Following the major success of X-Men: The Animated Series, Avi Arad, CCO of Marvel at the time and CEO of Toy Biz, decided to create more Marvel cartoons in order to sell toys. The most successful of these was Spider-Man: The Animated Series, helmed by John Semper Jr., who was handpicked by Stan Lee after the show ran into trouble following the departure of its original showrunner. While working around the mandatory characters who already had toys based on them, and some of the strangest censorship found in any TV show, Semper managed to weave a long-running storyline full of callbacks and character growth, which resulted in one of the greatest television adaptations of the web head ever produced.
Semper had a hand in writing nearly every episode of the show, which helped to keep the story’s vision on track. He knew how to balance the melodrama of Peter Parker’s (Christopher Daniel Barnes) dual life with superhero action, and many of the show’s best episodes drew on the original comics for inspiration.
“Partners in Danger Chapter I: Guilty”
Season 4, Episode 1
Grieving over the loss of Mary Jane Watson (Saratoga Ballantine), Peter contemplates walking away from his life as Spider-Man. However, he decides to postpone retirement when his friend at the Daily Bugle, editor-in-chief Joseph “Robbie” Robertson (Rodney Saulsberry), is arrested at a crime scene and identified as a villainous mastermind. Knowing that Robbie has been framed, J. Jonah Jameson (Ed Asner) hits the streets to do some detective work, and is even willing to put aside his rivalry with Spider-Man to secure Robbie’s freedom.
“Guilty” kicks off Season 4 of the show with a more ground-level storyline that has elements of a classic film noir. Jameson is the real star of this episode, quickly slipping into the role of an investigative journalist and proving vital to acquiring evidence to clear Robbie’s name, letting audiences see the more noble side of this beloved character. It’s also a stellar episode for showcasing the show’s adherence to continuity when it’s revealed just who was responsible for Robbie’s incarceration and why.
“Neogenic Nightmare Chapter VIII: Duel of the Hunters”
Season 2, Episode 8
During a battle with the Punisher, Frank Castle (John Beck), Spider-Man mutates into a horrific Man-Spider and flees into the city. Despite the creature’s overwhelming strength, Punisher is committed to destroying Spider-Man, fearing that he will attack innocent people. Meanwhile, Dr. Mariah Crawford (Susan Beaubian) learns of the mutation and calls her lover, Sergei Kravenoff (Gregg Berger), to track down Spider-Man while she attempts to make a cure.
“Duel of the Hunters” certainly lives up to its name, as alongside the race to find the Man-Spider, there is also Michael Morbius (Nick Jameson), who is still out attacking people to sate his vampiric hunger. This makes for a really solid episode that explores the differences between monsters and men, especially when Sergei and Frank cross paths. The design of the Man-Spider is also great, tapping into some effective body horror and tragedy when Peter’s personality resurfaces from time to time to direct the creature’s next action.
“The Sins of the Father Chapter IX: Tombstone”
Season 3, Episode 9
Alisa Silvermane (Leigh Allyn Baker) has learned that the Daily Bugle is going to publish a story about how she has taken over her father’s criminal empire, and tasks her father’s enforcer, Tombstone (Dorian Harewood), with stopping it. His plan to do so involves re-connecting with an old friend, Robbie Robertson, and forcing him to bury the story due to their past history. He’s also managed to get Robbie’s son, Randy (Alfonso Ribeiro), to join a criminal gang to further blackmail his father.
“Tombstone” is a stellar episode that shows that the writers could make an episode where Spidey was not the main character. Robbie’s quest to take down Tombstone and save his son from a criminal life is excellently paced, and the flashback segments add even more depth to both him and Tombstone. It’s also one of the few episodes to show a real gun via Robbie’s service revolver, and the way it’s utilized helps ground the story in a more realistic conflict than most episodes.
“Partners in Danger Chapter III: The Black Cat”
Season 4, Episode 3
Spidey is attacked by a new superpowered criminal named Black Cat (Jennifer Hale), who, unbeknownst to him, is his classmate and former crush Felicia Hardy. She has been transformed by the Kingpin (Roscoe Lee Browne) to test a supersoldier formula acquired from her father, John Hardesky (John Phillip Law), whom he had kidnapped from S.H.I.E.L.D. Eventually, Black Cat is able to escape Kingpin’s clutches and tries to convince Spider-Man to help her stop him from making an army of supersoldiers.
“The Black Cat” finally sees Felicia transition from one of Peter’s civilian friends into the playful on-and-off-again antihero that comic-fans love. This gives Hale a chance to show off her range as a voice actor, as she’s able to seamlessly transition between Felicia’s normal speaking voice and her deeper, more confident one whenever she powers up. The rest of the episode is solid as well, with a good mix of action and melodrama, especially at the end when John has to leave his family for the greater good.
“Night of the Lizard”
Season 1, Episode 1
Rumors of a lizard-man abducting people begin to spread through the city, prompting J. Jonah Jameson to offer a $1000 bonus to whoever can get pictures of the creature. Peter hopes to win the money to help his Aunt May (Linda Gary) with her financial troubles, but must compete with his more self-serving coworker, Eddie Brock (Hank Azaria). Unfortunately, Peter discovers that the creature is his professor, Dr. Curt Connors (Joseph Campanella), who has mutated himself in an attempt to regain his missing right arm.
