Welcome to Adventure(s) Time’s fifty-ninth installment, a look at animated heroes of the past. With the upcoming release of the Venom film, I thought a review of the original adaptation of the comics' classic could be fun. That's right, for the first time, we're looking back on 1994's Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Most comics fan are aware of the origin of Spider-Man's black costume in Secret Wars #8. His costume has been damaged in battle, there's an alien machine that generates cloth, so Spidey experiments with a new look, inspired by the second Spider-Woman.

It's impossible to appreciate today, but the move was shocking for 1984. While Spider-Man is associated with numerous costumes today, in the first twenty-two years of his existence, he'd never switched looks before.  In the first reprint of the black costume storyline, Marvel editor Jim Salicrup recounts the mainstream media attention Spider-Man's new costume received. Per Salicrup, established popular heroes don't change their costumes. Only "second-stringers" experimented with new looks. For the major heroes, you don't mess with success.

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The hook of  Secret Wars was for the miniseries to initiate real change in the ongoing titles.  Amazing Spider-Man #252 is actually the comic that debuted the costume, with its May 1984 cover date. Secret Wars #8 is dated December 1984--the idea was for Marvel titles to address the Secret Wars changes over the course of the year. It's the final issue plotted by Roger Stern, with new writer Tom DeFalco stepping in to script. Ron Frenz, soon to be a Spidey legend, is the penciler.

Amazing Spider-Man 252

It's somewhat quaint in retrospect. Although this is clearly Spider-Man, the public can't discern this mystery hero's identity.  Some New Yorkers are even terrified of this man in black!  The main conflict in the issue has Spidey aiding a bickering couple. He takes them to the rooftops, offering a new view of New York. Spider-Man is grateful to be back in town, happy endings all around.

Amazing Spider-Man #252 is one of the most popular Marvel comics of the decade. Not only were kids stunned by the cover, but some readers cite it as their first comic ever.  The comic was given away as a part of a Cookie Crisp cereal promotion. (It's a fantastic idea. Too bad the opportunity was rarely exploited again.)

Peter Parker is thrilled with the new costume. It rarely requires cleaning, can generate its own pockets and webbing, and can morph into any clothing Peter imagines. As the issues go on, we see unexpected consequences of this alien costume. Peter finds himself sleeping all day. At times, he's overwhelmed by lethargy. The final straw occurs in Amazing Spider-Man #258, when the costume oozes across the floor, covering his sleeping body. The costume animates Peter, swinging him across the city. Peter experiences a nightmare during the encounter, imagining violent ghost images of his costumes.

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When Peter wakes, he decides enough is enough. He visits Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four. (Something he told himself he'd do, all the way back in  Amazing #252. He's a busy guy.) This is when he discovers the costume is alive! A living symbiotic creature attempting to bond to him permanently, in fact. Funny how non-shocking this seems today. It's famous comic book lore, almost as well-known as Spider-Man's origin.

Web of Spider-Man 1

The rejection angers the symbiote, a story eventually resolved in Web of Spider-Man #1 (April 1985). From writer Louise Simonson and penciler Greg LaRocque, more of the familiar lore debuts. The symbiote returns to feed on Peter. As Spider-Man travels to the Baxter Building for Reed Richards’ help, the Vulturions attack. (They're a group of small-time criminals who stole the Vulture’s technology to gain vengeance on Spider-Man.) He fights them off and follows the sound of church bells. Standing in the bell tower, the sonic blast harms his costume, but nearly kills Spider-Man. The alien actually pulls Spider-Man to safety before it disintegrates.

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We think it disintegrates, at least. More on that later. The image of the church bells hammering the symbiote has become iconic. As much grief as Spider-Man 3 gets, one of the more memorable scenes of the Raimi films adapts that moment.

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Years before the storyline was adapted to film, the 1990s Spider-Man animated series tackled the arc. It's no secret these series are funded with money from the action figures line, which is why Toy Biz exec Avi Arad was also a producer on the series. Arad understood the appeal of the black costume, and worked to adapt the story within the first year of the show. (Years later, as a producer on the film series, Arad lobbied for the costume to also appear in Spider-Man 3.) He actually has a writing credit on the episode "The Alien Costume, Part One."

