Spider-Man: The Animated Series Review!

Alright! Today I'm reviewing the magnum opus of 90s superhero cartoons... that is if you don't count the Batman: The Animated Series or X-Men: The Animated Series. That's right, today I'm swinging in with the definitive television version of Spider-Man... that is if you don't count Raimi's films or Spectacular Spider-Man. That's right, I'm reviewing Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which aired from 1994 to 1998 and had a total run of 65 episodes, incorporating nearly every essential piece of Spider-Man lore and offering one of the best interpretations of the character. 

The first thing you'll notice about Spider-Man: TAS is the near-constant dialogue. Peter is constantly talking to himself, narrating each and every important moment in his life so the younger audience can understand what's happening. It's not a fault against the show, but once you notice it it's hard to unhear. Luckily for all of us, Christopher Daniel Barnes is a capable voice actor, and his take on Spidey is one of the very best. Even when the quips don't make sense or the dialogue is stilted, he's still Spider-Man through and through. 

And it's not your regular high school gimmick - this Peter Parker is in college, trying to figure out his relationships with Mary Jane and Black Cat, and is bordering bankruptcy at all times. The amount of effort into making him a "man" is actually kind of amazing given that it's for children, and one would assume they'd want it set in high school, but no! College Peter Parket it is, coming into close contact with old friends, other superheroes, and snotty romantic affections like Michael Morbius, who does indeed sweep. 

This is quite possibly the only marketing we'll ever get for the Madame Web movie. 

The team-ups were some of the most fun parts of Spider-Man. It doesn't feel like a Saturday morning cartoon crossover, it IS a Saturday morning cartoon crossover. Spidey seeks or is aided by various Marvel heroes such as the X-Men, Punisher, Blade, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Daredevil, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four. Maybe it's the child in me, but seeing those team-ups was always the highlight of the season (Even if the Secret Wars lineup made no sense), and hearing that awesome 90s X-Men theme is always welcome. The only question I really have is why Blade was so light-skinned, at a glance passing for white. 

I was also really happy with the way they twisted the Spider-Man lore. I was expecting it to be wholly episodic, and sometimes it was, but there is no Kim Possible or The Simpsons "blank slate" every episode. The changes made impact the characters, and some of these villains are tortured and mutated and end on extremely sad notes that aren't resolved off-screen (Vulture gets four arms! Morbius goes to live alone in a cave!). They play with the lore to give it meaning, immediately setting it apart from other 90s shows. The rotating cast of villains was also well used, never overdoing a particular one, but I have to give this note: stop trying to make Scorpion happen. It's not going to happen.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series, otherwise known as Marvel's Spider-Man, otherwise known as Spider-Man '94, was pretty great. While it's not the most iconic or well-known version of Spidey, kids who grew up with this show probably read Spider-Man comics and hear this voice, and it honestly works. He's everything Spider-Man should be, even when the censors won't let him throw a punch and the animation means it barely renders. 

It also was occasionally emotional in the different trials Peter goes through, be they talking to terminally ill children, marrying Mary Jane (That episode was so sweet), or finding out Mary Jane was actually a water-based Hydro-Man illusion and that the real Mary Jane is lost in the multiverse, ending the series on a cliffhanger as Spider-Man jumps into the void to try and find his one true love... what an ending! But hey, he's perfectly situated to show up in Beyond the Spider-Verse!

Overall, I give Spider-Man: The Animated Series a 7/10. "Finally, a Spider-Man that will chase Shocker to the ends of the Earth."