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

The influence of Spider-Man: The Animated Series cannot be denied when it comes to all of the Spider-Man media that has followed. The Fox Kids hit series brought about many changes to the character and his co-stars, all of which would filter over into the comic series, future movies, and the numerous video games released since it premiered in 1994. Some alterations include the murder of Uncle Ben, changing the location of his murder in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002 to a wrestling match and not a TV studio. Spider-Man 3 altered how the black costume affected Peter Parker, adding the personality changes that opened the door for Tobey Maguire’s infamous dance and created a new lore behind the suit. The film also recreates the exact moment from the Animated Series where Spider-Man wakes up in the symbiote suit while hanging upside down next to a building.

A lot of the influence is still revealing itself in the current Spider-Man offerings, especially when it comes to the Spider-Verse films. Crossovers and team-ups between alternate versions of a hero have always been ripe fruit within the Marvel Universe; Spider-Man, in particular, has had a few team-ups with his future self and his alternate universe counterparts. Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 first teamed together in a 1995 one-shot, and then we were introduced to the Clone Saga shortly before the multiverse of Spider-Men entered the fray.

Spider-Men from Brian Michael Bendis set the stage for a larger team-up between the different Parkers and Spider-People from across the board, adding Miles Morales to the mix, also. Dan Slott would take that concept and his experience with the game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, to craft the Spider-Verse concept within the comics canon. And while Slott says “no” about Spider-Man: The Animated Series being the biggest influence on his run, look no further than the final two episodes of the series: “Spider Wars.”

What Are The “Spider Wars” Episodes About?

The close of Spider-Man: The Animated Series takes its cues from the “Secret Wars” episodes that directly preceded “Spider Wars”. This plays out similarly to the original comic event, with Spider-Man teaming with the Fantastic Four, Avengers, and Storm against the team of Doctor Doom, Red Skull, Doc Ock, Lizard, and Alistair Smythe. A big difference, other than Spider-Man convincing Dr. Doom to return the Beyonder’s powers and ending the conflict, is that the whole ordeal was actually a test by Madame Web and the Beyonder to train Spider-Man for war against Spider-Carnage, to stop him from destroying the entire multiverse.

The mysterious pair introduces Spider-Man to his fellow Spider-Men, including a version with Doc Ock’s arms, the mutated six-armed Spider-Man, Armored Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, and finally, an actor portraying Spider-Man. Each version comes with a unique backstory that tweaks the original Spider-Man’s origins or goes in a different direction than what we’ve seen. Armored Spider-Man, for example, is an arrogant billionaire playboy, while Mutated Spider-Man still risks transforming into Man-Spider despite adapting to the situation. The Spider-Men take on the team of villains led by Spider-Carnage, and featuring Hobgoblin, Green Goblin, and Kingpin. The episodes also tie in with the Clone Saga, making it the catalyst for Peter Parker to become the version of Spider-Carnage we see after the symbiote overtakes his body. The show would have revealed that Spider-Carnage was the actual clone opposite Scarlet Spider, who turned out to be the real Spider-Man of that story.

The main Spider-Man and his Spider-Team eventually defeat Spider-Carnage, facing him in Armored Spidey’s world, where Uncle Ben is alive and plays his part to convince the corrupted Peter to give up his revenge. He sadly couldn’t get the symbiote off his body, so Spider-Carnage jumps into a portal that kills him, sacrificing himself. Spider-Man wins the day, and he’s rewarded by being taken to reunite with Mary Jane Watson after his multiversal fight. He also got to meet Stan Lee at one point.

Spider-Verse

That was the last time we saw the animated Spider-Man until he returned in a cameo during X-Men ’97 on Disney+, but it was far from where the animation’s influence would be felt. Slott’s work on Shattered Dimensions in 2010, a video game featuring Spider-Man teaming with his Ultimate version, the Noir version, and Spider-Man 2099, really set the stage for Spider-Verse. While the game scratched an itch for the writer, he was stuck on only having four Spider-Men to play around with in the books.

And despite Slott saying he wasn’t directly influenced by Spider-Man: The Animated Series, the influence still exists in the franchise’s DNA. He confirmed as much on Twitter, noting that his Shattered Dimensions experience truly sparked his work with Spider-Verse. He also answered some questions and revealed what was off limits to him while writing. As he explains, there were only a few Spider-Men who were off the table to use in the series.

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“There were around 7 Spider-Men were weren’t allowed to use in the original Spider-Verse comics for one reason or another. Zombie Spider-Man was one of those,” he wrote. “As were Spider-Boy (co-owned by DC) and any of the Sony co-owned Spideys.” What would result is an event that has defined Spider-Man for the past decade and seems poised to influence Spider-Man for years to come.

“Spider Wars’” Influence Is Still Being Felt

While Spider-Verse is its own thing and far from a secondary showdown split off from Secret Wars, both the original comic and the animated version have plenty of parallels. Slott’s story and all that would follow under the Spider-Verse banner stand on their own, likely making any direct adaptation very difficult. Explaining Morlun and the Inheritors, and their need to kill Spiders all across the multiverse, isn’t exactly an easy thing for mainstream audiences to digest. Folks have come a long way, especially with understanding the multiverse and the confusion it can spark. But for the mainstream audiences, there seems to be some more distance to travel in conservative terms.

But Spider-Verse has made the jump to the big screen in the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It has also played out in the MCU with Spider-Man: No Way Home, bringing back Spider-Man villains and the two previous actors to play Peter Parker: Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. If you are looking for Spider-Verse on the big screen, this is what you’re looking for at the movies. Why? It has the same spirit as the comics and the same appreciation for what has come before. Where the comic pulls from all corners to introduce Spider-Men of all shapes and sizes, No Way Home pulls from all of the movies. Having Maguire, Garfield, and the current Spider-Man, Tom Holland, team up is likely as close to a live-action Spider-Verse as we will ever get. We also got all the best past versions of Spider-Man’s villains, namely Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock from the Sam Raimi films.

As for its animated counterparts, a third entry, subtitled Beyond the Spider-Verse, is set to arrive in 2027. And where the live-action Spider-Men are limited, there is no limit placed on the characters featured in the animated hits. We’ve seen Spider-Ham, Spider-Punk, Bombastic Bag-Man, the Insomniac video game Spider-Men, Spider-Monkey, Spider-Rex, and dozens more appear in the animated films. Countless others are likely to appear in the third film.

If anything, Spider-Verse takes the concept introduced in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and elevates it beyond the versions of the character we see. Better yet, it still has a ton to offer thanks to its sequels and spin-offs, including the Venomverse books. We also have a ton of examples for what not to do, typically from the minds of Sony Pictures and their live-action movies focusing on Spider-Man’s villains. But looking back on “Spider Wars” and what would follow for the character in all media, it’s hard to deny it isn’t a piece of the Spider-Verse puzzle. It was the first time the greater Marvel Universe appeared in the same animated show, the first time Spider-Man teamed with a team of alternate Spider-Men, and the first to put a series of villains in the mix. Spider-Verse has shaped the character for modern audiences, similar to major Spider stories like The Clone Saga, Brand New Day, and the Alien Costume Saga.

You can catch Spider-Man: The Animated Series on Disney+ and enjoy “Spider Wars” yourself. At the very least, you’ll get to relive a quality final season and episodes of the animated series. Will we get more references when Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars enter theaters? Let us know in the comments.