Revival of Spider-Man (1994)?
- Lukaschik Gleb
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read

The nineties had wonderful cartoon shows based on Marvel comics: Iron Man, Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men and Spider-Man. They told excellent and exciting stories. Sometimes there were misfires and some of them were blatant as I can’t stand resurrection of Galactus in Fantastic Four because that’s against humanism, which should be in titular heroic team. X-Men had a beautiful ending with the killing of Apocalypse and it didn’t require in keeping him alive as revealed in additional episodes after that. I love a first season of Iron Man but coming of other animation crew in a second year improved show by taking a serious and dark tone and make that every episode has a new villain while a nemesis of Tony Stark walks and acts aside. Personally, I loved a relationship between a protagonist and Spider-Woman after which I can’t accept any alternatives with other females and even in that she changes hair color on blonde. Everything that had in Spider-Man, which was created by John Semper. This show, as any I watched on TV while that one I also did that many times on VHS cassettes, which I’m lovely keeping (of course, one them was a gift of my aunt when she offered me to choose). Today became a time when revival of show became a common thing and such speaking to do it has this Spider-Man and I would like to make observation here. But, certainly, I justify if such probability with return of Semper (what is not possible as can see) because he made this show.
I familiar with all Spider-Man shows of the twentieth century and that which was created by John Semper is paramount. He did it because used the finest comic stories and elements from there in adaptation. Spider-Man of 1967 makes an individual charm but use an issue where J. Jonah Jameson chases a web-slinger through using of robot is embarrassing and ridiculous while a publisher of Daily Bugle drips out from seriousness and becomes a maniac. The Sinister Six in their first paper appearance is senseless because every of them fights with Spider-Man individually while The Kingpin in the nineties’ show (who has a mesmerizing origin story) explains a reason of such alliance (which more better called as The Insidious Six but it was due to nonsense banning of using word “sinister”). And they act together. Semper improved original materials and advanced with them as it was introduction of fictional science neogenics, which causes creation of some of characters. The presence of organic webbing would be more reasonable but it’s bad that Peter Parker hasn’t it. Nevertheless, a protagonist isn’t a school or college boy, it’s a matured in all senses man who is a newspaper worker and a person who has some knowledge in science. That attitude in the stories even though 20th Century Fox’s department Fox Kids, which did release on their channel, put conditions that Spidey can’t punch people (though there were exclusions as well as there were personages who have been slayed); don’t put in a title and characters shouldn't say words as “murder”, “death”, “kill” and etc.; no weapons shooting bullets, which were substituted on lasers.
A tender for eye a hand drawing animation with rare and revolution inclusion of CGI, which was using right as it was in scenes of showing DNA structures, is a part of victory of Spider-Man 1994. Whereas in that Batman: Animated Series misfired because there were characters looked as caricatures (as well as that had with screenplays as Joker created a rocket from Christmas Tree, which caused me to stop watching it two, if I correct, years ago).
Certainly to all of that, involvement of everybody as among voice actors and men created incredible score which a main theme is already energizes when I turn it on.
I was excited to watch that Spider-Man begins as a formed superhero and that he in his confrontation with enemies uses not only force but mind (I love when he finds a solution how can destroy a four-laser installation). John Semper did accurate weaving of narrating with characters. Either it was a presentation of new personages or return of known (I’m fascinated with comeback of Hobgoblin after his long absence which was revealed in surprisingly excellent twist.). Semper was creating from intriguing one-shots to same quality the story arcs. I have VHS cassettes until the final of Neogenic Nightmare (the end of the second season) where I adore the last two episodes with return of my favorite villain Scorpion and how Spidey resolves with his curse part of his superhuman ability. There was a great interaction between personages.
The third season carries on in telling extraordinary stories but involvement of deity creature Madame Web kills intrigue in narrating and there a viewer already knows that Spider-Man will fine in the end of this episode. I could imagine an absence of her by doing a fast forward and watch the show.
The fifth season is astronomically phenomenal by Six Forgotten Warriors arc. It’s mesmerizing and gripping story grandiosely involves espionage, Cold War and World War 2 with many twists, tense situations and excitement action. It keeps tight every time when I watch. That was the last best in Spider-Man 1994.
I used to like Secret Wars arc where Madame Web and Beyonder kidnap superheroes and supervillains by sending them on a planet for fight against each other. There all these personages reveal own secrets and defeat curses, but, of course, all that will be erased after the battle. I stopped to like years later because this divine stuff isn’t for place here.
I initially disliked the following after Spider Wars arc where the web-slinger meets with Spider-Men (or Spider-Mans would be correct?) from alternatives realities. I can’t accept that all these worlds have same histories in basis but different in separate events and characterics of personalities and not serious itself in unification of different universes. The most horrible in that John Semper is considered as a creator of Spider-Verse.
One more thing, which in seeing in late seasons, is multiple love matchmaking. Show’s creator wants to make pairs with everybody. He committed a degrading into the worst that TV series do. The cheapest way to conclude is by having characters marry.
The show went wrong and I have no doubt it would ended in that way if Semper had an opportunity to make one or two seasons as it was in his vision. That didn’t happen because president Fox Kids Margaret Loesch and show’s producer Avi Arad had feud between each other. A contract was on sixty-five episodes, which was executed, and Loesch didn’t want to prolong it due to a personal dislike to producer. It was to the best because a next episode, as Semper revealed to backers of his crowdfunding campaign of War of the Rocketmen eighteen years later, wouldn’t be savvier. Spider-Man and Madame Web arrive in the world, which is implementation of realities and characters of books of Arthur Conan Doyle and George Herbert Wells. I would be intrigued in unrealized the sixth season in come back of Mysterio because it wasn’t credible for accept such demise of personage.
Vision can change after more than twenty-five years. John Semper said he would have accepted an offer of return but with a condition that he will have a same artistic freedom as back then. Certainly, he would tell in other way by expanding his projected plan. Probably, he would use materials, which came after that show. I would watch it anyway but that wouldn’t go right if he still thinks that his fantastic Victorian England is still must be, because he wants to implement it, and, as well, he wouldn’t do a removal of Spider-Verse. Right, Spider-Man ended in almost needful place.