Spider-man: The Animated Series

The Spider-man animated series that debuted from November 19, 1994 (1994-11-19) to January 31, 1998 was one of the highlights of my childhood. Sure, the animation was standard 90’s animation that Marvel used for all its shows, in the style of G.I. Joe, but the show felt smart. It created its own continuity and, for many young fans, myself included, was a gateway into reading Marvel Comics. 

While not as timeless or iconic as Batman: The Animated Series, this show offered a modern, fresh window into the Spider-man mythos. It was serious and compelling enough for older audiences but still entertaining for little kids. It is obvious that the producers cared enough to make the show dramatic and not just a formulaic or generic adventure cartoon. The use of CGI for the backgrounds of New York City showed that they were trying something different. I like the CGI segments, no matter how dated they may look today. And, even though the series played fast and loose with the comic book continuity, I appreciate the attempt to adapt some classic storylines. The spirit of the Spider-man comics was captured (particularly the comics of the 70’s and 80’s) with a 90’s flair.

The voice cast was stellar. Professional actors and veteran voice actors were used. To this day, when I read Spider-man comics, I am never able to separate Peter Parker’s voice from Christopher Daniel Barnes. For my money, even more than any of the live-action portrayals, Barnes delivered the most dramatic and best voice for our friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. Other classic portrayals included Roscoe Lee Brown as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. That’s the voice I hear when I read his appearances in Spider-man or Daredevil. Ed Asner is also great as J. Jonah Jameson. Efram Zimbalist Jr. (the voice of Alfred on Batman) is the definitive voice for Doc Ock as well.

The music is also memorable. The classic main theme, a hard rocking composition performed by Joe Perry of the band, Aerosmith gets stuck in my head for days when I hear it. Shuki Levy, Kussa Mahchi and Udi Harpaz were the composers of the orchestral background score. The score is both fast paced, operatic and fun.

The show sometimes featured guest appearances by some of Marvel’s other well known superheroes.The most famous was the two-part crossover with the X-men show. The other great guest spots are the two-part Daredevil episode (my favorite episodes of the series), the episodes featuring The Punisher, the Doctor Strange episode and the ensemble shows toward the end of the series’ run that feature everybody from The Fantastic Four to Captain America.  (1998-01-31)

       The main problem with the show comes from a perceived censorship by fans, whether true or not. There has been conjecture by many that the series was heavily censored, even for a children’s television show. The series head writer/producer, John Semper Jr., denies this. Some tampering, whether by network heads or the Standards and Practices (S&P), has to be true, considering the use of laser guns, in most scenes, in place of realistic weapons, lack of realistic violence (Spider-man rarely throws a punch in the show) and replacement words such as “destroy,” “end” or “obliterate” for more threatening words like “death,” “murder,” or “kill.” Whether heavily censored or not, the tone of this series is so melodramatic that any censorship doesn't really take you out of the stories they are trying to tell. Also, the censorship sometimes works to the show's advantage. The laser guns in place of real firearms gives the show a distinct look. And because they hardly show Spider-man punching, his use of other maneuvers for attack, like landing on villains from above, holding them from behind, or the various aerial kicks he uses, seem creative instead of restrictive. Not being able to directly reference death also gives the show a kind of gravitas because when death or murder is discussed, they dance around it as if it is a serious issue.

      Of all the animated Marvel properties of the 1990s, Spider-man was the best (though X-men is a close 2^nd place). Some fans may argue that the Spectacular Spider-man show of the early 2000’s is a better show. While I do also love that show, and find it to be a better show at times, it's this series that I watch more often. I think this series looks better and, at least to me, seems much more like classic Spider-man. Maybe this show shouldn’t have been any good, considering it was made for, or heavily marketed with, a line of toys. And sure, it’s a little dated, watching it 25 years later, but the series is just so fun and I lose myself in it every time I see it. The real shame is that, as of this writing, it still hasn’t been released in its entirety on any home media in the U.S. All in all, I love this series. Spiderman: The Animated Series will forever be my favorite adaptation of the webslinger outside of Sam Raimi’s Spider-man 2.   

