posted
Yeah, I agree. I remain optimistic b/c I think Spidey lends himself so well to the medium. I also was very enthusiastic about JMS initial run of stories. They truly felt like this would be a great new era.
Then there were a bunch of boring/going nowhere sotries, focusing on the magic side of the MU (which doesn't fit Spidey no matter how you cut it). Around the time of the Gwen/Norman story it got really awful and has only gotten steadily worse.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Nice to see this thread resurface! Maybe I missed it, but have you gotten to the whole "I need four new identities for some contrived reason as a way to spawn a spin-off series that's barely tangentially connected to Spider-Man!" (re:Slingers)? While I really liked that series, it was doomed from the start with that ill-conceived four-separate #1's nonsense (talk about pushy).
So what's Puma doing over in "Sensational"? He hasn't undergone some kind of revamp has he?
From: New York, NY | Registered: Jul 2003
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Hm...upon a re-check, I left off just at Larson's run on Amazing. The 'four identities instead of one' thing is still about ten years later in the 90's...I'll have to revisit the reviews soon
But currently, Puma and the Black Cat are helping out in Sensational. They have a little fling together going on, and both are more along the lines of 'good guys that pinch in to help Spidey'. I'd say Puma is being written in character, but we aren't seeing much in regards to Thomas Fireheart, just what he's been up to when he's transformed into Puma and hooking up with the Black Cat. Its obvious he's only helping Spidey b/c the Black Cat keeps helping him and getting herself into awkward situations. Thankfully no revamp here (yet at least).
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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I've been watching my cartoon videotapes lately. Whole series, back-to-back, plus various odds and ends. SPACE GHOST. THUNDERBIRDS 2086. ULYSSES 31. THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN. BUGS BUNNY (courtesy of a "June Bugs" marathon). COBRA. TINTIN. SUPER DIMENSION FORTRESS MACROSS. JONNY QUEST. FANTASTIC FOUR (1967). Well, today I pulled out the cartoons I've watched over and over the most since I taped them about 23 years ago... SPIDER-MAN (1967) !!!
I understand back in '67, a lot of fans were very apprehensive when it was announced that Grantray-Lawrence was going to do a SPIDER-MAN series. After all, they'd done the (infamous) MARVEL SUPER-HEROES SHOW, where they took actual panels of Marvel Comics and-- ahem-- "animated" them (and I used that word loosely). Those cartoons' reputation have turned around of late, I think, judging by a growing amount of (nostalgic?) positive comments I've read online. Me, I haven't seen one of them since 1966, and my memory of them isn't too sharp. Oh well.
But THESE things-- WHOA!!! Steve Rude once talked about how, while Hanna-Barbera's "A-team" of animators had done SPACE GHOST and HERCULOIDS, it was their "B-team" who did FANTASTIC FOUR in '67. Much lower budget. The show still had, in my view, the best writing of any Saturday morning series, owing mostly to doing a majority of them as "adaptations" based on the original Lee-Kirby comics-- sometimes, with the story structures improved over the originals. If only the animation was up to par with the stories and the designs.
However, Grantray-Lawrence apparently threw EVERYTHING they had into the SPIDER-MAN show. I've read they didn't make any more money by spending more money. They were, I think, hoping the IMMENSELY increased quality of the shows would lead to further success. It ALMOST worked!
The animation in the early episodes may be some of the SMOOTHEST ever done for any Saturday-morning show in the 60's. These things looks GREAT!! And you have to get some weeks into the season before there's any really noticeable reuse of shots (something that became a problem in later episodes).
To this day, the voices on the G-L cartoons are what I "hear" in my head when I read the characters in the comics-- particularly Peter Parker/Spider-Man (2 distinct voices, just like the Bud Collyer Clark Kent/Superman radio shows and cartoons), Betty Brant, that LUNATIC publisher, J. Jonah Jameson, and several of the villains. I think it's criminal that there's been so MANY Spider-Man cartoon series over the years, and these actors have NEVER been brought back. (Imagine Bugs Bunny WITHOUT Mel Blanc and you see the problem.)
Most remember the incredibly upbeat, catchy theme song by Bob Harris & Paul Francis Webster. But, like Monty Norman on James Bond and Neil Hefti on Batman, they "only" did the theme song. The rest was an original jazz score done by Ray Ellis-- which gets my vote for the BEST music ever done for a Saturday-morning show. I've been a member of a Yahoo Group dedicated to "Spider-Man Jazz Music" for 2-1/2 years now, and so far, the original tracks of this score (without the cartoons soundtrack, voices, etc.) have NOT turned up. In many ways, one of the great "unreleased" scores in tv history!!!
The "pilot" episode is notably darker and more intense than most of what followed. "THE POWER OF DR. OCTOPUS" is not based on any comic story, but it manages to capture the personality of Spidey's most DANGEROUS enemy perfectly. The exagerated mannerisms in his speech remind me of a Shakespearean actor gone mad. When bragging about his machine that can destroy half the city, he says, "It will give me POWER to RULE the UNIVERSE!" The word "megalomaniac" seems to have been coined for this guy.
Betty Brant in these cartoons is one of my favorite female characters from the 60's. She's just so NICE-- good friends with Peter, on almost as good terms with Spider-Man, somehow managing to tolerate her madman of a boss without getting fired. I was disappointed when I saw Betty in the comics-- I NEVER liked her as much as I did in these shows.
Jameson is PERFECT. A self-assured raving ego-maniac who almost never seems to be right about anything. Countless residents of Peter's neighborhood have their lives put in danger, JUST because Ock sent a letter of warning to Jameson-- and he failed to pass it on, thinking it was "just a crank"! JJJ only really works as "comic relief". The comics' increasing mistake over the years (and decades) was foolishly trying to treat him like a "real" person. By taking him "seriously", but not having him face up to all the hateful, destructive things he's done over time, he became completely intolerable. Here, in these more "light-hearted", action-oriented stories, he's a much better fit.
The 2nd half of the series opener was "SUB-ZERO FOR SPIDEY", about a group of icy aliens from Pluto seeking the help of "Professor Smarter", a character who reminds me of a guy from the SUPERMAN tv show. At times, I often thought the cartoon Spidey was tackling menaces WAY outside his "weight class". Oh well, that's tv for you!
John Romita was credited as one of the "consultants" on this show, and indeed, it more reflects his brighter, more "upbeat" era than it does the darker, creepier Ditko era before it. A discussion at the Kirby-L Yahoo Group has pointed out how Jack Kirby was involved in the creation of Spider-Man before Ditko was recruited. Much of Kirby's contributions were not used; Ditko came up with not only the costume, but the look of the entire supporting cast, and over 3 years he would slowly take over the book more and more. But it appears the "happy-go-lucky" costumed Spider-Man persona was one thing of Kirby's that did survive. It's possible in this cartoon it lives more than it ever did in the comics!
