Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
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Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is an animated series produced by Marvel Productions Ltd. that starred the Marvel Comics characters Spider-Man, Firestar and Iceman fighting against various villains. Originally broadcast on NBC as a Saturday morning cartoon, the series ran for three seasons, from 1981 to 1983.
This animated series was noticeably more popular than the solo Spider-Man animated series that aired around the same time. It is also notable for the first appearance of the character Firestar.
Contents
Storyline
Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Bobby Drake (Iceman) and Angelica Jones (Firestar) are all college students at Empire State University. After working together to defeating the Beetle and recovering the "Power Booster" he stole from Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) the trio decide to make the team-up permanent as the "Spider-Friends." They live together in Peter's Aunt May's home with her and a pet dog Ms. Lion. Together, the superheroes battle various supervillains.The more memorable stories from the series included various team-ups with other characters from the Marvel Universe. These included Captain America, Iron Man, and the "All-New" lineup of the X-Men, the latter of which made their animated debut on this program (the original line-up of X-Men once appeared in a Sub-Mariner episode from the 1960s).
Trivia
- The makers of the show had originally intended the stars to be Spider-Man, Iceman and the Human Torch, but legal issues about the rights to the Human Torch character (which had also plagued Marvel once before for the New 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. In addition, while the Human Torch is male, Firestar is female. She has since become a part of the mainstream Marvel Universe.
- In a flashback episode, it is revealed that Tony Stark (Iron Man) rewarded Spider-Man for saving his life by secretly funding the hidden computer systems which are present in Peter Parker's bedroom.
- Ms. Lion was actually Firestar's dog, as Angelica introduced Peter to the dog before anyone knew who anyone else's secret identity was. However, Aunt May ended up taking care of the dog most the time, with Angelica leading the busy life of a superhero and college student. Ms. Lion actually saved the day in an episode where The Chameleon was the main enemy, since she was able to distinguish the villain from the people she knew.
- Some of the sound effects used originated from Universal Television's Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers.
- The pilot episode was adapted into a comic book, which was the first (albeit non-canonical) appearance of Firestar in that medium.
- In their civilian identies, Peter Parker resembled the same character in the comics, while Angelica Jones and Bobby Drake both resemble Peter's friends, Mary Jane Watson, and Flash Thompson. Flash Thompson was featured a lot in the series, but had brown hair instead of blonde.
Episodes
Season 1
- "The Triumph of the Green Goblin" - While escaping from a mental hospital, Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin and kidnaps his niece at a college campus superhero costume party.
- "The Crime of All Centuries" - Kraven kidnaps Firestar and plots to unleash a dinosaur army.
- "The Fantastic Mr. Frump" - When a spell goes wrong, Doctor Doom gives a lonely old man fantastic powers, who attempts to woo Aunt May, and causes problems with Doom and the Spider-Friends.
- "Sunfire" - Firestar falls in love with Sunfire, a Japanese superhero who is being used by his corrupt father to unleash a fire monster on the city.
- "Swarm" - The Swarm, an alien entity controlling a hive of bees start transforming New York City residents into drone slaves.
- "7 Little Superheroes" - Captain America, Shanna, Sub-Mariner, and Doctor Strange join up with the Spider-Friends to battle the Chameleon.
- "Videoman" - Electro creates a villain called Videoman from an arcade machine.
- "The Prison Plot" - Magneto holds the visitors of an abandoned prison hostage, demanding the release of his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
- "Spidey Goes Hollywood" - Mysterio forces a movie director to con Spider-Man into starring in a movie. Bruce Banner a.k.a. the Incredible Hulk guest stars.
- "The Vengeance of Loki" - Loki masquerades as his half-brother, Thor, and attacks New York City.
- "Knights and Demons" - Spider-Man and the Black Knight team up to battle Mordred.
- "Pawns of the Kingpin" - The Kingpin uses a mind control device to force Captain America and Iceman to commit crimes.
- "Quest of the Red Skull" - The Red Skull kidnaps the Spider-Friends so that they will not interfere in his plot to start World War III.
Season 2
- "The Origin of Ice Man" - Videoman returns and Iceman retells his origins.
- "Along Came Spidey" - Shocker injures Aunt May, and Spider-Man recounts how he got his powers.
- "A Fire-Star Is Born" - Iceman and Firestar attend an X-Men reunion where Firestar recalls her origins (cameos by Magneto and a Sentinel). Meanwhile, the Juggernaut crashes the party in an effort to destroy his stepbrother, Professor X.
Season 3
- "Spider-Man: Unmasked" - The Sandman learns that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.
- "The Transylvanian Connection" - Firestar is kidnapped by Dracula.
- "The Education of a Superhero" - Videoman merges with a game addict, who decides to be a superhero while the Gamesman seeks world domination by electronically hypnotizing the public.
- "Attack of the Arachnoid" - A mad scientist turns into a monster when he tries to recreate Spider-Man's powers. He frames Spider-Man for a crime (Matt "Daredevil" Murdock guest stars as a lawyer), and the Scorpion stages a jailbreak.
- "Origin of the Spider-Friends" - Stan Lee explains how the superheroes teamed-up to fight the Beetle. Tony Stark makes a cameo.
- "Spidey Meets The Girl From Tomorrow" - Spidey falls in love with a stranded alien, whose spaceship has been stolen by Doctor Octopus.
- "The X-Men Adventure" - The Spider-Friends visit the X-Men and battle an old flame of Firestar.
- "Mission: Save The Guardstar" - S.H.I.E.L.D. teams up with the Spider-Friends to save a mutant named Lightwave, who turns out to be Iceman's half-sister (who oddly was never mentioned in "The Origin of Ice Man").
Voice credits
- Dan Gilvezan - Peter Parker/Spider-Man
- Frank Welker - Bobby Drake/Iceman, Flash Thompson, Ms. Lion
- Kathy Garver - Angelica Jones/Firestar
- June Foray - Aunt May
- Dick Tufeld - Narrator (Season 1)
- Stan Lee - Narrator (Seasons 2 & 3)
- William Woodson - J. Jonah Jameson
- William Marshall - Tony Stark/Iron Man; Juggernaut
- Chris Latta - Sandman
- Dennis Marks - The Green Goblin
- Michael Bell - Doctor Octopus
External links
- [Spider-Friends.com] (fan site)
- [Spider-Man Crawl Space: All Spidey, All The Time]
- [Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends guide] at TV.com
- [Retroland - Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends]
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