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The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series) facts for kids

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The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series) logo.svg
Genre
Developed by
  • Greg Weisman
  • Victor Cook
Written by
  • Greg Weisman
  • Kevin Hopps
  • Matt Wayne
  • Andrew Robinson
  • Randy Jandt
  • Nicole Dubuc
Directed by
  • Victor Cook
  • Jennifer Coyle
  • Dave Bullock
  • Troy Adomitis
  • Dan Fausett
  • Kevin Altieri
  • Michael Goguen
Voices of
Theme music composer The Tender Box
Opening theme "Spectacular Spider-Man"
Ending theme "Spectacular Spider-Man" (instrumental)
Composer(s)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Greg Weisman
  • Victor Cook
  • Diane A. Crea
  • Joshua Fine
Editor(s)
  • Ralph A. Eusebio
  • Bruce King
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor Sony Pictures Television
Release
Original network The CW (season 1)
Disney XD (season 2)
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
(2008)
1080i (HDTV)
(2009)
Original release March 8, 2008 (2008-03-08) – November 18, 2009 (2009-11-18)
Chronology
Preceded by Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
Followed by Ultimate Spider-Man

The Spectacular Spider-Man is an American superhero animated television series. It is based on the famous character from Marvel Comics. Greg Weisman and Victor Cook helped create the show for TV.

The series mixes action, drama, and comedy. It mostly takes place in a high school setting. The show gets its style from the early Amazing Spider-Man comics. It also uses ideas from other comics like Ultimate Spider-Man and the Spider-Man movies by Sam Raimi.

The Spectacular Spider-Man first aired on March 8, 2008, on The CW. The second season moved to Disney XD and finished on November 18, 2009. The show was very popular and got great reviews from critics and fans. People loved how it updated the classic characters and stories. They also praised the voice acting, unique art style, and clever writing.

Even though a third season was planned, the show was canceled. This happened because of legal issues between Disney (who bought Marvel) and Sony Pictures Television (who made the series).

What the Story Is About

The show follows Peter Parker during his high school years. Each season covers one semester. Season one takes place from September to November. Season two runs from December to March.

The main idea of the show is "The Education of Peter Parker." Each part of the story is named after a school subject. For example, season one has "Biology 101" and "Psychology 101." Season two includes "Engineering 101" and "Drama 101."

Season 1: Peter's Junior Year

In the first season, Peter Parker starts his junior year at Midtown Manhattan Magnet High School. He has recently gained his Spider-Man powers after being bitten by a special spider. At school, he is often picked on by Flash Thompson. But he has good friends like Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn.

To help his Aunt May after his Uncle Ben passed away, Peter gets a job. He works as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle newspaper. The paper is run by the loud and grumpy J. Jonah Jameson. Peter takes pictures of Spider-Man in action. Jameson then uses these photos to make Spider-Man look bad.

Peter and Gwen also get jobs as lab assistants at Empire State University. They work for Dr. Curt Connors and with their friend Eddie Brock. As Spider-Man, Peter fights small crimes. But he soon catches the eye of the Big Man, a powerful crime boss in New York City.

Spider-Man first fights villains like the Enforcers, Vulture, Electro, and the Lizard. The Big Man, with help from Norman Osborn and Dr. Otto Octavius, creates "supervillains." These villains are meant to keep Spider-Man busy. They include Sandman and Rhino.

Things get more complicated when the mysterious Green Goblin appears. Other villains introduced are Black Cat, Shocker, and Chameleon. After the Green Goblin is defeated, Spider-Man gets a black suit from a symbiote. This eventually leads to Eddie Brock becoming Venom.

Season 2: New Challenges

In season two, Peter's life gets much more complex. He has feelings for both Gwen Stacy and Liz Allan. He eventually chooses Liz. Norman Osborn becomes a mentor to Peter. He helps Peter get his lab assistant job back with Dr. Connors.

As Spider-Man, Peter meets new villains like Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter. He starts looking into a new crime boss called the "Master Planner." When the Master Planner's first plan fails, a big gang war starts. It's between the Master Planner's villains, the Big Man's group, and Silvio "Silvermane" Manfredi's family.

Peter's search for Eddie Brock brings back Venom. Venom tries to reveal Spider-Man's secret identity and take away his powers. After the three main crime bosses are arrested, Spider-Man faces the Green Goblin again. The Goblin wants to get rid of Spider-Man for good. The series ends with some unanswered questions because it was canceled.

Other new characters in season two include Calypso, Sha Shan Nguyen, Silver Sable, Roderick Kingsley, and Molten Man.

Who Are the Characters?

Main article: List of The Spectacular Spider-Man characters

The show brings together many classic Spider-Man characters. It condenses their stories to fit them into the series. Characters like Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, and Harry Osborn are shown as they are starting out. They are not yet exactly like their older comic book versions.

The series has a very large group of supporting characters. Almost every named character in the show is based on someone from the comics. This includes characters from the main comics and the Ultimate Spider-Man comics. Even characters from the Sam Raimi movies appear.

