World "The Spectacular Spider-Man" Appreciation Thread (possible spoilers)

[The Joker]

Its not gonna happen. The ship for SSM has sailed a long time ago.

Sadly this is true.

 

[Venom 1988]

Never say never, my friend. Imagine waiting for 10-18 more years (just like a lot of folks had to wait in order to get a small peak at Semper's final episode of TAS, even if it was done through a really well-made artwork) only for some really skilled and talented artist to come out of nowhere and for him/her to finish the job.

I'm well aware of Semper's kickstarter but IIRC Weisman has stated that he doesn't seem to like the idea of doing a kickstarter for characters he doesn't own (probably for legal reasons). And as far as SSM is concerned, there is a lot of legal hurdles.

 

[ObserveCreative]

I'm well aware of Semper's kickstarter but IIRC Weisman has stated that he doesn't seem to like the idea of doing a kickstarter for characters he doesn't own (probably for legal reasons). And as far as SSM is concerned, there is a lot of legal hurdles.

Blimey, isn't it awful, though, that Greg and co. are willing to give it another shot (and they've got all fan support in the world), but because of corporate machinations, action figures and other pieces of merch not selling well (a neverending problem in the world of animation, however, I fully blame Hasbro for screwing this one up: should've done less ridiculous variants/accessories and put more effort into replicating the success of early Toy Biz figures in 1994: well-defined and articulated animated figures that go along with rare comic versions and all at an acceptable pricing range) and other legal paperwork-related issues, they are all forced to remain in some sort of a lockdown mode, while yet another inferior product replaces what they have managed to accomplish over the years? Sigh, oh well, at least we can enjoy listening to a bunch of good podcasts with him and the rest of TSSM gang where they dissect both seasons.

 

[2kt09]

Blimey, isn't it awful, though, that Greg and co. are willing to give it another shot (and they've got all fan support in the world), but because of corporate machinations, action figures and other pieces of merch not selling well (a neverending problem in the world of animation, however, I fully blame Hasbro for screwing this one up: should've done less ridiculous variants/accessories and put more effort into replicating the success of early Toy Biz figures in 1994: well-defined and articulated animated figures that go along with rare comic versions and all at an acceptable pricing range) and other legal paperwork-related issues, they are all forced to remain in some sort of a lockdown mode, while yet another inferior product replaces what they have managed to accomplish over the years? Sigh, oh well, at least we can enjoy listening to a bunch of good podcasts with him and the rest of TSSM gang where they dissect both seasons.

Toys? I don't ever recall that being an issue.
Sony sold the tv rights to Disney, yet still retained the rights to the shows they've made (TNAS and TSSM). Disney, obviously wasn't going to buy those rights.

 

[Venom 1988]

Toys? I don't ever recall that being an issue.
Sony sold the tv rights to Disney, yet still retained the rights to the shows they've made (TNAS and TSSM). Disney, obviously wasn't going to buy those rights.

This

Toys and ratings were never the issue. The moment Sony reverted the animation rights back to Marvel, the show was done. Then Disney buying Marvel further cemented it.

 

[ObserveCreative]

This

Toys and ratings were never the issue. The moment Sony reverted the animation rights back to Marvel, the show was done. Then Disney buying Marvel further cemented it.

Strange, I do recall reading a long article about the relationship between animated shows (some of them were under WB/DC banner like Green Lantern and Young Justice) and the merch not selling contributing to more problems. I believe that SSM was mentioned amongst the other shows. My memory must be playing tricks on me.

 

[Venom 1988]

Strange, I do recall reading a long article about the relationship between animated shows (some of them were under WB/DC banner like Green Lantern and Young Justice) and the merch not selling contributing to more problems. I believe that SSM was mentioned amongst the other shows. My memory must be playing tricks on me.

Or the article was wrong. Weisman and co have repeatedly stated this was the reason the show went away. Marvel could continue the show if they wanted but from a business stand point it would make no sense because they would have to pay Sony since they own the SSM IP.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

Or the article was wrong. Weisman and co have repeatedly stated this was the reason the show went away. Marvel could continue the show if they wanted but from a business stand point it would make no sense because they would have to pay Sony since they own the SSM IP.

This.

 

[ObserveCreative]

Or the article was wrong. Weisman and co have repeatedly stated this was the reason the show went away. Marvel could continue the show if they wanted but from a business stand point it would make no sense because they would have to pay Sony since they own the SSM IP.

Got it! Thanks for clarifying that.

 

[Mistah K88]

I still wonder how animated movies work though. Or AT LEAST the stuff that was cut/altered from Season 1 when adapting it to a TV format, as the show started off as animated movies.