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"WHERE CRAWLS THE LIZARD" was the 1st of the adaptations. It took its name from ASM #44 (Jan'67) but was really based on "FACE-TO-FACE WITH... THE LIZARD!" from ASM #6 (Nov'63). As with most Hollywood adaptations, they changed a lot. The villain looks more human in the face than he did in the comic; he's referred to as "the Lizard-Man" instead of "the Lizard"; and he was the result of research into a cure for "swamp fever", there's no mention of Dr. Curtis Connors trying to apply lizard physiology to help REGROW a missing arm. Plus, any scenes with the supporting cast, other than JJJ & Betty, are gone. But for the most part, it actually does translate the story fairly well for a "kiddie cartoon".
"ELECTRO, THE HUMAN LIGHTNING BOLT" is the 2nd adaptation, based on "THE MAN CALLED ELECTRO" from ASM #9 (Feb'64), and like the original, starts out with Spidey interrupting the baddie who's robbing Jameson's apartment! Naturally, JJJ blames the wrong guy, and goes so far to as accuse Peter of faking a composite photo when he tries to show him who the real baddie is. This episode marks the 1st time Spidey's wanted by the cops. While it never became the painfully recurring theme it did over the years in the comics, it did crop up here from time to time. The finale takes place at Coney Island, and is a real blast. If there's one thing that bugs me (if only in retrospect), it's Electro's voice sounds very "cartoony"-- it's difficult to picture anything like it coming from the guy UNDER the mask who was sometimes seen in the comics.
Ep.3
"THE MENACE OF MYSTERIO" is the 3rd adaptation, and the first of only 2 "full-length" episodes made during this season. As such, it benefits from much better storytelling, much as the Hanna-Barbera FANTASTIC FOUR and JONNY QUEST shows did, and makes me dearly wish ALL the shows this year had been like this one. For the 2nd time, Spidey's wanted by the cops-- this time, he was seen robbing a museum, and even Peter begins to wonder if he's developing a split personality. A full third of the story is taken up with the cops chasing Spidey, and the sheer amount of story, action & characterization really makes all the "full-length" episodes of the 2nd season seem lame by comparison (as most of them were longer simply from excessive "padding"). The villain, who looks like a refugee from a Steve Ditko DR. STRANGE story, is captured perfectly in this cartoon, though most of the detail is left off his costume (even as most of the webbing is left off of Spidey's-- gotta keeps costs down somehow!).
The two major set-pieces of the story are the fight on top of the Brooklyn Bridge (a location revisited, sometimes to tragic effect, in later comics), and the showdown in the TV studio. While Mysterio is supposed to be a special effects man (posing as some sort of sorcerer, presumably), in the cartoon he's shown as a stuntman, working on a sci-fi series (his hair & makeup UNDER the dome makes him rather suspiciously resemble Mr. Spock!). Not long ago, while re-reading the early comics, I was struck by how drastically different the comic and cartoon were-- despite the cartoon being the CLOSEST of all the adaptations to the original! All the soap-opera bits with the supporting cast are missing; yet lengthy action scenes were added, including the 2nd half of the climax, when Spidey & Mysterio duke it out on the set of a TV western, while the director yells for the cameras to keep rolling. It's hilarious! Maybe because I've seen the cartoon dozens of times (and only read the comic twice), I much prefer this to the original. This gets my vote as the single BEST Spider-Man cartoon EVER made!!!!
Ep.4
"THE SKY IS FALLING" is the 1st Vulture story. Back in the 60's there were 2 Vultures-- the skinny, frail-looking old bald original, and the younger, tougher, yet nowhere-near-as-smart pretender from the Romita era. The guy in the cartoon wears a helmet like the 2nd one, but his voice, a high-pitched, shrill sound, doesn't seem right for EITHER version (it actually reminds me of Jay Robinson's Caligula from THE ROBE and DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS). This story seems largely inspired by Hitchcock's THE BIRDS, as "Vulture-Man" (like The Lizard, they couldn't get his name right) uses a sonic device to control birds and terrorize the city. Irrational as ever, JJJ keeps insisting Spidey's the villain, and "What's his name" only a sidekick of sorts. You can tell different people worked on different episodes, as this one looks more "cartoony" than the previous ones.
"CAPTURED BY J. JONAH JAMESON", the 4th adaptation, is the only one to use the actual story title, from ASM #25 (Jun'65). Once more, supporting characters & sub-plots were out while the action scenes greatly increased. One major omission was how in the comic, Peter actually ENCOURAGED Jameson to take up Dr. Henry Smythe's offer of using the robot to capture Spidey-- then dearly regretted it. One scene that made it into the cartoon intact was when Jameson finds out Spidey has escaped. "What did you do to his HEAD?" "Nothing-- he-- he hasn't GOT a head!!" (It was just a stuffed costume.) For the 2nd week in a row (as far as the show goes), Jameson has deliberately gotten involved in a scheme to bring down Spidey-- though, considering Betty goes to the cops to get Spider-Man some HELP, one can only wonder exactly what Jameson expects Spidey to be arrested for!
The music in this one is fantastic (as usual), and most of the animation continues to be new-- though anyone who's seen the rest of the series will surely recognize which bits got reused later on-- over and over and OVER again.
Registered: Aug 2003
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These are cool Prof! I'm interseted in them now, as I've never seen them before.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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I hoped you'd enjoy these. I'm surprised, what with your having read every single Spider-Man comic ever published (or close to it) that you've never seen these. This is a good time, as they were released on DVD about 3 years ago. (I still don't have a DVD player; I'm watching my 23-year-old videotapes.)
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"NEVER STEP ON A SCORPION" is the 5th adaptation. Unlike the others, this actually COMBINES 2 different stories: "THE COMING OF THE SCORPION!" (ASM #20 / Jan'65) and its sequel, "NEVER STEP ON A SCORPION!" (ASM #29 / Oct'65). For the 3rd show in a row, Jameson gets directly involved in a scheme to bring about Spider-Man's downfall. This time he actually finances Dr. Stillwell, one of those "mad scientist" types, whose "creation" (they talk about him as though he's not human under that costume) turns out to be more dangerous than either of them anticipated. After an initial battle, The Scorpion turns on Jameson, and winds up in jail thanks to Spidey. Then, he ESCAPES jail, and goes after Jameson AGAIN! How Jameson never got charged with endangering inoocent lives after this is beyond me.
I only realized this story combined 2 separate comics when I re-read the originals recently. It seems a bit absurd, cramming so much action (and so little explanation and sense) into a single cartoon, when each of the comics could easily have been adapted into a "full-length" story-- had they wanted to.
