As part of Spider-Man week, this is a look at the various Spider-Man Comic Books, TV series and movies throughout the years in chronological order.
Comic Books
Spider-Man's first appearance was "Amazing Fantasy #15" in the year 1962 and he later had his own Comic Book series. There are many different versions throughout the years and it would take an entire post to go through everything. He has more recently joined The Avengers and as I said in my previous post that he might appear in The Avengers movie sequel.
1967 Animated Series
I watched the few episodes of this barely animated series from the 60s. The only real contribution it made to the Spider-Man franchise is the catchy theme song that would be copied and parodied many times. You have to admit the song it pretty good.
The Amazing Spider-Man 1977 live-action TV series
This short lived and horrendous live-action adaptation was made during the time when other superhero TV series like Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk were being aired. I have only a few minutes of this series from YouTube videos but it is almost un-watchable and should have never been made. Also at this time there was a live-action Japanese adaptation, which I little about except that it was nothing like Spider-Man.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981)
I use to watch this series when I was little kid and it was one of first times that I exposed to Spider-Man. As usual with any 80s cartoon, it was quite awful compared today’s standards of animation.
90s Spider-Man
This was one of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid. This was the first Spider-Man series to actually have a few true story arcs but the series does not hold up to its contemporary Batman: The Animated Series or the 90s X-Men series.
Spider-Man Unlimited (1999)
This series was basically made to compete with the futuristic dystopian Batman Beyond series and it did not turn out that well. The theme music and animation was cool but the series was canceled after 1 season.
Sam Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy
The Sam Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy, the first two Spider-Man movies were great. They are two of my all-time favorite movies and I will be posting the reviews for them soon. In which, I will give greater detail in the reviews of the films.
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series 2003
This show was actually interesting. I watched it when I was younger and then I watched some of it again more recently. Also I researched some into the series and found it originally aired on MTV channel and the series used had some mature and darker themes, that were about on par with the movies, for an animated series. The series its self was surprisingly good, the best Spider-Man TV series until The Spectacular Spider-Man series.
The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008)
This is the holy grail of Marvel's animation series and generally considered the second best Comic Book TV series of All-Time. It is one of the most critically acclaimed animated series. In some ways The Spectacular Spider-Man is similar to Star Wars: The Clone Wars in that while its "Family Friendly" it is also great for any age. This show is truly "Spectacular", not only is it a great Comic Book TV series, it is one of the best animated series ever made. Unfortunately the series only lasted two seasons because Warner Bros. was making the series at the time and then Disney bought the TV rights and canceled the series. The series had great humor and wit with good characters and teen drama done very well. And how can you not like the theme song. Look for the review of the series soon.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2012)
I HATE this show! Disney canceled The Spectacular Spider-Man for this! Although it is not the worst Spider-Man series in pure terms of quality. But they canceled The Spectacular Spider-Man for this childish take on a classic character. I have only seen one episode so far and I do not plan on watching any more.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man movie coming to theaters in a few days.
Which is your favorite version of Spider-Man? Please sound off in the comments.
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After watching the trailer for the Sam Raimi trilogy, I really want to see it! Wow! I am definitely looking into this. :D
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at all the villains because they look ridiculously silly. But several of these look very good!
ReplyDelete~Jamie
Quick question, you didn't mention Spider Man 3. Why is it that you don't like it?
ReplyDelete@Helen: Glad you like how it they look, I will be reviewing them starting tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteAbout Spider-Man 3, well it was majorly disappointing. One of the most disappointing sequels I have seen. I will explain more in my review Monday.
@Jamie: Which series did you think had funny looking villains.
XD The first two cartoon versions!
ReplyDelete~Jamie
I really enjoyed the 90s cartoon of Spidey, too, though I have to say that the original films were my favorite (2 was the best!).
ReplyDeleteI'm not very happy with this new film so far, and might not even watch it until its release on DVD. I liked the older, more mature take on Spidey, and this seems more like the (annoying) teen version (that, and the Lizard looks like a character from a different film). I hate the whole web-shooter idea, too. How can you have the powers of a spider, and not be able to produce webbing?
Sadly, I highly, highly doubt that Spidey will be in the next Avengers, unless Disney buys back the rights from Sony. That's the whole reason for the reboot -- to keep those rights. Otherwise, they would go back to Marvel, and we would have Spider-Man in the Avengers. The same goes for X-Men. Sigh...such a shame.
Good post!
Alexandra~
@Alexandra Lanc: I agree, Spidy was best of the movies.
ReplyDeleteReally? Although I agree that the Lizard looks bad from the trailers, I like the more original Comic Book take on the movie. Especially the web-shooters, but I guess I am just as much a fan of the comics as I am of the movies.
I agree that it is highly unlikely that it will actually happen but I can always dream. ;)
@Jamie: LOL Yeah, those really didn't go with the comics much until years later.
-James