Spider-man '98

[JTait]

I am a massive fan of this show. It got me into comics. I watched it through my childhood and have revisited it a few times as an adult. I think it holds up, but part of that could be nostalgia talking. Objectively speaking though I think the voice acting is largely very well done and the plotting is about as sophisticated as a show ostensibly aimed at children can possibly be. Where it falls down is the character designs and some of the animation.

I would love to see a revival. As others have noted, the show ended on a cliffhanger and there are lots of unresolved questions from its final few series. I think it would be a mistake to focus on Spider-Verse stuff, as most of the final season was team ups and extra terrestrial, multiversal adventures. Let's leave that alone for a little while.

Given the choice, I think one final season would be all that would be needed to wrap things up and give the show a proper conclusion. Any longer and there would be a risk of ruining the shows legacy. There would plenty of ground to cover.

- Finding Mary Jane and the probable return of Norman Osborn
- The clone saga tease with Miles Warren at the end of the Hydro Man arc
- Another arc with Venom and Carnage (who were both underused)
- I'm not a massive fan of team ups but an appearance from the FF would be fun and would be an obvious opportunity to introduce the Sandman
- The Haunting of Mary-Jane Watson two parter did some interesting stuff with Mysterio that I think it would be worth following up on. He was also quite an underused villain on the whole.
- Hobgoblin was such a great villain and so well voiced by Mark Hammill that it would be a shame not to see him return.

I think, hypothetically speaking, that whoever was involved creatively would do well to steer clear of Kingpin, Doc Ock and Morbius, who were all pretty overused by the end.

On the subject of creatives, I would be baffled if Semper wasn't involved. The show was his baby and it would strike me as pretty pointless to bring it back without him at the helm (or at least present in some capacity.)

[Spider-Tiger]

On the subject of creatives, I would be baffled if Semper wasn't involved. The show was his baby and it would strike me as pretty pointless to bring it back without him at the helm (or at least present in some capacity.)

Tbh I have doubts about Semper being able to pull off something on par with X-men 97. Even 90s Spider-man wasn't really on par with the 90s X-men show, and X-men 97 is proving to be an even better series than its predecessor. And the more Semper controlled final season of Spider-man was even whackier than what preceded it IMO.

I definitely think the series needs a new showrunner to breathe new life into it. Not just write a few episodes where Peter finds MJ and be done with it, but actually explore new journeys and character arcs. Someone like Beau Demayo who brought a completely fresh perspective, and who was clearly passionate about and respected the original show and the source material.

[Ursalink]

I am a massive fan of this show. It got me into comics. I watched it through my childhood and have revisited it a few times as an adult. I think it holds up, but part of that could be nostalgia talking. Objectively speaking though I think the voice acting is largely very well done and the plotting is about as sophisticated as a show ostensibly aimed at children can possibly be. Where it falls down is the character designs and some of the animation.

I would love to see a revival. As others have noted, the show ended on a cliffhanger and there are lots of unresolved questions from its final few series. I think it would be a mistake to focus on Spider-Verse stuff, as most of the final season was team ups and extra terrestrial, multiversal adventures. Let's leave that alone for a little while.

Given the choice, I think one final season would be all that would be needed to wrap things up and give the show a proper conclusion. Any longer and there would be a risk of ruining the shows legacy. There would plenty of ground to cover.

- Finding Mary Jane and the probable return of Norman Osborn
- The clone saga tease with Miles Warren at the end of the Hydro Man arc
- Another arc with Venom and Carnage (who were both underused)
- I'm not a massive fan of team ups but an appearance from the FF would be fun and would be an obvious opportunity to introduce the Sandman
- The Haunting of Mary-Jane Watson two parter did some interesting stuff with Mysterio that I think it would be worth following up on. He was also quite an underused villain on the whole.
- Hobgoblin was such a great villain and so well voiced by Mark Hammill that it would be a shame not to see him return.

I think, hypothetically speaking, that whoever was involved creatively would do well to steer clear of Kingpin, Doc Ock and Morbius, who were all pretty overused by the end.

On the subject of creatives, I would be baffled if Semper wasn't involved. The show was his baby and it would strike me as pretty pointless to bring it back without him at the helm (or at least present in some capacity.)

