Spider-Man TV (1981) Solo (Introduction)
Trying to re-activate interest for a TV version of Spidey, Marvel Productions created this solo Spider-Man cartoon in 1981. The NBC network was interested but believed the concept needed some added elements to make it more accessible for a larger audience. Hence Iceman and Firestar were added in the next year's follow-up show – Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (TV).
But before his Friends arrived, the this solo cartoon ran for a year and recycled the formula of the Spider-Man TV (1967) show: Peter Parker lives with his Aunt May and is a photographer for J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. His responsibility to be Spider-man causes problems with his work, his studies, and his romantic involvement with Betty Brant.
While the continuity seems to follow-on directly from Spider-Man TV (1967), this series is officially considered to be a separate, standalone continuity. The official "Earth" continuity definitions are:
- Earth-6799 is the Spider-Man TV (1967).
- Earth-8107 is this solo series and Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (TV).
This solo show ran for a single season of 26 episodes (22 minutes each).
Doctor Doom was the most prevalent of the featured villains. Four of the six "Doctor Doom" episodes were compiled into a movie-length video Dr. Doom Conquers the World released on VHS format by "Children's Video Playground" (Prism).
The series was released on DVD by "Clear Vision" in the UK. They re-titled the series as "Spider-Man 5000" in order to differentiate it from the multitude of various other TV Cartoon series featuring Spider-Man.
Cast Information
Creators and designs were shared between this 1981 solo show and the immediately following "Amazing Friends", but the voice cast was different.
The voices for the recurring Solo cast were:
Peter Parker/Spider Man - Ted Schwartz
Aunt May - Linda Gary
J. Jonah Jameson - William Woodson
Betty Brant - Mona Marshall
Audio Files
MP3 format sound files.
- Solo Series Theme (MP3, 122 Kb)