If you were born in the 80s, more than likely you grew up watching the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon on FOX.  Unless you're still wearing your nostalgia goggles, a rewatch of that old cartoon reveals the fact that it sucked.  Censorship galore, spotty animation, and weird story arcs plagued what was otherwise a decent show.  More than a decade later, a new show comes out called Spectacular Spider-Man and let me tell you, it's pretty spectacular.

BUT FIRST, a comic depicting Superman's superdickery:


(god, what a dick!)

Spectacular is an animated version of the original Spider-Man run and takes place several months after Peter was bitten.  Just like the old comics, Peter's powers consist solely of spider sense and enhanced agility; his webbing is derived from a formula and injected into cartridges and they even brought back the webbing under his armpits.  Written and produced by Greg Weisman (of the excellent Gargoyles fame), the show's writing and pacing are a step up above most animated features.

The first episode introduces the Peter, a junior in High School, and the rest of the original cast working at Connors laboratory (which seems to be a breeding ground of accidents). 



For whatever odd reason, Aunt May is a fucking fox.  Seriously, she looks like a white haired 20 year old.



Following the comics storyline tightly, Adrian Toomes is introduced as the estranged scientist who's hover technology is stolen by Osborne.  Despite being a really poorly conceived villain (hey, just like the comics!) his updated design is quite pleasing to the eye.  No one will miss his puke green feathery outfit of yore.



Speaking of redesigns, check out the new Enforcers.  The fight scene between them and Spidey was something fantastic...



And did I mention the Broadway cameo?  Oh, Weisman, you sly dog.



After the defeat of Vulture, the second episode covers the creation of Electro as well as Connors addiction to the lizard DNA.  Once again, kudos on the great redesign from a terrible looking villain to something that looks plausible in the real world.



Finally, we shift on to the third episode which brought in the Lizard villain.  Quit possibly one of the best directed animated shows I've seen on saturday morning television, the transformation sequence and battle between Lizard and Spidey will be held as the new standard for good set up and suspense.





It's actually surprisingly dark for something aimed at kids but we're talking about Weisman, the same man who showed kids what it's like to be shot with a gun.

Adding to the tension of the final segments, Peter contemplates taking Connor's cure and erasing the spider DNA inside of him after he was fired from the lab for taking pictures of himself to submit to the Bugle.  The final scene summarises the appeal of the original comic that the newer comics and cartoons failed to express upon; Peter's just an average kid but as his powers grow so do his complications.  This realization of the basic THEME of Spider-Man alone makes the show worth the watch.



All in all, this is the greatest iteration of a superhero in animated form on television and blows everything else away... and I don't even READ Spiderman.  While the dialated pupil art style is creepy sometimes, the directing, writing, and animation are all top notch.  If future shows can keep up with this kind of quality, animation may see a definite comeback in American television.  If you live in the states, it airs every Saturday morning on WB.

Rating: 5 Stan Lee's out of 5.

...Of course, for you internet savvy a quick rapidsearch is all that's needed to find the show *wink*

EX LIBRIS!