The Spectacular Spider-Man will soon be swinging around Disney+ with the rest of the animated Spider-Man series.
According to the independent fan site What's On Disney Plus?, The Spectacular Spider-Man will debut on the Disney-owned streaming service on Wednesday, October 19. The 2008-09 animated series, which was developed by Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman and aired on The CW's Kids' WB programming block, will join a slew of Marvel animated series already on Disney+, including 1994's Spider-Man: The Animated Series, 2012's Ultimate Spider-Man and 2017's Spider-Man. The animated series is currently available to stream on Netflix. The series will also be joined by Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, which ran for one season on MTV in 2003 and featured cel-shaded CGI animation.
The Spectacular Spider-Man focused on Peter Parker's early days as Spider-Man with the first season beginning just three months after he was bitten by the radioactive spider. The series featured the voice talents of Josh Keaton as the titular character, who struggled to juggle the responsibilities of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, often neglecting one for the other. Critics and audiences praised The Spectacular Spider-Man for evoking not only a tone and style based on the Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr. era of The Amazing Spider-Man comic books but for also being influenced by the Ultimate Spider-Man comics by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.
A Spectacular Third Season at Disney+?
Despite the series' popularity, The Spectacular Spider-Man was canceled in 2009. Following the cancelation, fans have used the hashtag #SaveSpectacularSpiderMan to campaign for the beloved animated series' return. Despite that series and hashtag becoming a trending topic on social media platforms like Twitter, Weisman has stated that it is unlikely the series will ever be revived. However, with The Spectacular Spider-Man now heading to Disney+, fans will likely begin campaigning again for a third season, especially since there is a precedent in place at the streaming service regarding revivals of beloved animated Marvel series. The company previously announced X-Men '97, an upcoming animated series produced by Marvel Studios, that will air in 2023 and pick up directly after the final episode of the 1990s animated series X-Men: The Animated Series.
Some fans, however, remain doubtful that The Spectacular Spider-Man streaming on Disney+ could eventually lead to a possible revival of the series since Marvel Studios is currently working on its own animated Spider-Man series, which will be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man: Freshman Year will explore Peter Parker's origin story and early days as Spider-Man in an alternate reality from the mainline MCU timeline. The series, which has already been renewed for a second season, is expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2024.
The Spectacular Spider-Man swings onto Disney+ on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
Source: What's On Disney Plus?