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Ultimate Spider-Man Comes to TV
A new animated series seems to signal the end for Spectacular Spider-Man.
A new animated Spider-Man series is coming next year – the announcement of which seems to signal the unceremonious end for The Spectacular Spider-Man.
The new series, Ultimate Spider-Man, was announced today as debuting fall 2011 on Disney XD. WorldScreen.com quotes Eric Rollman, President of Marvel animation: "Ultimate Spider-Man will be a unique journey exploring our favorite web-slinger as he teams up with other fan favorite Marvel Super Heroes in never before seen stories with a new life filled with great challenges, new friends, intense action and character growth."
Spider-Man's TV future had been in a huge state of flux the past year. Spectacular was produced by Sony, under a previous deal with Marvel. But last summer, the TV rights to Spider-Man returned fully to Marvel (Sony still has the film rights to the character), meaning if Spectacular were to continue, it would involve Marvel fully taking over the show.
With many months of near-silence on the subject, it hadn't been looking good for Spectacular. This past weekend, Marvel Comic's Tom Brevoort was asked about Spectacular on formspring, and simply said, "That was a wonderful cartoon, but finished now." Though asked for clarification, he added, "I'm not officially connected to the show, so I can't tell you anything officially; the people connected with it will have to do that."
As the title suggests, Ultimate Spider-Man will be influenced by Brian Michael Bendis' comic book of the same name, focusing on a teenage Peter Parker, still in high school. Of course The Spectacular Spider-Man was already covering this same ground, and involved many elements from Ultimate, incorporating characters and scenarios first introduced in the Bendis books. All of which is to say that for fans of Spectacular, like myself, this is a frustrating scenario, since that series was doing such a great job telling classic Spider-Man stories in animation and it's a shame to see it come to an end after just two seasons.
So what could make this situation more palatable? How about letting the uber-talented men behind Spectacular, Greg Weisman and Victor Cook, again guide the character in Ultimate Spider-Man? Let me clarify - I haven't heard anything about that occurring, nor any specifics on who will be behind the scenes on Ultimate. I'm just saying what I would love to see happen…
It's worth noting that due to Sony previously holding the rights to Spider-Man alone, no other Marvel heroes could appear on Spectacular - and Rollman's quotes make it clear this won't be the case on Ultimate Spider-Man, where guest stars will play a role.
I've reached out to both Eric Rollman and Greg Weisman for comment on this situation and will update if I hear back from either of them.
Below is the official description of Ultimate Spider-Man, from Marvel Animation:
Marvel Animation has greenlit an all-new Spider-Man animated series titled Ultimate Spider-Man. Ultimate Spider-Man will tell a coming of age story, where hapless Peter Parker evolves from a naïve teen hotshot to a true hero who comes to terms with his origins and abilities. Along the way, he will have to navigate challenging relationships with mentors and super-colleagues, and emerge with a better understanding of his parents' legacy and his own destiny. Disney XD will be the primary worldwide television platform for the all-new series which launches in Fall 2011. Eric Goldman |
