Superman: THE ANIMATED SERIES VS. SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES ?

[Herofan]

'The Late Mr Kent' is more memorable than anything produced from the 90's Marvel stable.

That episode was really good, my favorite of the series (though many Spider-Man episodes were as good and a few better), but I think it was the only episode of the series that focused on the Clark Kent identity and its importance.

 

[Neil McCauley]

Spider-Man suffered most from constant recycling of footage, extreme over use of Kingpin to the point where it hurt other significant villains as characters (Ock, Chameleon, Vulture, Smythe etc), and spending way too much time on characters who did not deserve so much spotlight e.g. Morbius.

The Spidey fan in me also disliked a lot of their creative choices like what they did with Electro, and bringing in Hobgoblin before Green Goblin.

I am in the 3rd season almost finished it and honestly Kingpin is great, and some villains are underused but there's good variety and fun. I agree that the censorhip is noticeable but the show has still hold up, the first 2 seasons are like a 9, third like a 8. Gotta finish this, but for now i'd put it above Superman: TAS.

How would you judge EHM Avengers, X-Men and Spidey's TAS against each other?

 

[flickchick85]

I loved both as a kid, but Superman: TAS was just all-around better, imo.

And Spectacular Spider-Man was the superior Spidey cartoon.

 

[Monochron]

I loved both as a kid, but Superman: TAS was just all-around better, imo.

And Spectacular Spider-Man was the superior Spidey cartoon.

My favorite interpretation of Spider-Man in any medium. The series not being allowed to continue was a travesty.

 

[Detective Conan]

Spectacular Spider-Man was the superior Spidey cartoon.

 

[Neil McCauley]

I loved both as a kid, but Superman: TAS was just all-around better, imo.

And Spectacular Spider-Man was the superior Spidey cartoon.

So I should watch spectacular after watching TAS? Many say it’s better

 

[flickchick85]

So I should watch spectacular after watching TAS? Many say it’s better

I’d say so.

 

[Neil McCauley]

I’d say so.

thanks

 

[Spider-Fan]

Or you could skip TAS and just watch Spectacular Spider-Man.

 

[Neil McCauley]

Or you could skip TAS and just watch Spectacular Spider-Man.

I need around 20+ episodes for now to finish it but for now it’s been great but third season has been good but a step down for 1st and 2nd

 

[The Joker]

Or you could skip TAS and just watch Spectacular Spider-Man.

I'd say watch season 1 of TAS, and then go to SSM. Season 1 was the most balanced in terms of letting villains shine in their own episodes, and keeping Kingpin restrained from infiltrating nearly every episode.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Don't dissuade Neil from watching the Wedding episode that has breakneck pacing, but some of the best moments the show had to offer.

The 90s show introduced the concept of having villains personally involved with Spider-Man that was transferred to the Raimi movies (all supervised by Avi Arad), and it doesn't work for Fisk and Ock, even after all these decades and the Superior Spider-Man stuff.

Spectacular took the more classic route and kept villains uninvolved in Peter's life, save for the ones that were that way since early days of comics, which is how I personally prefer it.

I'd say watch season 1 of TAS, and then go to SSM. Season 1 was the most balanced in terms of letting villains shine in their own episodes, and keeping Kingpin restrained from infiltrating nearly every episode.

Fisk has a bigger role in season 1 than he does in season 2. He appears in six episodes of both seasons, but his role in the X-Men arc in season 2 is very limited compared to how involved he is in the Spider Slayer arc from season 1.

 

[The Joker]

Fisk has a bigger role in season 1 than he does in season 2. He appears in six episodes of both seasons, but his role in the X-Men arc in season 2 is very limited compared to how involved he is in the Spider Slayer arc from season 1.

His role in the Venom saga arc is very limited, too. Plus he's completely omitted from episodes that introduce Ock, Lizard, Scorpion, Mysterio, Kraven, Chameleon etc. They all got to be the stars of their own episode and be the focus of them.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I'd say watch season 1 of TAS, and then go to SSM. Season 1 was the most balanced in terms of letting villains shine in their own episodes, and keeping Kingpin restrained from infiltrating nearly every episode.

It was also before TAS really started to go off the rails with multiple dimensions and mystical stuff like magic and vampires. There are some good episodes in later seasons, but overall I think it really gets away from what Spider-Man is.

 

[Neil McCauley]

Don't dissuade Neil from watching the Wedding episode that has breakneck pacing, but some of the best moments the show had to offer.

The 90s show introduced the concept of having villains personally involved with Spider-Man that was transferred to the Raimi movies (all supervised by Avi Arad), and it doesn't work for Fisk and Ock, even after all these decades and the Superior Spider-Man stuff.

Spectacular took the more classic route and kept villains uninvolved in Peter's life, save for the ones that were that way since early days of comics, which is how I personally prefer it.

Fisk has a bigger role in season 1 than he does in season 2. He appears in six episodes of both seasons, but his role in the X-Men arc in season 2 is very limited compared to how involved he is in the Spider Slayer arc from season 1.

