Not the finest hour in the animated capers of the web-slinger...

First aired in 1999, Spider-man Unlimited was Marvel’s attempt to give the Spider-man story a 21st century spin and breathe new life into everyone’s favourite web slinger. Unfortunately, this short-lived series proved something of a let down, and it comes as no surprise that this two-disc box set does the same.

Following the animated series of 1994, this series saw Spidey travelling to Counter Earth, Earth’s double, in an attempt to rescue astronaut John Jameson, Jonah Jameson’s glory-bound son. Spotting villains Carnage and Venom trying to infiltrate Jameson’s shuttle, Spidey swings in and tries to stop the symbiotes from boarding the craft, the web-head fails and is soon blamed for Jameson’s ship losing contact and being marooned on Counter Earth.

Sick of being public enemy number one, Peter Parker considers hanging up his tights once and for all, allowing everyone to think that Spider-man is dead and buried. A distress call from Jameson makes him think twice and, sporting a new costume designed by Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, the all new and improved Spidey boards a second shuttle and heads off to rescue Jameson. Arriving on the planet, Spider-man soon runs afoul of the Beastials, half-human half-animal creations of the planet’s maniacal leader, High Evolutionary. In a world where humans are regarded as second-class citizens and inferior to the human/animal hybrids, Spidey sides with a rebel faction in an attempt to thwart Evolutionary’s plans to enslave the humans of his planet and destroy the people of ours.

Watching this two-disc set, it’s not hard to see why the series came to such an abrupt end, with the show being cancelled after only one season. While the animation is faultless, with characters and backdrops wonderfully drawn, the show loses out when it comes to the characters themselves and a story being surprisingly below par for a Marvel outing of this type. Devoid of any origin story for our favourite wall crawler, save for the opening title sequence, we are thrown into a narrative where we are expected to already know all there is to now about Spidey, MJ, the Jameson’s and antagonists Venom and Carnage. And, to be fair, most Marvel and Spider-man fans will know these characters and their histories all too well - but this series was clearly intended for a new and younger audience, so it’s interesting that any sort of origin story is side-stepped and seemingly ignored.      

It’s surprising too, when you consider that screenwriting legend Michael Reaves was the story editor on the series’ first outing. Animation fans will know what Reaves is capable of bringing to a new show, and will be surprised at what he fails to do here, especially with a character like Spidey. However, this might be the problem, Spidey was, and is, such an established character that tinkering of any sort is almost certain to fail. Spidey’s new and improved costume just doesn’t work, and neither does his surprising disregard for usual centrepiece Mary Jane, happy to leave her worrying at home on regular Earth. The wit and humour of Parker are there, as are all the usual Spidey heroics, but this incarnation fails to offer any real depth or new insight to the character.

It’s possible to see where the show had potential, and in all fairness, as the series progressed, particularly toward the last few episodes, the story started to show promise and looked as if a lot more could be done with it, particularly as we learn more about Carnage and Venom’s ultimate goals. However, failing to match the ratings of, incredibly, Pokemon, the series was cancelled after just 13 episodes. Ending on a cliff-hanger, the series was gearing up for a second season and scripts had already been written, but Marvel Productions knew this one was dead in the water and allowed it to die a quiet death.

The rushed and badly thought-out storyline, the poorly-developed characters and a lack of any real direction makes this a bad venture for one of Marvel’s most beloved characters. And while it may prove enjoyable for younger fans and newcomers not familiar with the Marvel universe, hardcore fans will find this box set disappointing and not worth watching. Extra points are deducted for a lack of features or any commentaries, something this release sorely needs in order to make a purchase even remotely worthwhile. Overall, a poor outing for Spidey and a lacklustre affair by Marvel.

Spider-man unlimited completed season is out today.

TITLE: Spider-man Unlimited: Complete Season (2 DISCS)
RELEASE DATE: 03/05/2010
PRICE: £19.99
RUNNING TIME: 4 hours 38 mins
CERTIFICATE: PG

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