How would you launch a new Spider-Man cartoon series?

[Vortex85]

As I've said before in other threads, I'd do a spiritual adaptation of Spider-Man: Life Story, with each season adapting stories from each decade of Spider-Man's published existence.

Season 1 would be the 1960s, dealing with Peter graduating from Midtown High School and about to start college at Empire State University while struggling to balance that with his work for The Daily Bugle to financially support his Aunt May and his heroic responsibilities as Spider-Man, building up in the first half to a confrontation with the Sinister Six, then in the second half, to a confrontation with the masked would-be crime lord known as the Green Goblin in the finale, ending on an epilogue that'll really shake up his social life as Peter Parker.

Season 2 would be the 1970s, dealing with Peter and his social circle in college, consisting of classmates Harry Osborn, Randy Robertson, Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy . . . and Mary Jane Watson, and how much being Spider-Man strains his friendships and his burgeoning love life, only to culminate in an adaptation of The Death of Gwen Stacy, followed by the original Clone Saga as the finale of that season.

Season 3 would be the 1980s, dealing with Peter struggling even more than usual, with the Black Cat offering a salving distraction for him in his Spider-Man alter ego, at least compared to how much of a challenge being Peter Parker has become. An adaptation of Secret Wars would be a major arc, too, with Spider-Man coming back in a snazzy new black alien costume, only to find that he really should have looked that gift horse in the mouth, and eventually the debut of Venom, as well as Peter and Mary Jane finally clearing the air and becoming much closer to each other than before.

Season 4 would be the 1990s, with Peter's relationship with Mary Jane as a throughline amidst ongoing challenges like the return of Venom, the debut of Venom's more murderous and depraved symbiotic offspring Carnage, the rebirth of the Green Goblin, and even a cluster**** of Spider-Clones, as per the mysteriously revived mastermind of the Clone Saga from Season 2's finale . . . only to culminate in the reveal of the mastermind behind the mastermind --- the one and only Green Goblin. Don't worry; there is a happy ending despite all these dire-sounding challenges.

Season 5 would be the 2000s, with a mysterious multibillionaire named Ezekiel revealing to Spider-Man (what he thinks is) the true nature of his spider-powers, as well as that he himself possesses nearly identical abilities, placing them both on the radar of an equally mysterious and implacable predator named Morlun who will stop at nothing to kill Spider-Man. Meanwhile, a national tragedy inexorably draws the wider, albeit somewhat loose, network of superheroes in New York City (and elsewhere) into confrontation with each other, which also forces Peter Parker to decide where he stands, putting him in conflict with heroic idols like Captain America and Iron Man --- once co-leaders of the Avengers, now violently at odds with one another, leading separate factions of heroes based on their divergent responses to that national tragedy. In the end . . . who will be left standing?

Season 6 would be the 2010s, dealing with the fallout of the so-called "superhero Civil War" from Peter Parker's perspective, as one of his worst enemies has once again risen to take advantage of the fissures and disarray amongst the superheroes for his own gain and dark ambitions, ambitions that involve inflicting yet more suffering upon the web-slinger. However, that won't be his only or his biggest problem, as he's drawn into a conflict crisscrossing multiple dimensions and realities, realizing by the end that his best friend --- as well as his worst enemy --- is and has always been . . . himself.

Season 7 would be the final season, adapting the 2020s comics, with Spider-Man's past coming back to haunt him in more ways than one, which causes him to wonder what his legacy will ultimately be, especially given the growing omnipresence of a mysterious megacorporation known as the Beyond Corporation aiming to coopt his name, interspersed with flashforwards to the year 2099, a future overrun by even more massive, even more unscrupulous megacorporations that have come to dominate so much of the world and society, though even in such an era . . . a hero will arise anew. When those threads of the present and the future intertwine, however, it may very well answer all of Spider-Man's questions about his legacy, including the ones he's most afraid to ask. (Don't worry, as dire as all this sounds . . . there is a happy ending here.)

Very cool, I would love to see a life story style show, which each season being a different era of Peter's life. That sounds awesome.