The show hasn’t been bad, some episodes are eh but very enjoyable, except the meh ones I put on the background...

It was like a 9 for the first season, but now I would give like an 8 overall. Loved Goblin and Venom stuff.

This SSM is shorter but many people say it’s great or on par/better so I will check it in the future.

Gotta see Batman Beyond after this or EHM Avengers. Trying to see both Marvel and DC stuff, even tho my main issue with DC is that they have great characters but their roster is shorter compared to Marvel.. like I mostly read and watch vertigo and trinity related stuff. And maybe Flash too...

 

[Neil McCauley]

I'd say watch season 1 of TAS, and then go to SSM. Season 1 was the most balanced in terms of letting villains shine in their own episodes, and keeping Kingpin restrained from infiltrating nearly every episode.

Kingpin has been great, I would give him about an 8 or a 9, I don’t see the problem with him being the main villain by a wide margin like he drives the story most of the time:

 

[The Joker]

Kingpin has been great, I would give him about an 8 or a 9, I don’t see the problem with him being the main villain by a wide margin like he drives the story most of the time:

You don't see the problem with a hero who has a terrific rouges gallery of villains, but has one villain over shadow all the others and drive the story for five seasons of the show to the point where the good villains are reduced to being lackeys to him.

BTAS never did that. Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon never did that. That's one of many reasons why they're held in a higher regard than STAS ever will be.

For example, compare how one of Spidey's A-list rogues, Doc Ock, was treated in each show. STAS gave him a great intro episode in season 1. He was established as a clever, ruthless, and ego centric villain with a deep passion for science who had a past link with Peter. A teacher/student relationship. Peter looked up to Octavius as a great scientist. He became a villain through having his work shat on by the Hardy Foundation, and it gave him a bit of nuance. He wasn't just a "MWAHAHAHA I am an evil scientist" type villain. There was some good character stuff in that episode. After that he was just a servant to Kingpin. A member of his Insidious Six, or just a thug to deliver hostages to him. All the good character stuff they did with him in his first episode was just gone. Awful.

Ock in the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon was a dominating force of villainy on his own steam. Introduced as a meek repressed scientist at Oscorp. In two seasons we saw him lead the Sinister Six, carry out his famous Master Planner operation, and engage in a gang war with Tombstone and Silvermane. Three of Ock's most famous comic book stories done so well in just two seasons. All the time he was his own villain doing his own thing. He was the leader/mastermind. Being so true to the comic book character. He even had a coffee mug that said EVIL GENIUS lol.

Its apples and oranges how those two shows treated the characters. SSM is still the purest interpretation of Spidey ever put on screen.

 

[Neil McCauley]

You don't see the problem with a hero who has a terrific rouges gallery of villains, but has one villain over shadow all the others and drive the story for five seasons of the show to the point where the good villains are reduced to being lackeys to him.

BTAS never did that. Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon never did that. That's one of many reasons why they're held in a higher regard than STAS ever will be.

For example, compare how one of Spidey's A-list rogues, Doc Ock, was treated in each show. STAS gave him a great intro episode in season 1. He was established as a clever, ruthless, and ego centric villain with a deep passion for science who had a past link with Peter. A teacher/student relationship. Peter looked up to Octavius as a great scientist. He became a villain through having his work shat on by the Hardy Foundation, and it gave him a bit of nuance. He wasn't just a "MWAHAHAHA I am an evil scientist" type villain. There was some good character stuff in that episode. After that he was just a servant to Kingpin. A member of his Insidious Six, or just a thug to deliver hostages to him. All the good character stuff they did with him in his first episode was just gone. Awful.

Ock in the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon was a dominating force of villainy on his own steam. Introduced as a meek repressed scientist at Oscorp. In two seasons we saw him lead the Sinister Six, carry out his famous Master Planner operation, and engage in a gang war with Tombstone and Silvermane. Three of Ock's most famous comic book stories done so well in just two seasons. All the time he was his own villain doing his own thing. He was the leader/mastermind. Being so true to the comic book character. He even had a coffee mug that said EVIL GENIUS lol.

Its apples and oranges how those two shows treated the characters. SSM is still the purest interpretation of Spidey ever put on screen.

I can't say when i haven't seen SSM.

BTAS is much better, so i don't see the compairson. Even Spidey's fans would agree that it's better, i mean it's like TDK vs SM1 as a compairson, a clear mismatch even though both are great.

I liked Fisk being the mastemind, because the rest gets still a lot of episodes, so there's variety even though i could have cut Mobius off the story and added Sandman or more episodes to the likes of Vulture and Electro. I'm not a huge fan of Ock, i thought he was fine but yeah his portryal is ok, i prefer Goblin, but the soundtrack, animation and characters are done well.

My main issue was a bit of censorship and weak episodes, because they get noticeable in the last seasons, and the great episodes carry the 4th season for now. I'm not sure if i will revisit this series but it's been good fun, especially the 1st season which is amazing, and it was the first time i watched a cartoon since a year.

