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''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' is a 1981–1983 American
animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...
produced by
Marvel Productions Marvel Productions Ltd., later known as New World Animation, was an American production company owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of News Corporation which was founded in 1981 as the television and film studio subsidiary of the Mar ...
, considered to be a crossover series connected to the 1981 ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'' series. The show stars already-established
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
characters
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
and Iceman, along with an original character, Firestar. As a trio called the Spider-Friends, they fight against various villains of the Marvel Universe.


Production

The series was an attempt by NBC to replicate some of the success ABC enjoyed with the '' Super Friends'' franchise. The makers of the show originally intended the stars to be Spider-Man, Iceman, and the
Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...
. However, legal issues about the rights to the Human Torch character (which had also plagued Marvel once before for the 1978 ''Fantastic Four'' cartoon) led to the Human Torch being replaced by a new character, Firestar, who had similar powers, but was a mutant like Iceman. Due to Firestar's popularity with fans, she has since become a part of the mainstream Marvel Universe. In pre-production, Firestar's codename changed frequently; the unused names include Firefly, Starblaze, and Heatwave. Marvel Comics maintained a high level of creative control over the series, with
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
(co-creator of both Spider-Man and Iceman) working with the screenwriters and involving himself in the casting and animation. Some of the sound effects used in the series originated from Universal Television's ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
'' and '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century''. Adding Ms. Lion, a pet, as a character was another attempt to emulate the ''Super Friends'' (specifically the characters Wonder Dog and Gleek). Firestar actress Kathy Garver recalled that though the
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...
s for each episode were completed before the voices were recorded for it, "... we really just worked from script. We'd do a roundtable to get the feeling of how the show was going, and then we would record".


Broadcast schedule

Originally broadcast on NBC as a
Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series and live-action programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre was a ...
, the series ran first-run original episodes for three seasons, from 1981 to 1983, then aired repeats for an additional two years (from 1984 to 1986). Alongside the 1981 ''Spider-Man'' animated series, ''Amazing Friends'' was later re-aired in the late 1980s as part of the 90-minute '' Marvel Action Universe'', a syndicated series that was used as a platform for old and new Marvel-produced animated fare (the newer programming featured '' RoboCop: The Animated Series'', '' Dino-Riders'' and on occasion '' X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men'', which was a
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
for a potential
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
animated series). Mihahn and
Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
contributed some of the animation for this series.


Season changes

During the first season, each episode contained a
cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...
, which was and remains unusual for a children's cartoon. When the same episodes were re-aired later in the series' run, these teaser sequences were edited to fit after the titles and episode card. Still, the original sequence infrequently showed up on NBC's re-airings. Stan Lee did not originally narrate the episodes from this season. In the second season, the show aired along with a newly produced
Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
animated series as ''
The Incredible Hulk and the Amazing Spider-Man ''The Incredible Hulk'' is an American animated television series based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The series ran for 13 episodes on NBC in 1982, part of a combined hour with '' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (as ''The ...
''. The two shows shared one intro which showcased the new title. In place of the cold opens from the first season, Marvel Productions created 12-second previews aired immediately preceding the episodes. Stan Lee began narrating the episodes in the second season. Marvel Productions also added narrations by Lee to the first-season episodes at this time to give the series cohesion. Neither first nor second season narrations appear on the current masters, and they have not aired since the NBC airings (as seen on the Stan Lee narration list at Spider-Friends.com). For the third season, the characters' billing was reversed and the show was called, ''The Amazing Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk''. It remained that way for most of the remaining years. NBC did air the show individually in mid-season (post 1986) after it was not initially announced for their fall schedule. Only some of the Stan Lee narrations for the third season are on the current masters. The missing narrations have not aired since the NBC airings.