One strange sidebar of this episode is the amount of genuine Steve Ditko poses that turned up. In the 1980s, some editor realized the 2nd comic had never been reprinted before, and discovered the stats were missing. They hired outside help to recreate new stats so the story could finally be reprinted (which it's been several times since). Re-reading the editorial, I came to the realization that Stan Lee must have "loaned" the stats for that issue to G-L to help in the making of the cartoon. But when G-L went belly-up LESS than a year later, I'm guessing the stats went missing!
"SANDS OF CRIME" was the only time this classic Steve Ditko villain turned up on the show, yet like so many others, this story is not based on any of his numerous comics appearances. (Sandman fought Spidey multiple times in the Ditko era; somewhere along the way, he also had run-ins with The Human Torch, then almost by default became a Human Torch villain. This in turn, led to his joining 2 other Torch baddies when The Frightful Four came together.) Spidey puts his foot in it this time, foolishly checking out the security at a museum, then getting caught "in the act" when the place is robbed by someone else. The fact that the ransom note is signed "S" only confirms JJJ's usual rantings about who the culprit is. The coming attractions for this one described Sandman as Spidey's "most dangerous" foe. Seriously, some of the guys Spider-Man went up against on this show (and in the comics), when you compare rogues galleries, kinda made Batman look like he had it easy.
Ep.6
"DIET OF DESTRUCTION" is one FUN cartoon! This is another one that looks like it stepped out of a DC Superman comic-- or else, some Japanese giant-monster show. A giant "metal-eating monster" (robot) with a blast furnace where its stomach should be and a pair of electromagnets for hands is on a rampage. For something made out of metal that doesn't talk, this thing seems to have much more intelligence and expression of personality that you'd think would be possible. Meanwhile, the show's imaginative use of Spidey's webbing continues unabated, an example in this one being when he creates a web-"dome" to protect himself from a huge pile of falling automobiles. How something so elastic and sticky can ALSO be stronger than steel is really pushing believability past its limits. I guess as long as you have a sense of humor, it's not a problem!
"THE WITCHING HOUR" is the first of 3 appearances of The Green Goblin. Like Cesar Romero's Joker, I could never take this guy seriously, and was really surprised to learn that in the comics, he was supposed to be one of Spidey's "arch"-enemies! Never mind the costume-- which, unlike the feature film, was AUTHENTIC to the comic. This guy's VOICE is on the kooky side, and when I got around to reading about Norman Osborn in the books, I could not believe the guy on the cartoon could possibly be the same person. (No way!) One very odd thing about this and its follow-up is that you had 2 stories with the Goblin that involved genuine "supernatural" goings-on. One gets the feeling whoever wrote these shows didn't bother reading the books at all.
Another intriguing aspect of this story is the appearance of "Grandini The Mystic", a psychic whose powers are real, and whose house is full of genuine magic artifacts. It's easy to see this guy as an alternate-universe version of DR. STRANGE-- making this, in a way, a psuedo-team-up of Steve Ditko's 2 most famous characters. (Sort of.)
Ep.7
"KILOWATT KAPER" features the first "returning" baddie for the show (if you don't count Scorpion's jailbreak 2/3rds into his debut story). I suppose one could rank Electro as the cartoon Spider-Man's deadliest enemy-- though that voice continues to grate and he's just not the smartest guy around by a mile. The TV Spidey is clearly in good with the law (for the most part) as he turns up at the State Prison trying to warn the warden of Electro's imminent escape due to a lightining storm. Twice Electo fails to kill Spidey, yet never sticks around to make sure the job's finished. At the climax, the cops aren't sure whether to arrest Spidey or not, though I'd say stringing a gigantic web all over Times' Square would be considered a nuisance. (Good thing it worked!)
"THE PERIL OF PARAFINO" might confuse some viewers, because you had 2 stories in the SAME show that opened with a jailbreak! In this case, it's killer "Red Dog Melvin", who finds an unlikely (and somewhat baffling) place to hide. This story seems to take its inspiration from the films "MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM" / "HOUSE OF WAX", while it's villain, Parafino, also borrows a bit of his M.O. from that equally-whacko Torch baddie, Paste-Pot Pete! Parafino makes Doc Ock seem sane by comparison, as he spouts such classic lines as "Why Spider-Man! How accomodating. You have FOUND your OWN pedestal!" ...and... "Then you will wait-- FOREVER!" Sometimes it's tough to come up with a rational rationale when your bad guy's just plain NUTS, but this doesn't explain why "Red Dog" would willingly let himself be turned into a statue (in "suspended animation", so the explantion went). For the 2nd time in the series, Betty gets put in danger looking for Peter. You'd think, considering how dangerous his job is, the next time Jameson sends her looking for Pete, she'd just go down to a coffee shop for an hour or so. It'd be a LOT safer!
[ April 26, 2007, 09:24 PM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
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"HORN OF THE RHINO" is the 1st to introduce a purely John Romita-era villain, the 2nd full-lengther, and marks the 1st appearance of Aunt May! Though not based on any existing Rhino story (there had only been the one 3-parter in the comics by this point) the opening scene of him smashing headlong into a speeding train was later reused by that diehard TV & cartoon fan, Len Wein, in INCREDIBLE HULK #218 (Dec'77). Len was also the first comics writer to ever use the cartoon trademark note for police, "Compliments of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" in ASM #152 (Jan'76). Can't be a coincidence!
Spidey foolishly sticks his neck in trying to help protect national security, and sure enough, when a top-secret weapon is stolen while he's on the scene, HE gets blamed for it! A running series of skirmishes see Spidey repeatedly fail to stop The Rhino from getting his hands on the 2nd & 3rd components of-- whatever it is (it looks like kids' toy blocks, but Betty described it as a "bomb"). For a guy who's clearly not very bright and whose power consists purely of being monstrously strong and unstoppable, this baddie sure causes a lot of trouble.
On the "human" side, Pete catches a bad cold, and not only has to stop the baddie AND keep out of the hands of the cops until he does it, he also has to fool dear, sweet, wonderful, caring Aunt May, who insists he stay in bed and keeps feeding him one horrific cold remedy after another. Unlike the frail, close-to-death Aunt May of the Ditko era, THIS May seems very healthy, strong-minded and strong-willed. One of the best lines is when she infuriates JJJ by telling him over the phone, "It seems to me if you knew your job, you could take you own pictures." Being the NUT that he is, Jameson actually winds up taking her suggestion-- but makes the mistake of doing it "in disguise"-- and naturally, gets arrested for being a SPY! On the phone, Pete has to console a distraught Betty, while pretending not to know what mess JJJ really got himself into.
