Though Sam Raimi marks his return to the superhero movie with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, this week also celebrates the 20th anniversary of his first Spider-Man film. To say the film was a groundbreaking achievement is an understatement. It helped prove that the world of superheroes could be fertile ground for the film industry, and it strongly influenced elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film's influence even spread to other takes on the webslinger, including The Spectacular Spider-Man animated series and a storyline in Marvel Comics canon titled "The Other." But it was MTV that struck first with Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.
At first, MTV only intended to adapt the Ultimate Spider-Man comics by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, which were released prior to the first Spider-Man swinging into theaters. However, following the critical and commercial success of Raimi's Spider-Man, The New Animated Series was reworked to take place in the same continuity and after the events of the first film, with Bendis attached as a writer and co-executive producer. (Ironically, Ultimate Spider-Man turned out to be an influence on the Spider-Man film, as Bendis was asked to contribute notes to the script.)
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Spider-Man: The New Animated Series finds Peter Parker (Neil Patrick Harris) attempting to balance life as a college student with his superhero duties as Spider-Man. And on top of that, there are his unrequited feelings for Mary Jane Watson (Lisa Loeb), as well as his complicated relationship with Harry Osborn (Ian Ziering). During the series, Peter squared off against classic Spider-Man villains such as Kraven the Hunter (Michael Dorn), Electro (Ethan Embry) and even Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin, with Duncan reprising his role from the live-action Daredevil film.
The series would only last a single season, as MTV thought that an animated superhero series didn't fit in with its programming at the time. A year later, Raimi would return to direct Spider-Man 2. Much like The New Animated Series, Spider-Man 2 would feature Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker undergoing a crisis in his personal life. Not only did he have to battle Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, but he struggled to tell Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) his feelings for her. And while Spider-Man 2 debuted to even better reviews and box office than its predecessor, it ultimately ended up contradicting several elements from The New Animated Series.
One of those contradictions concerns Dr. Curt Connors, who served as a teacher to Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. In the films, Connors (Dylan Baker) never transformed into his reptilian alter ego the Lizard; the only hint to his villainous days was his missing arm. In The New Animated Series episode "Law of the Jungle," Connors -- voiced by Rob Zombie -- eventually does inject himself with the serum that transforms him into the Lizard. In true Spider-Man fashion, Spidey winds up defending Harry from the Lizard; Conners sought vengeance against the younger Osborn for his father Norman's transgressions, while Harry still believed Spider-Man was responsible for his father's death and was unaware that the senior Osborn was really the Green Goblin. The episode ends with the Lizard plummeting to his death, which obviously didn't happen in Spider-Man 2.
Peter's love life also took a turn. Instead of constantly pining after MJ, he wound up dating another ESU student, Indira "Indy" Dajmani (Angelle Brooks). Indy worked as a journalist at Channel 1 News and managed to get Peter a job there. In contrast to Mary Jane, Indy was more academically inclined and didn't let Peter's disappearance bother her. In contrast, MJ froze Peter out whenever his Spider-Man activities interfered with his attempts to spend time with her on the series. This was yet another deviation from what happened in Spider-Man 2, where Peter is struggling to balance a job alongside superhero duties and college work. Any sane person could see that he's nowhere near ready to have a relationship.
But the biggest deviation concerns the two-part series finale "Mind Games." Spidey ends up fighting against a pair of twin telepaths named Roland Gaines (Jeremy Piven) and Roxanne Gaines (Kathy Griffin). The pair cast a mental illusion on the webslinger, making him believe that Kraven killed Mary Jane. He seeks out the Hunter and intends to pay him back in kind. However, Spidey manages to shake off the illusion and confronts the Twins again. But Indy is hurt in the process, and the city of New York turns against Spider-Man. Wracked with guilt, Peter sticks his Spider-Man suit in a briefcase and flings it into the middle of the Hudson River, intent on giving up his superhero life once and for all.
This is obviously wildly different from what happened in Spider-Man 2, which puts its own spin on the infamous "Spider-Man No More!" storyline. In the film, Peter's inability to balance his life and confess his feelings to Mary Jane causes his powers to ebb and wane. He finally decides to turn his back on Spider-Man, throwing away his costume and dedicating his life to his studies. But when Mary Jane is kidnapped by Doctor Octopus, Peter learns that Spider-Man is an integral part of his life. This is more compelling than the events of "Mind Games," which featured a cliffhanger ending to set up a second season that didn't come to pass.
Most of the cast and crew behind Spider-Man: The New Animated Series would go on to work on other superhero films and television shows, each with its own connection to Spider-Man. Brandon Vietti, who directed several episodes of The New Animated Series, would go on to develop Young Justice and serve as co-showrunner with Greg Weisman, who developed The Spectacular Spider-Man. Harris would voice Spider-Man again in the Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions video game. And Bendis would later co-create Miles Morales, who served as the lead character of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse along with its upcoming sequels, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verseand Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse. In its own way, The New Animated Series served as a springboard for other Spider-Man stories.