Storyline

Peter Parker (
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
), Bobby Drake ( Iceman), and Angelica Jones ( Firestar) are all college students at Empire State University. After working together to defeat the
Beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
and recovering the "Power Booster" he stole from Tony Stark (a.k.a.
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
) the trio decide to team-up permanently as the "Spider-Friends". They live together in Peter's
aunt An aunt is a woman who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Aunts who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. Alternate terms include auntie or aunty. Aunt, auntie, and aunty also may be titles bestowed b ...
's home with her and a pet dog named Ms. Lion, a Lhasa Apso who was adopted by Firestar. Together, the superheroes battle various supervillains. Some stories featured team-ups with other superheroes including but not limited to
Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
,
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
, Sunfire, and the mid-1970s
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
.


Characters


Original characters

A number of characters in the series were original characters that did not appear in the comics prior to the premiere of the series:


Firestar

One of the series' main characters, Firestar was created specifically for this series when the
Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...
was unavailable (due to licensing issues). The original plan was for Spider-Man to have fire and ice based teammates, so Angelica Jones/Firestar was created. Her pre-production names included ''Heatwave'', ''Firefly'', (both having already been names of
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
villains) and ''Starblaze''. Firestar did not appear in Marvel's mainstream comic book universe until ''
Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...
'' #193 (May 1985). She appears as a member of the Hellions, a group of teenage mutants who functioned as rivals to the
New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, sub ...
(a similar group under the tutelage of
Charles Xavier Professor X (Prof. Charles Francis Xavier) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 ( ...
). After leaving the Hellions, Firestar becomes a founding member of the
New Warriors The New Warriors are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics) ...
and later serves as a distinguished member of the Avengers along with her fellow New Warrior, Justice. She is currently a member of the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
.


Hiawatha Smith

Hiawatha Smith is a college professor at the Spider-Friends' university. He is the son of a heroic Native American chief who fought against the Axis during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Hiawatha Smith's home is adorned with decorations from various cultures including Hindu and native African tribes. Producer and story editor Dennis Marks created the character and admits to basing him on
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...
. Smith's father passed down to his son the mystic knowledge of their people and a map leading to a vast
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
treasure of wealth and advanced technology sought by the
Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...
. Smith often employs a boomerang in battle. He possesses a supernatural ability to communicate with animals.


Lightwave

Lightwave's real name is Aurora Dante. Like her older half-brother Bobby Drake (a.k.a. the superhero Iceman), Lightwave is a mutant. She can manipulate and control light. Her other light-based powers include laser blasts, photonic force fields and solid light pressor beams. She can also transform herself into light; in such a form, she is able to exist in the vacuum of outer space. Lightwave's only appearance was in "Save the Guardstar", the final episode of the 1980s cartoon. She is voiced by Annie Lockhart. Bobby Drake explains that they share the same mother. An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Lightwave is considered a traitor, due to
mind control Mind control may refer to: Psychology and neurology * Brainwashing, the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques * Brain–computer interface * Hypnosis * Neuroprosthetics, the technology of cont ...
by rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Buzz Mason. Mason induces Lightwave to steal assorted devices to create a "quantum enhancer" which would increase her powers 1,000 times. With such power, Lightwave would be able to control the Guardstar
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
which orbits the Earth and controls all defense systems and communications systems for the United States. Mason expects world conquest since he controls Lightwave. Iceman, Firestar, and Spider-Man attempt to stop Lightwave. However, she is powerful enough to defeat them. Aboard a space vessel, Buzz Mason forces Iceman into outer space, dooming Iceman if he remains there for long. Spider-Man convinces Lightwave to realize that the half-brother she loves is in mortal danger. Her reaction breaks Mason's control over her, and she saves Iceman and disables Mason long enough for Spider-Man to subdue him. Presumably, with Mason's role realized, S.H.I.E.L.D. restores Lightwave's good standing. As this is Lightwave's only appearance, her fate is unknown.


Videoman

Videoman is an intangible
two-dimensional A two-dimensional space is a mathematical space with two dimensions, meaning points have two degrees of freedom: their locations can be locally described with two coordinates or they can move in two independent directions. Common two-dimension ...
being with lightning bolt-shaped horns that is mostly composed of electronic data gleaned from a
video arcade An amusement arcade, also known as a video arcade, amusements, arcade, or penny arcade (an older term), is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, mer ...
. Videoman makes three appearances in the series where there are two versions of him.