Ep. 9
"THE ONE-EYED IDOL" steps into TARZAN territory-- sort of. While Kraven The Hunter never turned up on this show, here they introduced Oli Clivendon-- your stereotypical Australian 'unter an' poacher and awl-aroun' criminal toyp. (Yes. With that accent.) Think of him as a mean-spirited bad-guy version of Crocodile Dundee. Jonny Quest had 2 run-ins with guys like this. He has a native sidekick who never speaks and somehow is able to scale a building just like Spidey, and his uses a hypnotic "idol" to hypnotize Jameson into robbing himself. My favorite bit is when, after capturing Spidey, Clivendon tells him, "Don't worry, Spider-Man! It won't be a weapon they can trace to me. Oy assure you your demise will look like an accident!" "Now that takes a load off my mind!" Now, somebody tell me how someone bound hand and foot and hanging in an elevator shaft could possibly be interpreted as "an accident" ???
"FIFTH AVENUE PHANTOM" introduces the TV Spidey's own low-rent version of Dr. Doom-- The Phantom! An evil scientist who wears a hood to hide his face (2 twinkling lights are the only hint we see of his eyes), he has a squad of gorgeous female robots (disguised as department store manikens) doing his bidding, and an assortment of weapons including a shrinking ray to reduce objects for easy take-away for resale later, all to raise money so he can build "an army" of robots to "take over the world"!! A pretty cool set-up, and I dug the deep, mysterious voice they gave this guy.
One odd bit I discovered only recently, it seems "The Phantom" was actually based-- loosely-- on an IRON MAN villain called "The Phantom", who appeared only ONCE, in TALES OF SUSPENSE #63 (Mar'65). I never noticed it because I'd only read the comic once back in the late 70's, the personality and M.O. were completely different, and he really only LOOKED like the guy on TV in ONE panel!! Another case-- maybe-- of the TV people skimming the comics for ideas without actually reading them? Sure seems like it.
For some inexplicable reason, all thru the 70's, these 2 stories were reversed. When the show turned up again in the early 80's, someone had reinstated the original running order.
Ep.10
"THE REVENGE OF DR. MAGNETO" brings us one of those classic "mad scientist types", an inventor who goes berzerk because the "Science Hall Of Fame" has failed to recognize his genius. But now, he'll show them all!! BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!! Among Spidey's escapades this time, he uses his belt-light to help guide a ship in a storm to safety when a lighthouse is put out of commission (seriously, how powerful could a tiny thing like that be?); and, he stops the statue of Promethius from Rockefeller Plaza from crashing to the ground after it's magnetically lifted into the sky and dropped. Instead of creating a net to catch it, he shoots upward, creating a web-"spring". This is so wrong on so many levels, but the pace of the story insists we just take it in stride.
"THE SINISTER PRIME MINISTER" has Pete uncover a kidnapping & masquerade plot while sneaking into a foreign embassy to snap a photo for Jameson. Naturally, Spidey gets accused of assaulting the Prime Minister of Rutania, and Jameson, who's against giving loans to foreign nations, gets taken in by charming promises of how "little children will sing praises of your name" if he helps swing the loan. When told he'll probably get a statue in his honor, Betty thinks, "The pidgeons will love it!"
For one skinny guy with a bad accent and a cane, this guy sure gave Spidey a LOT of trouble! I guess it helps when the cane has more improbable gadgets crammed into it than Matt Murdock's. In the end, we find he's really "the actor-- Charles Cameo!" I suppose he's the TV cartoon equivalent of Spidey's recurring foe, The Chameleon. In all the years of reading the comics, this was one baddie (along with The Puppet Master in FANTASTIC FOUR) who I found extrememly annoying, more each time they turned up again-- and again-- and AGAIN. In the case of The Chameleon, did we EVER see the guy's real face or find out who he REALLY was? Or WAS that blank white thing with the eye-slits supposed to BE his "real" face??
[ April 29, 2007, 04:28 PM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
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"THE NIGHT OF THE VILLAINS" has Spidey fighting villains from history-- Blackbeard the Pirate, Jesse James & The Executioner of Paris. Or at least, that's how it looks... Incredibly, Parafino becomes the 2nd villain to make a return appearance on the show, with no clue as to if he broke jail, etc.
"HERE COMES TRUBBLE" feels like a variation on a theme, as in this one, Spidey fights a centaur, a cylcops, Diana (goddess of the hunt), Cerberus, and Vulcan-- all beings from Greek mythology. Like the previous story, they're all (more or less) under the control of one person. In this case, it's spinster, bookstore owner and mythology expert "Miss Trubble", who reminds me of Margaret Hamilton and falls into the "Dr. Magneto" catagory for loopy criminal motivations. She wants to force JJJ to hire her to write a regular column for his scandal sheet (the way he edits it, it seems a fair description), and unleashing supernatural forces is her way of getting his attention. Both halves of this double feature aren't among my faves this year, but they're still watchable.
Ep.12
"SPIDER-MAN MEETS DOCTOR NOAH BODDY" features a scientist who's invented a means to become invisible. Like Dr. Magneto & Miss Trubble, he's also got a grudge-- against JJJ personally, for his having riduculed his theories in his paper. The fact that Jameson says he's never heard of the guy only confirms he's probably using an (obvious) alias. Jameson is framed for crimes-- twice!-- and blames Spidey for his predicament, naturally. Peter seems to treat his antagonism with JJJ as a game in some of these. I'd never have the patience for it! This marks at least the 2nd appearance of Police Sgt. O'Malley (I believe he was the one Betty talked to in the Dr. Smythe story), who asks Peter, bailing out his boss, "What makes an outstanding citizen turn to crime?" Pete replies, "Noah Boddy knows the answer to that!"
"THE FANTASTIC FAKIR" introduces a middle-eastern baddie, who appears to have genuine supernatural powers. (Other than his meetings with Dr. Strange, didn't Spidey's villains in the comics generally stick to scientific M.O.s?) With his flute that causes all sorts of magical things to happen, The Fakir reminds me a bit of DC's Flash villain, The Pied Piper-- only more interesting. This one has some really fun & memorable bits in it, including Spidey opening a door that smashes right into a guard, a scene where a guard slices another door in half with a huge scimitar, and a bit where Spidey is pursued by a trio of trained crocodiles in New York harbor!
Ep.13
"THE RETURN OF THE FLYING DUTCHMAN" has Spidey investigate reported sightings of a floating ghost ship. The culprit behind it turns out to be Mysterio, the 3rd villain to make a return appearance, who's picked up a a pair of henchmen this time and is apparently involved in some kind of smuggling. Mysterio's voice is a bit harsher this time, but not too different from his 1st appearance; sometimes the (few) actors on this show seemed to have trouble keeping voices on returning villains consistent. Considering the number of stories this guy appeared in in the comics, it seems clear at this point the show's producers favored original plots over adaptations. That said, the M.O. of scaring away locals from a spot where a submarine is lurking parallels the 1st Johnny Storm solo story in STRANGE TALES #101 (Oct'62).