And Arad's not the only one! He has a co-plot credit with Stan Lee, of all people. The script is credited to Meg McLaughlin, Len Wein, Stan Berkowitz, and showrunner John Semper, Jr. This was considered one of the most important episodes of the season, given the popularity of the costume. (And, naturally, the upcoming appearance of Venom.) Perhaps that explains why so many writers took a pass on this one?

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The challenge of Spider-Man is incorporating thirty years of continuity and telling coherent stories set during this time in Peter's life. And, also, appeasing the toyline.  Some episodes worked through this issue better than others. What's great about "Alien Costume" is the way it incorporates such an unexpected moment from the comics canon--but it works perfectly.

The show, naturally, doesn't address the linewide crossover "Secret Wars." (Yet.)  Instead, the alien symbiote--given the impressively pseudo-scientific name of "Promethium X" here--comes to Earth with astronaut John Jameson. It's an homage to the very first issue of  Amazing Spider-Man, which also had Spidey rescue J. Jonah's son from a crashing space shuttle. It's quite clever, and leads to a scene that would look amazing in live-action. When the shuttle crash lands and wipes out a few dozen cars on the George Washington Bridge...well, the animation doesn't sell the concept. But, it's still a fantastic idea. And it would've looked great in the films. (The goofy debut of the symbiote in Spider-Man 3 is pretty darn disappointing in comparison.)

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Spider-Man 3 does draw a decent amount of inspiration from these episodes, however. It's the cartoon that introduces the idea of the alien causing Peter to grow short-tempered and aggressive. (In the comics, Peter's merely sleepy.) How the movie dramatized this idea, clearly, is up for debate. But the idea comes from these episodes. The concept of Eddie Brock outright lying to the Daily Bugle, then getting caught by Spider-Man, also appears in the film. Peter falling asleep and waking to find himself in the black costume for the first time? Yes, that's in the cartoon. In fact, the movie adapts this nearly note-for-note.

Movies borrowing more from the cartoon than the comics isn't that outrageous. Bryan Singer's research for the X-Men films consisted of watching the '90s cartoon, rather than studying the comics. One moment from the comics loyally adapted into the cartoon would be the nightmare costume fight. It looks pretty cool, and remained in the show's opening credits for years.

By the end of the second chapter, Peter's realized the negative impact the costume's having on his life. Writers John Semper, Jr. and Brynne Stephens go through many of the comics' notes. The Vulturions are replaced by Shocker and Rhino, but the conflict does end at a church. Peter uses the sonics generated by the bells to remove the alien...forgetting Eddie Brock is nearby. Cliffhanger!

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The Wrap-Up

Spider-Man-1994-Animated

Design-y

The overall look of Spider-Man is something of an oddity. Batman: The Animated Series had already introduced a more design-focused art style by this point. Marvel's preference leaned more towards recreating comic book style art in animation. Spider-Man is somewhere in-between. The character's faces are quite cartoony, and work well whenever the animators aren't slacking. The physiques, however, are far more traditional comic book. It doesn't quite work, and leads to a bulky Spider-Man design. The web-pattern and shape of his eyes have always struck me as rather dull, also.

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Hey, I Know that Voice

Following the success of Batman, it only made sense for Spider-Man to bring in some highly credible voice actors. Christopher Daniel Barnes, Greg from the Brady Bunch films, voices Peter/Spider-Man. Ed Asner is essentially perfect as J. Jonah Jameson. Simpsons mainstay and voiceover legend Hank Azaria is Eddie Brock. (Just a hint of his Moe Szyslak shows up here.)

Battle of the Fashion Statements

The animated series deserves credit for streamlining the comics' narrative, along with adding some new elements that enhance the concept. The idea of the "dark" costume bringing out the "dark" side of the hero is darn solid.  It's become a widely accepted part of the canon, which is no small feat. Many fans cite these as the strongest Spider-Man episodes, understandably. Even then, the extremely inconsistent animation and overall cheap production of the series do hinder the storytelling.

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As for the comics...well, they're a lot of fun. No one involved realized they were creating the most significant contribution to the canon possibly since the Stan Lee days. (Thrown in with the alien saga is the very human, and touching, origin of Mary Jane Watson.) DeFalco and company were clearly enjoying themselves, but it's unlikely they could've known just how momentous these stories were. For anyone with fond memories of these episodes, you owe it to yourself to find the source material.

That’s all for now. Next week, we're looking back on Venom's debut in comics and screen. If you have any suggestions for the future, just leave a comment or contact me on Twitter.