History WesternANimation / TheSpectacularSpiderMan

* AdaptationalDiversity: The series features a Gwen Stacy and an Aunt May who require glasses, a Hispanic Liz Allan and Molten Man, an Asian version of Kenny "King Kong" McFarlane (renamed "Kenny Kong"), a Native American Jean DeWolff, a black Nicholas Bromwell and Roderick Kingsley and a Korean Ned Leeds (renamed "Ned Lee").

** According to WordOfGod [[spoiler: Mary Jane had figured out that Peter was Spider-Man before they met. This explains why she's so forgiving of Peter missing things or suddenly running off (the very thing that can make his relationships so hard).]] Had the series been continued, it likely would have been revealed in the third season.

The series is based on [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko the early comic stories]] by Creator/StanLee & Creator/SteveDitko, although it also draws from [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy the film series]], ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', more recent comics, and even ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''. It is also the first animated Spider-Man series to focus on his time as a teenager in high school, as it was originally in the comics, rather than portray him in college and beyond like in all of the previous shows. Combined with fluid animation thanks to the simple art style of artist [[http://gotcheeks.blogspot.com/ Sean "Cheeks" Galloway,]] sharp dialogue, interwoven character origins, and a pleasing lack of censorship that crippled one of its [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries predecessors]], it was a composite adaptation of all sorts, that managed to combine all these aspects yet somehow managed to feel like its own universe.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Peter is in love with Mary Jane, but is [[JustFriends rebuffed]]. Although, they would have been together if not for the show’s cancellation.

* {{Stripperific}}: Mary Jane's Halloween costume shows off a lot of skin. Which is odd, considering they're in New York, which gets pretty cold around October/November.

* SecretIdentity: Spider-Man, Green Goblin, and other characters
* SecretIdentityChangeTrick: This is used often. At one point, this backfires on Peter, when it looks as though he lied about where he was going in order to take pictures of Spider-Man.
* SecretSecretKeeper: George Stacy keeps hinting that he knows that Peter Parker is secretly Spider-Man.

* SmartBall: Rhino may be portrayed as fairly unintelligent in this series, but he ''was'' the only one to connect Peter Parker to Spider-Man completely on his own. In Season 2, as noted above, he also manages to turn Spider-Man's signature DeadlyDodging against him, being one of the few(if not the only) villain in this series to do so.

'''[[SitcomArchNemesis J. Jonah Jameson]]''': RETRACTION?! Listen, web-head, nobody tells J. Jonah- ''(stops, OhCrap face as the realization hits)''\\

** Emily Osborn is also alive and well whereas other incarnations had her die not long after Harry was born. [[spoiler:At the time, as ''ComicBook/GoDownSwinging'' revealed that Emma, the nanny of Normie and Stanley was really Emily and she'd faked her death to get away from Norman upon realizing he was a monster.]]

* StiffUpperLip: The Osborns' oh-so-English butler greets Spider-Man with the same blase tone of voice that he does Norman and Harry.

** Captain Stacy easily sees through [[spoiler:Eddie Brock's attempts to frame Spidey by dressing up as him. While Stacy may not know who the real Spider-Man is, the difference in body language is enough to tell him that the one in Brock's photos is an imposter. Similarly, when the Chameleon robs a yacht during a party onboard that Stacy is attending disguised as Spider-Man, Stacy quickly realizes that he is an imposter because despite his mastery of impersonation, the Chameleon is noticably taller than the real Spider-Man]].

* VillainHasAPoint: Despite his SanitySlippage, Eddie Brock isn't entirely wrong to blame Peter Parker and Spider-Man for all his troubles. Between selling pictures of the mutated Doctor Conners to the tabloids, and causing the lose of the symbiote specimen, Peter and his alter-ego were a huge factor in the lab shutting down and Brock losing his job.

For those who either miss or missed out on watching this show on TV, it has become one of the few ''Spider-Man'' TV shows to have all its episodes released on DVD, and the first one to receive a Blu-ray release. In October of 2022, it was added to Disney+.

* HeroesWantRedHeads: Peter is in love with Mary Jane, but is [[JustFriends rebuffed]]. Although, they would have been together if not for the show’s cancellation.

** Flash Thompson [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this, putting himself in harm's way several times, but other times plays it straight to help Spidey out (such as when he rallied the football team to help save Gwen at the Thanksgiving parade).

--> Goblin (blowing up explosives all over the building): "Yes, yes, I'm a big fat liar. Like we didn't all know this was a trap."

