Are the 90's Spider-Man/X-Men worth watching for someone who has never see them before?

[Fone Bone]

X-Men is totally worth watching. Spider-Man is not.

 

[CyberCubed]

X-Men is totally worth watching. Spider-Man is not.

Any particular reason? I'm halfway through Season 3 and am enjoying it. Unless the quality goes downhill going forward it's a pretty good show so far.

I was expecting a show with little to no continuity, weak action and poor characterisation, but instead I got the opposite. I'm shocked at how much continuity there is (much more than say Batman:TAS, which aside from bringing the villains back had very little continuity between each episode since you could watch the show out of order and it didn't matter). The action scenes are decently well done and most of the villains are well characterised.

The weird CG buildings are dated and out of place, but that's my only complaint so far. I'm also shocked how much they were able to condense Spider-Man's entire lore up to the mid-90's (it had 30 years of comics at that point) into a 65 episode cartoon.

 

[Checkerboard]

The problem with Spiderman is maybe the length and how some characters/stories are written. X-Men feels more coherent and compact, like X-Men. Spiderman at times feels like No Way Home guest show. Also the animation is up for debate. The style is era/company specific. The music is good in both tho and both are entertaining and have dark topics/moments, which is something I like and miss - although the newer shows did try. Despite being a Spiderman fan, maybe I'd say X-Men has the upper hand. If anything because there is less animated X-Men than Spiderman so you get to appreciate it more. Wish we had more from the pilot 80s show.

 

[Awest66]

I don't have many memories of X-Men to be perfectly honest.

Spider-Man (94) is a bit rough around the edges but it was my introduction to the character and his world so I'll always give it a recommendation.

 

[Fone Bone]

Any particular reason? I'm halfway through Season 3 and am enjoying it. Unless the quality goes downhill going forward it's a pretty good show so far.

I was expecting a show with little to no continuity, weak action and poor characterisation, but instead I got the opposite. I'm shocked at how much continuity there is (much more than say Batman:TAS, which aside from bringing the villains back had very little continuity between each episode since you could watch the show out of order and it didn't matter). The action scenes are decently well done and most of the villains are well characterised.

The weird CG buildings are dated and out of place, but that's my only complaint so far. I'm also shocked how much they were able to condense Spider-Man's entire lore up to the mid-90's (it had 30 years of comics at that point) into a 65 episode cartoon.

The editing is an utter mess, and literally the worst of any animated show I can think of. If someone tells you film editing is not a dealbreaker, point them to this show.

Also the scripts by John Semper Jr are mostly crap. The "mostly" thing is me being generous.

 

[Awest66]

The editing is an utter mess, and literally the worst of any animated show I can think of. If someone tells you film editing is not a dealbreaker, point them to this show.

Also the scripts by John Semper Jr are mostly crap. The "mostly" thing is me being generous.

Spider-Man 94 may not be perfect but I'll happily take it over anything animation-wise from Loeb's tenure as head of Marvel TV.

 

[Fone Bone]

Spider-Man 94 may not be perfect but I'll happily take it over anything animation-wise from Loeb's tenure as head of Marvel TV.

That is no kind of bar.

 

[Rick Jones]

I asked this question in 2014 and it's now 8 years later and I just watched both recently. X-men was really good and I loved all the continuity. The animated was dated even for a 90's cartoon, but it had a lot of great story arcs. I'm halfway through Spider-man and I'm really enjoying it as well (though Morbius getting 5 eps was a drag, lol).

Can't believe it took me 8 years to get into these shows because people told me not to watch them. I should of watched them back then.

X-Men Animated made me a fanatic as a kid more than any other cartoon, and I do wonder how strong my bias for it is. I can watch an episode today and still be as entertained as I was in 1995.

I wonder if my bias for Spider-Man works in the other way. As a kid, I was actually anticipating it, expecting it to attack my senses the way that X-Men and Batman did prior but it was just a different experience for me. I practically slept with my Spider-Man issue of Disney Adventures under my pillow, constantly re-reading all of the cool things planned for the show when I could. I already had my own strong opinion of Spider-Man and his world going into it, and when that didn't quite match all the way in my juvenile brain, things just felt off.

