Spider-Man: No Way Home’s multiverse builds on MTV’s long lost cartoon

In 2021, a kind of shared universe for cinematic properties is not only common but expected — look no further than the latest example, Spider-Man: No Way Home, the final installment of Marvel/Disney/Sony’s initial Spider-Man trilogy but also a veritable nostalgia factory. Incarnations of characters from Spider-Man’s past, formerly lost behind walls of reboots and bought-and-sold rights issues return to menace Peter Parker and make all of the money in the world at the box office. Marvel Cinematic Universe’s power to revive dead characters, whether they are fictional or franchiseable, is the basis for incessant hits of serotonin.

Almost 20 years ago, though, the idea of a fantasy series crossing multiple mediums instead of taking place in a set pattern of movie sequels was unheard of, which makes MTV’s Spider-Man: The New Animated SeriesAt the very least, it was innovative. It wouldn’t exist for very long, with its abrupt cancellation pushing it to the back corner of the pantheon of Spider-Man productions. But its existence provides a glimpse into a superhero expansion, no matter how prehistoric it feels in comparison to today’s offerings.

It was a miracle that in the early aughts we had a Spider-Man movie. It seemed that the Batman movies had exhausted all their possibilities. Blade had been received as unceasingly cool but not a game-changer; and 2000’s X-MenAlthough it was an immediate success, the characters often felt like they were being filtered through the artistic sensibilities of The MatrixThis is a genuine love letter to comics.

Sam Raimi, after decades of failed attempts to make Spider-Man, finally got the ball rolling. It became the first movie to gross over $100m in its debut weekend. This was a surprise to critics and audiences alike. This film was an unexpected and huge success. Spider-Man would not only earn a sequel but a “New Animated” TV spinoff, long before Disney+ unleashed a barrage of shows built around the hope that you’d like to see your big screen superheroes on a smaller one.

To fast track the spin-off, meant taking over a plan that was already in motion. The New Animated SeriesIt was initially envisioned as an adaptation to the popular Ultimate Spider-Man, a comic book that had began its publication just two years before Raimi’s films and was by far the most consistent of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. Devised to reboot the Marvel heroes, rebuilding the characters from the intricate web of lore and removing them from the encyclopedia of deaths, rebirths, and event series that they’d amassed since the ’60s, the Ultimate line-up was a good starting point for new fans. The show was perfect for TV, and the success of Spider-Man initiated a kind of “course correct.” Now the show would serve as a sequel and spinoff of the movie for the ravenous fans who couldn’t wait until 2004 for Spider-Man 2.

Photo: Marvel

However, the results of having a series that evolves from one idea to another are obvious right at the beginning. Peter Parker’s design is obviously modeled after his Ultimate Spider-Man counterpart, with his character trapped between the dorky everyman vibes of Tobey Maguire and the wisecracking teen of the comics. Meanwhile Mary Jane Watson, the other half of Raimi’s balance between superhero epic and romance story, looks kinda like a Kirsten Dunst caricature drawing that you’d get done at Myrtle Beach.

It’s in the supporting cast where any attempts at being a straightforward spinoff continue to unravel, disconnecting it from the films that it’s meant to be banking on. Keith Carradine plays J. Jonah Jameson, his dialogue clearly based on J.K. Simmons’ immortal performance from the film, but running on tame autopilot from Carradine. An array of Spider-Man’s prominent villains also show up over the course of the short 13-episode run, ranging from The Lizard to Kraven the Hunter to Electro to Silver Sable to others. In a 20-minute cartoon, it’s a lot to throw at a Spider-Man who spends the first two films angsting over complex personal relationships with his antagonists.

It’s a time capsule of a voice: Neil Patrick Harris is Spider-Man. This role would be his return in the next season. Spider-Man: Shattered Perspectives game. Rob Zombie voices Curt Connors (the scientist whose ambition and hubris lead him to become The Lizard). Virginia Madsen voices Silver Sable. Ethan Embry is currently starring in Grace & FrankiePerhaps, he finds his best role in Electro’s tortured electro.

