As a child, I grew up with a lot of Spider-Man. I read the comics, I watched the TV shows, and the Sam Raimi trilogy was one of the biggest franchises of the 2000s. In the later part of the decade, my interest in Spider-Man slowly began to fade. It wasn't until I heard that "The Amazing Spider-Man" was coming out, that all those memories of Spider-Man came rushing back.
To prepare for the movie, I started doing everything Spider-Man related, including watching all the TV series, but sadly, they weren't as good as I remembered them. There was just something about all of them that was off, and I couldn't believe Spider-Man never had an animated show to do him justice. That is, until I discovered the highly underrated "Spectacular Spider-Man".
Now I remember this show when it first came out, but unfortunately, I was in the middle of high school, and wasn't interested by superhero cartoons anymore; so I kind of just ignored it. But everyone else seemed to watch it. Not only did they watch it, they loved it. People were ranking this show on their "Top Comic Book Shows", IGN ranked it #30 on their Top 100 Animated Series (when it was only a year old), and people were calling it Marvel's "Batman: The Animated Series". So I finally decided to give it a watch and after watching three episodes, I was hooked, and I ended up watching the entire series within 12 hours. It is that awesome.
So what's good about the show? I would have to say everything. The animation, the music, the characters, the writing, the humor, the action, the drama, the voice acting; everything fits together so perfectly. It's no wonder people were calling this the next "Batman: TAS". It takes every previous incarnation of the story (comics, previous animated shows, and the films) and rolls it into one.
First of all, the animation is the best I've ever seen in a Spider-Man cartoon. I've heard people complain that the animation is too cartoony, but i think the animation fits perfectly with the tone of the Spider-Man universe. It's bright, very comic book like, and matches the fast paced action that Spider-Man is known for. The animation is very fun to look at and it makes me feel like a kid again.
Now the action is awesome in this show, but what I love about it is how it puts good writing and character before everything else. I grew so attached to these characters, that I almost cried a dozen times watching this series. Josh Keaton as Peter Parker is just perfect. He really makes the character come to life by getting both the dramatic side and the comedic side down flawlessly. In the previous cartoons, I found Spider-Man's jokes and one-liners kind of annoying, but with Keaton's performance, you actually laugh along with him and you really enjoy this character.
I also like the way the villains in the show are handled. Just like in Batman, the villains are just as well written as the main characters, and they do a great job of making you hate them, but at the same time, make you feel what they're going through. Seeing Eddie Brock slowly lose his mind over Venom was well thought out and well written; and I was heart broken seeing this friendly character slowly transition to the dark side.
The side characters are great too. Aunt May is spot on, J. Jonah Jameson is just as funny as ever (and has more of a human side than in the films), Harry Osborn is very sympathetic, and of course, there's Gwen Stacy. Out of all the Gwen Stacys out there, this one is no doubt the greatest there ever was. Voiced by Lacey Chabert, this is the Gwen Stacy I've been waiting for. She's the shy, intelligent, supportive friend who is just as awkward and unpopular as Peter is, who doesn't seem to care what others think of her, and who isn't just there as a love interest.
This character is so well written, you feel like you know this person. If you were unpopular or an outcast in high school, you probably had a friend like this (or maybe you were the Gwen Stacy yourself); and that's what makes you like her so much. She spends the whole series kind of getting the short end of the stick (always being abandoned by Peter and Harry), and to me, her relationship with Peter is the backbone of the series. I'm 20 years old, and I almost cried when these two cartoon characters didn't get together. That's how attached you'll get to this show.
The last thing I love this show for is how they put it in a high school setting. It's like people don't realize that the best thing about Spider-Man is how he has to balance the life of an average teen with the life of a superhero. That's where the drama comes from. That's where the comedy comes from. That's where the heart of this story comes from. This is the Spider-Man that kids look up to, teenagers identify with, and adults get a sense of nostalgia with. It makes the characters more human, and that's what gets the audience so invested.
This was a brilliant show, and its cancellation was a crime against humanity. This isn't just the best Spider-Man TV show; it's the best Spider-Man ever. I pray this show will come back, because I'm going crazy with what's going to happen next. The series finale left us with so many questions unanswered, and completing the show would be the right thing to do. Please Greg Weisman, do the world a favor, and bring back The Spectacular Spider-Man.