=As a villain

= In Season 1, Videoman first appeared as an angular
humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. By the 20th century, the term came to describe fossils which were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of ...
energy construct created by Electro. Its abilities include moving through and manipulating electronic circuits and projecting rectangular pulses of energy. Videoman is used by Electro to suck in and entrap Spider-Man, Flash Thompson, Firestar and Iceman into a video game display where Electro attempts to destroy the four. However, Flash is able to save himself and the others by escaping through the monitor and into Electro's electronic components to save the others. This first villainous version of Videoman makes one other appearance in Season 2's "Origin of Ice-Man", with the additional abilities of bringing video game characters to life and draining the unique bio-energy of mutants, temporarily suppressing Iceman's powers and weakening Firestar, as well as being able to emulate their powers for its own use. This time, Videoman is defeated when the Spider-Friends trick it and its video game minions into attacking one another.


=As a superhero

= In the Season 3 episode "The Education of a Superhero", nerdy Francis Byte is an avid
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
player who is especially engrossed into gaining the high score on a game called Zellman Comman at the local arcade. The villain Gamesman sends a hypnotic signal that entrances over 300,000 people in the city. This does not affect Francis' girlfriend Louise, Spider-Man, and Firestar, nor does the signal affect Francis' mind, which is distracted from entrancement by Louise and the game. Louise walks away from Francis, then also gets affected and hypnotized after having her pleas disregarded by Francis. He (unbeknownst to any others) plays the arcade machine so rigorously that it and other arcade machines (most of which are emitting the hypnotic waves) explode. The explosion somehow transforms Francis into Videoman. Francis discovers that he can become his new blue and white, red-eyed alter-ego Videoman at will. However, he is completely inexperienced with his handling of such powerful abilities. He tries to help the trio (which has awakened Iceman from his trance) against a hypnotized mob, but they repel his offers due to his inexperience. He then tries to save Louise from the Gamesman, but he is easily blackmailed into manipulating a military communications satellite system in return for Louise's freedom, an offer that is then reneged upon by the Gamesman. Enraged at the trickery, Videoman helps Spider-Man and the others free Louise and also reverses his stoppage of the military computer. After the Gamesman is defeated, Francis accepts an invitation to join the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
, while Louise accepts him and his abilities. ''Videoman'' made a cameo appearance in the 2023 film '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse''. He is depicted as a prisoner of Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Society among other universe-displaced villains.