The quality of their appearances vary, but a few are absolutely befuddling in the context of the franchise’s overall continuity. For example, Connors, who would be played by Dylan Baker in a “Will They/Won’t They Turn Into A Supervillain” cameo in Spider-Man 2And 3At the conclusion of episode, he is suddenly killed. Regardless of it being due to poor planning or poor communication between the creators of the film and the TV series, that certainly muddles things, especially if you’re engaging with New Animated SeriesA Raimi Spider-Man stopgap.

Image: Sony Pictures

Photo: Marvel

Then there’s the ending. Consumed by guilt with Kraven the Hunter and The Gaines Twins (voiced by Jeremy Piven and, I’m not kidding, Kathy Griffin), Spider-Man throws his costume into the harbor and gives it all up. Due to their psychological warfare, Peter is manipulated into thinking that they’ve killed both Mary Jane and then another love interest, causing him to lose faith in the efficacy of his heroism.

Evidently, this is all dependent on the moment Spider-Man 2Spidey’s return to action is imminent. The classic plot about Peter Parker giving up the superhero image due to his struggles with his life would also be the core of that movie. But there would never be a season 2, so the audience who managed to catch both was left wondering how Peter got out of this particular rut, not to mention the utter lack of indication that he’s fought the near-dozen villains that he encounters in the show. The show can’t help but feel like Spider-Man 2Consider that lite New Animated SeriesThe film never really manages to show empathy towards its characters.

However The New Animated Adventure’s is foremost a spinoff, one addition to its cast renders it as an interesting prototype for Marvel’s shared universe: The Kingpin, voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan who also portrayed the crime boss in the 2003 Daredevil film. Along with Duncan taking the role, the character’s race (Black, unlike the traditionally white Kingpin of the comics) also brings up questions of whether this, too, is connected to the films.

In the early aughts, with the cinematic and TV rights to characters still scattered to the winds after Marvel’s bankruptcy, it’s uncertain whether Kingpin’s inclusion is due to an agreement among various entertainment branches or a simple dodge past any legal issues. However, considering that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine nearly made a cameo in the first film, and Dr. Strange’s mention in the second, the Raimi trilogy is turned into a potential shared universe that just happened to only focus on the Spider-ey bits. Still, it’s a far way away from Kingpin’s latest cameo in Marvel TV, and the interconnectedness of the modern MCU with access to virtually every Marvel superhero.

Photo: Marvel

Today, The New Animated SeriesIt remains an intriguing mystery with some shining moments. Embry’s turn as Electro is the closest the series gets to the pathos of the Raimi films, with the character framed as a bullied outsider who becomes a victim of his own anger. It’s undeniably old-fashioned animation in 3D cel-shaded. However, the series is completely unique to any Spider-Man animated film. As a huge fan of Raimi’s films, it’s just nice to sit in that world for a little while, even if it’s not quite clear whether it’s Actually Sometimes, trying to make the world a better place.

Spinoff series are now characterized by long-term, specific planning. Spider-Man: The New Animated SeriesBy comparison, it is quite clumsy. It can also never escape the fact that, despite its diversions, it’s meant to coincide with the movies, meaning that in the grand scheme of Spider-Man cartoons, it’s an outlier. The cartoon to follow it, 2008’s The Spectacular Spider-Man, is one of the best superhero series of all time and is a fresh take on Spider-Man’s early years despite that story being retold copious times. It is the The Spider-Man series before it, the beloved 1994 Fox Kids cartoon, remains a nostalgic favorite (and introduced the concept of a “Spider Verse” to the screen). Even 1999’s futuristic Spider-Man Unlimited often feels more cherished, thanks to its madcap “Counter-Earth” location, another addition to this pre-In The Spiderverse Spiderverse.

But it’s a show worth watching, especially as an example of the nascent state of blockbuster franchising that would eventually become the norm across not just the Marvel Universe, but film itself. The formerly “unfilmable” Lord of the Rings Amazon Prime will offer a prequel series. Both Fast and Furious Jurassic WorldGot cartoon spinoffs. Warner Bros. and DC are jumping on the Multiverse concept for all it’s worth. There will be three live-action Batman versions as of 2022. Before all that we had a Spider-Man cartoon, which was a television series intended to adapt a comic book series and expand the universe of a movie series also based partly on this comic.