This was the only one that was actually released with the differences intact

This lost the extra scenes when it was turned into volume 2, and so on and so forth

 

[zeptron]

This

Toys and ratings were never the issue. The moment Sony reverted the animation rights back to Marvel, the show was done. Then Disney buying Marvel further cemented it.

Yeah, unfortunately the show came at a bad time. If it had started about two years earlier, it most likely would have gotten at least two more seasons.

 

[ObserveCreative]

Some storyboards and artwork from TSSM that I stumbled upon recently:

8 images (http://imgur.com/a/PH20a)
5 images (http://imgur.com/a/mrR6o)
6 images (http://imgur.com/a/i661I)

Another 6 (http://imgur.com/a/yQ81k)
Another 5 (http://imgur.com/a/oc19P)

 

[Venom 1988]

I still wonder how animated movies work though. Or AT LEAST the stuff that was cut/altered from Season 1 when adapting it to a TV format, as the show started off as animated movies.

This was the only one that was actually released with the differences intact

This lost the extra scenes when it was turned into volume 2, and so on and so forth

Yes SSM was originally conceived as Direct to DVD movies, but by the time they were already in production it had already been decided that it was going to be a episodic tv show anyway. So it wasn't like they had to go back and cut up the movies into episodes. I have the Attack of the Lizard movie and while you can see there is a general thread running through all 3 episodes, it really doesn't flow quite right from one "segment" to the next.

Even the stuff that was added was fairly minor at best (though I cant speak on what additional footage would have been added in the future volumes had they moved forward). If they had originally made them as movies, the narrative would probably have flowed better. But I can totally see why they abandoned the movie route and just released them as regular volumes.

 

[Mistah K88]

The only scene I know about that was cut when the show was episodic was in "Group Therapy" Shocker was extracted from the scene by Fancy Dan and Ox dressed like police.

There were lines that were recorded as well that were cut before they made it to animation, like the Betty and Ned scenes, and there was a line by Norman in "Final Curtain" that was cut for time in which he mentions something along the lines of how he hated how vulnerable Vulture had made him...

 

[Mistah K88]

Does anyone know of anyone named "Benny", a "Ben", or a "Benjamin" in the Spider-Man series?

because we have this guy down here who was yelled at by J. Jonah Jameson for not getting him the correct sandwich

"Benny"

and the only people I can think of named Ben who have a place in Spidey's world are Ben Parker (Peter's Uncle), Ben Reilly (Peter's clone), and...well...

Ben Urich
First Appearance : Daredevil #153 (July 1978)

I'm not too entirely sure that this is the same guy...but he's a man named "Ben" working at the Bugle... Would this be a "reverse Kingpin" situation? I know they couldn't have Ben work for the Bugle in the 2003 Daredevil movie as that company is DEFINITELY in Spider-Man's realm of things. Heck even in the Daredevil Netflix series he's there but isn't working for the Daily Bugle, (Kingpin is in that same series too...)

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

I actually guessed Benny would be Bennett Brant, Betty's brother. But because his main storyline in the comics was given to Mark Allan, he wouldn't be as relevant.

Who knows, though?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

That's a good guess about Benny, I think it's close enough to the landing.

 

[Mistah K88]

We also have Liz and Mark's parents

Wilson Allan

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #17 (October 1964)

Liz's father and Mark's stepfather in comics. He owns a restaurant called the Avenue Dinner Club and allowed Flash and crew to organize there when he started a fan club for Spider-Man. In the show, he owns a hotel that has a restaurant attached, which the M-Cubed crew meet up for a Valentine's Day dinner. He also goes to the play along with his wife to watch his daughter perform.
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Wilson_Allan_(Earth-616)

and does anyone Liz's mom is in comics? otherwise we could only assume that Mrs. Allan is


Doris Raxton

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man # 28 (September 1965)

In comics she's Wilson's SECOND wife and the Mother to Mark Raxton (aka Molten Man), If the character sitting next to Wilson is indeed her (making her and Wilson being the first and only marriage rather than being each other's second spouse), then she was changed to a Latina in this show as well, to match Liz...and seeing how they are both blonde in comics it wouldn't be surprising that they would just mold her into Liz's mother as well.
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Doris_Raxton_(Earth-616)

 

[2kt09]

Victor Cook talks about Spec Spidey during Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters interview. Also, Josh Keaton has a recurring role.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Doris Raxton

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man # 28 (September 1965)

I don't remember her in that issue at all, I had to look a little by flipping pages and we see the back of her head with Liz going to her parents.