[Frontier]

A Spider-man TAS sequel centered on Miles Morales. We have seen pretty much every version of Peter get a series. TAS featured the OG classic villains, side characters and status quo. Spectacular did the same thing except with a modernized twist focusing on High School Peter. Then we got a bunch of stuff in between.

I want a series focused on Mile`s world. Maybe feature a retired Peter mentoring Miles. But no other Spider people. Ever since Miles came over to 616 he has kind of just existed in Peters ecosystem. He was a much more interesting character when he was the sole Spider-man in the Ultimate U. As much as I love Into The Spiderverse, it focuses on the multiverse and uses Miles as the audience stand in.

I want something centered on developing Miles world, his villains and his side cast. A series like this would feel fresh and full of potential. I am also not a fan of Peter and Miles being close in age. Miles should still be in the "underdog" or learning phase of his career.

I'd be curious to see a Miles cartoon just because his lore and world is still fairly new and still developing that there would probably be a lot an adaption could expand on like his movie and Insomniac did.

What experience gap? They all got their powers around the same time.

As adults versus a teenager?

I don’t know why people are so allergic to other Spider people are so quick to put non-Spider-Man characters in the story.

Plus, Rhino was best when he was a Rhino mutant. He really fit into Peter’s world that way.

Rhino was never a mutant in the comics though? At least from what I remember.

[Venomsaurus]

I'd make a show that's a little more akin to the New Adventures of Spidey, where Pete's a bit older and it's meant for a more mature audience, but we'd move passed the college years and onto his later 20's. At the start of the season he's broke, usual Parker luck, but he's dating MJ and still has Aunt May, though her health is ailing. He's back working at the Bugle but their pay is worse than ever with Newspapers not being big. This is a more weathered take on Spidey, one whose had his ups and downs but come through it all a better man. But now he's in a tough spot where his life isn't really going the way he wants it, and the struggle to balance real life and Spidey is more difficult than ever with him desperately needing Spidey photos to keep paying his rent. He's that relatable millenial (which I figure he'd be in this series, maybe I'm off and he'd be Gen Z) struggling with a world that doesn't feel like it prepared for them and he's having a real rough time. It would be a show about the difficulties of adulthood paired with the wonder and Amazing Fantasy that is being a super hero. Where some episodes would focus more heavily on the drama in his life, with minimal action to let the stories breathe a little.

MJ would be her classic self, that party girl with a heart of gold, but she's growing too. Slowly losing interest in the club life and trying to do a little more with her life. Maybe working at FEAST part time with May. So she's around the Parker family more, not just Peter himself, and maybe she's the first to really see how sick May is getting and she tries to warn Peter. It could create a rift between them, where Peter insists May is all right, stubborn as ever about his Aunt being okay and MJ is trying to get him to see reality. They'd split halfway through the first season, only to reconcile at the end when May does eventually pass away. That would be the big season one end, the death of May, and Peter finally having to grow up and put his childhood behind him. Proposing to MJ, which itself would be a big cliffhanger for season 2.

My main idea is a show directed towards adults, which I know will never happen, but hey, we're making up our dream Spidey cartoon and I'd love something with a little more edge to it. I don't need Peter to say "SHIT!" on TV but something more mature in it's themes and tone, forcing Peter to really reconcile who he is and what it means to be Spider-man. Villains in the show would be there to reinforce these themes. Green Goblin now Harry, having abandoned his family in his mad pursuit of vengeance. An example of what if Peter gave up his life and devoted it to just being Spider-man. Doc Ock has become so obsessed with killing Spider-man he's turned his body into pure machine (Kinda like ASM 700) and no longer feels anything. A warning if Peter were to close himself off to his emotions as a hero. Carnage...is just an asshole, because he's Carnage. But he's also a perfect example of power unchecked and if Peter were ever to lose control and not regain it, he could become just as awful a monster as Cletus.

