And so it was, the world was blessed with 1967’s Spider-Man cartoon.
Spidey’s (Paul Soles) first jump off the page started out pretty conventional by his standards.
The first season ofSpider-Mankicks off with a friendly neighborhood representation of ol' webhead.
Image by Annamaria Ward
The first season ofSpider-Manplays as a fun, by-the-numbers ’60s animated kids' show.
It doesn’t reinvent the wheel or anything.
It mostly feels like theStan LeeandSteve Ditkocomic book run coming to life.
Image via Marvel Comics Group
Honestly, half of the fun of watching this series is laughing about its cheap quality.
But even for its time,Spider-Manfeels like it was made for pennies.
And don’t forget the jazz and funk-laced soundtrack!
Image via Marvel Comics Group
(That one was a real favorite of theirs.)
We get tons of montages ofSpider-Man swingingall over New York City.
This show never ever gets tired of showing him going from A to B.
It’s so bare bones it’s hilarious.
Everyone, ranging fromSpidey to his friends and foes, is perfectly characterized.
That being said, this show cranks their personalities up quite a bit.
Everyone expresses themselves in the most lovably obnoxious way.
They all talk fairly incoherently, but either with a delivery level at 0 or 100 and no in-between.
And yet, somehow, Paul Soles' performance asSpider-Man/Peter Parkerstill absolutely rocks.
Does he sound like a teenager?
Not even a little bit.
But he’s got a great voice, so who cares?
Dude is just cracking jokes while monsters circle overheard.
He is never, ever chill.
So … thanks, J. Jonah, I guess?
Perhaps you were put off by its endlessly recycled animation and unintentionally hilarious characters.
(Who knew that before he became anunderground animation legend, Bakshi worked on kids' cartoons!)
If you know anything aboutBakshi’s works from the 1970s on, this should be no surprise.
This series deserves to earn an audience beyond the Internet just recycling its memes.
Spider-Manis available to rent on VUDU Fandango in the U.S.
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