"FAREWELL PERFORMANCE" is a real change-of-pace story. An old stage theatre scheduled for demolition appears haunted. Spidey discovers one of its former stars, Blackwell The Magician, is behind it. A lengthy duel between the two ensues, though I have a very hard time believing Blackwell isn't using REAL magic during the course of it! (Once again, real magic seems commonplace in the TV Spider-Man's world.) The ending is amusing as Spidey uses reverse psychology to get Jameson to change his tune, as JJJ's hatred (and jealousy?) of Spidey overrides all other considerations.
I've always preferred the first half-season of cartoons to most of these later ones, but even so, I find these "minor" stories are more watchable than 90% of what was ever made for Saturday mornings!
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"THE GOLDEN RHINO" brings back the TV Spidey's "strongest" villain, the 4th to return. This time he's stealing gold bullion-- so he can make a statue of himself! "No Michaelangelo he, but talk about a king-sized ego!" Once again, halfway thru Spidey's chased by cops, and escapes using a stunt The Sandman used in an issue of FANTASTIC FOUR-- rolling himself into a web-ball and "bowling" over the policemen. The absurd use of webbing continues, as one scene has Spidey create a web "umbrella" to protect him from a ton of collapsing cinderblocks. Wile E. Coyote could have used this stuff...
"BLUEPRINT FOR CRIME" is one of my faves from this season's 2nd half. It introduces 2 more baddies from the comics and a new one-- "Cowboy" and "Ox" (of The Enforcers-- no sign of "Fancy Dan") and "The Plotter", a sort-of evil cross between The Chief (of The Doom Patrol) and Professor X (of The X-Men) who more than anyone, really reminds me of the "The Collector" (Henry Woolf) from the DOCTOR WHO story, "The Sun Makers". Cowboy & Ox steal a set of blueprints for some top-secret weapon, while from his HQ in a run-down house on a deserted island, The Plotter watches every move-- presumably via hovering remote-control cameras (which are NEVER seen or mentioned, mind you, but how else can one explain it??).
My favorite sequence is when the pair take refuge in a Greenwich Village coffee shoppe, complete with beatniks & a poetry reading ("Dig the Moa..."). It really "dates" the cartoon more than perhaps any other episode, but I see it as a slice of history. Another fun scene is when The Plotter and Cowboy discuss unloading the documents. "I can sell these to the highest bidder." "Why don't ya sell EACH of 'em a copy?" "Why, Cowboy, that would be dishonest!" In order to draw the villains from hiding, for once Spidey deliberately makes himself look crooked with a forged photo. Later, Jameson wonders where Pete managed to get the pic!
Ep.15
"THE SPIDER AND THE FLY" introduces a sort-of evil counterpart of Spidey, The Human Fly (no relation to the Archie Comics hero), who manages to duplicate several of his powers thru mechanical means, in service of a growing string of penthouse robberies. A chase leading to the Brooklyn Bridge appears to be the demise of the crook, but on returning to "the scene of the crime", Spidey finds the place was being robbed WHILE he was chasing the guy. Of course, it's not until the next robbery that the "obvious" becomes clear... and the showdown has Spidey chasing TWO Flies down at Coney Island, marking 2 locations that were reused from earlier episodes in one story.
"THE SLIPPERY DOCTOR VON SCHLICK" features another somewhat-variation on Spidey, with an "oil"-based baddie to whom Spidey's webs won't stick. After setting a refinery fire and somehow making off with countless gallons of oil, we find the baddie in an underground hideout, explaining the plot. "I've succeeded in converting oil into the most powerful element known to man-- Thenium 0 0 7. The power of this concentrated pellet, combined with my secret formula, can give me power to control the WORLD! And NO one can stop me-- NOT EVEN Spider-Man!" (Gotta love these egomaniacs who love the sound of their own voice.)
Ep.16
"THE VULTURE'S PREY" marks the 5th baddie to return. It starts out with another series of penthouse robberies (are they running out of plots here?) but gets strange when Jameson stumbles onto The Vulture's clock-tower lair (JJJ was fuming that nobody fixed the thing) and he winds up a prisoner, feeding info about important "appointments" to the baddie. Next thing you know, the guy's riding a miniature rocket (the show's producers must not have thought much about him just having wings), stealing uncut diamonds, and going after a top-secret military laser gun (I'd love someone to explain how Jameson knew about something so "top secret").
"THE DARK TERRORS" brings back The Phantom (6th returning baddie, and the 1st to return who was created just for the show). This time he's somehow created "living shadows" that can move, attack, steal, etc.-- but not be touched or harmed. This seems a bit inspired by "The Shadow Thief" from the 60's HAWKMAN comics, making me wonder just who's comics the producers were reading for ideas. One noticeable oddity this time out is the voice of The Phantom is quite different from his previous appearance-- this time he sounds like he's either got a lisp or a severe nasal congestion problem (or both). This is odd considering there's only 4 actors doing ALL the voices! You'd think they could keep the same character consistent between appearances. One of the "shadows" sent to attack Spidey is a tank that winds up driving right up the side of a building-- a scene rather similar to one in ASM #160 (Sep'76) involving that dune-buggy called "The Spider-Mobile" (writer Len Wein strikes again!). The scene with a giant cat shadow making off with jewels was also mirrored in one of the 2nd-season episodes... which I'll get to before long.
[ May 06, 2007, 03:18 PM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
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"THE TERRIBLE TRIUMPH OF DR. OCTOPUS", at last brings back Spidey's REAL arch-enemy (returning baddie #7), as he steals a new weapon-- "The Nullifier"-- from Dr. Smarter (previously seen in "Sub-Zero For Spidey"). This 6th and final adaptation of the season was LOOSELY based on the (at the time) VERY recent "Enter: Dr. Octopus" from ASM #53 (Oct'67!). The Nullifier-- a device which can shut down any kind of machinery or electronic equipment-- has been altered to a "mere" miniature anti-missile missile. When confronted, Ock threates to DROP it on the city, causing Spidey to say, "He's JUST the guy who'd DO it!!" If anyone had doubts that Ock was Spidey's most dangerous enemy, here's all the proof you should need.
Ock's voice is QUITE different this time out-- more menacing, I think, but less "Shakespearean" (I think I preferred the earlier version). Spidey tracks Ock to not one but two different lairs, and like Electro before him, Ock finds a spider-tracer and uses it to set a trap. Later, we find Ock has "sprayed" his glasses, after having had that awful gook clogging them up twice before. Compared to the complex 4-parter in the comic (that ended on a cliffhanger), this episode wraps things up surprisingly fast.