As the pilot episode, “Night of the Lizard” has the arduous task of introducing audiences to this version of the web-head and his core cast of characters, which it pulls off spectacularly. Each character is given enough time to establish their personalities, especially Eddie, whose rivalry with Peter and Spider-Man is set up for the eventual payoff in the Venom saga. The presentation of the Lizard is also very effective, and set a good baseline for the introduction of future villains and what their fight scenes would look like.
“The Sins of the Father Chapter IV: Enter the Green Goblin”
Season 3, Episode 4
As Norman Osborn (Neil Ross) works on a performance-enhancing gas for the Kingpin, an accident causes an explosion, and Norman seems to die. His son, Harry (Gary Imhoff), blames the Oscorp board of directors—Wilson Fisk (the Kingpin), J. Jonah Jameson, and Anastasia Hardy (Rue McClanahan)—for the accident, since they had been threatening to replace Norman as CEO. Later, a new villain named the Green Goblin (Neil Ross), armed with the same weapons as the Hobgoblin (Mark Hamill), begins kidnapping the board members, and Spidey’s attempts to stop him reveal this goblin possesses super strength.
“Enter the Green Goblin,” finally brings Spider-Man’s arch rival into the show, and they more than succeed at making his presence felt. He owns every scene thanks to his physical strength and power of personality, which help feed into the mystery of who is under the mask. Ross’ dual role of Norman and the goblin is like night and day, going from a stern but caring man to a maniacale villain with one hell of an evil laugh.
“The Return of Hydro Man: Part 1 and 2”
Season 5, Episodes 7 and 8
Peter and Mary Jane’s honeymoon is interrupted by Morrie Bench (Rob Paulsen), also known as Hydro-Man, even though it looked like he died in their previous encounter. Things get even weirder when Mary Jane demonstrates the same powers as Morrie. This leads the two to meeting Professor Miles Warren (Jonathan Harris), who reveals that Morrie and Mary Jane are actually clones.
“The Return of Hydro Man” sets up the show’s endgame in the most heartbreaking way possible. The finale of Part 2 hits particularly hard, as the clones prove to be unstable and begin to evaporate. Saratoga Ballantine’s delivery of the MJ clone’s final words really hits you in the feels, and it’s followed by yet another scream of anguish from Christopher Daniel Barnes as the light in Peter’s life is once again snuffed out.
“The Sins of the Father Chapter XIV: Turning Point”
Season 3, Episode 14
Now that Peter is in a happy relationship with Mary Jane, he tells Madame Web (Joan Lee) that he doesn’t want to be a part of whatever she’s been training him for. She warns Peter that he might not think so when he must face a two-headed monster. Meanwhile, the Green Goblin persona has directed Norman Osborn to repair the portal-creating Time Dilation Accelerator, which they use to learn Spider-Man’s true identity, leading to a deadly confrontation with Mary Jane being taken hostage.
“Turning Point” is aptly named, as it forever altered the tone of the show. This episode is a network-approved adaptation of “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” only with Mary Jane and the Green Goblin falling through portals as opposed to dying. The emotional impact is still the same though, and Christopher Daniel Barnes goes all out in portraying Peter’s grief and fury, both at the goblin for taking Mary Jane from him, and Madam Webb for her cryptic speech at the end.
“The Alien Costume Part 1–3”
Season 1, Episodes 8, 9, and 10
While returning to Earth with a rock dubbed “Promethium X,” Colonel John Jameson (Michael Horton) is thrown off course by a mysterious black slime, causing his shuttle to crash. The Kingpin takes advantage of the situation to send Rhino (Don Stark) to recover the Promethium X, and, thanks to selective info from Eddie Brock, J. Jonah Jameson believes Spider-Man stole it and offers $1 million dollars to whoever brings him in. As Spidey tries to clear his name and recover the Promethium, the slime bonds to his suit, enhancing his spider-powers, but also making him hyper aggressive.
“The Alien Costume” saga is one of the show’s greatest legacies in Spider-Man media, as it cemented the public perception of the Venom symbiote. The show treated the symbiote as a drug addiction and paced-out Peter’s personality changes, having the anger come progressively, which led to shocking outbursts. Then Venom comes on the scene, and you feel Peter’s fear and anxiety as he has to face a monster that knows everything about him and is invisible to his spider-sense.
“Farewell, Spider-Man”
Season 5, Episode 13
After Spider-Man leads a team of alternate versions of himself to stop Spider-Carnage (Christopher Daniel Barnes) from destroying the multiverse in his home dimension, the rogue escapes to another using the Time Dilation Accelerator. Mainline Spider-Man follows him and discovers that, in this world, he is rich, famous, and engaged to Gwen Stacey (Mary Kay Bergman). Unfortunately, Spider-Carnage is too much for Peter to take out on his own, so he needs to find help from none other than a still-living Uncle Ben (Brian Keith).
“Farewell, Spider-Man” is the perfect finale for the show, tying up loose ends and offering a fitting conclusion to the ambitious Spider-Verse arc, which has since become a mainstay in Spider-Man media. Emotions run high, especially when Uncle Ben talks down Spider-Carnage, which treats us with one last stellar performance from Christopher Daniel Barnes as Spider-Carnage struggles to regain his humanity. Then it ends with Peter getting to meet none other than Stan Lee himself before departing with Madame Web to find the real Mary Jane, closing the show with uncertain optimism and Peter’s hero’s journey arc finally coming to a close.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
- Release Date
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1994 – 1998
- Network
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FOX, Fox Kids
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Christopher Daniel Barnes
Peter Parker / Spider-Man (voice)
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Sara Ballantine
Mary Jane Watson (voice)
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