Since I'm a big Eddie Brock fan, I'd introduce Venom as an actual friend of Spider-man's, or even friendly rival for attention as a hero. Venom has had his arc of realizing Spidey isn't evil, and is even trying to patch things up with Pete and MJ to be a genuine friend. At the beginning they'd both be incredulous, and MJ would probably not trust him, but Eddie would show his true colors in the end and save her from near death, helping them bury the hatchet. Eddie would be that brothers in arms Peter never realized he needed, becoming his new best bud and filling the void Harry left. Even help him see how people can grow beyond their worst impulses and really become a hero. Giving him hope in the long run. Maybe work Dylan into later seasons and he helps Spidey realize him and MJ are ready for kids.

I'd also write the main Marvel U to have as little to do as possible with this series. Maybe the FF every now and then, and an occasional Avengers reference, but otherwise the focus is solely on Spidey.

Outside of maybe a Spider-verse story, I'd avoid other Spider-folks, let the story be about Peter and the folks around him, not anyone else.

As for the art style, because I feel that would be very important in helping establish tone and all, would be a more modernized Romita Sr. Maybe add a few more animated flourishes like larger eyes for Spidey. I'm a sucker for that classic style so to see it updated/animated I think would look gorgeous. Give it a 60's Pop Art vibe to really help it stand out from every Spider-man toon prior. Especially if they get a talented team of animators as opposed to the underworked kids in a sweat shop Disney pays to animate their super hero shows usually.

So that's my dream Spider-man cartoon, something that blends the best elements of the later years, while recognizing everything that's come before and how it's made Peter into the man he is today, and what that means for who he's going to be going forward.

[CrimsonEchidna]

I'd be curious to see a Miles cartoon just because his lore and world is still fairly new and still developing that there would probably be a lot an adaption could expand on like his movie and Insomniac did.

My pitch for a Miles Morales cartoon would be using Batman Beyond as a soft template. The series would cold open to the night of Peter Parker's "final" battle with the Green Goblin, with the two seemingly dying in an explosion. And then the series would zoom forward 5 or so years to the present where a Company (Alchemax/Beyond/Roxxon) has managed to reverse engineer the Spider using Spider-Man's DNA, Uncle Aaron steals it for the black market, Miles get bit.

And from there it becomes the series. And the season 1 finale would reveal that Peter did infact survive that fight but has since been living in retirement with MJ and his daughters, Mayday and Annie. but learning that there's a new person running around as Spider-Man gets him reinvolved in the superhero community.

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And in general I prefer the Teen Titans/Justice League method of doing episodic stories while sprinkling some serialization elements to build up to the Finale. I think stuff like Young Justice especially was overly committed to the serialization to a detriment.

[Frontier]

My pitch for a Miles Morales cartoon would be using Batman Beyond as a soft template. The series would cold open to the night of Peter Parker's "final" battle with the Green Goblin, with the two seemingly dying in an explosion. And then the series would zoom forward 5 or so years to the present where a Company (Alchemax/Beyond/Roxxon) has managed to reverse engineer the Spider using Spider-Man's DNA, Uncle Aaron steals it for the black market, Miles get bit.

And from there it becomes the series. And the season 1 finale would reveal that Peter did infact survive that fight but has since been living in retirement with MJ and his daughters, Mayday and Annie. but learning that there's a new person running around as Spider-Man gets him reinvolved in the superhero community.

-------

And in general I prefer the Teen Titans/Justice League method of doing episodic stories while sprinkling some serialization elements to build up to the Finale. I think stuff like Young Justice especially was overly committed to the serialization to a detriment.

I think Spectacular had the best balance of doing a serialized cartoon but still delivering on good episode-to-episode stories. I think YJ's ambition caught up to it in later seasons.

[Huntsman Spider]

Very cool, I would love to see a life story style show, which each season being a different era of Peter's life. That sounds awesome.

Thanks. Glad you liked the idea.

My pitch for a Miles Morales cartoon would be using Batman Beyond as a soft template. The series would cold open to the night of Peter Parker's "final" battle with the Green Goblin, with the two seemingly dying in an explosion. And then the series would zoom forward 5 or so years to the present where a Company (Alchemax/Beyond/Roxxon) has managed to reverse engineer the Spider using Spider-Man's DNA, Uncle Aaron steals it for the black market, Miles get bit.