"MAGIC MALICE" brings back The Green Goblin (returning baddie #8), and for the 2nd time in a row, a stage magician with real powers and his home is part of the plot. (As a kid, I often got confused over "sequels" like this that were too close to retreads.) In this case, it's Blackwell The Magician (from "Farwewell Performance") whose house is looted for magic equipment the Goblin uses to pull robberies. One hilarious scene has him park his "bat" in front of a bank, then drop a coin in the parking meter. "Mustn't break the law.", he laughs. Some of the drawings of The Goblin are so detailed, with heavy shadows, similar to the episodes of JONNY QUEST when Doug Wildey worked on them, you can tell different people worked on different episodes here.
Ep.18
"FOUNTAIN OF TERROR" continues the returning character syndrome, as we see Dr. Connors (from "Where Crawls The Lizard") captured by what appears to be a Spanish Conquistador, while none other than Oli Clivendon (returning baddie #9) from "The One-Eyed Idol" turns up in search of "Connor's million-dollar mystery". Perhaps fearing The Lizard's return, Spidey hops a jet to Florida and winds up the recurring target of Clivendon, who seems more murderous than most of Spidey's baddies-- not even hesitating to put children in danger, in the form of Connors' young son, Billy. Comparing the show's continuity to the comic's, it's interesting that the TV producers opted for an original sequel instead of the the one from the comics (where The Lizard turned up in New York City).
"FIDDLER ON THE LOOSE" has millionaire eccentric Cyrus Flintridge (one of the penthouse robbery victims in "The Vulture's Prey") as the target of a villain-- "The Fiddler"-- who's another addition to the list of crackpot motivations. He hates "that rock and roll rabble" and tries to extort a huge sum of money "so he can build an conservatory of his own" and "restore the true beauty of classical music". (I guess you'd have to have lived the 60's to understand... heh.) Once more, a "new" villain on the show seems --ahem-- "inspired" by a classic DC Comics baddie.
Ep.19
"TO CATCH A SPIDER" marks the 1st season finale, and brings back no less than 4 villains: Electro, The Green Goblin, the Vulture, and the ring-leader, Dr. Noah Boddy (returning baddie #10). It's curious that the invisible "Dr." describes himself as Spider-Man's "ARCH-ENEMY", considering it's only his 2nd appearance, while the others-- reduced virtually to hired help this time out-- are all making their 3rd appearance apiece. I guess it just shows how egomaniacal the guy is, as in his previous story, he'd told Spider-Man, "From now on I shall use my powers ONLY for EVIL!!" What a nut. As has been noted, super-villains in the TV cartoon universe don't seem to have "real" identities, and spend their times in jail IN their costumes-- at least, until Dr. Boddy frees them (we never see how HE escaped jail, of course).
Comics artist Mike Royer talked having worked on this particular episode, though he described it as being one of the "full-length" stories. Faulty memory, or was it shortened at a late date? Royer also talked about how most of the animators "played around" too much in the office, and he preferred working at home. This led to some crossed wires, as he was getting the required work done in half the time, but was told he "had" to put in for a full 40-hour week, because he was "making the others look bad". (This is something I could REALLY relate to from my years in drafting!) Also, as he was working at home, the producers told him he had to do it uncredited-- which is why his name wasn't listed on the show. Turns out this was a violation of some union rules. (He could have called them on it...)
"DOUBLE IDENTITY" brought back "The Actor, Charles Cameo" (returning baddie #11) from "The Sinister Prime Minister", and much more than before, he's really standing in for "The Chameleon" from the comics, though I must say I find Cameo's 2 cartoon stories MORE watchable, interesting & entertaining than every "Chameleon" comic-book story I've ever read combined! With the help of his neanderthalic chauffer, "Brutus", Cameo commits crimes while impersonating Peter Parker, Jameson, artist "Salvadori Fricasso", a gallery manager, and finally, Spidey himself! After being grazed by a bullet, Spidey tells a real gallery manager, "Those two were imposters! I know Jameson hates me, but even HE wouldn't SHOOT me!"
It's always struck me as odd how few Saturday morning shows are ever renewed for another season. I often question, just how do "ratings" work for the kiddie shows, when EVERYTHING on all 3 networks gets cancelled? At any rate, this series must have made a huge impression with the public, for while the Hanna-Barbera FANTASTIC FOUR show was cancelled, SPIDER-MAN was renewed for a 2nd year. WHO KNEW disaster was waiting right around the corner???
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After the full season's worth of episodes were over and reruns started, I remember I switched channels (standard practice for me at that age) and got hooked on ARCHIE, which had just started that year. Once I saw every one of those, I think I switched back to SPIDER-MAN. No way to know where I walked in on the reruns, but it sure explains why I only saw the earliest episodes ONCE apiece, for quite a few years. For some reason, when the show went into syndication, I'd keep missing the SAME episodes over and over (anyone else run into this strange phenomena?). But back in September 1968, the show began it's 2nd first-run season on ABC-- same time slot.
Ep.20
"STING OF THE SCORPION" continued the trend of the 2nd half of the 1st season with returning baddie #12, as The Scorpion breaks jail and swears revenge on J. Jonah Jameson AND Spider-Man! (One could get easily confused, the episode opens with the IDENTICAL shot that opened "To Catch A Spider", which also featured a jailbreak.) For whatever screwy reason, the 1st Scorpion cartoon had combined BOTH his 1st & 2nd comioc-book appearances in one episode. As a result, here, they wound up doing an "original" sequel. Dr. Stillwell sets a "trap" (which fails), and refuses to hand over the formula to recharge Scorpion's powers. So he drinks some random chemicals-- goes berzerk-- and then, before Spidey's eyes, grows to a height of 20 feet! It's then time to play "King Kong" as he climbs up the side of The Daily Bugle building and grabs Jameson righht out of his office. Betty tells Spidey, "You've got to save him!" "Which one-- Jameson or the Scorpion?" "That isn't funny!" (Yes it is...!) For some reason, half the characters in this episode have long, protruding jaws (almost like Dudley Do-Right), making me wonder who did the art on this one.
"TRICK OR TREACHERY" has The Human Flies as returning baddie(s) #13, who start out swiping Mysterio's gimmick of pulling a robbery dressed as Spider-Man to frame him for it. Once he learns they're out on parole (time must pass at strange rates in the cartoon's universe) he says he can't believe they'd go back ot their old hideout, but sure enough, they're back at Coney Island, as if they WANT to be captured! After planting a Fly-tracer on Spidey, the Flies commit a string of robberies, while the cops chase Spidey instead of them. He uses his technical expertise to turn the tables once he finds the "bug", and soon has things wrapped up (in more ways than one).
It appeared the show was ready to continue just as it had been going-- but THEN...!