There are so many things I have liked and will always like about the show and I try my best not to dwell on what I don't. I mostly have love for the show because of how it made so many Spider-Man fans among my peers and not because of my own personal experience with it as a kid.

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[AdrenalineRush1996]

Spider-Man '94 may not be perfect but I'll happily take it over anything animation-wise from Loeb's tenure as head of Marvel TV.

Same. It's one of my favourite animated shows from either DC or Marvel, period.

 

[Trevor]

Spider-Man 94 is better than all the Spider-Man TV series made between 2000 and now (some of the post-2000 shows even did poor remakes of The Alien Costume trilogy and other storylines that SM94 did really well) . Even the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy of films took a lot of inspiration from the 94 series. I would even recommend watching Spider-Man Unlimited which was a pseudo-sequel to the 94 series. SMU tried to continue a few arcs, but at the same time it introduced a few continuity issues that were never cleared up.

As for X-Men there’s only 3 TV SERIES to compare. But X-Men’92 is still the king of the X-Men shows and still holds that mantle of well known X-Men just like the Spider-Man’67 series is still the king of Spider-Man shows and the most well known.

Another thing I would recommend is to read the 90’s line of Marvel novels that were published by Byron Preiss. While they were not design as sequels to the 90’s shows, I’ve found over the last few years that they work really well as Season 6 of both Spider-Man & X-Men and the other 90’s Marvel cartoons. Sure they don’t explain how Mary-Jane returned, and a few other minor details, but overall, they work. And it’s funny, but the novels used the TV Logos for the 90’s Spider-Man & X-Men shows, and they were written at the same time as the 90’s shows. Also, a number of authors on the series were well known Star Trek authors at the time, like Diane Duane, who wrote the first published novel, The Venom Factor. Plus you also had Peter David, Keith R.A. DeCandido (who also edited the line) and Greg Cox. Also Michael Jan Friedman wrote Planet X which was a Star Trek The Next Generation/X-Men crossover. 10 Marvel Novels From The 90s Fans Might Have Forgotten

 

[DBTrilogy100]

I asked this question in 2014 and it's now 8 years later and I just watched both recently. X-men was really good and I loved all the continuity. The animated was dated even for a 90's cartoon, but it had a lot of great story arcs. I'm halfway through Spider-man and I'm really enjoying it as well (though Morbius getting 5 eps was a drag, lol).

Can't believe it took me 8 years to get into these shows because people told me not to watch them. I should of watched them back then.

I have always found it surreal and fascinating to hear about when others recently experience works of fiction I have experienced (or, at least, was aware of) back when I was a kid. In any case, it is nice to hear that your experiences with these shows have been overall enjoyable experiences and I think it goes to show that these shows do have good qualities that shine through even after quite some time has passed.

I admit that I never really had a chance to see the 90s Animated X-Men Series back in the day but have heard many good things about it and I would consider the talk regarding it receiving a revival to be quite telling.

The 90s Animated Spider-Man Series was my gateway to the Spider-Man Franchise and remains very dear to me even if some parts of it come off as dated these days. While the animation/recycled footage can be quite glaring and the stories regarding the executive mandates it was subjected to have been brought up countless times by now, it still comes off as clear to me that John Semper (Jr.) & his fellow staff/crew members on the show are big fans of the Spider-Man Franchise and were passionate about the adaptation they made. I admit that my knowledge on previous animated adaptations on Spider-Man is rather limited but it is my understanding that the 90s Animated Series was the first animated adaptation of Spider-Man to significantly adapt from the comics in comparison to previous animated adaptations. Likewise, I remember being impressed by how John Semper (Jr.) & his fellow staff/crew members on the show were able to find ways to incorporate serialized elements into the series despite executives mandating a more episodic approach (especially in a time when serialized elements in Western Animation was relatively rarer compared to these days). I suppose one could say John Semper (Jr.) & his fellow staff/crew members on the show made lemonade out of the lemons they were given and some may even say the show crawled so that later works of fiction could walk.

