Anyone who grew up in the 1990s will have fond memories of watching Spider-Man: The Animated Series on Fox Kids. The animated show ran for 65 episodes across five seasons from 1994 to 1998, with many characters and plot elements from The Amazing Spider-Man comic being featured. And the popular series was praised for being a fun and good-natured adaptation of one of Marvel’s most popular comics.
Although the show has long since ended, a new four-issue comic limited series called Spider-Man ’94 will take place in the same continuity as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and fans will be delighted by this new continuation of the story of the animated incarnation of Spider-Man.
Spider-Man '94 picks up after the classic animated show with new mysteries and surprises
This first issue just recently hit shelves and, as seen in a preview shared by Flickering Myth, Spider-Man ’94, shows Peter and Mary Jane enjoying a romantic evening in New York City after Peter’s adventures across the Multiverse. And fans will no doubt be giddy when they realize how closely the art style, covers, and title art for the book resemble the visuals from the show, meaning that readers will be in for an incredibly nostalgic experience. Although we do not know much about the plot at this point, we do know that two new villains, who were not featured in the show, will be menacing Spider-Man in the comic. Kaine, the anti-hero clone of Peter Parker, also appears at the start of the comic, alongside an unnamed villain who he refers to as his father, but it is unclear if these are the villains mentioned in the comic’s official description from Marvel.
You will also be surprised to see that Peter describes how the clone of Mary Jane who he married died on their honeymoon, as Spider-Man: The Animated Series was not even allowed to mention the words relating to death due to the weird censorship restrictions for kids’ shows in place at the time. Instead, characters would often refer to destroying their foes instead of killing them, so seeing death being openly described in the comic showcases that the book will feature a somewhat more mature tone than the series.
This isn't the first time that this particular version of Spidey has returned in recent memory as he and Mary Jane also made cameos in Marvel Studios' X-Men '97 - the sequel series to the beloved 1992 classic X-Men: The Animated Series. Spider-Man and X-Men often crossed over with each other in the '90s, so the nod in the new series was great too. Fans are now hoping he'll be more involved in future seasons. But in the meantime, the adventures continue in Spider-Man '94.
The comic is written by J. M. DeMatteis, who wrote several episodes of The Animated Series in addition to episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Justice League Unlimited, ThunderCats, and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. He also penned Batman and Superman comics for DC and many other Spider-Man comics for Marvel. While James Towe provided the interior art for Spider-Man ’94, and Nick Bradshaw illustrated the standard covers.
The first issue of Spider-Man ’94 is out now, and '90s fans will no doubt be eager to get their hands on the series of the series.