Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends
Lo, those many moons agone, when I was but a wee lad of pre-teen age, I’d be riveted to the television set every Saturday morning. It was a time-honored ritual carried forward by many kids. Super Friends, Captain Kangaroo, Smurfs, Lone Ranger, Creature Double Feature, and tons more.
As I got older, the cartoons and programs I enjoyed watching became fewer. One of the last Saturday morning cartoons I simply had to watch was Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends.
I still have an especial fondness for this show. It’s totally goofy, yes, and pretty dated but that’s a big part of what makes up my personality. Please keep the ribbing to a minimum. Thank you.
Spidey with his pals Iceman and Firestar – created for the show and later brought into the Marvel Comics – never failed to entertain and help me escape those oh-so-crushing pressures of a 12-year old boy. It was an added bonus when fellow Marvel heroes like Black Knight and Sub-Mariner made guest appearances on the show. How cool was that?!?
It was also my first exposure to one of the coolest villains ever to stride the pages of a comic book….Swarm! I mean, really, how cool is a skeleton animated by a Nazi intelligence controlling millions of bees? I know!!
The show resonates still as in a recent mini series from Marvel, Lockjaw And The Pet Avengers, Ms. Lyon appears with the other super animals. Not a favorite of mine during the show but definitely part of the show’s identity. And someone out there has that same fondness for the program as I do and doubtless many many others.
Take a trip down memory lane sometime and reconnect with your inner 12-year old. You’ll be glad you did.
Comicazi Mike
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I will admit that after The Challenge of the Superfriends, this was my favorite Saturday morning cartoon. They were all great episodes. My favorites were when the Red Skull was going after Nazi super weapons, the origin of Firestar which was also a team up with the X-men and 7 little superheroes. That was when Mysterio lured the Spider Friends along with Captain America and Namor to a mysterious island and started taking them out one by one. If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t it Ms. Lyon who saved the day? Classic stuff.
Yes, Ms Lyon, the 8th little super hero. Sweet Christmas!!
Thanks Gary!
I always loved that they had the high tech hideout with all the computers & stuff that flipped out just by pulling on the football trophy. Who’s football trophy was that anyways? Peter Parker never got anything but science awards. Are we supposed to believe that Aunt May never dusted there and bumped that trophy? How did 3 college kids afford that stuff? Ha!
My favorite episode was always “Triumph of the Green Goblin”. We get to see Firestar dressed up as Spider-Woman & Iceman dressed up as Captain America (minus the shield!). Plus, there are other people at the costume party dressed up as Spider-Man (many of them), Medusa, Conan, Red Sonja, Hulk, Hellcat, Storm, Wasp, Yellowjacket, Phoenix, Iron man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Thing, etc…
It looks like a Comicazi Halloweeniversary long before there were any! How prescient.
Here’s the episode in 2 parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooHGTrTmQE4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS24narnxPc