WC 08: The Spectacular Spider-Man Premieres

February 23, 2008 - Spider-Man fans were treated to the first ever screening of the new animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man today at WonderCon, as the premiere episode, "Survival of the Fittest," was shown to a packed audience – plenty were forced to stand at the back, as seats ran out. If the first episode is any indication, the series definitely evokes the early Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Spider-Man stories -- focusing on a young Peter Parker, very new to the superhero game -- while also using some elements from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics and the films. There were also a ton of familiar characters appearing either briefly or significantly in the 22-minute episode, both in the supporting cast and the villains. These included Curt Connors, Norman Osborn, the Enforcers and the Vulture, most of whom had some new, redesigned looks – Look for our full review of the Spectacular Spider-Man's debut episode later in the coming week.

After the well-received screening, the creators of the series took to the stage, including supervising producer Greg Weisman (Gargoyles), producer/supervising director Victor Cook (Hellboy: Blood and Iron), character designer Sean "Cheeks" Galloway (the Hellboy animated films), the new voice of Spider-Man, Josh Keaton (a frequent videogame voiceover artist, including Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and No More Heroes), and the voice of Eddie Brock, Ben Diskin (Avatar: The Last Airbender). Michael Vogel from Sony Pictures Television Animation moderated, and also participated in the Q&A.;

Weisman said that he would describe the series as "the education of Peter Parker," and that he loved the idea of showing those early, formative years without racing through them or jumping ahead too quickly. Cook said that they definitely wanted "a fun vibe to the show," and that not only were the early comics an influence but that he was also a big fan of the original 1960s animated Spider-Man series.

The long history of Spider-Man was taken into account, with Weisman noting they "struggled hard to look at all the cast of Spider-Man from many different eras, to find what was the core truths about these individual characters. How did each one relate to Peter and/or Spider-Man?" When it came to using characters like Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy, who in the original comics didn't meet Peter until college, Weisman said the question they asked was, "What might they have been like in high school?" and that it was important that all the characters were 'Very true, very iconic, very faithful to the comics we grew up with ourselves."

Cook stressed that while each episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man told a standalone story, "the series itself is a saga. It's ongoing." Referencing some of the characters and situations introduced in the first episode, Vogel said they would deliver on "The promise that these guys are going to be coming back."

Galloway, or "Cheeks" as everyone called him, said coming up with the design of the characters wasn't easy, recalling that "For Spider-Man we went through 20 revisions. For Peter Parker we went through 30 revisions," and added that finalizing the character looks required "Seven layers of approval." He said they also wanted "A little bit more of an urban, modern feel," in terms of the clothing the characters wear.

Keaton said he was a lifelong Spider-Man fan, revealing his license plate said "Thwip" and adding, "I'm getting a Spider-Man graphic on the roof [of my car]." He said he could definitely relate to the character, and that he was a lot like Peter growing up, except, "I just couldn't climb walls." Keaton said he certainly felt the pressure of playing such an iconic character, because "I didn't want to let anyone down," and that he hoped his portrayal conveyed someone, "the fans could point to and say 'That's Spider-Man.'"