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Spectacular Spider-Man

Spectacular Spider-ManOn Saturday, I caught the first episode of the new Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon on Kids WB. Wow, it was pretty cool!  I really enjoyed it!  It had a nice rapid pace, lots of information in each scene, and some really cool Spider-Man moments. I’m not sure how Spider-Man purists will receive this cartoon, but as a casual Spider-Man fan I thought it was a really good adaptation that captured the true spirit of the character. 

I’m sure some people will be put off by the animation as there is a slight anime influence.  However, for once it didn’t bother me.  I thought the way Spider-Man moved was really well done.  For example, in one scene he’s slinging across the city, and he has to keep switching arms with his passenger just so he can shoot a web.  A good logistical idea to put into the visuals.

In my head, I started comparing the Spider-Man cartoon franchise with the Batman cartoon franchise.  I think I’m a lot less forgiving of the Batman cartoon franchise because the 90’s “Batman the Animated Series” was so good.  Anything they do nowadays just doesn’t hold a candle to that, in my opinion.  Probably why I didn’t care much for “The Batman” cartoon.  Whereas Spider-Man hasn’t had the quintessential cartoon adaptation yet, again in my opinion.  I really enjoyed the 90’s Spider-Man cartoon, and thought it was actually pretty good, but definitely not on the same awesomeness level as “Batman the Animated Series“.  Maybe there are Spidey fans out there that will disagree with me.  Perhaps the 60’s, 80’s, or 90’s Spider-Man cartoons are the holy grail of animation, and therefore trump this new Spectacular series. 

I was also pleased with the character choices.  Peter’s best friends were Harry Osborne and Gwen (with no MJ in sight – thank goodness!).  In the first episodes, we saw appearances by Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Vulture, Norman Osborne (later Green Goblin), Dr Curt Connors (later the Lizard), Flint Marko (later the Sandman), the Enforcers, and Eddie Brock (later Venom).  They took some liberties here and there, for example Peter and Eddie Brock are old friends.  However, I didn’t feel these small changes really affected the story. 

To sum up, this was a fast-paced fun cartoon.  Check it out!

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