Cast


Credited cast

* Hans Conried -
Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...
(in "7 Little Superheroes") * Jerry Dexter - Sunfire (in "Sunfire") * George DiCenzo -
Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
(in "7 Little Superheroes" and "Pawns of the Kingpin"), Lance Macho * Alan Dinehart - Boris (in "The Fantastic Mr. Frump"), Sam Blockbuster (in "Spidey Goes Hollywood"), Helicopter Pilot (in "Triumph of the Green Goblin"), Norman Osborn's Pilot (in "Triumph of the Green Goblin"), Police Officer #2 (in "Triumph of the Green Goblin"), Thief #1 (in "Triumph of the Green Goblin"), Security Guard #1 (in "The Crime of All Centuries") *
Walker Edmiston Walker Robert Edmiston (February 6, 1926 – February 15, 2007) was an American actor and puppeteer. Early years Walker Edmiston was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 6, 1926, to William Sherman Edmiston (1894–1976) and Anna Edmiston ( ...
- Kingpin (in "Pawns of the Kingpin") * Michael Evans - Professor Wells * Al Fann - Swarm (in "Swarm") *
June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...
-
Aunt May Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
, Crime Computer, Judy * Kathy Garver - Firestar/Angelica Jones, Sally,
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...
(in "The X-Men Adventure") *
Dan Gilvezan Daniel John Gilvezan (born October 26, 1950) is an American actor, known for playing Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the 1981 animated series '' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' and Bumblebee in the original 1984-1987 '' The Transformers'' seri ...
- Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Zoltan Amadeus/The Arachnoid (in "Attack of the Arachnoid"), Biker Gang Leader (in "The Crime of All Centuries") * John Haymer - Skelton (in "The Crime of All Centuries"), Security Guard #2 (in "The Crime of All Centuries") * Sally Julian - Mona Osborn (in "Triumph of the Green Goblin"), Jungle Girl (in "Triumph of the Green Goblin") * Annie Lockhart - Honey Dove,
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...
(in "A Firestar is Born") * Keye Luke - Sunfire's Uncle Genju (in "Sunfire") * Dennis Marks - Dr. Faustus (in "Pawns of the Kingpin"),
Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...
/
Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...
(in "Triumph of the Green Goblin"), Police Officer #1 (in "Triumph of the Green Goblin"), Thief #2 (in "Triumph of the Green Goblin"), Cyberiad/Nathan Price (in "The X-Men Adventure") * Alan Melvin - Electro (in "Videoman") * Shepard Menkin -
Doctor Doom Doctor Doom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #5 in April 1962, and has since endured as the arch ...
(in "The Fantastic Mr. Frump") * John Stephenson - Colossus (in "The X-Men Adventure"), Eric the Viking (in "The Vengeance of Loki"),
Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
(in "The Vengeance of Loki"),
Modred the Mystic Modred the Mystic is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Bill Mantlo, Yong Montano, and Marv Wolfman, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Chillers'' #1 (October 1975). Mordred the Mystic is an ...
(in "Knights and Demons"), Shocker (in "Along Came Spidey"), Surtur (in "The Vengeance of Loki"), Thunderbird (in "The X-Men Adventure"),
Ymir In Norse mythology, Ymir (), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the ''Prose Edda'', writte ...
(in "The Vengeance of Loki") * Janet Waldo - Shanna the She-Devil (in "7 Little Superheroes"), Zerona (in "The Vengeance of Loki") * Frank Welker - Iceman/Bobby Drake, Ms. Lion,
Flash Thompson Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962). Flash ...
, Matt Murdock (in "Attack of the Arachnoid"), Mr. Jones (in "A Firestar is Born"), Uncle Ben (in "Along Came Spidey") * William Woodson -
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
(in "7 Little Superheroes"), Sub-Mariner (in "7 Little Superheroes"), J. Jonah Jameson (in "Spider-Man Unmasked!") * Alan Young - Mr. Frump (in "The Fantastic Mr. Frump")