The fact that the 90s Animated Spider-Man Series had created concepts that would go on to become staples in the franchise going forward (or, at least, be incorporated in future adaptations) is also something that I feel is something that deserves to be recognized. The most notable example that comes to mind for me is how the 90s Animated Series adapted Venom's story. The 90s Animated Series came up with the idea of the Symbiotie amplifying its host's power at the price of amplifying its host's negative emotions which has gone on to become a staple for the franchise and I definitely feel this idea gives Spider-Man a better reason for why he doesn't keep the Black Suit. Likewise, the 90s Animated Series came up with the idea of Eddie Brock having a more personal history with Peter Parker before fusing with the Symbiotie; the 90s Animated Series went with the idea of Eddie Brock being Peter Parker's rival at the Daily Bugle (something that was also adapted into Spider-Man 3) while the Ultimate Comics & The Spectacular Spider-Man took the idea further by portraying Eddie Brock as Peter Parker's childhood friend/family friend/figurative brother who eventually became corrupted. While it doesn't seem to be adapted as frequently in comparison, the 90s Animated Series came up with the idea of Otto Octavius being one of Peter Parker's role models/mentors before becoming Dr. Octopus and I do find that idea to be one with great potential.

Overall, I can recognize that parts of the 90s Animated Spider-Man Series might not have aged as well these days but still feel it made legitimate great contributions that deserve to be acknowledge and can still find enjoyment in it while also appreciating it for introducing me to the Spider-Man Franchise.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

I would even recommend watching Spider-Man Unlimited which was a pseudo-sequel to the 94 series.

I'm pretty sure that Unlimited isn't a sequel to the 1994 TV series at all, direct or pseudo.

As for X-Men there’s only 3 TV SERIES to compare.

Technically four, as the team had an anime back in 2011 as part of Warren Ellis' Marvel Anime universe.

 

[Fone Bone]

I'm pretty sure that Unlimited isn't a sequel to the 1994 TV series at all, direct or pseudo.

Actually, it was intended to be. If there had been a second season the producers would have done a little timeline reconfiguring to suggest it was a "midquel". That's the rumor I heard back in the 1990's when I was following this nonsense in fanzines.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

Actually, it was intended to be. If there had been a second season the producers would have done a little timeline reconfiguring to suggest it was a "midquel". That's the rumor I heard back in the 1990's when I was following this nonsense in fanzines.

Well, it is worth knowing that Unlimited was originally conceived to be a Spider-Man 2099 cartoon after all.

 

[Ed Nygma]

Everyone has already covered the saliant points, but I think for many it's so hard to distinguish between 'quality' and all the warm memories they bring. You also have to consider the time they were made in; for many of us it was our introduction to the Marvel Universe so it just feels like how it should be; the gold standard we compare everything against now. It's not just a show to me anymore but strongly evokes that nostalgia center in the brain. I do think both are good but also very uneven from a 2022 standpoint.

BTAS, X-Men, Spidey and Superman were the four I loved best. I think overall though Spider-Man was better than X-Men; X-Men was so terribly confusing sometimes, and it had all those unintentional idiosyncrasies like Jean and her constant moaning/Canadian accent ("Scott! We've BEAN so worried! Oohhhhhhh!") and Xaiver and his whining ("The power! Nyyyyaaahhhh!!!") In my heart of hearts, if I could only pick two I'd pick Spidey and Batman, and deep down I think Spidey means just a little bit more to me since it introduced me to the world perfectly, it's the perfect starter pack for the character; whereas with Batman it always felt like you were playing catch up to movies you weren't old enough to see, that explained his origin and why people cared, etc. But I think they're all good, and all (yes, even BTAS) have weak spots, particularly the animation- while Spidey never topped the TMS BTAS episodes, my god, something like Feat of Clay part ONE or Cat Scratch Fever is worse than Spider-Man on its worst most reused shot day.

 

[CyberCubed]

I made this thread 10 years ago in 2014 ( I can't believe 2014 is now 10 years ago!), and I'd say both were fun watches. X-men ironically became more relevant than ever now that it got a new direct continuation in 2024., lol

 

[GRPHX]

Spider-Man '94 is GOAT