8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
The Spectacular Spider-Man was an American animated television series based on the superhero character published by Marvel Comics and developed for television by Greg Weisman and Victor Cook. In terms of tone and style, the series is based primarily on the original stories by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, with a similar balance of action, drama, and comedy as well as a high school setting. However, it also tends to utilize material from all eras of the comic's run and other sources such as the film series and the Ultimate Spider-Man comics. An animated television show that focuses on a 16-year-old Peter Parker and the origins of Spider-Man.
Starring: Josh Keaton, Ben Diskin, James Arnold Taylor, Lacey Chabert, Alanna UbachComic book | 100% |
Animation | 92% |
Fantasy | 77% |
Adventure | 73% |
Sci-Fi | 64% |
Action | 59% |
Comedy | 20% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
If this isn't most every young boy's dream -- other than, maybe, his favorite supermodel spread naked on his bed -- then nothing is. The Spectacular Spider-Man tells the story of Peter Parker, a high school brainiac and nerd who also happens to spend his evenings battling crime around New York City as Spider-Man, the web-slinging superhero who can't leap tall buildings in a single bound but who can swing around them like nobody's business. The animated program, spanning two seasons and 26 episodes that run around 23 minutes apiece, puts together an impressive roster of characters, scenarios, winks, and nods from the comic book series on which it is based, while also taking some cues from the trio of Sam Raimi-directed films from the 2000s. The series proves rather well-rounded, one that would serve as an excellent, though maybe not proper -- that's more the job of the comics -- introduction to the character and the wider world around him, or for veterans a quality composite look into the life and times of the teenage Peter Parker and all of the friends, enemies, super villains, and daily routine grinds that define his life.
Spidey.
The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete Series swings onto Blu-ray with a proficient 1080p transfer. The 1.78:1-framed image offers a satisfying, clear, and nicely defined collection of visuals, with largely even lines and only infrequent, yet still numerous examples of, jagged edges. Light banding is also frequently visible in the backgrounds. These issues aside, however, the image offers a fairly robust and substantial viewing experience. It's clean and well defined, benefiting from the increased resolution, stability, and clarity afforded to it by the muscle of the 1080p transfer. Colors are nice, not particularly numerous and subtle but showing good accuracy on everything from bright Spider-Man red and blue to the calming yellows in Aunt May's kitchen. It's a relatively simple animated transfer, suffering from the usual issues these sorts of images faces but also reaping the rewards of the 1080p power.
The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete Series spins together a good, even DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's nothing remarkable in the grand scheme of things but certainly a proficient, enjoyable listen. It features a good, wide stage, one in which there's plenty of room for high-flying, web-slinging action. The track provides plenty of fun directional effects during its action scenes, many with a noticeable whoosh and, elsewhere, with commendable weight and power to more intense moments. Music is nicely spaced and robust, playing with solid clarity and attention to detail. There's little in the way of enveloping and mood-defining atmospherics, but the track never feels hollow or inorganic. Dialogue is presented solidly with natural volume and center-front placement.
Editorial: It's time for Sony to drop its television show menu system in which all episodes and all supplements are listed on
every disc in the set, with "please insert disc X" displayed when an episode or supplement not included on the inserted disc is selected. The problem
becomes doubly
difficult on a release like 'The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete Series" that's divided into two seasons. The physical discs are labeled "Disc
One," "Disc Two," "Disc Three," and "Disc Four," while the player and the Blu-ray engineer read them as "Season One, Disc One," "Season Two, Disc
Two," "Season Two, Disc One," and "Season Two, Disc Two." When one inserts "Disc Three" or ("Season Two, Disc One") and selects one of the three
listed supplements, the user is prompted to
"Insert Disc 2," which one may very likely be led to believe is the disc labeled "Disc Two," not the disc labeled "Disc Four." It makes no
sense to
list everything from a set or series on every disc in the first place, and mislabeling discs, or at the very least a failure to communicate between the
engineering department and the disc pressing and disc art departments, only leads to further confusion. Listing episodes and supplements in a more
traditional manner -- disc-by-disc -- is the best approach moving forward.
The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete Series contains all of its series-related supplements on "Disc Four" or "Season Two, Disc Two,"
depending on
which one the user chooses for package classification (they are also listed on "Disc Three" or
"Season Two, Disc One" but are not actually included on that disc). "Disc One" or "Season One, Disc One" contains previews for Angry Bords Toons and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (they are also listed on "Disc Two" or
"Season One, Disc Two" but are not actually included on that disc).
The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Complete Series doesn't break new ground or redefine a franchise, but it's a fun, filling effort, a fast-paced affair that crams a lot of activity into two seasons and paints a fairly satisfying portrait of the greater Spider-Man universe and, more important, what it means to live in it, for Peter and for all of those around him, from his dearest friends to his most hated rivals. A product of excellent source material, a quality vision for the series, and strong voice acting, The Spectacular Spider-Man proves itself a program suitable for newcomers and comic book veterans alike. Sony's four-disc Blu-ray release features solid video and audio. Supplements are few but interesting. Recommended.
Warner Archive Collection
2005
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #13
2012
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #5
2009
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #18
2013
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #14
2012
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #7
2010
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #9
2010
DC Comics Classic Collection
2001-2002
2006
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #11
2011
2009
2008
2007
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #8
2010
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #10
2011
2006
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #2
2008
10th Anniversary | Commemorative Edition
2011
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #6
2009
2008