Worst Spider-Man Animated Series

[Anubhavkumarc]

60s Series. It's just that it's too retro ish for me to watch (I can read older comics easily, they're not that cheesy). At second would come Spectacular Spider-Man, my 12 year old self could never watch it due to the art style back in the day, and it is a huge factor for me that my 12 year old self couldn't watch it. Third would be both of 80s Spider-Man series, they were like... Bleh. Never saw the 2003 series or Unlimited, so can't comment on them. Ultimate has evolved enough for me to like it. And I love the 90s Series, my 1-8 year old selves loved it, my 13-15 year old selves love it, and my current 18 year old self would agree on it.
For those wondering I actually have ADHD.

[Agent Z]

I picked the 1994 Spidey series. I thought the characters were handled poorly, Peter acted pretty douche in the series, the animation was shotty and at times recycled. Not a fan of Black Cat and hated that she was a series regular pretty much replacing Betty Brant for some reason. I also hated that the Fox censors had this show on a tight leash in which they couldn't use words like "death", "kill" and even "sinister" despite that the X-Men cartoon was allowed to use that word regarding Mr. Sinister which I thought was stupid. Therefore the Sinister Six was called the Insidious Six in the show.

How was Peter a douche in that series?

[Dr. Skeleton]

How was Peter a douche in that series?

Sometimes he would belittle people. Not just the villains, but about Mary Jane before he met her when Aunt May was trying to set them up, and even Debra Whitman in the first episode like she was inconveniencing him. And of course, the times he would be whining and crying when things don't go his way like the episode he snapped at Black Cat for rescuing a cat during a battle and the one based on "The kid who collected Spider-Man" in which that terminally-ill girl sent Peter a message requesting if she could meet Spider-Man through him, but he quickly disregarded the letter because he was too busy feeling sorry for himself. Whatta guy.

[Agent Z]

Sometimes he would belittle people. Not just the villains, but about Mary Jane before he met her when Aunt May was trying to set them up, and even Debra Whitman in the first episode like she was inconveniencing him. And of course, the times he would be whining and crying when things don't go his way like the episode he snapped at Black Cat for rescuing a cat during a battle and the one based on "The kid who collected Spider-Man" in which that terminally-ill girl sent Peter a message requesting if she could meet Spider-Man through him, but he quickly disregarded the letter because he was too busy feeling sorry for himself. Whatta guy.

He was reluctant to meet MJ in the comics too. The scene with Black Cat and the stray resulted in a suspect escaping so it's understandable he'd be angry (this was also when MJ was missing). And how he acted in that episode about the ill girl was in response to his guilt over accidentally destroying s medical lab. There are times his behaviour is less than pleasant but it's understandable when given context. And it's nowhere near as bad as it was in the comics.

[Paul-Phoenix]

Sometimes he would belittle people. Not just the villains, but about Mary Jane before he met her when Aunt May was trying to set them up, and even Debra Whitman in the first episode like she was inconveniencing him. And of course, the times he would be whining and crying when things don't go his way like the episode he snapped at Black Cat for rescuing a cat during a battle and the one based on "The kid who collected Spider-Man" in which that terminally-ill girl sent Peter a message requesting if she could meet Spider-Man through him, but he quickly disregarded the letter because he was too busy feeling sorry for himself. Whatta guy.

Yeah, that whole anti-Mary Jane thing was from the comics. And it's understandable, because before Peter actually saw her face, the way Aunt May described MJ to Peter made her seem like some kind of a 'wholesome prude' (in the comics). Can't really remember how it was like in the '90s series, but I'm sure it's justified. As for Debra Whitman, she was inconveniencing him to the point where his superheroics were affected. She was annoying to the point of pestering him.

The 'whining' and 'crying' are subjective and perspective-based, so I won't bother to defend that one too much, though I'd say that complaining about everyday problems you're facing in your own head isn't really the same as 'whining', and it works better in the comics, because in an animated series, it might seem like you're talking out loud.

Anyway, this is obviously my personal opinion, but I didn't really enjoy The Spectacular Spider-Man. I know a lot of people love it, and I do recognize its good writing, but the character-designs of the villains just really put me off, especially Venom's mouth-chest. That was just... weird.

That being said, I also recognize the bad writing of the '90s animated series now that I've looked back, but nostalgia values have kept me emotionally-attached to the series. Take that as you will. It's not really an objective criticism of which series is better. It's kinda like how some people find the '89 Batman movie or even Batman Returns to be more enjoyable than The Dark Knight, albeit not 'objectively better', whatever that means in the artistic realm.

Finally, the worst series is without a doubt Ultimate Spider-Man, of course. I might not really like Spectacular as much, but its jokes were brilliantly-written and were far funnier than the '90s quips. Ultimate had neither the '90s nostalgia nor Spectacular's wit and intelligence.

