Spider-Man (1967): After Watching

It's taken almost exactly half a year, but the entirety of the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon has been viewed and commented on. There were high points, there were low points, there were some points of surprising quality and points of wasted potential. Now that I've actually seen this artifact, how does the overall product look?

Well, as I've mentioned several times in the posts themselves, the quality drops notably after the first season finishes. While I wouldn't call the first season the best cartoon I've seen, there were a lot of episodes that fell into the "it's fine" camp when I was expecting them to be forgettable at best, horrible at worst. Episodes directly adapted from comic stories were, naturally, highlights, but there were also some surprisingly good original stories told in all. There's some goofy animation, sure, and some of the plots really shouldn't be thought about too much, but I'd be lying if I said that there was no entertainment value.

Once we get to the second season and third seasons, though...hooo, boy. I'm not going to say that every episode was bad by any means, but the quality of the writing dropped pretty noticeably, not to mention the animation quality. Worst of all were the episodes which recycled animation from another episode but told more or less the same story - I understand why they did it, but that doesn't make the episode automatically entertaining.

To finish off this brief summary, I'm going to present my top ten favourite stories of the series, as well as my top ten worst stories so that you, the intelligent reader, know what to look forwards to and what to avoid if you decide to check out this series. For fairness' sake, I'll be excluding episodes which are adaptations of comic stories, as otherwise the top ten list would probably be just them.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Fifty-Two: Trip to Tomorrow

Trip to Tomorrow

First Aired: June 14th, 1970

Synopsis: While swinging around the city, Spider-Man ends up falling through the rusted roof of a train carriage where he encounters a young boy named Tom, who has run away from home wanting to be a hero. When Tom asks Spider-Man about being a hero, Spider-Man tells him about the time he fought Volton, the time he discovered Mysterio was behind the illusion of the Flying Dutchman, and the time he fought Kotep. Once he has finished, Tom leaves the train, deciding that being a hero is too much for him.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Fifty-One: Down to Earth

Down to Earth

First Aired: June 7th, 1970

Synopsis: A mysterious meteor has been seen flying towards Earth, which some people think might be created artificially by aliens due to two large antennae-like protrusions on in. J. Jonah Jameson wants photos of the meteor, and gets a tip about where the meteor is set to land - the North Pole. He sends out Peter Parker to photograph it, along with a reporter. The two fly a plane there which ends up crashing, and upon Peter coming to, he finds that the reporter has disappeared. Exiting the plane, he sees a primitive tribe with the meteor, and works out that they want to throw it into a volcano, which will cause the North Pole to explode because the meteor is radioactive.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Fifty: Specialists and Slaves

Specialists and Slaves

First Aired: May 31st, 1970

Synopsis: The villain from Swing City, now calling himself the Radiation Specialist, manages to take over a nuclear power plant. Knowing that Spider-Man might stop him, he uses a remote-controlled car to lure Spider-Man out of Manhattan with a recording which makes it seem that a hostage is inside. Once the Specialist has done so, he covers the city with radiation, which apparently makes it so that weak-willed minds can be controlled by him, and which somehow makes Manhattan float into the sky. Spider-Man reaches the car, but finds out how he's been tricked, and swings underneath Manhattan before returning to the city by crawling through a sewer pipe.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-Nine: Revolt in the Fifth Dimension

Revolt in the Fifth Dimension

First Aired: It would have been May 24th, 1970, but...

Synopsis: Spider-Man is staring at stars, which transitions into space where a red, cyclopean monster is destroying planets for "daring to probe the secrets of Dimension Five!" Elsewhere, two blue-headed aliens lament the destruction and blame themselves for discovering Dimension Five, while mentioning that the villain is named Infinata. One of the aliens copies the entirety of their library onto what's essentially a spherical USB Drive, and then flies off into space to get it to safety. Infinata detects the space ship, and sends his minions out to stop it. While the alien is able to temporarily protect himself, his ship ends up crashing in New York.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-Eight: Rhino / The Madness of Mysterio

Rhino

(Sorry, due to some technical issues there's no screenshot for this story.)

First Aired: May 17th, 1970

Synopsis: Spider-Man is swinging around when he sees Rhino charging into a gold depository. Rhino manages to escape with the gold, which J. Jonah Jameson later says to Peter Parker was supposed to go to Fort Knox. When Spider-Man is later riding on top of a government train, Rhino attacks that too, and steals the gold within it.

