Spectacular Spider-Man Animated Series Review
Teletoon and Disney XD Present Latest Cartoon Chapter for Webcrawler
Apr 23, 2009
Spider-Man has had plenty of animated shows. The most recent one was in the 1990s simply called Spider-Man, and now Teletoon has brought to life another animated installment called Spectacular Spider-Man. It's not exactly an animated adaption of the comic book series bearing the same name, but more of an updated version of the series from the nineties.
Spectacular Spider-Man Doesn't Really Offer Anything New
The story is nothing new. Sixteen-year-old science whiz Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and as a result, developed incredible powers, such as wall crawling, super strength, and acrobatic abilities. After his selfishness caused the death of his beloved Uncle Ben, Parker dedicated his life to fighting crime and helping others. He does his best to juggle his superhero life with school and freelancing for the Daily Bugle although more often than not, he fails to balance everything.
None of this should sound brand new. Even the list of super-villains is just as familiar, which includes the Green Goblin, Shocker, the Vulture, Dr. Octopus, the Rhino, and Venom, just to name a few.
But then again, why should any of it sound new? It's another animated adaptation of the comic book series -- not really an adaptation of the Spectacular Spider-Man series, however -- so many of the stories will be repeated. But these stories are not necessarily verbatim to the interpretations of the comics, the movies, or even the 1990s Spider-Man series. For example, Spectacular Spider-Man incorporates different characters than the nineties series and even places similar characters in different roles.
Fresh Twist on Characters Gwen Stacy and Eddie Brock
Gwen Stacy and Eddie Brock have some similarities to their comic book counterparts, but this series places them in slightly different roles. Instead of Brock being a rival journalist, he's a science student at Empire State University who works for Dr. Curt Connor and is one of Parker's oldest friends. He even says that Parker is a younger brother to him.
As for Gwen Stacy, she doesn't meet Parker in college. In fact, the two have been close friends for many years. She's also a science whiz and was selected along with Parker for high school internships to study under Dr. Connors. Although the two claim to be only friends, it becomes more than obvious that neither feels that way about the other. In this series, Stacy replaces Felicia Hardy from the 1990s series. Felicia Hardy is still present, but only as Black Cat.
This isn't to say that there are no new characters. There are both new minor characters as well as plenty of fan favorites, such as J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane Watson, and Flash Thompson.
Final Word
It's true that Spectacular Spider-Man doesn't offer much of anything new other than interpretation of Spidey's adventures, but the animation is bright, the dialogue is still witty, and it's just as fun as any other member of the Spider-Man franchise. Those who were fans of the series from the nineties will especially enjoy the facelift Spectacular presents.
Spectacular Spider-Man airs on Teletoon in Canada on Friday nights at 7:30 E.S.T. and on Disney XD in the United States on Monday nights at 7:30 E.S.T.
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