Notable guest stars

* Michael Ansara - Hiawatha Smith (in "The Quest of the Red Skull") * Marlene Aragon - Lightwave (in "Mission: Save the Guardstar") * Michael Bell - Ariel and Bartow's father (in "Spidey Meets the Girl of Tomorrow"), Doctor Octopus (in "Spidey Meets the Girl of Tomorrow") * Bob Bergen - Bartow (in "Spidey Meets the Girl of Tomorrow") * Susan Blu - Louise (in "The Education of a Superhero"), Monica (in "Attack of the Arachnoid") * William Callaway -
Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
(in "A Fire-Star is Born"),
Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...
(in "A Firestar is Born") * Cathy Cavadini - Ariel (in "Spidey Meets the Girl of Tomorrow") *
Christopher Collins Christopher Charles Collins (born Christopher Lawrence Latta; August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the voice of Cobra Commander in the '' G.I. Joe'' animated series and Starscrea ...
- Sandman (in "Spider-Man Unmasked!"),
Beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
(in "The Origin of the Spider-Friends") *
Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''The Transformers (TV series), Transformers'' animated series, later returning to the role in ''Transformers'' media in 2007, sta ...
- Hulk/Dr. Bruce Banner (in "Spidey Goes Hollywood"), Mysterio (in "Spidey Goes Hollywood"),
Red Skull The Red Skull is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by France Herron, Jack Kirby, and Joe Simon, the character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 (March 1941), in ...
(in "The Quest of the Red Skull") * Jeff Doucette -
Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
(in "Attack of the Arachnoid") * Ron Feinberg -
Frankenstein's Monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...
(in "The Transylvanian Connection") * Stanley Jones -
Professor X Professor X (Prof. Charles Francis Xavier) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 ( ...
,
Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...
(in "A Firestar is Born"), Dean Wilmer (in "A Firestar is Born"),
Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
(in "The Transylvanian Connection"), Nightcrawler (in "The X-Men Adventure") *
Harvey Korman Harvey Herschel Korman (February 15, 1927May 29, 2008) was an American actor and comedian who performed in television and film productions. He is best remembered as a main cast member alongside Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence on the ...
-
Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with ...
(in "Knights and Demons") * Jennifer Kyle - Sprite/Kitty Pryde (in "The X-Men Adventure") * David Landsberg - Videoman/Francis Byte (in "The Education of a Superhero") * William Marshall -
Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originates in the mid-nineteenth century. ''Juggernaut'' is the early rendering in English ...
(in "A Firestar is Born"), Tony Stark (in "The Origin of the Spider-Friends") * Vic Perrin -
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
(in "The Vengeance of Loki!"), Zerona's Soldier (in "The Vengeance of Loki!"), Burglar (in "Along Came Spidey") * Robert Ridgely -
Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Николаевич Кравинов) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, th ...
(in "The Crime of All Centuries") * Neil Ross -
Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...
(in "The X-Men Adventure") * Michael Rye -
Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
(in "The Prison Plot") * Steve Schatzberg - Wolf-Thing (in "The Transylvanian Connection") *
Marilyn Schreffler Marilyn Sue Schreffler (June 14, 1945 – January 7, 1988) was an American voice actress who provided voice-overs for several animated television series, mostly for Hanna-Barbera Productions. Biography Marilyn Schreffler was born in Wichita, ...
- Bonnie (in "A Firestar is Born")


Crew

* Dick Tufeld - Announcer (Season 1) * William Marshall - Announcer (Season 2) * Ron Feinberg - Announcer (Season 3) *
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
- Narrator (Seasons 2 & 3 and added to re-reruns of Season 1) * Alan Dinehart - Voice Director


Episodes


Series overview


Season 1 (1981)


Season 2 (1982)

This season features the origins of all three Spider-Friends.


Season 3 (1983)


Release


Home media

No Region 1 or other NTSC release is planned at this time.


Region 2

In April 2008, Liberation Entertainment secured the home media rights to select Marvel shows from
Jetix Europe Jetix Europe N.V. (formerly known as Fox Kids Europe N.V.) was a European television broadcasting company that owned children's television channels and programming blocks across Europe and Asia, such as Jetix and Jetix Play. History Fox Kids Eu ...
in select European territories, including ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends''. On November 10, the company released the first season of the series on DVD followed up with a Series 2-3 set and Complete Series DVD sets on November 24. These releases were distributed through Lace International, due to Liberation closing their UK branch a few weeks prior in October. The Liberation releases did not include any of the Stan Lee narrations from the first or second season. Only some of the Stan Lee narrations were in the third season. Clear Vision later took over European rights and re-released the series on August 2, 2010 (Season 1) and September 6, 2010 (Seasons 2 and 3) in the United Kingdom respectively, with a German release following afterwards. These newer editions have improved image quality and include German dubbing, while removing the 5.1 audio track and English subtitles. A Complete Series release followed on February 11, 2013. Budget distributor Walk released a small number of DVD releases in the United Kingdom containing two episodes each for sale in Poundland stores in 2013, under the "Treat Size Introduces..." banner.


Streaming

The series was available for instant streaming via
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
from 2011 to August 2015. As part of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company, the copyrights to the New World library were transferred to TFCF America, Inc., a subsidiary of
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, effective on March 15, 2019. Consequently, the series became available on the
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
streaming service, as a part of U.S. launch on November 12, 2019.


Censorship

The episode "The Quest of the Red Skull" was excluded due to its direct depictions of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi swastika and the phrase 'Heil Hitler'. In 2020, Disney+ placed a warning on the 3rd episode (entitled "Sunfire") for a racially insensitive portrayal of Sunfire. In the episode, Sunfire is portrayed as speaking English with a Japanese accent.


