Sixteen years ago, Fox KIDS produced a show which introduced millions of future geeks to the Wall Crawler in all his 3-D animated glory…
Two years ago, the WB did the same thing…
How does the former hold up against time and nostalgia itself? Let’s find out…
Credits
Written By: Gerry Conway, Stan Berkowitz, John Semper
Music Composed By: Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahchi
Animation Services By: Toyko Movie Shinsha (TMS)
Based on Amazing Spider-Man # 6
THE PLOT: University student Peter Parker spends his free time dressing up as a crime fighter and taking pictures of himself chasing after reckless drivers. When a creature dubbed “The Lizard” shows to have connections to his Science professor, young Parker must overcome his prejudice of the sewers and stalk the creature as the Amazing Spider-Man!
LONG STORY SHORT: Spider-Man manages to revert the Lizard back to Curt Connors, nab the pix needed for the $1000 reward bonus, and end the day with forced bed rest from his doting Aunt May. All in a day’s work for our hero.
MY THOUGHTS: Right off the bat I feel I must illustrate how this is a very hard episode to review, let alone the series itself. Without giving away too much of the mystery that is “that guy who reviews the cartoons”, I am a child of the nineties. With that comes gained knowledge of much of the Marvel Universe through the various animated series that were being shelled out through the decade. X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Hulk and later Hulk and She Hulk Hour *shudders*. I, like many others, was there to absorb and obtain character and concepts through generally great voice acting and lame animation. So when it comes time to review the most prolific Marvel cartoon to come out of that decade, one approaches the task with a modicum of worry. Is it possible to be objective, diplomatic and fair? Or will I drown in the sea of nostalgia with its bliss of reminiscence?
Thankfully enough time has passed where I can at least put on a face of objectivity, and if I fail to move beyond throes of nostalgia whimsy then I can at least comment on what plagues the show in general. This is the funny thing about the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon, and something similar I found happening to the relative opinion of Spider-Man 3. For all its flaws (and there are a number of them from episode to episode) the series does do a heck of a lot of things so very right that I personally feel they get lost through time and memory. This premiere episode in particular is in my opinion a great example of how amazing the show really could be at times, and though the majority of the episodes in the future fail to meet the level of quality, to discount it being presented here is to greatly undermine true art being produced. What makes “Night of the Lizard”
difficult to review is that the plot is strictly linear and simplistic. There is no set up besides character establishment and Eddie Brock’s hatred of Spider-Man, and nothing concerning the story differs greatly from a typical monster movie plot, nor does it from the Lizard’s stories in Amazing Spider-Man. And yet this episode stands above nearly all other sixty-four that follow in how the little things truly make this quality entertainment. For one thing the animation is absolutely perfect. TMS is a well-renowned Japanese animation studio that has done work for various other 90s cartoons such as Tiny Toons, Batman: the animated series, Superman and Batman Beyond. (Return of the Joker is the last time I remember recognizing and seeing its work) Its style works wells off of highly animated and energetic characters such as super heroes, and Spider-Man is no exception. The way in which he’s captured physically is almost devilish in design, making him agile, athletic, strong and fast without straying from the natural and even humanistic. This is easily the best I’ve ever seen Spider-Man in terms of movement, with the MTV series coming in a (distant) second. The reason? Subtlety. With every move one can see the personality of Peter Parker, both in his costumed identity and his civilian persona. The way he lazily swings off the top of the building right at the beginning, the subdued but powerful grace he displays when swinging from the streetlamp he webbed Brock to, to the cries of Billy Connors; it all screams “Kirby” in essence, which really is appropriate when displaying the body language of a man who can press 15-20 tons on any given day, and yet should appear as an “everyman”.
Other voices do well with what their given, proving later in the series their own personal merit. First appearances of Joeseph “Robbie” Robertson and Debra Whitman into the modern mainstream are done with respect to their comic book counterparts, moreso with Debra considering her character had taken a much more drastic turn for the worse in her respective storyline. 
