What are the best Spider-Man adaptations in media?

[-JKR-]

Simple question, curious about your opinion. What are your favorite Spider-Man adaptations in media?

For me it's Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, Greig Weisman's animated TV series Spectacular Spider-Man, last year's PS4 Spider-Man videogame and Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse animated movie.

All of those mentioned represent, to me, the perfect sum and interpretation of what makes the character so great. They go straight to the core of Peter Parker's (and Miles Morales') humanity, and what it means for a regular kid/guy like him to carry the burden of being a superhero and protecting a huge metropolis such as New York City... and possibly the world.

And all this while trying to maintain his "normal" life and relationships with his family and friends.

 

[Detective Conan]

Supaidāman is the best.



-end thread.

 

[JimThompson]

Spectacular Spider-Man. Easily the best translation of the character outside of the comic books.

 

[-JKR-]

P.S.: I wish I had thought about the thread title better and called it "What are YOUR FAVORITE Spider-Man adaptations in media".

 

[Stormborn]

Into the Spider-Verse is by far the best film. It's an awesome adaptation of the Miles Morales origin, mixed with a way better version of the Spider-Verse story than the one in the comics. Great characters, great art, great music.

The only other adaptation I'd put in the same league is Spider-Man PS4 which alongside being a great game absolutely nails it as a story about an adult Peter Parker trying to live up to his potential and facing hard choices.

Other than that, some of the animated shows like Spectacular Spider-Man and the 90s animated series have been pretty good.

The live action films haven't been that great but Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 are easily the best of them; they were fun films for the time but looking back the plots are kind of clunky and Maguire was poorly cast. Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 had a great cast and spectacle but they wasted it with awful writing and bizarre subplots. Homecoming's a well made film but they mishandled the character.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Spider-Man the Animated Series from the 90s is the definitive Spidey for me.

 

[Dark Raven]

 

[JimThompson]

Love that tune!

 

[MbJ]

Into the Spider-Verse did the impossible of dethroning Spider-Man 2 as my favorite/pick for best Spider-Man movie. But SM2 is still very strong.

On the TV front Spectacular is still unsurpassed.

 

[Web-Head]

Spectacular Spider-Man and Spider-Man PS4

 

[Dark Raven]

Love that tune!

Same. Musically it's one of the best Spider-Man tunes as just a piece of jazz funk IMO. The funky bassline played by the bass guitar is really catchy and the tenor sax sounds super cool. The stabs of brass also add to the piece.

It also takes some skill and co-ordination to play that bassline as it's not so easy to keep it going.

 

[Kuwolski]

After the comics my favorites are PS4, Spider-Verse and SM:TAS

 

[Pennywise]

Spectacular Spider-Man
Into the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man 2

 

[Venom 1988]

10 years later, Spectacular Spider-Man is still the best media adaptation. Though Spider-Verse and PS4 Spider-man are close 2nd and 3rds.

 

[Spidey_62]

Spider-Man 2 is still my favorite Spider-Man movie as it best illustrates the classic struggles of the character's life in a really focused story. It gets the most out of those ideas that have always made the character so enduring, giving them real weight and emotional tact.

I think part of why I think this is the best is I like Spider-Man best when it's at its simplest and closest to the Lee/Ditko/Romita years with no symbiotes and dimension hopping. Don't get me wrong, I love me both of those things, but I think there's something to be said for when Spidey really is just about a guy trying to figure out his life and live up to his responsibilities and facing guys who tried to do that but went astray.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse also gets to the core of what it means to be Spider-Man and for that it's another excellent take. The mindblowing amount of inventiveness visually also is a great plus for this film. I honestly think it easily blows the Spider-Verse story in the comics out of the water. I was excited for it at the time but it greatly disappointed me.

This version is pared down and makes much more sense for Spidey's world given the more sciencey and Kingpin familial reasons for the characters coming together. I think it was a great idea to blend Spider-Verse with Spider-Men and the early Miles comic stories Lord and Miller really took the best ideas there and made them work so much better here.