Ep.21
"THE ORIGIN OF SPIDERMAN" marks the 7th adaptation , retelling and slightly updating the events from AMAZING FANTASY #15 (Aug'62). Pete isn't so much a total outcast here as aloof and focused, but gets really angry when someone calls him a "bookworm" (he turned down a chance to hang out with some girls in favor of a science demonstration). This cartoon was actually my 1st exposure to Spider-Man's origin, and while it left a lot out (the constant put-downs by others, the pro wrestling match) it does a surprisingly accurate job bringing the comic-book story to life. Aunt May makes her 2nd appearance on the show, seeming a bit more frail than she did in "Horn Of the Rhino", while Uncle Ben seems even older. Spidey really cops an attitude when a security guard yells for him to stop a criminal. Soon, he PAYS for it. The scene where Spidey, in the darkness of an abandoned warehouse, confronts his uncle's MURDERER is really gripping, better than the original comic I think! At the end, he sees how the powers fate threw his way are there for a purpose, which can't be ignored.
I wasn't sure what to make of this. I figured it was a "flashback", but it goes further than that.
It was about 15 years before I found out what happened, and another 20 after that before I got the rest of the story. Grantray-Lawrence had always been a low-budget studio. The SPIDER-MAN show was a major upgrade in their production standards, but they weren't getting paid more despite the cartoons costing more to make! It turns out, after the show was renewed for a 2nd season, they did ONE new episode... and went BANKRUPT! Geez. For the longest time, I figured they'd just spent too much on the animation. Then I read it was something else. They had a staff of about 5 or 6 writers on the show. I suppose normally, different writers would submit and work on different stories. That's NOT what was going on here. June Patterson, wife of one of the 3 producers, was the show's story editor. It seems she was getting all her writers to submit different versions of the SAME scripts-- and picking the best ones to film. This explains why the writing was so good. But this was also precisely what SANK the studio!!! Good grief. Mike Royer talked about getting a call to come in and "take home" anything he wanted. I'm betting a lot of art (and original comic-book stats, on loan) went missing when that happened.
Meanwhile... Krantz Films, the distributor, had already been paid by the network to deliver the 2nd season's worth of episodes. And apparently, they didn't want to give the money back! They decided to set up their own studio, on a shoestring budget, and knock out a 2nd season as cheaply as possibly to fulfill the contract. They hired Ralph Bakshi (fresh from THE MIGHTY HEROES) as producer, and he hired comics artist GRAY MORROW to do designs & storyboards. Somehow, for decades, I never connected Morrow's name in the credits with all those comics of his I'd read. Anybody who's seen Morrow's work might think his moody, "realistic" style would be almost impossible to animate. CLOSE! But that didn't stop them from trying.
While the 1st season had a very bright, clean, "slick" look, the 2nd season was dark, moody, bizarre, full of weird, psychedelic colored backgrounds, and all the returning characters looked completely different than they had before. Or, at least, they would have... except to really keep the budget down, the new cartoons reused a TON of old designs & animations wherever possible. Unlike the 90's FANTASTIC FOUR cartoon, which I understand had 2 different production teams (and 2 completely different "looks"), the 2nd season of SPIDER-MAN was a unique, "hybrid" show. About HALF the art & animation was new-- HALF was reused from the 1st season. As the 2 styles were so COMPLETELY different in every possible way, it's a very bizarre experience seeing them slapped together the way they were.
I thought the "Origin" might just be a flashback. The following week, it got even stranger.
Ep.22
"KING PINNED" is one of my fave episodes from this year. The 8th adaptation is based on ASM #51-52-- "IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE KINGPIN!" and "TO DIE A HERO!" The 1st thing that surprised me was, rather than picking up where they'd left off before the "Origin", this story picks up RIGHT AFTER the "Origin". In effect, the entire 2nd season takes place (in theory) BEFORE the 1st season! As you can imagine, this has confused a LOT of casual viewers over the years.
To help Aunt May (her 3rd app.) Pete gets a part-time job at night as a "copy-boy" at the Daily Bugle (talk about re-writing history!). While sitting at his desk, he overhears Jameson discussing a "fake medicine racket". Later, he overhears reporter Foswell talking on the phone with the head of the racket-- The Kingpin. The scene in his office is a fave of mine. Kingpin lashes out in rage, smashing his desk with one hand, then says, "I either need to control my anger or my strength. I lose more desks this way." Soon, he & his 2 thugs turn up at Jameson's office and pull a kidnapping. Spidey follows.
Up to now, all the music (that I could tell) was reused from the previous season's score by Ray Ellis (itself dotted by re-arrangements of Bob Harris's theme, similar to what happened with the 007 films and the BATMAN tv show themes & scores). But after the 1st commercial break, all of a sudden we hear entirely NEW music-- much of it organ-based, and some of it making the earlier music seem tame by comparison. When I was a kid watching these first-run, it was quite jarring. First the art changed drastically, now the "comfortable" music was being replaced! What was going on here??
In recent years I've found out the "new" music was all "stock" or "production" music-- tracks recorded on the cheap for producers with little money-- from the "KPM" (Keith Prowse Music) Library-- in England, of all places. A variety of artists' compositions began turning up here, including Johnny Hawksworth, Syd Dale & David Lindup just in this episode alone. Syd Dale's "The Hell Raisers" is a standout track, used when Spidey makes his appearance at the Kingpin's "castle" (penthouse apartment).
"I give you five seconds to KILL your ridiculous story..." threatens the baddie, before a knock at the window interrupts. "Then there IS a Spider-Man!" yells JJJ. A fight ensues, but Spidey gets gassed. "COCKROACH! I could have crushed him with my bare hands but that would have been messy. Gas is much NEATER for bugs." Kingpin suggests Spioder-Man would make a better story. One of his thugs says, "Should I take off his mask, boss?" "No, we can do that later." JJJ shouts, "Why not NOW, fat man? Are you afraid of what you'll SEE?" All these years, I'm still wondering what the HELL Jameson meant by that!
Kingpin orders them put "in the tank"-- but Spidey recovers, punches out both thugs, is almost caught by an exploding elevator, then pursues Kingpin across half the city, hanging under a helicopter, until he realizes the Bugle is about to get blown up by a time-bomb. Halfway across the city again, he saves the press room from destruction. But the villain GOT AWAY-- the 1st (only?) time on this show that ever happened.
The "talky" scenes, despite their strange style, work very well-- but the "swinging" scenes are so long, so extended, so protracted, as a kid I was getting frustrated & bored really fast. It seems clear this should have been a 10-min. episode, but it was STRETCHED out to fill 20! As a result, as I've come to feel over the decades, these shows actually work better if viewed as really bizarre "jazz music videos" than as "adventure shows". (For the 2nd week in a row, even the actual "Spider-Man Theme"-- vocal included-- was used IN the cartoon itself, to help pad the thing out. Sigh.) I suppose any hopes I had that the show would return to its original style were dashed by the end of this one. Who knew? The strangeness was only beginning!!!