Reception


Critical response

Adam Levine of '' Looper'' said: "The mutant duo became a memorable pairing for Spider-Man, and the series has been fondly remembered in the decades since for its quaint stories, colorful villains, light-hearted nature, and iconic introductions by creator Stan Lee. The animation was a step up from previous attempts, even if it was still relatively simplistic, and stories explored more of Peter Parker's personal life than the 1960s series before it". James Whitbrook of ''
Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...
'' ranked 5th in their "Spider-Man's Best Cartoons" list, writing: "The trio had an excellent dynamic that elevated Amazing beyond its sister show, and as campy as it could be, there's a reason why it remains beloved by many". Olivia Fitzpatrick of ''
Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...
'' ranked ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friend'' 3rd in their "Every 'Spider-Man' Animated Series" list. Jason Serafino of ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked 25th in their "25 Best Animated Comic Book TV Shows Of All Time" list. ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' ranked ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' 59th in their "Top 100 Animated Series" list, stating that "the animation was predictably budget for the time, particularly when viewed in this post-''Spectacular Spider-Man'' world of ours, but it was fun nonetheless".


Impact

* Scenes from ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' were re-cut, edited, and re-dubbed into comical shorts as part of
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...
's "Marvel Mash-Up" shorts for their "Marvel Universe on Disney XD" block of programming that includes ''
Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...
'' and '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' where scenes from ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' were also mixed with some scenes from the 1981 ''Spider-Man'' cartoon. The cast consists of Dave Boat as Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Beetle, Sandman, Norman Osborn, Shocker, Thor, Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Colossus, Sprite, Thunderbird, Red Skull, and Magneto,
Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...
as Iceman, Firestar, Aunt May, Green Goblin, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, Swarm, Captain America, Professor X, Nightcrawler, and Loki, J. P. Karliak as Black Cat and Bruce Banner, James Arnold Taylor as Chameleon, Captain America, Iron Man, and Cyberiad,
Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of his work has consisted of vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as '' Adventure Time'', ''American Dad!'', '' Avatar: The Las ...
as Lizard,
Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor. He voiced the titular character of ''Johnny Bravo'', Dexter and Dee Dee's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', List of The Powerpuff Girls characters#Ace, Ace, List of The Powerpuff Gi ...
as Cyclops and Juggernaut, and
Travis Willingham Travis Willingham is an American voice actor known for his character portrayals in video games and English anime Dubbing, dubs. His notable roles include Roy Mustang in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' franchise, Cleo in ''Glass Fleet'', Ginko in ''L ...
as Storm, Ka-Zar, and Doctor Doom. * In the 1984 film ''
Missing in Action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...
'' starring
Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...
, the ''Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends'' episode "Along Came Spidey" can be seen on a television. * In her civilian identity, Angelica Jones resembles Peter's girlfriend from the comic books,
Mary Jane Watson Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, making her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #25 (June 1965), and subsequent ...
. This was played up in issues of '' Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane'' in which Firestar appeared.


Accolades

''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' was nominated for Best Children's Television Series at the 1982 Young Artist Awards.


Comic books


Adaptation

The first comic book that directly referenced the ''Amazing Friends'' show was ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' #1 (December 1981), a one-shot that adapted the
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
, "The Triumph of the Green Goblin". Though the comic version altered the story to bring it in line with established
Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Superhero teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardia ...
continuity (such as making the Green Goblin identity a costume as in the comics, rather than a physical transformation as in the episode), it was not considered part of Marvel continuity. It is the first appearance of Firestar in a comics story, though the version of Firestar that exists within Marvel continuity did not appear until ''
Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...
'' #193 (May 1985). The story was reprinted in England in late 1983 in the weekly
Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...
title '' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends''. It was reprinted in the U.S. as ''Marvel Action Universe'' #1 (January 1989), released to coincide with the airing of ''Amazing Friends'' reruns on the television series of the same name and on the 2017 trade paperback ''X-Men Origins: Firestar''. In the Marvel mainstream continuity, Spider-Man, Firestar and Iceman have made sporadic team-ups in ''Amazing X-Men'' #7 (July 2014) and ''Iceman'' #3 (November 2018).