The Magic of Frank Miller's Daredevil

Before Frank Miller, Daredevil was a B-grade character in the pantheon of Marvel superheroes. Sure writers like Marv Wolfman amped up the pulp action on their runs but it was still just a standard superhero comic—pretty average stuff.

Roger McKenzie can be credited with introducing the noir themes to the series. His interesting and dramatic plots really took advantage of the mystery aspects of Daredevil. Frank Miller began drawing McKenzie’s plots with issue #158 of the Daredevil title. By issue #165, roughly half a year later, the legendary Daredevil run began. Frank Miller, influenced by old black and white film noir and crime comics, as well as Japanese manga and an eastern influence, crafted a run that would turn Matt Murdock from a swashbuckling urban adventurer into an antihero.

Miller drew the layouts almost entirely during his run but was aided by the incomparable Klaus Janson on finishes and inking. The Miller/Janson team is one of the first instances in mainstream superhero comics that pushed the medium to its artistic edge. The plotting was terse and intense and the art was breathtaking yet provocative. Janson is one of the best artists/inkers in the field.

Three major accomplishments came out of this run: The Kingpin was turned from a rarely used Spider-man villain into Matt Murdock’s arch-nemesis.  He became a genuine threat and was developed into one of the major baddies in the Marvel universe. Secondly, ninjas were introduced, bringing a martial arts aspect to the title that had never been explored before. Out of this came The Hand, a ninja clan that would plague Daredevil for years to come and Elektra, Matt’s college girlfriend turned assassin. Stick, leader of a rival ninja clan the Chaste, was also introduced. He was Matt's sensei after he was blinded and taught the young blind boy to hone his other senses. Thirdly, Bullseye, a creation of Marv Wolfman, was firmly defined as one of Daredevil’s prominent adversaries. The landmark issue (#181) where Bullseye murders Elektra with her own sai is one of the greatest comics Marvel has ever published. Its aftermath still influences the Daredevil/Bullseye relationship.

Miller’s final issue, #191, “Roulette,” cemented Daredevil as a lone, obsessed vigilante who always puts justice first. The story sees Daredevil break into Bullseye’s hospital room with a gun, playing a game of Russian roulette. The hero tells the villain of a young boy who idolizes Daredevil, only to find out that the boy’s father is corrupt. This sends the boy over the edge when he shoots another boy. The story ends with Matt remembering that he was beaten as a child by his father, effectively rewriting the character of “Battlin’ Jack” Murdock and revising Matt’s reasons for becoming a lawyer.

The run ended well and the Miller/Janson team was replaced with a short, yet  underrated run by Denny O’neil and a number of artists. One of those artists was David Mazzuchelli, who would aid Miller in his return.

Frank returned to the character with, what I consider to be the best Daredevil story ever, the acclaimed Daredevil: Born Again. Running through Daredevil #227–233, this tale reintroduced Karen Page as a heroin junkie and pornographic actress. She sells Matt’s secret identity. The Kingpin gets wind of this secret and proceeds to ruin Matt’s life, costing him his attorney’s license and destroying his home. By the end, however, Matt has reunited with Karen Page and meets his long lost mother, a nun named Maggie, previously thought to be dead.

Miller’s other Daredevil stories include: Love and War, a wonderful painted graphic novel from 1986, with Bill Sienkiewicz, and the definitive origin story, Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. Written as a five-issue miniseries in 1993, Man Without Fear expands upon the death of “Battlin’ Jack” and Matt’s early years and delves deeper into the role of characters like Stick and Elektra in the Daredevil mythos.

Overall, Frank Miller’s work on Daredevil defines the character. These are some of the best superhero comics anyone can read. The amazing thing is that they are nearly 40 years old at this point. Taken in pieces, the reader is treated to small bits of brilliant superhero storytelling. As a whole, Matt Murdock’s motivations and character become clear. The entirety of Miller’s work represents the best of Daredevil. It is only rivaled by the runs of Ann Nocenti and, later, Brian Michael Bendis. Do yourself a favor: read Daredevil comics.