Spider-Man Unlimited

For the comic book, see Spider-Man Unlimited (comic book). For the mobile game, see Spider-Man Unlimited (video game).
Spider-Man Unlimited
Genre Superhero
Action/adventure
Science fiction
Created by Stan Lee
Steve Ditko
Based on Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Developed by Michael Reaves
Will Meugniot
Written by Larry Brody
Robert Gregory Browne
Brynne Chandler
Michael Reaves
Directed by Patrick Archibald
Voices of Rino Romano
Brian Drummond
Michael Donovan
Garry Chalk
John Payne II
Rhys Huber
Christopher Gaze
Jennifer Hale
Theme music composer Jeremy Sweet
Ian Nickus
Composer(s) Jeremy Sweet
Ian Nickus
Shuki Levy
Kussa Mahchi
Ron Kenan
Country of origin United States
Canada
No. of episodes 13
Production
Executive producer(s) Avi Arad
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Marvel Studios
Saban International
Koko Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Distributor Saban Entertainment
Disney–ABC Domestic Television (currently)
Release
Original network Fox
Toon Disney (reruns)
YTV (Canada)
Network Ten (Australia)
Original release October 2, 1999 (1999-10-02) – March 31, 2001 (2001-03-31)
Chronology
Preceded by Spider-Man (1994 TV series)
Followed by Spider-Man: The New Animated Series

Spider-Man Unlimited is an American animated series by Saban Entertainment[1] which features the Marvel comic book superhero Spider-Man.[2][3] Unlimited premiered in 1999, and though it had fair ratings, it was overshadowed by Pokémon and the newly debuted Digimon, and canceled after airing only a few episodes.[4] Fox Kids later resumed airing the show from 2000 to 2001, airing 13 episodes, the last ending on a cliffhanger. Several scripts were written for Season 2, including the conclusion of the cliffhanger, but were never produced.

Initially, the goal was to do a low-budget adaptation of the first 26 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man comic book, but Sony and Marvel had already engaged in a deal, and so Saban was cut from any source and could not use the traditional Spider-Man suit or adapt the early comics. Also, in the original idea, Spider-Man was stranded in a Counter-Earth in which Ben Parker didn't die and thus Peter Parker lacked the moral fortitude to resist becoming Venom. However, Marvel Comics didn't like the idea and stated that they would not do a story with two Peter Parkers.[5]

Plot

While covering the launch of John Jameson's one-man mission to Counter-Earth (another Earth located on the far side of the Sun), Spider-Man attempts to stop his two symbiote adversaries Venom and Carnage from boarding the shuttlecraft. Blamed for Jameson losing contact with our Earth by J. Jonah Jameson of the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man becomes a target of persecution by the media and the public at large, with a bounty placed on his head. Believed to be dead after saving a person's life in a fire, Peter Parker uses the ruse to embark on a mission to retrieve John Jameson on Counter-Earth. His new Spider suit using nanotechnology discreetly borrowed from Reed Richards to design a new suit that incorporates built in webshooters, stealth technology and anti-symbiote sonic weaponry. Making his way to the planet, Spider-Man learns that Jameson has fallen in with a band of freedom fighters opposed to the High Evolutionary whose Beastials, hybrids of animal and humanoid attributes, are the dominant species whilst humans are the second-class minority.

With Jameson reluctant to return until all of the Beastials are defeated, Spider-Man elects to remain on Counter-Earth, blending in as best as he can as Peter Parker, and fighting the High Evolutionary and his Knights of Wundagore alongside the rebels as Spider-Man. It is soon discovered that Venom and Carnage are also on Counter-Earth, and are following orders from the Synoptic, a hive-minded legion of Counter-Earth symbiotes. This series also shows the animated version of John Jameson's Man-Wolf form, as well as superhero versions of mainstream villains the Green Goblin and the Vulture.

Characters

Villains

Other characters

Episode list

The following list reflects the correct viewing order of the Spider-Man Unlimited episodes, according to the official site of Marvel.