Spider-Man PS4 is another awesome take that just gets what the character is about. I love seeing a Peter Parker (who was the same age as me) who's been a top notch crimefighter for almost a decade and has a repoir with the city, the people in it, and puts importance in Spidey's role as a protector and everyday guy. Just great seeing a

It's great seeing him try to help as much as he can as Peter Parker as well. It just makes sense for the character and the whole core of the story is relatable and down to earth. The conflicts he goes through with his mentor figures is just classic Spidey drama wrung out in the highest order leading to a very powerful finale that takes chances which pay off. These top three choices all got emotional responses out of me at different points which is high marks for me.

Honorary mention to The Spectacular Spider-Man for being damn great and cut too short. Hope whatever the new Sony animation deal is leaves room for one of those new projects being this show's long deserved revival.

Another honorary mention to Spider-Man TAS for its ambition in doing a serious adaptation of Spidey's world really for the first time in media. There wasn't anything that stayed faithful to the character and his world and the kinds of stories that unfolded in the comics and tried to translate that experience to the screen before it.The show is still enjoyable, it's aged like a fine wine and the cheeziness is part of its charm for me because you can tell it was made with knowledge and love for the material.

Those are all probably some of the best Spidey's we've seen on screen. We're lucky to have gotten such great depictions of him thinking on it

 

[2kt09]

@Spidey_62 You forgot the obvious one.

 

[Spidey_62]

@Spidey_62 You forgot the obvious one.

Haha true.

I have a soft spot for Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. It's not as tight as something like Spectacular but it's better than people often give it credit for. I like how much this show focuses on the weight of being Spider-Man, the ways Spidey damages Peter's life more and more and his desire to make it all work, the show really puts a lot of focus on the public's mistrust of Spidey that some modern takes just opt out of completely. Really milks all the drama out of the concepts and that's a plus in my book.

It's a show that takes chances, and I admire that even if it doesn't always work. Some new villains, a unique looking approach to the visuals, it's just different. I think this show really would be remembered more if it just got one more season because the way it left things was really ripe for different kinds of storytelling possibilities. The show puts Spidey into some really interesting spots thanks to the edgier tone and I would have liked to seen more. Definitely fun to revisit and it certainly puts you back in 2003 in some regards as a show like this wouldn't be made again.

 

[First Avenger]

Into the Spider-Verse, Marvel's Spider-Man PS4, Spectacular Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 come to mind. Homecoming is a very good movie too and I love it, but it misses the mark in a couple of aspects.

 

[jolldan]

Films, it's Raimi's movies


Games, its the latest Spider-Man game


TV, its the 90's animated show

 

[Mandon Knight]

Spider-Man PS4 - for me its everything representative of the character and for the character, it's just beautiful, engaging, emotional, exciting, dark, light, quick, slow, fast paced, human paced, it gets the characters right, his world right, everything. For me, it's definitive.

I adore the Raimi films, but the game is just on another level for me.

Having said all that, watching the 70's tv series on a Friday eve as a child, was very special too, as naff as it was.

 

[Mandon Knight]

….and if this isn't the best character theme for Spider-Man, I don't know what is....

 

[Dark Raven]

….and if this isn't the best character theme for Spider-Man, I don't know what is....

That sounds like rather generic soundtrack music. The Elfman theme is more distinctive and memorable than that. Most of the cartoons are more memorable than that. Even the 70s TV show is more memorable than that.

 

[Mandon Knight]

That sounds like rather generic soundtrack music. The Elfman theme is more distinctive and memorable than that. Most of the cartoons are more memorable than that. Even the 70s TV show is more memorable than that.

Love the Elfman theme, even more than his Batman theme.

 

[The_Manhunter]

Homecoming is hands down my favorite, and it's grown on me even more as time has gone on.

 

[Blade Hoarder]

Spider-man Ps4 and Into the Spider-verse.