with similar shows) with some scenes cut out.

Some episodes have been released on VCD by Magnavision Home Video.

Select episodes have been released on DVD by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment:

Title Release Date
Spider-Man: The Ultimate Villain Showdown[9] 30 April 2002
Episodes:
  • The Sins of the Fathers Chapter II: Make a Wish
  • The Sins of the Fathers Chapter III: Attack of the Octobot
  • The Sins of the Fathers Chapter IV: Enter the Green Goblin
  • The Sins of the Fathers Chapter V: The Rocket Racer

Features[10]

  • 1967 Classic Episode: "The Origins Of Spider-Man"
Spider-Man: The Return of the Green Goblin[11] 29 October 2002
Episodes:
  • The Sins Of The Father: Chapter XII: The Spot
  • The Sins Of The Father: Chapter XIII: Goblin War!
  • The Sins Of The Father: Chapter XIV: The Turning Point
  • Partners In Danger: Chapter I: Guilty

Features[12]

  • Partners in Danger: Chapter VIII: The Return of the Green Goblin
  • 1967 Classic Episode: "The Terrible Triumph of Doctor Octopus/Magic Malice"
Daredevil vs. Spider-Man[13] 11 February 2003
Episodes:
  • The Sins Of The Father: Chapter VI: Framed
  • The Sins Of The Father: Chapter VII: The Man Without Fear
  • The Sins Of The Father: Chapter VIII: The Ultimate Slayer
  • The Sins Of The Father: Chapter IX: Tombstone

Features[14]

  • Classic 1966 Bonus Episode: "King Pinned" - Featuring Kingpin
  • Fantastic Four Bonus Episode, "And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them" - Featuring Daredevil
The Ultimate Spider-Man Collection[15] 2 November 2003
DVD Sets:
  • Spider-Man: The Ultimate Villain Showdown
  • Spider-Man: The Return of the Green Goblin
  • Daredevil vs. Spider-Man
Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock[16] 29 June 2004
Episodes:
  • Doctor Octopus: Armed And Dangerous
  • Partners In Danger: Chapter II: The Cat
  • Partners In Danger: Chapter III: The Black Cat
  • Partners In Danger: Chapter V: Partners

Features[17]

  • A classic 1967 bonus episode: The Power Of Dr. Octopus/Sub-Zero For Spidey (only available on the DVD edition)
Spider-Man: The Venom Saga[18] 7 June 2005
Episodes:
  • The Alien Costume, Part One
  • The Alien Costume, Part Two
  • The Alien Costume, Part Three
  • The Sins of the Fathers, Chapter X: Venom Returns
  • The Sins of the Fathers, Chapter XI: Carnage

A DVD was released only in Canada containing four episodes from the "Mutant Agenda" episodes.

A boxed set of all the DVDs was released in Poland, simply entitled "Spider-Man: 5 DVD Set". The front of the box features the same graphics as "The Ultimate Villain Showdown", but is relief.

Prior to Disney's releases, Marvel Films did release many two-episode DVDs in 2002.

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 despite having low video quality.

On the Spider-Man: The Return of the Green Goblin DVD, the bonus episode of the same name ("The Return of the Green Goblin") is missing its background music.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series is currently the 46th most wanted unreleased DVD at TVShowsOnDVD.com.[19]

The entire first season is available on Xbox Live and iTunes through Disney XD.[20]

An entire first season Region 2 DVD set will be released in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2009.[21]

Seasons 2 & 3 are slated for release in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2009 & August 17, 2009, respectively. [22]

[edit] Awards

Writer / Producer John Semper Jr. won an Annie Award in 1995 for Best Individual Achievement for Writing in the Field of Animation for the episode "Day of the Chameleon". Spider-Man was nominated for 1 1996 Image Award for Outstanding Animated/Live-Action/Dramatic Youth or Children's Series/Special.[23]

[edit] International syndication

Spider-Man: The Animated Series was the top-rated animated show in Germany, Portugal and Spain.[citation needed]

In Japan, it aired on the Japanese Cartoon Network. In this dub, his secret identity is Yu Komori, like it is in Spider-Man: The Manga.

In the UK, the premiere episodes averaged 2.5 million viewers.[citation needed]

In early 1996, the show was launched in Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and South Africa.

In Bulgaria the first season was aired on Nova Television in late 90's and reruns of it were shown on Evrokom. In 2001 all 65 episodes were aired on bTV. Reruns were aired on Diema Family from December 4, 2008 to February 16, 2009. Only one part of the whole episodes is beeing aired with dub on Jetix.

In South Korea, the show was also aired on KBS.

The series is still regularly rerun on Jetix Europe, the successor of Fox Kids, in 19 languages.