# Title Original air date
1"Worlds Apart Part One"October 2, 1999[6]
When Spider-Man spots his two main enemies, Venom and Carnage, hijacking on John Jameson's spaceship on a trip to the mysterious planet, Counter-Earth, he fails to stop them and the two symbiote villains go with Jameson to Counter-Earth, where the ship crashes and Jameson presumably dies. The public then blames Spider-Man for Jameson's seeming death. Spider-Man fakes his own death and lies low for half a year until he gets a new nano-tech costume from Reed Richards and gets another ride to Counter-Earth.
2"Worlds Apart Part Two"October 9, 1999[7]
Spider-Man reaches his destination on Counter-Earth and finds out that John Jameson survived the crash. He has become a member of a rebellion fighting against the forces of the High Evolutionary, the counter-Earth version of the High Evolutionary, a figurehead who hates humans and creates animal-mutant hybrids called the Beastials. Spider-Man then joins the group and moves in with a single mother, Dr. Naoko Yamada-Jones, and her son, Shane Jones.
3"Where Evil Nests"October 16, 1999[8]
Spider-Man meets the Counter-Earth version of the Green Goblin, a hero who mistakes Spider-Man for a villain. Spider-Man realizes the kidnapper of Dr. Naoko Yamada-Jones isn't the Goblin. The two team up to save her and stop a plan by her kidnappers responsible for the green Bio-Mass: Venom and Carnage.
4"Deadly Choices"December 23, 2000[9]
A member of the rebellion against High Evolutionary, Git Hoskins, steals a bomb and threatens to blow up the Counter-Earth New York. The rebellion and the Beastials are forced to team up to get it back before both humans and Beastials are killed by the contagious compound within the bomb.
5"Steel Cold Heart"January 13, 2001[10]
A machine man, X-51 (the 51st off the assembly line), one of the High Evolutionary's operatives, refuses to hurt innocent people, so he betrays him and the Knights, and decides to join the rebellion.
6"Enter the Hunter!"February 3, 2001[11]
When the High Evolutionary sees that Spider-Man is a bug in his plans, he has his minion, Sir Ram, hire an assassin named the Hunter (Counter-Earth's Kraven the Hunter) to kill the hero.
7"Cry Vulture"February 10, 2001[12]
Spider-Man teams up with the Counter-Earth hero version of the Vulture to foil one of Sir Ram's evil plots to transform humans into Bestials and defeat his minion Firedrake.
8"Ill-Met by Moonlight"February 17, 2001[13]
John Jameson turns into Man-Wolf, and Spider-Man has to break into the High Evolutionary's power plant to find a cure for him. Here, he confronts an electric eel that is Counter-Earth's Bestial version of Electro.
9"Sustenance"March 3, 2001[14]
The Goblin returns and figures out that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. They are both then kidnapped by Rejects, failed Beastials created by the High Evolutionary. They attempt to sneak into one of the Evolutionary's hideouts so Spider-Man can escape, pretending to help the Rejects.
10"Matters of the Heart"March 10, 2001[15]
Spider-Man agrees to help Bromley, a member of the rebellion against the High Evolutionary, to find his long-lost brother. At the end of the episode, after Bromley finds out that his brother is loyal to the High Evolutionary, he pushes him into a vat of water. The Beastials inside pull him down.
11"One is the Loneliest Number"March 17, 2001[16]
Eddie Brock, alter ego of Venom, is separated from the Venom symbiote and Spider-Man agrees to retrieve it by donning it and then give it back to Brock before he dies.
12"Sins of the Fathers"March 24, 2001[17]
Karen O'Malley, a member of the rebellion against the High Evolutionary, is kidnapped by machine men of the Evolutionary, so Spider-Man and X-51 teams up to save her. Meanwhile, the Evolutionary realizes that Karen is his grand-daughter.
13"Destiny Unleashed Part One"March 31, 2001[18]
Venom and Carnage reveal why they are on Counter-Earth. They have been working for the Synoptic, whose plan is to team up with the High Evolutionary. When the time is right, they will unleash millions of symbiotes on the planet to finally rid it of humans once and for all. Spider-Man, John Jameson, the rebellion, X-51 and the Goblin all team up to put an end to the High Evolutionary's plans but appear too late when the plans of Venom and Carnage unfold.

Comic book

Alongside the animated series, Marvel Comics commissioned a comic to tie in with the series. It would be the second volume of Spider-Man Unlimited as a whole from the company, but the only one of the Unlimited volumes to be based on it. The first two issues were adapted from the first three episodes of the series, with the last three providing their own storyline. In the final issue, Spider-Man meets an escapee from Haven, a Bestial version of Wolverine. After fighting, the two team up and take down a Bestial Chameleon. It is hinted that Wolverine is really Naoko Jones' missing husband (although the cartoon hints that the Goblin is really Naoko's husband). The question was never resolved as poor sales ended the comic's run. A copy of the series' universe, labeled Earth-7831, is massacred by Morlun's brother Daemos during the events of Spider-Verse.[19]

DVD releases

As with the majority of the other Disney-acquired Marvel Comics animated series, Liberation Entertainment UK planned to release this on DVD in 2009. Due to Liberation's bankruptcy, the Marvel licenses were re-acquired by Clear Vision Ltd, who released it on DVD (in Region 2 PAL format) in a 2-disk set containing all 13 episodes. It was released on the May 3, 2010. All 13 episodes are now available on Netflix and Instant Marvel.com.[20]

See also

References

  1. Fox Kids announces ambitious fall lineup
  2. "Spider-Man on TV". IGN. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  3. Fritz, Steve (August 18, 1999). "The Web-Slinger Visits Counter-Earth This Fall". USA: Mania. Archived from the original on January 29, 2000. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  4. Fritz, Steve (November 3, 1999). "Avengers In, Spider-Man Out—For Good?". USA: Mania. Archived from the original on January 24, 2000. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  5. http://www.newsarama.com/tv/amazing-spider-man-other-media-versions-2.html
  6. Worlds Apart, Part One
  7. Worlds Apart, Part Two
  8. Where Evil Nests
  9. Deadly Choice
  10. Steel Cold Heart
  11. Enter the Hunter!
  12. Cry Vulture
  13. Ill Met by Moonlight
  14. Sunstenance
  15. Matters of the Heart
  16. One is the Loneliest Number
  17. The Sins of Our Fathers
  18. Destiny Unleashed
  19. Dan Slott (w), Giuseppe Camuncoli (p), Cam Smith (i). "Edge of Spider-Verse: Web of Fear" The Amazing Spider-Man v3, #7 (8 October 2014), United States: Marvel Comics
  20. http://marvel.com/videos/browse/tv_show/142/spider-man_unlimited (Verified on March 3, 2012)

External links

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