The 1967 Spider-Man cartoon is a bit of an odd duck. On the one hand, it's the first appearance of Spider-Man in a medium other than comics, and it created the most iconic theme Spidey's ever had (sing it with me, folks: "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can..."). On the other hand, I can't see it having aged well over the decades, in terms of animation or storytelling. I think it says a bit about the show that aside from the opening theme, its biggest legacy these days is the many memes it's generated.
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| I'm not really a meme person, but I'd be lying if I said this didn't make me laugh |
Still, in spite of the prospect of these episodes not being the most stellar, I'm looking forwards to this. I'm going to try and not judge the episodes too harshly, and with a bit of luck I'll come out of this with some hidden gems discovered. Of the few episodes I have seen, I do recall enjoying them, albeit probably not for the reasons the creators intended. I'm particular interested in when I start the second season, when the animation drops considerably and the aliens start showing up (in greater quantities than previously). Will the series work well on its own merits? Or will it be best forgotten and left in 1967 alongside most of its contemporaries?
Along the way I'll be very interested to see which elements from the comics manage to find their way into the series, as well as to see whether there's any parts of the Spider-Man mythology which might have originated or gotten their inspiration from something here. And of course, it'll be fun to see how the cartoon chooses to interpret the few bits of Spider-Man canon that existed at the time.
Join me next time as I start my journey into the very first Spider-Man cartoon, with "The Power of Doctor Octopus/Sub-Zero for Spidey". I'll be looking forwards to hearing your thoughts as I go.
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