The Forgotten Spider-Man

Everyone knows the 1967 "Spider-Man" cartoon, you know, the one with the catchy theme song. Most folks know the 1990s series on Fox as well. The fanboys and girls among us know the MTV CGI animated series, the spacey cosmic "Unlimited", and "Amazing Friends" with Iceman and Firestar. But does anyone remember the 1981 Saturday morning cartoon?

The 1981 "Spider-Man" did not air in the Philadelphia area so I didn't see it until years later in syndication. It was the wall-crawler first animated appearance on TV since the classic 1967 series. It was Spidey once more on Saturday mornings, and a prelude to "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends." Many of the queues were taken from the sixties cartoon, maybe not actual model sheets and drawings, but they sure tried to copy it, from shots of buildings to angles that Spidey would swing by on his weblines.

The villains were there. Spidey fought the Green Goblin, the Vulture, the Sandman, the Lizard, Mysterio, and the Kingpin. Others who had not yet seen animation as Spider-foes like the Chameleon, Black Cat, Silvermane, Hammerhead, and Kraven the Hunter. New villains were added like the Gadeteer, the Stuntman, and in a hollaback to the '67 'toon, the Desperado-like Sidewinder.

Attempts to expand the animated Marvel Universe were made as Spider-Man also went up against Magneto, the Red Skull, and the Ringmaster. The oddest addition of this type was the seeming ascension of Doctor Doom to archenemy status for Spider-Man. The two clash in six out of the twenty-six episodes. Many Marvel super-heroes show up as guest-stars as well, including Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, Ka-Zar, Medusa and even Namorita.

There were problems however. This DePatie-Freleng production had the same quality as the last two Marvel animations, "Spider-Woman" and "New Fantastic Four," the latter was the infamous version with H.E.R.B.I.E. the Robot. The animation is very slow-paced, Spidey's webs eject with almost molasses flow sometimes. And of course this was a time in network television when violence was considered to be rotting the minds of young children - so Spider-Man could neither make a fist nor throw a punch, even at someone as evil as a Nazi madman like the Red Skull.



The 1981 "Spider-Man" cartoon has its moments, and it's closer to comics continuity than a lot of superhero animation out there. It's worth a viewing or two for the hardcore fans, and is now available from Netflix via DVD or streaming online.