Other things to note is that while the show was notorious for it’s neutered restrcitions from violence, it’s not heavily felt in this episode as it is in future episodes. Which is probably why ABC Family had the shots of Spidey and “Margeret” (Why was Martha’s name changed?) getting thwacked by Lizard’s tail cut out in recent showings. Spidey sinking into Lizard’s back is still shown, as well as it’s place in the credits still remain intact funny enough. To Disney’s credit, this first episode does have a very dark tone to it overall. Peter’s inner monologue takes place mainly in the sewer where he admits to himself he’s making a joke out of the situation to hide his fear from himself, which is a very mature thing to have on a kid’s program. And that was the trend of the 1990s in general, especially towards children’s television. Things were implemented that appealed to all ages and pandered to no one. The Spider-Man of the comics is alive and well in this episode, and his appeal can extend to adults as well as children. And when kids can confuse their selves with specific targeted audience, the overall enjoyment factor always rises. That’s how I can watch this show today in the year 2010 (the future!) and say with all seriousness that this show did something really great back in the day. Of course, whether I’ll be saying that for the majority of the episodes down to line is unknown. 
Overall, whether sweet sweet nostalgia blinded me or this was truly something great, the results the same. This is one of the best Spider-Man episodes of anything, period. This could’ve been a 30 minute short like Pryde of the X-Men and I still would’ve loved it. By that token, it does work very well as a one-off, and maybe that’s what I liked about it considering how continuity laden the show gets by next season. Even then, that was something new to superhero cartoons…
…I’ve talked too much. 5/5 “MARY JAAANE!!!”s Best Quote Contender- Spider-Man: “Why is it always a sewer? Why can’t I be one of those galaxy-hopping superheroes like the Avengers? Never have I seen the Avengers have to go in a sewer, or the Defenders. Well…maybe the Hulk…” all images taken from marvel.toonzone.net.
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I do not think you may be appropriate, have you in fact looked at the information?
Funnily enough re reading the posts Persian never gives reasons why he likes any of the things he likes
I’m not angry at u btw I don’t mean to insult you or offend I just feel like when you say things like that u attack my opinon and the opinion of everyone who posts in favor of this show including the reviewer. It feels like u’re calling me out at the very least sometimes man just stating your opinion is a good route I can respect your reasons for disliking the show you should extend that courtesy to the rest of the board.
Whoa whoa whoa Persian my second post is a reason why I love the TAS I also love it for these reasons an overall story line tha guided the series up til it’s conclusion, playing outside the spidey box by bot being afraid to add other superheroes something tssm will not likely do or couldn’t do, I love that the show gave us great portrayals of some great villians the kingpin episodes were great, oh yes and Ed Asner IS JJJ the guy in tssm is only passable in that role dialogue saves the current version not vocals. Touching upon the clone saga great and secret wars was just fun. And as I said before this show had one the GREATEST ENDINGS IN THE HISTORY OF ANIMATION. never before or since have I seen a show end on such a great note it might not been intended to be the series finale but it works as one. Also Persian I know the flaws of this this show were many but man I feel that way about TSSM Apeing scenes from spider-man 2.
In any case don’t say people don’t have reasons for liking things just because they don’t want to waste board space and list them like you do also your opinion isn’t the only one that holds any validity and the people of the board don’t OWE you any explination. I only listed my reasons above so you cannot say I didn’t explain my reasons for loving this show.
@Ironspidey1983:
For your Info, I gotta say that I do really love the following adaptations of Spidey:
Spectacular Spider-man (all the 23 episodes except the Kraven episode)
I love Spider-man 1 &2
Spider-man and His Amazing Friends (although I gotta admit that the series was not that great in general but I like it for nostalgic reasons and I am sure not blinded by nostalgia)
The last 2 episodes and the Lizard episode in the MTM animated series
Spider-man Vs. the Kingpin (Sega Genesis) Spider-man (PS1), Spider-man the Movie (PS2), Spider-man 2 (PS2), Ultimate Spider-man (PC & PS2 and I have beaten each of them 100 times
by the way, unlike you i can give tons of good reasons why i like each and every one them
@Ironspidey1983
I try to have them out at least twice a week during the weekdays like I did for Spectacular Spider-Man. I was involved with a Spidey-related podcast last night, but expect the next review to come up REAL soon!