[edit] Characters depicted

Main article: Characters in Spider-Man (1994 TV series)

[edit] Episode guide

Main article: List of Spider-Man (1994 TV series) episodes

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ "Interview With John Semper". http://hometown.aol.com/drg4/semper.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-23. 
  2. ^ a b c d "John Semper interview about symbiotes and season long story arcs". marvel.toonzone.net. http://marvel.toonzone.net/spideytas/interviews/sempervenom/. Retrieved on 2008-02-27. 
  3. ^ "84, Spider-Man". IGN. 2009-01-23. http://tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/84.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-24. 
  4. ^ "Spider-Man Adventures". The Big Comic Book Database. http://www.comics-db.com/Marvel_Comics/S/Spider-Man/Spider-Man_Adventures/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-30. 
  5. ^ "Kellogg’s Fruit Loops (Spide-Man Adventures Reprints)". spiderfan.org. http://www.spiderfan.org/comics/title/froot_loops.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-05. 
  6. ^ "The Adventures of Spider-Man". spiderfan.org. http://www.spiderfan.org/comics/title/spiderman_adventures_v2.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-05. 
  7. ^ "Spectacular Spider-Man (UK Magazine) : #1-#25". spiderfan.org. http://www.spiderfan.org/comics/title/spiderman_spectacular_uk.html#11. Retrieved on 2008-02-05. 
  8. ^ "Marvel Adventures (Spidey’s Appearances)". spiderfan.org. http://www.spiderfan.org/comics/title/marvel_adventures.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-05. 
  9. ^ "Ultimate Villain Showdown DVD". usask.ca. http://homepage.usask.ca/~jjs142/spidermanultimate.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. 
  10. ^ "The Ultimate Villain Showdown at dvdempire". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99365560997980&item_id=48032. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. 
  11. ^ "Return of the Green Goblin DVD". usask.ca. http://homepage.usask.ca/~jjs142/spidermangreengoblin.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. 
  12. ^ "The Return of the Green Goblin at dvdempire". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99365651982715&item_id=447078&searchID=4302334. Retrieved on 2007-05-05. 
  13. ^ "Daredevil vs Spider-Man DVD". usask.ca. http://homepage.usask.ca/~jjs142/daredevilvsspiderman.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. 
  14. ^ "Daredevil vs Spiderman at dvdempire". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99365560997980&item_id=459375&searchID=51053. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. 
  15. ^ "Ultimate Spider-Man Collection DVD". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99365560997980&item_id=546164&searchID=51053. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. 
  16. ^ "Spider-Man vs Doc Ock DVD". usask.ca. http://homepage.usask.ca/~jjs142/spidermanvsock.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. 
  17. ^ "Daredevil vs Spiderman at dvdempire". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99365560997980&item_id=459375&searchID=51053. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. 
  18. ^ "The Venom Saga DVD". ultimatedisney.com. http://www.ultimatedisney.com/spider-man-venomsaga.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. 
  19. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/showinfo.cfm?showID=3930&CFID=19303607&CFTOKEN=63477329
  20. ^ http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/videos/media/1d40dc65-264f-410d-b8af-d285f0649bee/
  21. ^ http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/9545774/New-Spiderman-1995-Season-1-Vol-1-2/Product.html
  22. ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_d_h_?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=new+spider-man+1995
  23. ^ "IMDb: Spider-Man Awards". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112175/awards. Retrieved on 2007-05-23. 

[edit] References

Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Spider-Man: The Animated Series

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Spider-Man (1994 TV series)
Episodes
Season 1
Guilty · The Cat · The Black Cat · The Return of Kraven · Partners · The Awakening · The Vampire Queen · The Return of the Green Goblin · The Haunting of Mary Jane · The Lizard King · The Prowler
Season 5
Video games
See also
v • d • e
Spider-Man in popular media
Actors
Television
Spider-Man (1967-70) · Spidey Super Stories (1974-77, live action) · Amazing Spider-Man (1978-79, live action) · Spiderman (1978-79, Japanese) · Spider-Man (1981-82) · Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981-83) · Spider-Man (1994-98) · Spider-Man Unlimited (1999-2000) · Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003) · The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-)
Films
Spider-Man (2002) · Spider-Man 2 (2004) · Spider-Man 3 (2007) · Spider-Man 4 (2011)
Parody
Video games
Spider-Man (2000) · The Sinister Six (2001) · Mysterio's Menace (2001) · Enter Electro (2001) · Spider-Man (2002) · Spider-Man 2 (2004) · Ultimate Spider-Man (2005) · Battle for New York (2006) · Spider-Man 3 (2007) · Friend or Foe (2007) · Web of Shadows (2008)
Theme parks
v • d • e
Marvel animated universe
Television series
X-Men (1992) · Iron Man (1994) · Fantastic Four (1994) · Spider-Man (1994) · The Incredible Hulk (1996) · Silver Surfer (1998) · Spider-Man Unlimited (1999) · The Avengers: United They Stand (1999)
List of episodes
Production
and distribution
Production staff
Music
Keith Emerson (Iron Man) · Shuki Levy · Giorgio Moroder (Fantastic Four) · Joe Perry (Spider-Man) · David Sibley · Steve Vai (X-Men) · Ron Wasserman (X-Men)
Characters
Adapted storylines
Related articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_(1994_TV_series)"
Personal tools