28 Years Ago Today, One of Marvel’s Best Animated Series Ever Ended (And It Did Something the Movies Never Will)

28 years ago today, one of Marvel’s best animated series ever ended, leaving a legacy that many later Marvel shows have attempted to live up to. Throughout the history of Marvel, all kinds of beloved animated shows have been released. The 1990s X-Men, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and more have all been released, bringing the world of Marvel to animation.

Now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the main source of non-comic Marvel media for many fans, putting many of the company’s most iconic characters on the big screen. However, the live-action nature of most of the MCU’s projects and the massive budgets mean that many of the movies have to play it safer than the animated shows of years past. Luckily, this is a problem that the finale of this show didn’t have to deal with.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Ended 28 Years Ago Today

Although 1967’s Spider-Man was the first animated series based on the iconic character, Spider-Man: The Animated Series is arguably the most iconic. The show ran for five seasons, from 1994 to 1998, and heavily delved into the lore of Spider-Man. It tackled all kinds of stories from the comics, adapting all kinds of beloved Spider-Man arcs as well as larger events like Secret Wars.

The show is known for some odd censorship choices. For example, Spider-Man didn’t use punches throughout the show, children couldn’t be put in jeopardy, and vampires couldn’t appear, meaning that Morbius had to be altered. Despite this, The Animated Series still managed to be a faithful adaptation of Spider-Man, one that is especially loved by kids who grew up in the ’90s.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series was meant to capitalize on the success of the X-Men animated show, which was a major hit for Marvel in an era where the company was barely staying afloat. Unlike X-Men, however, Spider-Man was produced in-house by Marvel Films Animation, even though the company didn’t have much creative control over the series.

While the first season was mostly made up of self-contained Spider-Man stories, later seasons featured massive story arcs. Season 2 was titled “Neogenic Nightmare,” season 3 was titled “The Sins of the Fathers,” and season 4 was titled “Partners in Danger.” Season 5 was made up of several different story arcs, those being “Six Forgotten Warriors,” “The Return of Hydro-Man,” “Secret Wars,” and “Spider Wars.”

Unfortunately, Spider-Man: The Animated Series ends after the “Spider Wars” arc, even though it concluded with a cliffhanger. The final episode ended as Madame Web transported Spider-Man through the multiverse, with the hero determined to find the real Mary Jane Watson. Unfortunately, this plot point was never properly resolved, although X-Men ’97 confirmed that Spider-Man indeed reunited with MJ.

While there have been tons of Spider-Man TV shows in the years since The Animated Series, the 1990s cartoon still stands out as a fantastic adaptation. The show admittedly has some flaws, but it undoubtedly popularized many Spider-Man stories and helped create the image of the hero that many now have in their heads.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Ends With A Story That The MCU Will Never Tell

Before Madame Web grabs Peter in the Spider-Man finale, Peter goes to an alternate universe with an actor who plays Spider-Man as a character in his universe. In this universe, our Spider-Man bumps into Stan Lee, who is shocked to see that the superhero he created is real. This universe is presumably ours, with it giving Peter the shocking revelation that he is a fictional character created by Marvel Comics.

While the Deadpool movies do offer some fourth-wall breaks, none of them will ever compare to Spider-Man himself becoming self-aware. This is far too risky a move for the MCU to take, as it would have the potential to alienate audiences. Plus, it was played off as a joke in The Animated Series, whereas they couldn’t get away with this in the movies.

Sadly, the passing of Stan Lee is another reason that this can’t happen. While Tom Holland’s Spider-Man could learn about his existence as a comic (or movie) character in other ways, he won’t be able to meet Stan Lee. His cameos in previous Marvel movies were fun, but it would be distasteful to bring him back to life.

So, Spider-Man meeting Stan Lee as himself is something that can only be found in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. This is just one of many things that makes the animated show special, and now is the perfect time to revisit it on Disney+.

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Spider-Man: The Animated Series Was Major Inspiration For the Spider-Verse More Than a Decade Before Its Debut