It’s not everyday that you catch a really great cartoon.
Let’s face it Saturdays morning cartoons are made for kids, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have great characters and tell good stories. Unfortunately these days, those are few and far between. Bruce Timm and company really raised the bar with Batman the animated series and JLU, but since then everything I’ve see on Saturday mornings has been rather blah. Ever since JLU went off the air I’ve been looking for a new cartoon series that could take it’s place. I thought The Batman might have been it, but it never really reached it’s full potential. It got good the last couple of seasons but it never really "took off" in my eyes. Then out of nowhere came The Spectacular Spiderman.
I didn’t have high hopes for this series, I was not especially crazy about the character designs, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I hate to admit it, but I think the new Spectacular Spiderman cartoon has filled the gap that was left when JLU went off the air.
Only 7 or so episodes have aired but the show already encompasses the vast world that is Spiderman. Sure the typical cast regulars are there, Pete, Harry, MJ, Gwen, Aunt May and JJJ as well as your standard villains, such as Sandman, The Shocker, Vulture and the Lizard. But the series really branched out to include many other cool characters from the Spiderman universe such as The Enforcers, Betty Brant, Eddie Brock, Hammerhead, Tombstone, Liz Allen, John Jameson, and Prof Warren. And that’s just to name a few. And if you’re wondering if the show creators did their own take on some of the characters, yeah they did, but it’s closer to the spin that Bendis did on Ultimate Spiderman than anything else and it really makes the show work.
Also to top it off Hasbro made some really fun toys. At first I just walked past these on the toy isle, but after seeing the show I thought I’d give then a second look. It turns out they are really fun. I think you’re gonna have to be a fan of the show before you can get into the toys, but I have to say the regular Spiderman figure has one of the best paint jobs I’ve seen on any Spiderman figure that’s ever been done.
So check out the show, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Until next time….
The Character designs are so bad I can’t stay tuned in long enough to get a feel for the writing. Sorry but this show is NOT ‘it’. For comic inspired shows I think the best thing in years has been Legion of Super Heros. Not only was there great character designs and a fresh new take on a 50 year old franchise but the writers took the time to learn those 50 years of history, leaving kernels of some great classic stories to be fawned over by old fans while updating and expanding the new story for a modern audience. The characterizations were great and there was honest growth as the seasons moved on. They even killed off Fero Lad in a similar format to his comic book amalgams. LSH was a great show with amazing potential that got shut down when WB walked away and 4 kids took over. I just hope a full series box set DVD is released so people can continue to enjoy the incredible work that was done.
Well iwatch it with my kids and I really enjoy as they do. It is not overly violent which I like. The stories are good. I think the character design are great.
I heaven;t boughtthe toys becaus ethey are too expensive. This show would of been good chance for Hasbro to do 3.75 line but they miss the boat (I think) on this one.
I hope they a do a season one on this series.
I haven’t seen the last few episodes, since ive been working. thank god for you tube
I’ve really enjoyed the series. I personally like Cheeks character designs (with the exception of Aunt May, who looks like a 16 year old in a grey wig). The animation is great. They really went all out with the fluid animation for spidey. I also like the toys, but won’t pick any up, at least right now. $10 is a little pricey for these I think. Just saw the sandman figure, and he is really well done. All in all a pretty good series.
I gotta agree with the monkey, and not just ‘cuz he’s my best friend.
The little woman & I caught our first episode yesterday (Doc Ock origin) and I was hooked. We have pretty busy lives during the week and rarely get the luxury to sleep in on a Saturday and veg out with some cartoons. Most of the stuff can’t hold my, or Amy’s, interest long enough to ingest a whole 30 mins. This show held us both and when the first credit rolled we both actually responded out loud with “aww, man”. We’re now looking forward to next Saturday’s episode.
Oh & the toy’s are really neat.