Spider-Man is Spectacular!!

The Spectacular Spider-Man premiered on Kids WB today at 10 AM. I caught about 6 minutes of the first episode where Spidey tangled with the Vulture and the Enforcers. I watched all of the second episode where the web-head had his first encounter with Electro. What do I think of this new Spidey cartoon? I love it! But you probably already knew that by the title of this blog entry.

The animation is nice and fluid, light years ahead of the '90s Fox Spider-Man cartoon series. Among some of my favorite scenes were when Spidey was battling villains (Vulture, Electro, Enforcers, take your pick) and web-slinging around New York. These scenes were quiet spectacular and yes that pun was intended.

Peter's interactions with his class mates were also well-done. I particularly like him walking out on Liz to fight Electro because she was ignoring his attempts to tutor her. Get this, I actually like the Gwen in this series. She isn't like the Gwen from the '60s-'70s era comics, which doesn't bother me in the least. Despite the fact that Peter is friends with Harry Osborn, Gwen seems to be Peter's best friend and you could see her getting jealous when she saw Peter tutoring Liz. Back to Liz, she may seem like a shallow cheerleader at first, but by the end of the second episode, she already begins to develop some feelings for Peter. The series has just begun and already two girls like Peter. Bring on Mary Jane!

My mother also watched the premier and she noted that Spidey looks skinny. I told her that in the early stories from the '60s, Spidey didn't have the muscled out physic he has today. I'm not sure if the character designers were taking their cue from early Steve Ditko Spidey tales or from the Ultimate Spider-Man line, but I think they made the right choice by not making a teenage Spidey ripped.

Spectacular Spidey also has some topnotch voice talent on board. Josh Keaton is someone until now, I was not aware of, but after hearing him voice Spidey/Peter Parker, I'd say he's perfect for the roll. The Vulture sounded every bit as good as his black and red costume looked. I had no idea the man playing his voice was none other than Robert Englund. For the uninitiated, he played Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I instantly recognized Electro's voice as Crispin Freeman, a man with a huge list of anime credits to his name. I can't wait until the Chameleon (voiced by Steven Blum) and Captain Stacy (voiced by Clancy Brown) make their appearances!

So there you have it! I'm already digging this new Spider-Man cartoon and it just started. For the first time in a long time, I have a reason to turn on the TV at 10 AM. Excelsior!