Thanks to Disney plus, I just discovered the 1994 Spiderman animation series

[Pai Pai Master]

Always bothered me how "wide" Peter's build is portrayed in the 90's cartoon.
From reading the comics around the same era I felt Spider-man was muscular, but with a much slimmer "agile-looking" build.

Am I alone?

I mean look at this dude:

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Yeah 90s animated spider-man is not the lithe and agile character from the same era of comics, he's pretty cut. he's fucking massive for someone in his early 20s lmao

 

[Daniel Westlake]

Always bothered me how "wide" Peter's build is portrayed in the 90's cartoon.
From reading the comics around the same era I felt Spider-man was muscular, but with a much slimmer "agile-looking" build.

Am I alone?

I mean look at this dude:

Click to shrink...

Yeah it's incongruous with the physique he had at the time but for a good bit of his existence Pete was a wide lad

Go back to the late 70s-80s

 

[swift-darius]

I grew up on this and the xmen series, and they were both fantastic. as i recall the (amazing) intro was performed by joe perry of aerosmith



SPIDERBLOOD
SPIDERBLOOD
RADIOACTIVESPIDERBLOOD

 

[captmcblack]

This version of Spiderman was so much better than the 20/30 years of Spidey animations prior, it was ridiculous. Even though they were hamstrung by network censors and tight budgets, they tried everything to get as much of the classic comic stories in there as possible. It was awesome back then, despite maybe not holding up now.

BTAS, X-Men and Spiderman all on the same network as a kid back then was just...whew.

 

[AstronaughtE]

Definitely not better than batman, but I would probably put it second. Especially as far exposure to the character goes. I couldn't deal with the older spidey cartoons.

 

[Charred Knight]

There's some great parts to it like the Six Forgotten Warriors, the Kingpin, Venom, Secret Wars, Black Cat, Black Cat's washboard abs.

Though I wouldn't put it on par with either Batman and Superman because those are some of the best animated shows of all times.

I enjoyed it well enough during its original run, especially paired with X-Men and the other Marvel animated series of the time, but I can't imagine it's held up nearly as well as some of its contemporaries.

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Well its certainly held up better than Iron Man and Fantastic Four. There's also a bunch of comic tv series that weren't good at all.

 

[dallow_bg]

Have you watched Gargoyles on D+?
It's so good!

 

[Kyle Rowley]

I loved this show as a kid. I've never re-watched them as an adult and I'm almost afraid to in-case it ruins my memories. Ditto for Gargoyles.

 

[Transistor]

Mandatory

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That legit reminded me of this:

 

[ZeoVGM]

It's awesome. The animation hasn't held up too well but the long-form storytelling does.

It's also what got me into comics. I loved the show so much as a kid and it led to my dad randomly picking up my first comic:

 

[ZeoVGM]

I loved this show as a kid. I've never re-watched them as an adult and I'm almost afraid to in-case it ruins my memories. Ditto for Gargoyles.

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I think Spider-Man holds up but it does have its issues that might make it harder for some people.

Gargoyles, on the other hand, absolutely holds up in every way.

 

[Transistor]

I loved this show as a kid. I've never re-watched them as an adult and I'm almost afraid to in-case it ruins my memories. Ditto for Gargoyles.

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Gargoyles is still legit good, even if only for Keith David.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

I loved this series, but it ain't even close to Batman TAS or Superman TAS, lol.

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

Even as a kids, it never really clicked with me. I respected it's ambition to continue arcs over seasons buuuuut the actually storytelling and production was pretty terrible.

First, Peter Parker looks like a damn football player! Second, what the hell is going on with the music? It rarely ever fits the mood. Third, the pacing is awful. I remember seeing multiple episodes where the commercial break was just Spider-Man running out of web and almost falling down a building only to easily recover when the break ended.

I'm not gonna call it worthless but it's a C+ show. Good voice acting tho.

 

[pillowtalk]

Peter's voice in that show is still what I hear whenever I read spiderman comics. -edit- nevermind, everyone's 90s cartoon voice is still what I hear no matter what source I'm reading. Double points if the cartoon voice sounds the same as the videogame version.

 

[dlauv]

This an X-Men were pioneers in seasonal arcs for American cartoons.

 

[Deleted member 29682]

Looking back at clips, I'm bewildered at the sheer breakneck pace of the show. Like 10 minutes of events got crammed into 3 minuted with barely any room to breathe.

 

[Squarehard]

How old are you? ;)

But definitely brings back fond memories for me.

 

[mutantmagnet]

I'll give the Superman TAS props for making Toyman into something credible. Since I never read the comics to see these bizarre characters like him for the first time was offputting. I can't believe a fourth of Superman rogues are total jokes in the worst possible way.

Spiderman otoh doesn't hold up well.

 

[LuxCommander]

Love the series. It's not as good as Batman The Animated Series, but it does capture classic comic book storytelling in a way very few shows did up to that point. And yes, this is still how I hear Peter to this day. Shoot, I'm fairly certain the voice over directly influenced my own tone; I've had more than one person point out the similarity over the years.

 

[Arkanim94]

Spiderman 1994 and X men were one of the first wester cartoon that tried to break away from self contained episodes and negative continuity, sadly they had zero budget after the first season lol.

 

[Jerm411]

I'll give the Superman TAS props for making Toyman into something credible. Since I never read the comics to see these bizarre characters like him for the first time was offputting. I can't believe a fourth of Superman rogues are total jokes in the worst possible way.