Oh man I know this is a ways off, but I think this show had one of the MOST SATISFYING endings of any show that is taken off the air seiously it wasn’t meant to be a series finale but completely works as a finale it makes the whole journey with the tv show worthwhile. While I admit this show had some major flaws alot of them come from fox s&p censorship. But the things this show got right it got RIGHT. Most importantly I never felt this show talked down to me or treated like a child. Something I think TSSM does great as well I think having seen every animated incarnation this held the crown as number 1 for a long time TSSM is making a good bid but I have to question it’s longevity but shit at least it’s gotten a second season spidey unlimited and MTV spidey couldnt get past one season
Great review 1st off, second off I’m 26 I was 11 when this show dropped I was “that age” when you discover comics and you either fall in love or you move past it. I’m young but my First intro to spidey was not this show but some old reruns of the 60’s series my dad had taped for me when I got older. So I had a pretty good idea if what spidey animated was like by the time TAS and this was so much better by comparison to the 60s show. TAS made my love for spidey into a full blown obssesion and was my gateway drug as I was so hooked after watching this show that I actively began hunting for comics instead of occasionally picking up one or two off the spinner rack at the PX/BX. Like I said before I’m now 26 this show started me On a fifteen yr journey.
Hmm this is not an insult or an attack
but I sometimes wonder if Persian spider likes anything he always seems so mad when he posts. Lol
I can’t wait for the rest of the reviews on this series do u have a schedule u would like to maintain for this set of reviews? I just ask as I’m looking forward to more reviews
@persian-spider:
I did tell you before that I’m a Spidey geek that I always rate a story just cause it’s Spidey 4/5
I think there are bad things in shows, but I still try to make the good shine and think what bad as weird
@Hambone, nothing weird about that 😉
@abdulaziz
you may like anything you like and you can say anything you like about anything
but the difference between me and people who like this show is that i offer good reasons for what i like but you dont
Your gonna have plenty of fun reviewing the episodes that had a bunch of clip editing using old footage! Ha 🙂
Is it wierd that I thought Mrs. Conners was kinda hot when I was a kid? 😉
GregXB & Mahdi/persian-spider sure don’t blend well when it’s about this show
I like this show, and like this review
5/5…………………….Mary……Jaaane….?????
MUAHHAAAHAAHAAHAAAAAHAAAHHAAAAHAAAAAH
@Donovan HA!
great review but the show was not really that great. the first season episodes were watchable but the rest were not really that good
Awesome review dude. Man I love that show.
One thing this show had which SSM doesn’t:
http://fightersgeneration.com/characters/venom-a9.html
Let me preface this. I grew up reading “Spider-Man” comic books. I was born in 1981, and I started on Spidey in 1983… I learned to read with Spidey comics. This character has been a part of my life for that long. Mostly, they were Lee/Ditko or Lee/Romita reprints, but I was also reading current comics off the stand at the time.
So, I was already a life long Spider-Man fan well before the 90s cartoon came out. It was a cartoon that I remember being hyped about. Unfortunately, it was a very underwhelming disappointment. I know Spider-Man, and for me, that was not Spider-Man.
I think what it comes down to is that it was aping the 90s comics of the time to a tee. I mean, look at what they did with Vulture!
I like Mary Jane a lot as a character, but I hated her in that show. I didn’t like her design. I didn’t like her voice. I didn’t like the way they wrote her. And I didn’t like that they essentially made her the Lois Lane of the show. Yes, Mary Jane is THE ONE. I am more than cool with that. What I am not cool is that she was THE ONE, THE ONLY, THE ALWAYS. Felicia Hardy was around, but honestly, never even seriously interested in Pete.
But, more than that, there was stuff in that show that outright angered me.
It’s a huge stretch that they had Peter Parker accept the Kingpin financing his wedding. How many people gave their kneecaps for his wedding? That’s certainly not very responsible, and, in my eyes, almost as bad as making a deal with Mephisto.
That, and Norman Osborn was a wuss in the series, living in fear of Fisk. Um… no. Norman Osborn was not a good man gone bad. Norman Osborn was a bad man gone nuts. “Spectacular Spider-Man” got him right. Semper… didn’t.
Take both Normans’ reactions to the Vulture. Semper’s Norman runs away screaming, crying, and begging for his life. Weisman’s Norman is being held by the Vulture hundreds of feet above the streets, and what does Norman say to him? “I called you a buzzard. You can’t even get the name right.”
The difference is as clear as night and day.
And Doc Ock being one of Kingpin’s flunkies. No, just no. I mean, if they have a shared interest, sure, he would work WITH Fisk. But Doc Ock is a megalomaniac. He wouldn’t cow-tow to Fisk.
Not to mention that the 90s series treatment of old people was downright offensive. Aunt May was a moron (well, up till JMS, she was in the comics as well). Aunt Anna was an evil shrew for no reason. Silvermane was just… they joked about adult diapers for crying out loud. Vulture… must I go on?
