You all know by now that "Spider-Man 3" is out this week and will probably make more money that the annual GDP of several developing nations.
But what you might not know is that ol' Spidey has had a history on the small screen as well, even if none of the ventures was nearly as successful — or good — as the film series.
Here's a look back:
"Spider-Man" (1967 animated series) — The first attempt to adapt the character to another medium remains one of the best. Started just five years after the character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko at Marvel Comics, this show may seem quaint by today's standards but looked almost exactly like the early comic books and gave the world the infamously catchy "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can" theme song. It's in your head now, isn't it?
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Available on DVD? The six-disc "Spider-Man — The '67 Collection" contains all 52 episodes.
"The Electric Company" — Hey, you guys! Aging Gen Xers will remember the "Spidey Super Stories" that were a part of this educational PBS kids show. In this incarnation, the live-action Spider-Man talked only in speech balloons (to help kids learn how to read, I guess). He didn't encounter anyone from the comic books, but he did tangle with slightly less threatening foes like the Can Crusher, who — that's right — crushed people's cans in the grocery store. Diabolical.
Available on DVD? There are several "The Electric Company" collections on DVD, but many of the Spidey segments are edited out due to rights issues.
"The Amazing Spider-Man" (1978 live-action series) — CBS had hits in the late '70s with the "The Incredible Hulk" and "Wonder Woman," and thought this could be the next big show, but it was canceled after 15 episodes. I've only seen a couple of episodes, but I think I know why — it sucked. There were almost no ties to the comic book, and it essentially made "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" look hard-hitting.
Available on DVD? Mercifully, no.
"Spider-Man" (1978 Japanese live-action series) — What this show has in common with the Spider-Man comic book: the costume. Everything else is complete insanity as can only be provided by Japanese entertainment, replete with the requisite giant robots and monsters. In this version, Spider-Man got his powers from a UFO, and his arch-nemesis was named — wait for it — Professor Monster.
Available on DVD? Not this side of the Pacific, but you can find clips on YouTube, and it's worth it.
"Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" — As the title suggests, Spidey was joined by two amazing friends in this '80s cartoon — Firestar and Iceman. They all live together in Aunt May's home, along with a yippy dog named Ms. Lion. Undoubtedly, the best part was how Peter Parker could transform his room into a supersecret crime lab just by moving a football trophy.
Available on DVD? Sadly, no plans for a release. Write your congressional representative.
"Spider-Man" (1994 animated series) — I remember having really high hopes for this show before it aired, but even as an 11-year-old, I realized it wasn't very good. It had a couple of major problems: First, Spider-Man never shut up — he was constantly narrating everything he did. Second, I'm pretty sure he didn't punch one bad guy in the entire run of the show. I'm all for not promoting violence to kids, but c'mon now.
Available on DVD? Several episode collections available.
"Spider-Man: Unlimited" — This cartoon was a 1999 sequel to the 1994 one, and transported Spider-Man into an alternate, "Planet of the Apes"-like reality where humans are second-class citizens to human/animal hybrids. Baffling.
Available on DVD? No, sir.
"Spider-Man: The New Animated Series" — After the success of the first "Spider-Man" movie, MTV launched this computer-animated series in the summer of 2003. They were allegedly aiming for a younger, hipper demographic, but the main characters were voiced by Neil Patrick Harris, Lisa Loeb and Ian Ziering — all a lot hipper in 1993 than 2003.
Available on DVD? Yep, the complete series.
"The Amazing Spider-Man" (2008 animated series) — Planned Spider-Man cartoon to debut on Kids WB! on The CW next year.
Available on DVD? If you have access to a time machine.