I second on most on your ideas, my friend, particularly the first one.

After finding Mary Jane, I want the Spider-Marriage to be kept (somehow), then the return of Norman Osborn would be like "The Night of the Green Goblin" where we had the sad story of Peter's baby. Of course, in this reality, we need to follow the trace of MC2.

I would love to see an animated version of Mayday debuting here.

[Huntsman Spider]

I'd like to see them do a huge gang war type deal... Kingpin, Tombstone, Hammerhead, The Rose, Silvermane, Mr. Negative and whoever else... all vying to take over New York. Only do the opposite of Zeb Wells and make it good.

There's a simple way to do the last part. Just adapt the original Gang War storyline as per Christopher Priest and Tom DeFalco back in the 1980s.

[JTait]

Tbh I have doubts about Semper being able to pull off something on par with X-men 97. Even 90s Spider-man wasn't really on par with the 90s X-men show, and X-men 97 is proving to be an even better series than its predecessor. And the more Semper controlled final season of Spider-man was even whackier than what preceded it IMO.

I definitely think the series needs a new showrunner to breathe new life into it. Not just write a few episodes where Peter finds MJ and be done with it, but actually explore new journeys and character arcs. Someone like Beau Demayo who brought a completely fresh perspective, and who was clearly passionate about and respected the original show and the source material.

Personally, I disagree about X-Men 97 being better than Spider-Man: TAS. I loved both as a child though and haven't rewatched X-Men anywhere near as extensively (although when I did a rewatch of the first series in my late teens I found it quite dated and hard to get through.)

I take your points on board, but I think the final season of Spider-Man: TAS is really good. Wacky, yes, but really high quality. The only area that I felt it really dropped off was in the amount of re-used animation.

For me, doing a new season of Spider-Man: TAS without Semper involved would be slightly pointless and I'd almost rather see a completely new show.

[Huntsman Spider]

Personally, I disagree about X-Men 97 being better than Spider-Man: TAS. I loved both as a child though and haven't rewatched X-Men anywhere near as extensively (although when I did a rewatch of the first series in my late teens I found it quite dated and hard to get through.)

I take your points on board, but I think the final season of Spider-Man: TAS is really good. Wacky, yes, but really high quality. The only area that I felt it really dropped off was in the amount of re-used animation.

For me, doing a new season of Spider-Man: TAS without Semper involved would be slightly pointless and I'd almost rather see a completely new show.

Yeah, true, though with the bigger story arcs in the final season --- Six Forgotten Warriors, Secret Wars, and then the finale Spider Wars --- there was a lot less reused animation. Budget must have gotten a boost for those episodes, and as "wacky" as the plots were, the storytelling and characterization centering on what it meant to be a hero and in the end, what it meant to be Spider-Man himself . . . were still very heartfelt and profound, especially when accounting for the sad story of Spider-Man's final nemesis, an embodiment of his own potential for evil should he give into despair and anguish over the losses and tragedies he'd endured over the course of his life, as well as an embodiment of his ability to ultimately overcome that and strive for good.

[Mistah K88]

You know, they could easily cash in on more modern stuff as the portal stuff kind of lends itself to it. Gwen's Spiderwoman, a character who would make 0 sense in something like Spectacular would easily fit here. In fact if they wanted to do the multiple Spider people it would make more sense to do it in a continuation to this than it was in Marvel's Spider-Man 2017 where Peter was the same age as everyone. Not saying I would like them to adapt something as recent as finding MJ with Paul Rabin but given the background of the later seasons of the series, they can adapt more contemporary stuff pretty easily without it being to contradictory.

[Frontier]

You know, they could easily cash in on more modern stuff as the portal stuff kind of lends itself to it. Gwen's Spiderwoman, a character who would make 0 sense in something like Spectacular would easily fit here. In fact if they wanted to do the multiple Spider people it would make more sense to do it in a continuation to this than it was in Marvel's Spider-Man 2017 where Peter was the same age as everyone. Not saying I would like them to adapt something as recent as finding MJ with Paul Rabin but given the background of the later seasons of the series, they can adapt more contemporary stuff pretty easily without it being to contradictory.