And from there it becomes the series. And the season 1 finale would reveal that Peter did infact survive that fight but has since been living in retirement with MJ and his daughters, Mayday and Annie. but learning that there's a new person running around as Spider-Man gets him reinvolved in the superhero community.

-------

And in general I prefer the Teen Titans/Justice League method of doing episodic stories while sprinkling some serialization elements to build up to the Finale. I think stuff like Young Justice especially was overly committed to the serialization to a detriment.

Very cool as well. Speaking of taking inspiration from Batman Beyond, I'd launch a Spider-Man 2099 animated series, in light of Batman Beyond arguably taking inspiration from the future web-slinger insofar as the cyberpunk future setting. Beyond that, the basic setup is that like any cyberpunk story worth its chrome, the future is dominated by technology and corporate corruption run amok, with the heroes of the past long dead and gone, relegated to the stuff of myth and legend and folklore. At least, that's the presumption until Miguel O'Hara, a young geneticist fresh out of the Alchemax Institute for Higher Learning and made head of Alchemax Genetics Division's "corporate raider" project, attempts to reset his own DNA back to "factory defaults" upon being unwittingly (and unwillingly) dosed with Rapture, an extremely addictive cognition-enhancing drug that bonds to users on a genetic level, to keep him effectively enslaved to Alchemax when he expresses his intent to quit in light of his growing discontent and disgust with Alchemax's disregard for anything but profit and power.

Unfortunately for him, his attempt at a genetic reset is sabotaged by a jealous would-be mentor and rival named Aaron Delgado, who mixes the archived genetic imprint of a spider from the "corporate raider" project, intended to create enhanced operatives for Alchemax, into the process, inflicting spiderlike mutations (and corresponding enhanced spiderlike abilities and attributes) on Miguel. This sabotage backfires on Delgado in more ways than one, not only costing him his life (seemingly), but ultimately giving the Marvel Universe's dark tomorrow the hero that it desperately needs, at least once Miguel can get his s*** together, his newfound spider-powers sending him down the proverbial rabbit hole to uncover some very stark truths about life in the last years of the 21st century --- for example, to quote or paraphrase William Gibson, one of the fathers of the cyberpunk genre, "The future is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed." Realizing another stark truth about the nature of power and all that comes with it, Miguel steels himself to become 2099's Spider-Man, standing for the innocent and downtrodden against a brutal array of futuristic menaces, ranging from the streets of Downtown all the way to the sleek, gleaming corporate high-rises of Uptown.

[Hypestyle]

I'd start with the Roger Stern era and keep those era's characters, gradually bring in guest heroes and so forth.
Venom is a villain.
Period.
No cosmic demigod antihero stuff.
No.

[GamerSlyRatchet]

I haven't thought about it in more than a decade, but I used to have ideas for my own ideal Spider-Man series. It was heavily inspired by Ultimate Spider-Man, but it had the big three (Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom) as the Big Bads of the first three seasons. Though I think the symbiote arc was going to be until season 4 and it was going to last nearly the entire season. Again, haven't thought about it in years and I'd probably handle some things VERY differently if I was doing a Peter-led series. For instance, now I know trying to mix traditional and Ultimate Green Goblin is not a good idea.

Also, I've always wanted a Spider-Man 2099 series. Much closer to PAD's original run, although with some tweaks and ideas from newer takes on 2099 (i.e. Shattered Dimensions Doc Ock 2099 or having both Scorpion and Venom 2099 co-existing, with Scorpion being Aaron Delgado instead of Kron Stone). Though at the same time, I wanted to get away from just doing "____ 2099" type of characters and either revamp some characters that don't follow that (Venture, Risque, the Specialist, Data-Pirate, Flipside, etc.) or even create some OCs.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I'd probably explore one of the Spiderverse members like Aaron Aikman, Charles Parker or Spider-Man Noir.

[Majesty]

Season 3 of Spectacular Spider-Man.