The 90s series just had animation that was painful to look at, and the dialogue was so melodramatic and over the top.
The pacing is absolutely wretched. There’s one episode where MJ gets engaged to Harry and breaks it off, all in the same episode. Most of this subplot is conveyed via loooong internal monologues.
There’s never a moment of silence, scenes last a single minute in each setting and that minute is crammed with both expository dialogue and the internal narration piecing things together for the audience. There’s nothing wrong with making the audience work a little too.
Anna Watson is another thing I didn’t like about TAS. Did she ever have any moments where she wasn’t being a miserable shrew? Any? She was so one dimensional. Even SSM’s Sally Avril had her human moments. Anna Watson… nope.
@Bryan: This series is way better than the Spectacular spidey serie
i challange you to justify what you said above. if you can only give us only one good reason why this series is better than TSSM, then i’ll be your slave forever!
I loved this series at the time. Still do as I watch it on Mavel. In some ways I like it better then the new series for the characterizations, particularily Neil Ross and ed Asner. It isn’t on the level as Spectacular Spidey as a whole, but IMO it’s high moments exceed it a this point.
Oh, but forgot to say — great review Donovan! I was worried you’d just trash the crap out of it like everyone else seems to, but I’m glad you gave it a decent review (and saved the trashing for episodes that are TRULY bad.) I agree that this is one of the best of the series. Definitely one of my favorite episodes, up there with “Turning Point” and the Alien Costume saga. The animation in this one was absolutely superb. The show definitely got cheap after this, but anyone who criticizes THIS episode’s (and the first season in general’s) animation is just a complete moron.
Not sure I get the hatred for the show. Certainly not perfect, but damn entertaining, and better than a lot of other crap. People get so bogged down in its changes from the source material when pretty much every other series has changed way more, from the deepest spirit of the characters and comic. This show at least felt like Spider-Man.
@persian-spider If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you… don’t like this series???
Thanks alot for the info and the link ChaosInc, much appreciated…and to think i’ve spent the better part of 15years thinking there was a truly profound reason for that creative swap…haha…
This series is way better than the Spectacular spidey serie
@Doc Folsome They put Hobgoblin first becuase they had already made a toy of him. Stupid as that and nothing to do with his current status in the comics.
Semper says so himself here. http://marvel.toonzone.net/spideytas/interviews/sempergoblin/
Hey Donovan, i’m really looking forward to this whole series being reviewed, i was 14yo when it debuted and it cemented my love of the wall crawler and his world. I had always thought that the reason why they underplayed Norman Osborn/Green Goblin’s significance as a villain as well as altering his origin (his working with the Kingpin, Hobgoblin’s origin preceding the GG’s, etc) was due to the fact that Norman Osborn wasn’t ‘alive’ in the comics at the time this series was created. Is there any validity to that? Does anyone else know of a possible explanation for that? i know the creative team changed a lot of what Lee/Ditko/Romita had established, but imo, if you’re gonna stick to the basics enough to give the hero webs and call him Peter Parker, than you’d have to expect the Green Goblin to be the chief antagonist and for the GG to (at the very least) arrive on the scene before the Hobgoblin…
1994 Spider-Man = Sloppy animation. Terrible terrible fight scenes. Bad one-liners. Frigging plasma-sucking-through-his-palms Morbius. Kingpin’s greatest lackey aka Doctor Octopus. Stock animation. Too many robots with zero creativity. An Electro who is the son of The Red Skull and who has nothing in common with the villain every spider-man fan has a soft spot for. An utterly idiotic and unnecessary Hobgoblin. A Punisher that shoots harmless laser beams. A Felicia Hardy that can press a button to turn herself into the Black Cat and dates Michael Morbius and has a crush on Captain America. Censorship. A Peter Parker who is as boring as Bruce Wayne and looks as cool as Leonardo Dicaprio. A Spider-man who can only kick and not punch unless he is fighting a robot for the 100th time or a spider-slayer. A Vulture who flies around sucking youth out of people. Mary Jane the clone. Or let’s launch Blade’s career because John Semper likes the character and ignore the fact that Spidey’s world and supernatural don’t mix well.
TSSM is my favorite, but the whole first season of this show was gold. Totally agree with the review.
You’re awesome to review the series, thanks bro!