Rhino continues his robberies, stealing gold as the ship it's on arrives at the docks, and from a submarine arriving in the harbour. It turns out that he's trying to make a statue of himself with the gold. Spider-Man arrives at his hideout, and tries fighting him, but Rhino manages to get away. He hides the statue in the sewers, but Spider-Man follows him down there and anticlimatically defeats him by covering him with webbing.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-Seven: Rollarama

Rollarama

First Aired: May 10th, 1970

Synopsis: After a perplexing shot of a giant ball rolling down the streets of New York, we cut to Peter Parker and his apparent girlfriend Susan, investigating an old house it apparently came from. The house apparently belonged to Doctor Karl von Glutz, who hasn't been seen for years. Susan finds a smaller version of the ball, which is pulsing, and a mysterious glowing door. Peter recognises the door as being the Glutz machine, which apparently leads to the land of crystal creation. They find a manual for it that states that von Glutz found seeds outside a cave, which expand rapidly when exposed to air. They suddenly find that the smaller version of the ball has grown, and rolled towards the army base in town - but is teetering at the edge of a precipice, not having gone down yet. Peter decides, of course, that the only thing to do is to go into the Glutz machine as Spider-Man to find a solution to the problem.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-Six: Up From Nowhere

Up From Nowhere

First Aired: May 3rd, 1970

Synopsis: In the waters outside New York, a mysterious transport appears. Inside, its green-skinned occupant, Dr. Atlantean, comments on how he'll attack New York soon for Atlantis. At university, a lecture Peter Parker is attending talks about Atlantis, and how although Atlantis was thought to have been destroyed, their technologies were likely more advanced than suspected and they may have survived to the present day. Shortly afterwards, Dr. Atlantean activates a device from his base which causes violent shaking in New York, leading to buildings cracking in half. While people panic, Dr. Atlantean demands that all authorities disband so that Atlantis can take over.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-Five: Knight Must Fall / The Devious Dr. Dumpty

Knight Must Fall

First Aired: April 26th, 1970

Synopsis: In New York at night, a theatre is being robbed by two thugs. Unexpectedly, a knight in full-plate armour, claiming to be Sir Galahad, shows up and stops them. Spider-Man shows up shortly afterwards and tries to stop Sir Galahad, but fails to do so. Galahad gets away on a motorcycle which he refers to as his trusty steed. A photo is taken of Spider-Man which makes it look as though he stole the money, and J. Jonah Jameson is annoyed that Peter Parker didn't get a similar photo. Galahad later goes after an armoured truck and robs it, thinking that the money inside it was stolen. Spider-Man tries stopping him once more, but is again unsuccessful.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-Four: Super Swami / The Birth of Micro Man

Super Swami

First Aired: April 19th, 1970

Synopsis: On a hot day, the sun turns into a giant eye and shoots a laser at the Brooklyn Bridge. It disappears, but the cars upon it are unaffected by gravity. While Spider-Man tries to save the people on the bridge, the eye shoots more things around the city. In the mayor's office, a very racist caricature appears on the TV and declares that he is Koga, and that he is responsible for what's going on. He then creates a snowstorm. While Spider-Man swings through it, he gets buffeted about by strong winds, before somehow ending up in a glass ball controlled by Koga, before breaking one of the sides.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-Three: The Vanishing Dr. Vespasian / Scourge of the Scarf

The Vanishing Dr. Vespasian

First Aired: April 12th, 1970

Synopsis: The scientist Doctor Vespasian manages to perfect his invisibility formula, which he gives to his dog before drinking some himself. He comments on what a fantastic invention it is. Shortly afterwards, Spider-Man is called in to see the mayor. A string of bank robberies has been happening recently, and the police are baffled as to how they've been pulled off. Spider-Man says he'll work it out. Shortly afterwards, we see Vespasian and a group of gangsters he's working with say that their target is Spider-Man, for some reason. They lure him to a bank robbery in place, but when Spider-Man arrives, he's attacked by Vespasian's invisible dog.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-Two: Sky Harbour / The Big Brainwasher

Sky Harbour

First Aired: April 5th, 1970

Synopsis: A giant base, held aloft by two zeppelins attached to it, is soaring through the air. The villains declare that their day will soon come, and send out several antiquated planes. The planes attack a commercial plane, which is destroyed. As a result, air travel all around the world is suspended, and the UN have a meeting to discuss what to do. The mayor of New York has a plan - he'll call in Spider-Man to help with the issue.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty-One: Trouble with Snow / Spider-Man vs. Desperado

Trouble with Snow

First Aired: March 29th, 1970

Synopsis: In cold weather, an electrical line falls onto a snowman which, unbeknownst to anyone, has trace elements of chemicals in it. This, of course, brings it to life, and the snowman goes on a rampage, repeatedly grabbing and reaching for things with electricity flowing through them. Peter Parker witnesses this original rampage, and although he doesn't get a chance to switch to Spider-Man, he does take a sample of the snowman and analyses it. He detects chemicals in it, and upon visiting the site where the snowman originally was, is able to deduce its origins.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Forty: The Winged Thing / Connor's Reptiles

