Stan Lee Hated Live-Action Spider-Man Series

Hitting theaters in just over a week is Spider-Man: Homecoming, with early reviews claiming Tom Holland could be the best live-action Spider-Man we’ve ever seen. Stan Lee, who created the wall-crawler in the early ’60s, is happy to embrace the new actor playing Peter Parker, as he hated the live-action version seen in the Spider-Man TV series.

During an interview with Emmy TV Legends that was recently uncovered by Heat Vision, Lee got candid about the series that was many audiences’ first introduction to the character.

“The Spider-Man TV series I was very unhappy with because very often, people will take a novel, let’s say, and bring it to the screen…and they will leave out the one element, the one quality that made the novel a best-seller,” Lee detailed. “With Spider-Man, I felt the people who did the live-action series left out the very elements that made the comic book popular.”

Lee continued, “They left out the humor. They left out the human interest and personality and playing up characterizations and personal problems.”

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With Peter Parker being introduced as a teenage super hero, he was known for his sarcastic remarks and wisecracks, even during battle, which was a distractionary measure to exploit his foes’ weaknesses. According to Lee, the TV series was devoid of humor and Parker’s humanity, with the series merely cashing in on the hero’s name.

Although the Marvel icon might have been disappointed with the way the show portrayed Parker’s humanity, Lee admitted to being impressed with the special effects the series managed to pull off, especially for the time.

“On a technical level, I think they did a good job,” Lee admitted. “The scenes of him climbing on the wall — in those days, they didn’t have the wherewithal that they have today, and they did a very good job with that.”

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When talking about the live-action The Incredible Hulk TV series from the late ’70s, on the other hand, Lee expressed his admiration for the show creators for what they were able to accomplish.

One of the biggest differences between the comic book Hulk and The Incredible Hulk was the show creator’s decision to not have the Hulk talk, where the comic version had the character speak in fragmented sentences. When Lee realized how the dialogue would sound coming from the show’s monster, he immediately knew it was the best decision for the show.

Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters July 7.