[Huntsman Spider]

I haven't thought about it in more than a decade, but I used to have ideas for my own ideal Spider-Man series. It was heavily inspired by Ultimate Spider-Man, but it had the big three (Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom) as the Big Bads of the first three seasons. Though I think the symbiote arc was going to be until season 4 and it was going to last nearly the entire season. Again, haven't thought about it in years and I'd probably handle some things VERY differently if I was doing a Peter-led series. For instance, now I know trying to mix traditional and Ultimate Green Goblin is not a good idea.

Also, I've always wanted a Spider-Man 2099 series. Much closer to PAD's original run, although with some tweaks and ideas from newer takes on 2099 (i.e. Shattered Dimensions Doc Ock 2099 or having both Scorpion and Venom 2099 co-existing, with Scorpion being Aaron Delgado instead of Kron Stone). Though at the same time, I wanted to get away from just doing "____ 2099" type of characters and either revamp some characters that don't follow that (Venture, Risque, the Specialist, Data-Pirate, Flipside, etc.) or even create some OCs.

I'd probably explore one of the Spiderverse members like Aaron Aikman, Charles Parker or Spider-Man Noir.

Season 3 of Spectacular Spider-Man.

All very good options. I especially like doing Spider-Man 2099 with more original villains. They can be somewhat thematically inspired by the villains of the present day, taking into account a near-century's worth of technological advancements and sociocultural developments from the present, but not merely a 2099 rehash of Villain X, Y, or Z. Given that End of the Spider-Verse ended with the restoration of all the Spiders that had been corrupted by Shathra or killed by Morlun, I could see potential in a series picking up where Dr. Aaron Aikman's story left off or addressing "Charlie" Parker and what could have happened in a universe where Uncle Ben and Aunt May weren't such positive figures in Peter Parker's life.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Would doing a show about the Slingers count as they are Peter's legacy in a roundabout way?

All very good options. I especially like doing Spider-Man 2099 with more original villains. They can be somewhat thematically inspired by the villains of the present day, taking into account a near-century's worth of technological advancements and sociocultural developments from the present, but not merely a 2099 rehash of Villain X, Y, or Z. Given that End of the Spider-Verse ended with the restoration of all the Spiders that had been corrupted by Shathra or killed by Morlun, I could see potential in a series picking up where Dr. Aaron Aikman's story left off or addressing "Charlie" Parker and what could have happened in a universe where Uncle Ben and Aunt May weren't such positive figures in Peter Parker's life.

There is the potential for diminishing returns when doing another Spider-Man series so my pick was a way to get around that. Over the years Peter and Spiderman became defined as a character about youth and coming of age themes because he started out as younger than the Avengers etc. So exploring how one of the more different versions like Noir or the one where he's a spy came to be is a way around that. That would extend to the new characters who become Spider-man like Miles and Aaron Aikman.

It's not the most commercial pick and I'm probably going too niche but it's an interesting challenge.

[Huntsman Spider]

Would doing a show about the Slingers count as they are Peter's legacy in a roundabout way?



There is the potential for diminishing returns when doing another Spider-Man series so my pick was a way to get around that. Over the years Peter and Spiderman became defined as a character about youth and coming of age themes because he started out as younger than the Avengers etc. So exploring how one of the more different versions like Noir or the one where he's a spy came to be is a way around that. That would extend to the new characters who become Spider-man like Miles and Aaron Aikman.

It's not the most commercial pick and I'm probably going too niche but it's an interesting challenge.

Slingers could be interesting, yeah, and while niche, I could see a Spider-Verse animated anthology series possibly working out for people who want more Spider-Man without being stuck on Marvel editorial's increasingly outdated and inaccurate notions of who and what Peter Parker is and/or should be.

[ARkadelphia]

It all starts and ends with PAUL in the uniform. Everything else is gravy.

[LordMikel]

So the Youtuber Comics by Perch had what I thought was a good idea. Take the McFarlane Spider-Man run and give it the anime treatment, whereby the comic is faithfully adapted to the cartoon. Marvel could release a Omnibus of the series at the same time so people could read ahead if they wanted. I would use that run, as you get Sinister Six, Venom, Thanos, all pretty soon.