Many villains are introduced early in the series. They often appear as regular people before becoming their villain identities. For example, Eddie Brock is introduced at the start. But he only becomes Venom near the end of season one.

Meet the Voice Cast

Main Voices

Other Voices

Behind the Scenes: The Crew

Spectacular Spider-Man series crew
Members of the crew at San Diego Comic-Con 2007. Greg Weisman is on the far left. Photo: Comiquero.com
  • Greg Weisman - Supervising Producer/Story Editor/Writer
  • Victor Cook - Supervising Producer (Season 2)/Supervising Director
  • Diane A. Crea - Producer
  • Eric Vesbit - Associate Producer
  • Wade Wisninski - Associate Producer
  • Dave Bullock - Director (four episodes)
  • Kevin Altieri - Director (four episodes)
  • John Diaz - Production Manager
  • Kevin Hopps - Writer
  • Matt Wayne - Writer
  • Andrew Robinson - Writer
  • Randy Jandt - Script Coordinator/Writer's Apprentice/Writer
  • Jennifer Coyle - Director (six episodes)
  • Sean "Cheeks" Galloway - Lead Character Designer/ Character Supervisor
  • Mike Inman - Background Painter/Visual Development
  • Jamie Thomason - Voice Casting Director and Dialogue Director
  • Meagan Healy - Production Art Supervisor
  • Brian G. Smith - Production Art Supervisor
  • Ben Maloney - Production Assistant
  • Sherrian Felix - Production Coordinator
  • Jennifer L. Anderson - Post Production Assistant
  • Sean Herbert - Animation Clerk

How the Show Was Made

A new Spider-Man cartoon was announced in August 2006. It was planned to have 13 episodes. The show was developed by Greg Weisman and Victor Cook.

The Spectacular Spider-Man was picked up by Kids' WB! on The CW in 2007. It was set to premiere in early 2008. The show's art style was made simpler than previous versions. This was to make Spider-Man's movements look smooth and fluid, like in the live-action movies.

The series was produced by Adelaide Productions. Other animation studios also helped. The theme song was written and performed by The Tender Box.

Greg Weisman explained that they followed "The Five Cs" when making the show: Contemporary, Cohesive, Coherent, Classic, and Iconic. They wanted the show to make sense and connect well. They also tried to combine characters and storylines when it made the story better. For example, the character Shocker was combined with another character named Montana.

The Spectacular Spider-Man first aired on March 8, 2008. It showed two episodes back-to-back.

Why the Show Ended and What Was Planned

Greg Weisman hoped the series would have 5 seasons, with 65 episodes in total. However, only 2 seasons and 26 episodes were made.

The show stopped production because of legal issues. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company bought Marvel Entertainment. But Sony Pictures Television still owned The Spectacular Spider-Man series. This meant neither company could continue making the show. Sony had the show itself, but Marvel had the rights to use Spider-Man characters for TV.

Because of the cancellation, many planned storylines were never finished.

  • In season three, Dr. Curt Connors would have moved to Florida. He would have worked on a cure for Electro.
  • There were also plans for DVD movies between seasons.
  • Villains like Scorpion, Hydro-Man, Hobgoblin, Carnage, and Mister Negative were planned for season three.
  • Weisman also hoped to make DVD sequels about Peter's college years. He even wanted to show his marriage to Mary Jane.

Even after more than ten years, fans still want the show to return. Many people have signed online petitions asking for a third season. On January 9, 2021, fans made #savespectacularspiderman trend on Twitter. Josh Keaton, who voices Peter Parker, even responded to the fans.

Watching the Show: Home Media

The show was first planned so that groups of 3-4 episodes could be put together as movies on DVD. The first DVD, "Attack of the Lizard," followed this plan. It combined the first three episodes into one story. This DVD was released on September 9, 2008.

Later, this plan changed. The next DVDs were released as numbered volumes with the TV versions of the episodes.

  • "The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete First Season" DVD came out on July 28, 2009.
  • More DVD volumes were released in 2009 and 2010.

You can also buy or stream the series online. It's available on iTunes Store, PlayStation Store, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, and Vudu. The series is also on Netflix in some countries outside the U.S.

A Blu-ray version with all 26 episodes was released on April 22, 2014. This was to promote The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie. The complete series was released again on standard DVD on October 18, 2016.

Where the Show Aired Again

On June 14, 2013, Saban Brands announced that The Spectacular Spider-Man would air again. It returned to The CW on the Vortexx block for the 2013–14 season. This was the first time it aired on The CW since its first season ended in 2008.

The series officially started airing on Vortexx on August 17, 2013. It finished its run on September 27, 2014.

Toys and Other Products

Hasbro released a line of toy action figures for the show in March 2008.

McDonald's Happy Meals included The Spectacular Spider-Man toys in February 2009. This was part of their 30th Anniversary celebration.

In February 2010, Burger King also included The Spectacular Spider-Man toys in its Kids' Meals.

Images for kids

  • Spectacular Spider-Man series crew

    Members of the crew at San Diego Comic-Con 2007. Greg Weisman is on the far left. Photo: Comiquero.com

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: The Spectacular Spider-Man para niños

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