Would you say that Batman Beyond is on par with SSM or with TAS?

 

[Batmannerism]

Superman TAS for me. Loved the Darkseid stuff and the adaptations of some classic Superman stories. The theme music captures the character almost as well as the classic Williams march.

I like Spider Man, but after a while all of his various animated series kind of blurred into one, and I lose interest, that's definitely how I felt about Spider man the animated series , but I can understand how real Spidey fans enjoyed it.

 

[Neil McCauley]

Superman TAS for me. Loved the Darkseid stuff and the adaptations of some classic Superman stories. The theme music captures the character almost as well as the classic Williams march.

I like Spider Man, but after a while all of his various animated series kind of blurred into one, and I lose interest, that's definitely how I felt about Spider man the animated series , but I can understand how real Spidey fans enjoyed it.

Little off-topic but do you prefer Marvel or DC in animated? And general?

I think DC is better but the gap isn’t that wide honestly, which animated series from DC are better than Spidey TAS, of course after Batman animated series?

Coz I am not sure if I need to start with JL, or EHM and the other

 

[The Joker]

I can't say when i haven't seen SSM.

BTAS is much better, so i don't see the compairson. Even Spidey's fans would agree that it's better, i mean it's like TDK vs SM1 as a compairson, a clear mismatch even though both are great.

I liked Fisk being the mastemind, because the rest gets still a lot of episodes, so there's variety even though i could have cut Mobius off the story and added Sandman or more episodes to the likes of Vulture and Electro. I'm not a huge fan of Ock, i thought he was fine but yeah his portryal is ok, i prefer Goblin, but the soundtrack, animation and characters are done well.

My main issue was a bit of censorship and weak episodes, because they get noticeable in the last seasons, and the great episodes carry the 4th season for now. I'm not sure if i will revisit this series but it's been good fun, especially the 1st season which is amazing, and it was the first time i watched a cartoon since a year.

Would you say that Batman Beyond is on par with SSM or with TAS?

Batman Beyond is more on par with SSM than TAS. Beyond has a lot of great stuff in it.

 

[flickchick85]

I think DC is better but the gap isn’t that wide honestly, which animated series from DC are better than Spidey TAS, of course after Batman animated series?

I'd take the Timmverse Batman:TAS, Superman: TAS, Batman Beyond, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited and Green Lantern: TAS over ANY Marvel cartoon, personally. Spectacular Spider-Man's the only one I'd put near their league.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I'd take the Timmverse Batman:TAS, Superman: TAS, Batman Beyond, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited and Green Lantern: TAS over ANY Marvel cartoon, personally. Spectacular Spider-Man's the only one I'd put near their league.

Yeah, I am a sucker for a lot of the Spider-Man and X-Men shows. I also really dug Earth's Mightiest. But the gap is pretty massive imo, especially when we are talking about the 90s Marvel output. I love it because it's from my youth, but it is all honestly pretty terrible imo.

Also another Green Lantern show fan?

 

[Neil McCauley]

Batman Beyond is more on par with SSM than TAS. Beyond has a lot of great stuff in it.

So better than Spidey TAS and worse than Batman TAS?

I need to watch them

I'd take the Timmverse Batman:TAS, Superman: TAS, Batman Beyond, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited and Green Lantern: TAS over ANY Marvel cartoon, personally. Spectacular Spider-Man's the only one I'd put near their league.

I agree that DC is better in animated (and games) by a good margin. But Marvel does have good stuff here aswell.

Anyways, this spectacular Spider-Man looks good I just saw Venom's design I need to watch it after I finish Spidey tas

 

[Batmannerism]

Little off-topic but do you prefer Marvel or DC in animated? And general?

I think DC is better but the gap isn’t that wide honestly, which animated series from DC are better than Spidey TAS, of course after Batman animated series?

Coz I am not sure if I need to start with JL, or EHM and the other

As far as my preferences go:

Comics, DC. I was a big John Byrne fan and enjoyed his runs on XMen and Fantastic Four - and I read Xmen pretty religiously during the 80s, before they turned to crap.

But, otherwise its DC for me, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern , Flash- I just prefer the DC characters.

Animated: DC by a mile, their animated films and series are much better than Marvel's.

Live action:

Big screen = the MCU formula works for me, its cohesive and IMO has created a much better mythology than the disjointed approach DC has taken. It's so hit and miss - I liked Shazam, Man of Steel and Wonder Woman. Justice League was okay as was Aquaman but B v S and Suicide Squad were. Does Joker even count ?

The MCU is a very different story. For me, it's so well done that even characters I didn't like - like Cap, I used to be a big Cap hater - I really enjoy their films ( Winter Soldier and Civil War are on my top 10 list of cbms) I mean, I could care less about Ant Man but his films are great fun.

Spider Man films ? I'll go see them but Spidey's far from my favourite superhero.

X-Men films ? Enjoy them, but nothing could do the classic Xmen stories justice ( like late 70s early 80s).