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Be honest-- you KNOW you've been waiting for these...
Ep.24
"CRIMINALS IN THE CLOUDS" opens with the narrator telling us "Everyone gets girl trouble..." Pete's got it bad for a blonde named Susan, but she only has eyes for Roy Robinson, the school's football star whose rich father owns a big chamical plant that gets a lot of government contracts. One could view Susan as the show's version of Gwen Stacy (she's even got the same hairstyle as both Gwen & MJ), while Roy seems a cross between Flash Thompson AND Harry Osborne. Sitting in the coffee shoppe, Pete thinks about how he has to work after school to support Aunt May (her image in his drink being her 3rd appearance in a row). He decides with his powers, HE could be a star on the team, and decides to try out. We meet the football coach, who tells Pete, "You? Don't make me laugh!" He then offers Pete a job as a water boy...
Meanwhile, high over the city in a zeppelin hidden behind an artificial cloud, The Sky Master, looking like something out of WW1, plots to rule the skies and show all those miserable Earth-dwellers who laughed at his schemes (boy, HE fits right in with Dr. Magneto & Dr. Boddy, doesn't he?) His men kidnap Roy, to force Roy's father to turn over his "secret invisibility serum". On hearing the news, the coach blurts, "What about the team? He'll miss the BIGGEST GAME of the season!" Isn't great to know this guy's priorities are straight?
Spidey finds his way aboard the zeppelin; HAVOC ensues; anyone who's seen MASTER OF THE WORLD knows how it ends... And THEN, Spidey helps a very stiff Roy win the big game, the whole time feeling like a sap.
Ep.23
"SWING CITY" raised the level of menace to OUTRAGEOUS proportions! But first, Pete & Rodney Rogers are shooting baskets in the gym, Rodney suggesting they cut class to play another game. Pete has science class next, but more, a short-haired redhead named Sonja is in that class, and Pete says basketball comes second to staring at her. The coach, so abbrasive before, compliments Pete on his ability. Sonja-- no brain she-- asks Pete for help studying. He agrees. Are things looking up?
NO! Some certified NUTCASE calling himself "The Master Technician" takes over the city's brand-new nuclear power plant, ranting "They laughed at me! But now I'll show THEM!" (Hey, haven't we seen this before?) Spidey comments, "Why do they ALWAYS insist on asking for things they KNOW they won't get?" And then-- the INCREDIBLE happens. The loony scientist uses the radiation to RAISE the entire island of Manhattan INTO THE SKY!!! This is REALLY getting outside Spider-Man's range of menaces to battle, isn't it?
Pete calls Sonja, who accuses him of being with another girl! Spidey thinks, "That rotten Technician! He messed up my DATE. Now I've got a SCORE to settle with him!" Right-- never mind the lives of everyone in the entire city-- Spidey's gonna tackle this guy over a GIRL. It adds a sense of the absurd on top of the already insane situation.
Spidey swings UNDERNEATH the city-- which the badguy was somehow expecting. He used more radiation to weaken Spidey (having guessed it was the source of his powers), but thru sheer detemination, Spidey takes out the guy, and-- just barely-- saves the city from crashing, while the villain shouts, "I'LL TAKE YOU WITH ME!"
In the end, Pete discovers Sonja called up Rodney-- and HE came right over. Dozens of times I've seen this thing, and it only now hits me, the IRONY that the guy who was MORE interested in shooting baskets than girl-watching wound up getting the girl! Sheesh.
Now, if anybody's wondering about the numbers, it's not my mistake. I'm convinced these eps.23-24 were run in the WRONG order-- and have been ever since. Here's why. From the "Origin" to the "Kingpin" to "Sky Master" to "Master Technician" there is an upward curve in the level of menaces Spidey faces. But if you put the Master Technician 3rd, it throws the whole thing out of kilter. A guy who lifts Manhattan INTO THE SKY is just TOO BIG of a menace for the guy to handle that "early" in his career. (Then again, there's little after "KING PINNED" that definitely states the rest of the 2nd season all takes place before the 1st... but this is confusing enough.)
Also, I'm no sports expert, but doesn't football season come BEFORE basketball season? The scene with the coach in "CRIMINALS IN THE CLOUDS" definitely seems like his "introduction", even if viewers saw it 2nd. The narrator's big deal about "girl trouble" also comes in "CRIMINALS", why, when "SWING CITY" was aired first? While the nuclear reactor appears in the backgrounds in "CRIMINALS" 3 times (!!), indicating "CRIMINALS" was made after "SWING CITY", I believe "CRIMINALS" was probably written before "SWING CITY", and should be seen 3rd, not 4th.
And there's another thing, which I never quite noticed before. In this season, "KING PINNED", the 2nd episode, is the 1st appearance of Jameson, just as Jameson appeared in Spidey's 2nd comic-book-- ASM #1 (Mar'63). ASM #2 (May'63), the 3rd comic, featured an airborne villain-- The Vulture-- just as the Sky Master is (according to my figuring) the 3rd cartoon of the season. Which fits PERFECTLY, because when I re-read my early Spidey comics, it suddenly hit me that "SWING CITY" is somewhat of an ADAPTATION of ASM #3 (Jul'63), "SPIDER-MAN VERSUS DOCTOR OCTOPUS". In that story, a scientist whose specialty is radiation is involved in an accident, goes COMPLETELY insane, and takes over-- wait for it-- a nuclear power plant!!! I'd only read the comic once before, and never connected it with this cartoon!
But "SWING CITY" is ALSO an adaptation of another comic-- a 4-part Captain America story that appeared in TALES OF SUSPENSE #88-91 (Apr'Jul'67), that featured the Red Skull. In that, he got his hands on "The Cosmic Cube" for the 2nd time-- and used IT to lift Manhattan INTO THE SKY!!! (Sound familiar?) What turned out to be the show's 9th "adaptation" may well be one of its most memorable, despite its wild variance from the original source material.
By the way, it's also taken me quite a few years to notice just how much storyboard artist Gray Morrow was influenced by old movies. In quick succession, the show had villains who appear based on Sidney Greenstreet (The Kingpin--yes, I know John Romita created the guy, but the cartoon version looks MORE like Greenstreet than he does the guy in the comic), Gregory Peck (Sky Master) and (I had to look this one up) Rudolph Klein-Rogge (The Master Technician). The latter guy played the mad scientist "Rotwang", who endangered the lives of everyone in the city (and the city itself!) in Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS!
The crazy thing is... they were still getting warmed up here!
[ May 14, 2007, 11:56 PM: Message edited by: profh0011 ]
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Speaking of Spider-Man cartoons, I found this last night -- a webpage devoted to the most obscure Spidey cartoon, which also happens to be my favorite one:
Hyperpath: Email this page to someone!
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