The hero, Spider-Man, has been around for a long time in the media. First appearing in 1962, there are many versions of the famous hero, film versions which extend even into the marvel cinematic universe to the increasingly popular video games. But today I’m not going to talk about that – instead we’re going to focus on the best Spider-Man animated TV shows, especially my top five.
While there’s a lot of fun upcoming marvel tv shows coming out on Disney+, let’s take a look at some of the great ones we can stream or buy today. With the world spinning around Spider-Man: No Coming Home right now, let’s all celebrate Spidey in a different way – through TV.
5. Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-2017)
First on the list we have The ultimate Spider-Man. This show, which ran for four seasons, follows the legendary hero in his teenage years after Nick Fury eventually recruits him to SHIELD. While training with them, he also crosses paths with a few other teenage superheroes, all of whom have one goal in mind – to become the ultimate superheroes and the best they can be.
As someone who’s watched shows that include Spider-Man for a while, I think this one gets some unnecessary hate. While it’s not the best TV show of the bunch (hence its placement on the list), I still think it’s one of the best. Spider-Man has always been known to have more mature themes than many other heroes, and Ultimate Spider-Man feels a bit less mature than some of the other picks on this list given that I think it was aimed at a bit younger audience since it was released on Disney XD.
But seeing him again, I really like this version of the hero. The animation is way better than a lot of the other shows on this list, giving it more leeway to produce great fight scenes, and I like the friendships that are formed between Spider-Man and the other teenage heroes. . Personally, I think this series is underrated and deserves a lot more attention than it got.
Stream Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney+.
4.Spiderman (2017-2020)
Moving on, we have the latest Spider-Man series, simply titled Spider Man, or otherwise known as Marvel’s Spiderman. In this iteration of the hero, we see the origin story of Peter Parker and his turn to be a hero, balancing his life as a fighter and enrolling in a new school for geniuses.
personally i like Spider Man. Although it’s a bit of a departure from the classic Spider-Man type we all know and love and went to school in Queens, I personally think this version is super creative and pulls all the stops. With characters like Gwen Stacy and another famous Spiderman, Miles Morales, there, it really adds a lot of history to them that we don’t know about.
Also, since this is a new anime, the animation is clearly superior and can do fantastic things. The only reason I put it at number four is that the story can sometimes be a bit stronger.
Stream Spider-Man on Disney+.
3. The spectacular Spider-Man (2008-2009)
then, we have The Spectacular Spider-Man. This fan-favorite that ran for two seasons follows the hero’s story like most others, but this time focusing not just on his high school days, but more on the darker world of being Spider-Man, and the challenges he has to deal with.
Some fans of this show might say this is the best version of Spider-Man in animated form, and personally, I can agree to a certain extent. With Ultimate Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spiderman, I feel like both fell short when it came to the right balance between using comedy and exploring more adult themes that fans expect from the hero, but The spectacular Spider-Man does incredibly well in both. The characters feel like well-rounded people and their stories are entertaining.
There are two reasons why I put it at number 3. The series only lasted two seasons – and honestly, that was path too short, because so much could have been done with these characters that would have made them even more spectacular (see what I did there?). Also, why the Damn isn’t it available for streaming? At the moment, you can only buy the show. But I think it’s worth every penny.
2. Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981-1983)
The oldest show on this list, Spider-Man and his amazing friends follows Spider-Man, but instead of taking him to high school, we see his college years with his friends, Bobby Drake and Angelica Jones, who are superheroes Iceman and Firestar, respectively. Together they team up to fight crime, otherwise known as the “Spider-Friends”.
I feel like when I thought of Spider-Man shows it was one of the first that came to mind because it was one of the first that I watched with my dad that loved Spider-Man. But as I got older, I learned to appreciate this series even more.
As someone who really likes college movies and shows presented around colleges, I really like Spider-Man and his amazing friends because it expands more into Peter Parker’s life after high school, something we don’t often see as crazy, and it focuses a lot on the friendships Spider-Man has rather than fighting crime .
Stream Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends on Disney+.
1. Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998)
Last but not least, we have Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Broadcast for five seasons in the 1990s, this show focuses again on Spider-Man’s college years, as he tries to balance a normal life with everyday people, while learning how to be a better hero as Spider-Man and fight crime .
I could go on for hours about this show. Again, because it focuses more on Peter during the college years, we get so many story about him feeling more mature and reaching an older audience, rather than some of the other picks on this list. Not only that, but the drama is amazing. There are plenty of love triangles, new villains, great fight sequences, and more that you’ll be entertained from the start of the show.
This version of Peter Parker also feels much more personal than the others. We really are being given so many stories about him this time around, with new stories that aren’t taken from the comics mixed in with classic story arcs we all know and love. Really, if you haven’t watched this show, be sure to check it out. It’s definitely the best Spider-Man show.
Stream Spider-Man: The Animated Series on Disney+.
To be honest, it just makes me wanna will see Spider-Man: No Coming Home again in theaters and then gorging on all those awesome shows right after. Spider-Man is truly one of those heroes that I think will never die, and I for one hope his great TV shows keep coming year after year. Maybe even now you might have found a new show to binge on.