The other side of the coin was pretty thin. Betty Brant starts out as a pretty good character, but as the episodes roll on, she becomes a cypher, merely a friend of Peter Parker's who stands up for him with J. Jonah Jameson. JJJ is in just about every episode and frankly it gets a bit tiresome, as way too many plots revolve around the Daily Bugle or its publisher in some way. JJJ seems to be the mayor of NYC the way the act in this cartoon. Aunt May shows up maybe once or twice at most, though we do see the Parker home many times.
The stories are pretty simple affairs. Spidey becomes aware of a threat usually by chance, intervenes and encounters the villain, we get the title of the episode, then Spidey loses the initial conflict. After that he goes to see Jameson for some reason or other, then fights the baddie again and usually loses. Then in the last battle he wins, typically by throwing webbing over them, a scheme that often doesn't work earlier in the story.
1. The streets of NYC are largely deserted save for a few villains, their victims, and at most five cops at any given time. Cop cars show up in threes and most of the cops are of Irish extraction.
2. The Rhino looks hilarious when he runs, picks the lamest hideouts, and his motivations for his crimes are ludicrous. A golden statue? Really!
3. The Green Goblin is a really little guy and wants to master real actual magic for some reason despite his many gimmicks of science.
4. The pictures in the Daily Bugle are not hung all that well and constantly shift when doors are slammed, or maybe that only applies to those featuring Jameson's mug.
5. Spidey's webbing has some really curious properties such as functioning as small motors for no discernable reason. He makes fans and propellers and all sorts of things. I love that he whips up special webbing on a whim.
6. The police really trust Spidey, but I can't really tell why. Maybe that's why he seems to know all sorts of classified stuff he really shouldn't know.
7. NYC has a Conservatory of MOD Music.
8. Dr. Connors has two arms on TV all the time.
9. Spidey spends quite a bit of time at the docks and more time in and around the water than I'd have expected. As a consequence, he fights way too many gators.
10. Giant robots like to eat cars and appear for no reason in the middle of the city.
11. Pluto is inhabited by ice men, perhaps they are time-lost members of Martinex's race.
12. It always bugged me as a kid wondering where exactly Spidey's web lines were attached as he swung through the city, and after watching the full first season, I don't have any more idea about it than I did then.
The first season was fun, but after the thrill of seeing Spidey actually swinging across the city it gets a bit weak. I love the few shots we get now and again of actual comic art, especially the few images of Ditko Spidey books.
Good fun. Next up is Season Two!
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There used to be a TV show called Cartoon Cavalcade (hosted by Glen Michaels) on STV in Scotland, which showed these Spidey cartoons from time-to-time. I was never impressed by them, but that theme tune sure was catchy.
ReplyDeleteThat theme song was an earworm of the highest order. I'd sing or hum that thing for days after watching some of these cartoons. I remember when the first Spider-Man movie by Raimi was about to hit the theaters, a colleague who I was not aware was a fan used to sing the song through the hallways.
DeleteI was going to mention Cartoon Cavalcade but Kid got to there first. That show was for its time, pretty amazing as it featured cartoons that weren't readily shown in the UK including a lot of those Marvel toons, JLA, Space Ghost, Birdman, Galaxy Trio etc. From memory the Marvel cartoons weren't well received by kids at the time ( Casper being a big favourite) and didn't last that long. Like Kid I'm afraid these never really impressed me either I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteThe Marvel heroes cartoons (not Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four so much) but the ones by Gantray-Lawrence are definitely low-rent affairs, but it was the first time I'd ever seen the artwork of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and many others on the screen or in a book. It's often all about how and when one comes under the influence.
DeleteSeason 1 was really good for a 10 year old kid (me). Not perfect, but at least it used a majority of the comic books characters at the time. And I still don't mind watching them. Season 2 & 3 were in a word "painful" to watch. Even as a kid I thought: "why are most of the episodes just showing him swinging around constantly?"
ReplyDeleteHe did swing a lot didn't he. I actually preferred Season 2, because the stories were a bit weirder.
DeleteWhen I heard these were coming out, imagine the thrill of anticipation! Imagine my disappointment after I saw the first one. I sat and watched them, though! Hope you have Thor coming up later...
ReplyDeleteSpidey was not from the same creators as Thor and his buddies Cap, Shellhead, Subby, and Jadejaws. Sadly, I don't have those on DVD. But thanks to that site you pointed me to, I might be rectifying that.
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