Spiderman otoh doesn't hold up well.

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This is exactly why I love all the old animated series...gave life to characters that may not have got it otherwise.

Freeze in BTAS was awesome....

 

[sir_crocodile]

I'll give the Superman TAS props for making Toyman into something credible. Since I never read the comics to see these bizarre characters like him for the first time was offputting. I can't believe a fourth of Superman rogues are total jokes in the worst possible way.

Spiderman otoh doesn't hold up well.

Click to shrink...

Yup. And Supes/Darkseid conflict was the absolute best



peak comic book cartoon adaptation when stuff was apokolips focused

 

[secretanchitman]

Amazing series and it's what got me into Spider-Man and Marvel as a whole. The music is great, the voice actors/actresses are spot on and I love the stories. The guy who voiced Peter Parker in this series also voiced him in a few Spider-Man games years ago.

John Semper Jr. also wrote about what happened to Mary Jane after the finale in a book/script of sorts - very fascinating read!

 

[TheDutchSlayer]

Its incredible yes finally someone who is new and who likes this.
I watched this on FOX Kids every time it was on and the entire series is amazing.

All these crossovers and doing stuff like MCU 10 years before their was an MCU last 10 eps are specially fantastic!

 

[Deleted member 9932]

it's better than btas.

 

[Lumination]

The production values are poor, but the writing and content was on point. -7 year old me.

And that's how I still see it today.

 

[The Hobo]

Yup. And Supes/Darkseid conflict was the absolute best



peak comic book cartoon adaptation when stuff was apokolips focused

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No-one will ever top Michael Ironside as Darkseid. That was perfect casting.

 

[Rran]

The memories I have of this show and walking up every Saturday morning to watch it can never be replaced

Edit: also, I rewatched The Alien Costume saga and greatly enjoyed it... will probably continue this expedition into my childhood

 

[MadLaughter]

Spectacular Spider-Man is a lot better, but the 94 series was great at the time as a kid.

 

[Magnet_Man]

The late Roscoe Lee Browne was goddamn FIRE as Kingpin

 

[Deleted member 17388]

I saw some clips of the show on Twitter and the pacing was crazy :v

 

[Deleted member 45211]

Love that show, and love how melancholy everything was. Everyone's arc was a tragedy. Peter, Kingpin, Morbius, Kraven, Harry and Norman, Smythe, Brock, MJ -- everyone suffered. And he still always went back to doing the right thing, and being a "true believer." It's the definitive version of Spider-Man in my head.

One of the arcs, especially, was very emotional. Was it Sins of the Fathers? It was like a 6 episode run or something.

 

[TaterTots]

My 9-10 year old self loved this shit.

 

[Chumunga64]

by default it's a pretty close second to Spectacular in terms of Spider-Man shows since the rest suck

If Spectacular had a full run it would eclipse Batman The Animated series IMO

 

[Khanimus]

It's not very good.

 

[Rirse]

I know it not great, but I did enjoy this and X-Men back in the day. I imagine they wouldn't hold up as well compare to Batman or Gargoyles which are still solid shows. Shame Spiderman never got a video on Youtube like these two classics for X-Men.

 

[SpiritSlayer]

Always bothered me how "wide" Peter's build is portrayed in the 90's cartoon.
From reading the comics around the same era I felt Spider-man was muscular, but with a much slimmer "agile-looking" build.

Am I alone?

I mean look at this dude:

Click to shrink...

That's All-State Linebacker Peter Parker to you.

 

[batfax]

The constantly slashed budget and ongoing executive meddling make it amazing that it came out as good as it did. I can only imagine how good it could've turned out if it wasn't for that nonsense.

 

[Pulp]

Haven't seen it since I was a kid but I loved this series! Blade, X-men and of course the black symbiote were some episodes that stuck with me

 

[backpropaganda]

This is why I love Spider-Man today and got into comics... it's GOAT and holds up imo

 

[Maximo]

Spectacular Spiderman is waaaay better.

 

[Josh5890]

Loved it until the ending.

 

[xyla]

I remember it as a great show - DareDevil was also in it, right? And did Spider-Man mutate into a Spider with 6 arms somewhere along the way?

The action figures were also absolutely fantastic for this show!

 

[Deleted member 48897]

Well its certainly held up better than Iron Man and Fantastic Four. There's also a bunch of comic tv series that weren't good at all.

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Torch had some appropriately fire beats tho

 

[Maximus Odinson]

Best Parker voice.

 

[Voror]

Well its certainly held up better than Iron Man and Fantastic Four. There's also a bunch of comic tv series that weren't good at all.

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Fantastic Four did have Simon Templeman (Kain in Legacy of Kain series) as Doctor Doom in season two which is fun. That's about all I remember though.

 

[Charred Knight]

Fantastic Four did have Simon Templeman (Kain in Legacy of Kain series) as Doctor Doom in season two which is fun. That's about all I remember though.

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It also has an amazing scene where Galactus is defeated by Ghost Rider ex Machina

 

[mute]

This, the Xmen, Batman, and Superman, etc animated series from that era were what defined comic book characters for me growing up.

 

[Voror]

It also has an amazing scene where Galactus is defeated by Ghost Rider ex Machina

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Wait, is that Tony Jay as Galactus?

That is pretty great. Like the voice for Ghost Rider as well.