[Red Z]

Sometimes he would belittle people. Not just the villains, but about Mary Jane before he met her when Aunt May was trying to set them up

I don't think he was really belittling MJ, he was just annoyed that her aunt was trying to set him up with someone he doesn't know against his wishes based on the fact that the date was Anna's niece alone. Most people would be annoyed to have a blind date forced upon them.

and even Debra Whitman in the first episode like she was inconveniencing him.

Well, the writers gave him that attitude toward Debra because she's supposed to be annoying and pompous.

And of course, the times he would be whining and crying when things don't go his way like the episode he snapped at Black Cat for rescuing a cat during a battle

He was just scolding her because he cared about her and she almost got herself killed saving a stray cat. Plus he was edgy at the time due to MJ's disappearance.

[Dr. Skeleton]

Yeah, it's been a long time since watching the 90's Spider-Man so I would forget certain bits and pieces. I already knew about how Peter acted the way he did in the comics about the whole MJ thing. The series could be better if not for the Fox censors and direction.

[comicscollector]

It is a draw between Spider-Man 2003 and Spider Man Unlimited to me.
They were terrible cartoons,ugh.

[ishikabe]

Whoever voted for the 1994 Spider-Man is trolling.

[Celgress]

Ultimate Spider-Man gets my vote mainly because it has zero to do with typical Spidey continuity, unlike say Spider-Man (1994) or Spectacular Spider-Man.

[TheLemsterPju]

The Spider-Man lore has been the same for so many years that when a new incarnation comes ups and really changes the status quo, a lot of fans just can't accept change. "It's not MY Spider-Man, so it sucks", basically; no matter which way you look at it.

Ultimate Spider-Man is far better-written than Spider-Man Unlimited. The latter of which if more worthy of "Worst Spider-Man cartoon".

[KCJ506]

Ultimate Spider-man. I don't hate the show, but it portrays the characters like morons. Probably the most irresponsible portrayal of Peter. The show constantly does 4th wall breaking jokes(which for the most part aren't even funny). Out of all the main characters, the only one that's actually likeable is Iron Fist.

Now I've heard that the recent seasons are better, but now it's a case of too little too late.

I hope noboby thinks something is bad just because it is old. This is the dumbest way to judge something.

I think judging something just by the art is even dumber. Which at least 90% of the people that dislike Spectacular do. I mean it's one thing to be turned off by the art(it is pretty much an acquired taste), but to determine the overall quality of the show just because you don't like it's visuals is rather shallow and also show's that person's validity as a critic. That's pretty much the equivalent of saying a bad game with good graphics is better than a good game with inferior graphics.

[Tuck]

I hope noboby thinks something is bad just because it is old. This is the dumbest way to judge something.

It often feels like the opposite is the case.

People will like something because it's old. It's the "original" or "classic" or they remember how much they loved it as kids.

I loved anything Spider-Man when I was a kid. Now, Spectacular and the 94 series are really the only tolerable animated series out of all of them.

[mysterio1989]

Whoever voted for the 1994 Spider-Man is trolling.

Or maybe some fans have taken off their nostalgia tinted glasses in realizing how poor the quality was.

I think judging something just by the art is even dumber. Which at least 90% of the people that dislike Spectacular do. I mean it's one thing to be turned off by the art(it is pretty much an acquired taste), but to determine the overall quality of the show just because you don't like it's visuals is rather shallow and also show's that person's validity as a critic. That's pretty much the equivalent of saying a bad game with good graphics is better than a good game with inferior graphics.

Thank YOU!! Unfortunately a large majority of fans prefer their cartoons to be as close to the comics in look as possible to me if the cartoon is too overly detailed the animation suffers. Spider-man in my opinion should always focus less on details of his character and be more about animation because he is all about the speed and agility of a spider without the fast pace animation he comes across as typical street level hero in fight scenes.

[Red Z]

I think judging something just by the art is even dumber. Which at least 90% of the people that dislike Spectacular do. I mean it's one thing to be turned off by the art(it is pretty much an acquired taste), but to determine the overall quality of the show just because you don't like it's visuals is rather shallow and also show's that person's validity as a critic. That's pretty much the equivalent of saying a bad game with good graphics is better than a good game with inferior graphics.

I see people do that for movies all the time. "X movie sucks, it has terrible CGI/too much CGI!"

Or maybe some fans have taken off their nostalgia tinted glasses in realizing how poor the quality was.

Nonsense. The quality in that show was pretty uneven. Some episodes were fantastic, some were mediocre, some were terrible. It's nowhere near the worst, given that many of the other cartoons were entirely bad or entirely mediocre.