The Winged Thing

First Aired: March 22nd, 1970

Synopsis: While Spider-Man's patrolling the city, he finds Vulture robbing someone. Spider-Man is beaten up, and Vulture comments that by doing so he'll get the whole city to respect him. The next day, Spider-Man decides to go somewhere that a lot of people are and wait for Vulture to find him. This leads to him and Vulture fighting at a construction site, ending with the construction site being badly damaged.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Thirty-Nine: To Cage a Spider

To Cage a Spider

First Aired: January 18th, 1969

Synopsis: A bank robbery takes place in which a thief blows up a vault door and escapes with the loot. As his car goes past Spider-Man, Spider-Man attempts to stop him - but his accomplice throws a device at Spider-Man which explodes and knocks him out. Lying unconscious in the street, civilians gather around Spider-Man and want to unmask him, but the police form a perimeter while their friendly captain says that Spider-Man has the right to wear a mask, and can't be forcefully unmasked. Spider-Man is taken away to a prison infirmary to be looked after.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Thirty-Eight: Cold Storage

Cold Storage

First Aired: January 11th, 1969

Synopsis: At midnight, the villainous Dr. Cool and an assistant steal some diamonds. They return to their hideout and declare that they will freeze them to absolute zero, which will somehow allow them to mix them in with ice and smuggle them. Spider-Man appears then, having followed them, and fights them, but is knocked out when Dr. Cool shoots the head of his cane off and it hits Spider-Man. Spider-Man is locked inside the nuclear thermostat, and it is turned down to absolute zero. Before Dr. Cool leaves, he tells Spider-Man that he'll probably start to have all sorts of delusions as his brain freezes.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Thirty-Seven: Spider-Man Meets Skyboy

Spider-Man Meets Skyboy

First Aired: January 4th, 1969

Synopsis: At the League for Scientific Studies, Doctor Irving Caldwell is being presented the Curie award for his research into astro-wave projection when there's a mysterious flash of light and he disappears, devastating his son, Jan. The news spreads and it's soon being assumed that Caldwell was kidnapped for his astro-helmet. Jan knows where the helmet is, and so he puts it on and uses it to fly, hoping to find his father. Peter Parker, meanwhile, is swinging around as Spider-Man and spots Jan. The two get into a fight, and a photo is taken of it by a reporter. The next day, J. Jonah Jameson is angry at Peter for not getting a photo, and orders him to get a photo of Spider-Man fighting the newly-dubbed Skyboy.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Thirty-Six: Thunder Rumble

Thunder Rumble

First Aired: December 28th, 1968

Synopsis: While a storm rages in New York City, two thugs rob a vault, confident that they won't be heard blowing it up thanks to the thunder. In space, on Mars, the Thunder God Volton comments that his storms are so powerful that they even reach Earth. He is told by Mars, the leader of the people on his planet, that Volton has the honour of going to Earth and conquering it. While Volton travels to Earth, Spider-Man tries stopping the two thugs, and ends up chasing one of them to Central Park. It's then that giant-sized Volton appears, and starts throwing lightning bolts around. Fortunately, Spider-Man is able to kick him in the stomach, which knocks him out.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Thirty-Five: Blotto

Blotto

First Aired: December 21st, 1968

Synopsis: A black, ink-like monster named Blotto is created by a director as revenge for being called a has-been. The director has also invented a weapon called the spirit-scope. Blotto is released onto the street where he starts absorbing and dissolving items by touching them. Peter Parker, meanwhile, is driving a film star, when they run out of petrol in the street. Blotto approaches them, and Peter swings them out of there using his web shooters before switching to Spider-Man. After running out of places to run from Blotto, he goes into the sewers.

Spider-Man (1967) Episode Thirty-Four: Home

Home

First Aired: December 14th, 1968

Synopsis: In a swingin' sixties coffee shop, Peter Parker is harassed by his fellow students for reading a paper about the Proton Device rather than dancing. A girl nearby named Carol hears Peter talk about how much he likes science, and convinces him to dance with her. They hit it off, but when Peter goes patrolling as Spider-Man, he encounters Carol committing robbery - and furthermore, she's got spider-powers similar to him. She manages to get away, and doesn't show up to meet with Peter at the coffee shop the next day. When Peter goes out patrolling as Spider-Man, he runs into Carol again, and she recognises Spider-Man as Peter. When Spider-Man webs up Carol, she's rescued by a mysterious floating sphere.