 

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Victor Cook talks about Spec Spidey during Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters interview. Also, Josh Keaton has a recurring role.

Keith David is also there. He voiced the Big Man/Tombstone in the first episode.

I'll check that show out.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

Victor Cook talks about Spec Spidey during Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters interview. Also, Josh Keaton has a recurring role.

Even to this day, hearing/reading Vic Cook talk about Spectacular Spider-Man, there's still so much passion for the creative force that drove that show.

We put equal focus on Peter’s personal problems and relationships as much as his joy of being Spidey and battling super villains. We put the webs back under his arms, brought back his Spidey signal spotlight and added ethnic diversity to the series. We went back to the Ditko-Lee years and brought it up to date. It warms my heart that the fans and critics have such high regard for [it].

When Greg Weisman and I got together to develop and produce this show, our goal was to make the best, most iconic animated Spider-Man series ever. I am not saying that is what we ended up doing; that is for the fans to decide. But that was our mission. To our delight, it also became our crews’ mission. Everyone was driven by this, the artists, writers, actors, editors, production staff, composers, sound mixers and our studio execs. Such an amazing cast, and such an amazing crew!

Even now, after all these years I got sucked back into the stories and Peter’s life and enjoyed watching all over again how action-packed those episodes are. I am still amazed at how on our schedule and budget we were able to get the overseas studios to deliver such fluid squash and stretch animation on so many of our episodes

It both warms my heart and saddens me at the same time to read Victor talking about TSSM. So much passion, devotion and care went into producing the show--seems to me that kind of dedication is a rarer thing these days. But it definitely shows. It's so easy to spot that kind of production value/quality when you see it--the quality of putting a real effort to make something special.

I'm gonna check out Stretch Armstrong for sure. If Vic put even half of the amount of care and love into this show as he did for Spectacular...should be really good.

 

[Mistah K88]

While we could go on forever talking about the deepness and the complexity of these 26 episodes, every now and then we must submit to our more primitive urges and talk about the fights that the series had...after all, that was the PRIMARY reason the Spectacular Spidey team used the art style that they went for. They wanted Spidey to move, be nimble, hell, fight in general. So I must ask, what were your favorite fights in the show?

One of my favorite fights that often get under looked is Gobby's battle in the Uncertainty Principle.

[YT]nDWsMZm7S5U[/YT]

That fight alone sold me on this incarnation of the Green Goblin, as I wasn't impressed by his first appearance in Catalysts. The intensity of the fight as well as Gobby's more exaggerated facial expressions told me that he was actually REALLY trying to KILL Spidey and Tombstone.

He was totally out for blood in this fight

 

[UltimateWebhead]

I couldn't find a video for it but my vote goes to the Spidey vs Rhino fight in The Invisible Hand.

I remember when first watching the show, this was the action sequence that truly cemented the show as a well-animated, brilliantly choreographed action show for Spider-Man. The banter was top notch. Yeah, the Electro fights were pretty good and so was the fight with the Lizard in episode 3 as well as the Sandman and even the Shocker fights that proceeded this one, however imo the Rhino fight was on another level.

First, Rhino was the only villain to deduce that Peter Parker may have info on the whereabouts of Spider-Man because he is always getting pics of him when no other photographer can. IMO this added another dimension to Rhino--not just a dumb street thug, he could be smart and a formidable foe.

I loved how he was absolutely calm and even polite while walking to the Bugle and riding the elevator...he didn't smash through traffic on his way there and even asked nicely for assistance in hitting the right button on the elevator. Once the doors opened though he begins to tear the place up, lol.

And the reason for Peter hurrying to get the Bugle was great--he wasn't going there to suit up cause he got wind of the Bugle under attack, which would have been a likely candidate in the writing dept as these shows usually go for that type of scenario. No, instead he's swinging as fast as he can to try and stop Aunt May from ruining his chances with Betty. Brilliant.

JJJ covering for Peter was a nice touch in the face of danger and added some depth to his already great characterization.

Once the fight started I loved how it was one long continuous action sequence that changed sets several times throughout. It went from the Bugle to the street to the side of a building several blocks away to the inside of a fitness shop and then finally into the sewer. Most action scenes in the previous episodes were limited to one maybe two locations per fight and were usually divided up into two different encounters within the episode.

 

[Arachnid]

Just started a twitter account all things Spectacular Spidey! God I miss this show!!! Give it a follow if you'd like https://twitter.com/AnimatedSpidey

Similar to the awesome twitter account for Batman TAS
https://twitter.com/TheAnimatedBat