If you’re imagining a wailing guitar solo right now,
congratulations! You grew up in the 90s. That’s the intro to Spider-Man: The Animated Series that I heard hundreds of times growing up. And, still, when I
bring up the show with my brothers, they start singing in that muffled voice. Watching
Spider-Man always brings me back to those Saturday mornings and makes me feel
young again. But, man, did I feel old when I read this story from The Hollywood Reporter.
Let me try and sum it up for you.
20 years ago, one of the
best 90s TV shows, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, debuted. It ran for five
seasons between 1994 and 1998, and earlier this month, the cast reunited to
talk about the iconic show.
“It was like a radio show. We were all in the booth
together, and we were all interacting with each another. And you feed off of
that.”
– Christopher Daniel Barnes (voice of Spider-Man)
Producer and head writer John Semper Jr. has said that he
wants to honor the series this year, and the cast has agreed to work on a new
project. But before you start weeping with joy, let me tell you it’s not
Spider-Man related. It’s going to be a Rocketeer-like pulp fantasy thing called
Rocket Men.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series seared the image of
Spider-Man onto my young developing brain. The Spiderman I know, the characters
he fought, loved, and fought to save (sometimes unsuccessfully) were all formed
on Saturday mornings in the 90s. This is the Spider-Man I grew up on, and all
subsequent Spider-Mans (Men?) have had to live up to this guy.
The story arcs were often lengthy and dramatic, tying in plenty
of characters from the Marvel universe and drawing inspiration from the comic’s
best stories. Spider-Man was meant for kids, but the show could get pretty dark,
and it still holds up today! Just look at this intense scene between Spidey,
Hydro-Man, and Mary Jane’s clone.
Since the show wrapped up rather abruptly in ’98 (“Here we
go to find Mary Ja-” CREDITS!) we’ve gotten five live-action Spider-Man films – some better than others. But my Spider-Man will always be animated.
I never got into the '90s series. I always watched the Teletoon reruns of the '60s series. The old school theme (Is he strong? listen bub: he's got radioactive blood) brings me so much joy
I never got into the '90s series. I always watched the Teletoon reruns of the '60s series. The old school theme (Is he strong? listen bub: he's got radioactive blood) brings me so much joy
ReplyDeleteLoved that theme song but the show was SO cheesy! I remember one episode wear he spins his web into a motor boat AND THE MOTOR WORKS!
ReplyDelete