The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008 TV series) (2024)

The Spectacular Spider-Man
Genre(s):	Action/Adventure
Rating:	TV-Y7
Created by:	Stan Lee, Steve Ditko
Voices of:	Josh Keaton, Benjamin Diskin, James Arnold Taylor, Lacey Chabert Alanna Ubach, Kevin Michael Richardson, Daran Norris, Vanessa Marshall, Steven BlumJoshua LeBar, Andrew Kishino, Clancy Brown, Alan Rachins
No. of seasons:	2
No. of episodes:	26
Running time:	22 minutes
Original run:	March 8, 2008 – November 18, 2009
Network(s):	Kids WB The CW (March 8 - June 14, 2008) Disney XD (June 22 - November 18, 2009)

The Spectacular Spider-Man is an animated television series that was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

The show premiered on March 8, 2008.

It takes place in Earth-26496.

Characters

• Peter Parker (Spider-Man): After being bitten by a genetically altered spider, Peter donned a spider costume and sought to fight crime after allowing a burglar to escape, only to have that same criminal - later identified in this series as Walter Hardy - later kill his Uncle Ben. He learned that "with great power comes great responsibility", a phrase that now drives him to act as a super hero.
• Gwen Stacy: Gwen is the daughter of police captain George Stacy, and is one of Peter Parker's best friends and intellectual equal. Initially, she is fairly shy and unconcerned with her appearance; she gradually comes to resemble her comic book counterpart toward the end of the series.
• Harry Osborn: Harry is Peter's friend and is the son of industrialist Norman Osborn. He constantly lives in his father's shadow and considers Peter a good friend, though at times also resents him for earning Norman's respect, which Harry has never been able to do.
• Eddie Brock: Eddie works at Dr. Connors' Lab, and is like an older brother to Peter. The two have known each other since they were children, and both their parents had died in the same plane crash. When Eddie attended Midtown High, he stoof up for Peter whenever Flash Thompson bullied him. Their relationship became strained after Peter sold pictures of The Lizard to the Daily Bugle, losing both his and the Connors' trust. Eddie would later fuse with the Symbiote and turn into Venom.
• J. Jonah Jameson: Jameson is the loudmouth, egotistical publisher and editor of the Daily Bugle, a major tabloid newspaper. Showing excessive pride in his son, John Jameson, he is obsessed with exposing fraudulent claims to heroism, and is therefore always demanding pictures of Spider-Man so that he can continue his smear campaign against the vigilante.
• Mary Jane Watson: Mary Jane is the niece of Aunt May's friend, Anna Watson. She attends the Fall Formal as Peter's date before ultimately switching schools to be at Midtown. Mary Jane befriends Peter and Gwen, and is initially determined to stay single, desiring to be a "free agent."
• Flash Thompson: Flash is a star football player at Midtown High. While he idolizes Spider-Man, he frequently bullies and harasses Peter Parker, believing him to be a "stuck-up egghead," despite the fact that they had originally been friends when they were much younger.
• Liz Allan: Liz is a cheerleader at Midtown High. She was initially the girlfriend of Flash Thompson and showed great resentment towards Peter. As the series progresses, her true feelings become apparent as she demonstrates a much more open and accepting side.
• George Stacy: George is Gwen's protective father and a police captain. He is open-minded, believing in Spider-Man (whom he hints knowing his identity) when others like J. Jonah Jameson dismiss his vigilante activities.
• Norman Osborn: Norman is Harry's father and the head of Oscorp. A ruthless businessman who believes himself incapable of failure and never apologizes, Norman is involved in many shady dealings with the Big Man.

Seasons

Season 1

Season 1 is divided into four arcs, The Lizard Arc, the Tombstone Arc, the Green Goblin Arc, and the Symbiote/Venom Arc. Each arc contains three episodes, except for the Venom arc which has four. A lot of enemies are introduced in this season, all with their own plot and backstory.

1. Survival of the Fittest
2. Interactions
3. Natural Selection
4. Market Forces
5. Competition
6. The Invisible Hand
7. Catalysts
8. Reaction
9. The Uncertainty Principle
10. Persona
11. Group Therapy
12. Intervention
13. Nature vs. Nurture

Season 2

Also divided into four arcs, the 2nd season has the Master Planner Arc, a second Venom arc, the Gang War arc, and the second Green Goblin arc. This season progresses the relationships between the characters, and brings some minor characters, allies and villains, into much bigger roles.

1. Blueprints
2. Destructive Testing
3. Reinforcement
4. Shear Strength
5. First Steps
6. Growing Pains
7. Identity Crisis
8. Accomplices
9. Probable Cause
10. Gangland
11. Subtext
12. Opening Night
13. Final Curtain

Cancellation

The show's creators were striving to reach 65 episodes. 26 episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man were produced in total. The series stopped production with a renewal dependent upon the ratings for season 2 on the U.S. Disney XD channel and the sales of the DVDs. If the third season were to have gone ahead, producer Greg Weisman stated that Scorpion and Hobgoblin would have made their appearances.

On September 1, 2009, the television rights for Spider-Man were returned to Marvel by Sony. The effect this had on The Spectacular Spider-Man's future was unknown. At the time, President of Marvel Animation Eric Rollman further stated that "no decisions have been made either way" regarding the fate of the series. Newsarama reported that the series' cancellation occurred just after The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment in December 2009.

On April 13, 2010, Marvel announced that a new series based on the Ultimate Spider-Mancomic book serieswill be aired on Disney XD April 1, 2012. The same day, Greg Weisman told IGN: "I've heard nothing directly from Marvel, but I think the Ultimate Spider-Man announcement makes it fairly clear that Spectacular is over." Marvel Animation and Sony also commented on this to Marvel Animation Age, confirming that the series has ceased production.