Firestar

The mainstream Marvel Universe version of Firestar debuted in the pages of ''Uncanny X-Men'' #193 as part of
Emma Frost Emma Grace Frost is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne (comics), John Byrne, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''The Uncanny ...
's Hellions team. Firestar was given an origin story in a Firestar (limited series), self-titled mini-series (March – June 1986). The character went on to be a founding member of the
New Warriors The New Warriors are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics) ...
, and later a member of the Avengers. One change to Firestar from the TV show to the comic books was her powers. In the cartoon, they were fire based. However, Marvel had a number of characters who could control and/or create fire, so they changed her mutant ability to the power to emit and control microwave energy.


''Amazing Friends'' 2006

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the show, Marvel released ''Spider-Man Family: Amazing Friends'' #1 on August 9, 2006. The comic starts with an all-new story, "Opposites Attack", which is officially set before ''Web of Spider-Man'' #75. After that is a Mini Marvel tale, "Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends Co-Workers" (note that the strikethrough of "Friends" was a deliberate inclusion in the title). Both stories were written by Sean McKeever. The remainder of the one-shot is composed of reprints of ''Untold Tales of Spider-Man'' #2 and ''Spider-Man 2099'' #2.


''Ultimate Spider-Man''

An arc in ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is titled "Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends" and issue #118's cover, showing Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar, is a homage to the series title screen. Human Torch, Johnny Storm and Shadowcat (comics), Kitty Pryde are also said to be members of the team. Instead of Angelica Jones, Firestar is Liz Allan. Since then, in ''Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man'', Spidey, Iceman, and the Human Torch have begun living together at Aunt May's house and have been working as a team as another homage to the series (because Liz, as Firestar, was a member of the Ultimate X-Men, X-Men in this continuity; this team roster also reflects the original intent of ''Amazing Friends'' to use the Human Torch before licensing issues forced the creation of Firestar).


''Amazing Friends'' in-continuity?

In 2007's ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe—Spider-Man: Back in Black'' one-shot, the villain Videoman is given a brief biography from his "retcon" appearance in the ''Spider-Man Family'' one-shot. There is also an annotation describing an "Earth 8107", where an alternate reality Videoman was created by Electro to battle that world's Spider-Man. Later, in the same reality, Francis Byte is mutated by an exploding arcade console to become a new Videoman, and later "possibly" join the X-Men. Essentially, this places the events of ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' — or at the very least, the episodes "Videoman" and "The Education of a Superhero" — in an alternate-Earth continuity of the Multiverse (Marvel Comics), Marvel Comics Multiverse.


Spider-Verse

The Spider-Friends of Earth-1983 (described as a "kinder, gentler than most" world), except for Ms. Lion, are apparently killed by a dimension-hopping Morlun, set on draining the life out of every variation of Spider-Man across the Multiverse (Marvel Comics), multiverse.


''Iceman'' 2018

At the "Street Cart Named Desire Festival", Peter sees Angelica, but doesn't seem to recognize her when explaining to Mary Jane that she's the only redhead that he's interested in. Bobby and Angelica briefly catch up before returning to their dates which are then interrupted by an ice monster attack. Iceman, Firestar, and Spider-Man suit up and defeat the attacker together. The team-up is called "Iceman and His amazing Friends" both on the issue's cover and by Iceman in the story. Afterward, the trio chat and Angelica and Bobby commiserate about men on dating apps.''Iceman'' Vol. 4 #3


References


External links


Disney+ page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends 1980s American animated television series 1980s American children's television series 1980s American superhero television series 1981 American animated television series debuts 1983 American television series endings American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated superhero television series Animated Spider-Man television series Animated television series based on Marvel Comics Animated television series set in New York City Fictional quartets Marvel Action Universe Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Television shows based on Marvel Comics Television series by Marvel Productions Television series about mutants NBC animated television series