Honestly the last thing I think a revival needs is more Spider-People. I feel like they've done that to death in the last few cartoons and movies.

Let Peter actually stand on his own in his own show instead of trying to throw in spinoff characters because they're popular. I also don't want to see them do another Spider-Verse type thing because that's pretty overdone at this point.

I would also limit any guest heroes to two before it becomes another "Marvel Team-Up" Spider-Man show.

[Huntsman Spider]

Honestly the last thing I think a revival needs is more Spider-People. I feel like they've done that to death in the last few cartoons and movies.

Let Peter actually stand on his own in his own show instead of trying to throw in spinoff characters because they're popular. I also don't want to see them do another Spider-Verse type thing because that's pretty overdone at this point.

I would also limit any guest heroes to two before it becomes another "Marvel Team-Up" Spider-Man show.

At least the 90s animated series had the good sense (and writing) to make the guest heroes' stories add to and be part of Spider-Man's own development(s) rather than derail or distract from that. That said, given that Marvel 2099 launched with Spider-Man 2099 in the same decade . . . that would be the one I could see working best, particularly if they borrowed heavily from Spider-Man Meets Spider-Man 2099, and maybe even Spider-Man: Edge of Time, since both of those were written by Peter David. The main thing I would borrow from Edge of Time would be Miguel's line to/about Peter and Mary Jane after saving Mary Jane's life on Peter's behalf: "You'll have the rest of your lives to spend together." Iffier on Peter Parker 2099 as the ultimate villain, though, as that might be somewhat retreading Spider-Carnage, even if Parker 2099 was a lot more calculating and less obviously unhinged compared to Spider-Carnage.

[Frontier]

At least the 90s animated series had the good sense (and writing) to make the guest heroes' stories add to and be part of Spider-Man's own development(s) rather than derail or distract from that. That said, given that Marvel 2099 launched with Spider-Man 2099 in the same decade . . . that would be the one I could see working best, particularly if they borrowed heavily from Spider-Man Meets Spider-Man 2099, and maybe even Spider-Man: Edge of Time, since both of those were written by Peter David. The main thing I would borrow from Edge of Time would be Miguel's line to/about Peter and Mary Jane after saving Mary Jane's life on Peter's behalf: "You'll have the rest of your lives to spend together." Iffier on Peter Parker 2099 as the ultimate villain, though, as that might be somewhat retreading Spider-Carnage, even if Parker 2099 was a lot more calculating and less obviously unhinged compared to Spider-Carnage.

Honestly a one-off 2099 adventure would be pretty fun. Especially since Christopher Daniel Barnes also voiced Miguel .

[Huntsman Spider]

Honestly a one-off 2099 adventure would be pretty fun. Especially since Christopher Daniel Barnes also voiced Miguel .

Could make it the revival's season finale, where Peter ends up in the future, seeing what's become of New York in the year 2099, while Miguel marvels at being in the original Spider-Man's heyday.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

I'm torn on this one, it could be either great or disappointing.
I don't think disappointing as bad, but it might not have a connecting atmosphere.

[Huntsman Spider]

I'm torn on this one, it could be either great or disappointing.
I don't think disappointing as bad, but it might not have a connecting atmosphere.

The connecting plots and ongoing sagas in the second through fourth seasons --- Neogenic Nightmare, Sins of the Fathers, and Partners in Danger --- were great.

[JTait]

Yeah, true, though with the bigger story arcs in the final season --- Six Forgotten Warriors, Secret Wars, and then the finale Spider Wars --- there was a lot less reused animation. Budget must have gotten a boost for those episodes

I must be misremembering, as I recall the production values being at their weakest for the final season, despite the general high quality of the stories. I remember one scene in the Six Forgotten Warriors arc that ended up making absolutely no sense because of shoddy editing.

[Huntsman Spider]

I must be misremembering, as I recall the production values being at their weakest for the final season, despite the general high quality of the stories. I remember one scene in the Six Forgotten Warriors arc that ended up making absolutely no sense because of shoddy editing.

You mean "The Price of Heroism"? Yeah, I think I recall that one, too. Not so good, though I was mostly referring to the comparative lack of reused animation.