** Mary Jane Watson's physical appearance and personality as an aloof but genuinely warm and loyal friend for both Peter and Gwen are true to how she was originally portrayed in the comics. Likewise, for being the only friend in Peter's circle who doesn't have baggage and is more or less on good terms with everyone. She also doesn't end up very often as a DamselInDistress and [[spoiler:is a hero in her own right when she comes to rescue Gwen from Venom in the finale of Season 1, getting the rest of M-Cube to use the parade float as a giant cushion for her fall]].

* NeverSayDie: The occasional "destroy" still gets dropped, but so do actual terms like murder and die. However, one could argue that the ImpliedDeathThreats and DeadlyEuphemisms are scarier than if a character simply said someone was going to die.

* HandBlast: Shocker, Electro, and Green Goblin.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: J. Jonah Jameson, the irascible, gruff publisher who make smear campaigns that are defaming Spider-Man for the sake of eye-catching headlines, lies to the face of the Rhino so as to protect Peter. dramatically but more consistently, he's also a proud and loving father, putting him in marked contrast to [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Norman Osborn]]). Also, Flash Thompson is slightly this by the time of season 2.

** Electricity is also the catalyst for the [[AppliedPhlebotinum subdermal silicon armor]] that resulted in the creation of the Sandman.

* LoveDodecahedron: The dynamics of the Midtown High group are enormously complicated, but succinctly - Gwen and Liz both like Peter, Peter likes Gwen & Liz and also MJ, MJ flirts with Flash but also comes to really like Mark Allen (and would have came to love Peter had the series continued), Liz has lingering feelings for ex-boyfriend Flash, who finds MJ attractive but then focusses on Sha-Shan, Gwen dates Harry, who previously dated Glory, who left him somewhat inexplicably for Kenny, and I'm sure there are others in there.

* NeverSayDie: The occasional "destroy" still gets dropped, but so do actual terms like murder and die.

* NewYearHasCome: "Shear Strength". Features plenty of date anxiety as [[ShipperOnDeck Mary Jane]] schemes for Peter and Gwen to be together at midnight. When the ball drops, there's a RelationshipUpgrade, that's for sure...but with [[spoiler:[[RomanticFalseLead Liz]]]].

* BadassBookworm: Peter Parker/Spider-Man is this, just like his comic book counterpart; As Peter, he is a geeky nerd who can solve your hardest algebra problems before breakfast is over, As Spider-Man, he is able to hand criminals their asses using his superhuman combat skills.
* BadassBystander: When the Lizard is about to bite Spidey's head off in a subway train, some old lady hits him (the Lizard) on the head with her purse. For emphasis: The Lizard is seven or so feet tall, built like a truck, and has [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily many, many]] sharp, pointy teeth that he has shown no compunction about using. This old woman saved Spider-Man's life with a ''handbag''.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Spider-Man is a nice guy, but he can be very frightening when the villains push him too far and put too many people in danger.

** More succesfully, he forces Liz's brother to try and kill Spider-Man.

* BrickJoke: A subtle one. In "Reaction", Spidey webs up a nerdy guy and a pretty girl to keep them out of the way of a runaway car. In "Gangland", which is set a season later, the same two characters show up when she accepts his proposal on Valentine's Day.

* HeroicBystander: Eddie Brock defends his friends from Electro, and helps Spider-Man fight the Lizard. John Jameson helps Spidey find a timebomb. Flash Thompson [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this, putting himself in harm's way several times, but other times plays it straight to help Spidey out.

* RightHandVersusLeftHand: From a few obscure lines, you'd think that the Sinister Six were going to tear themselves apart through arguments, which is what Spider-Man has invoked in other adaptations. Instead they stayed relatively cool with each other, but their individual attacks would accidently take out other teammates.

* CloserToEarth: Of the series' ThreeAmigos, it is Gwen who is most observant and concerned for Harry.

* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Played straight, then ZigZagged. The theme from the first few episodes showcased our ThreeAmigos plus J. Jonah Jameson. In episode 10, Mary Jane replaced Harry's spot and since then, Peter, along with the three other characters most important to the episode's story are used in the credits.

* {{Reconstruction}}: This show reconstructs the SecretIdentity. While Peter’s double life as Spider-Man puts strains on his relationships with the people he cares about, as Captain Stacy has noted, keeping his identity secret is only way he can keep them safe from the supervillains and other criminals his fights.

* BoobsOfSteel: Black Cat and Silver Sable are both pretty well-endowed and both kick butt.

** In the comic, Peter created four secret identity after Spider-Man was framed for murder. One of them was Ricochet. In this adaptation, Peter Never used this identity and Ricochet is an name used by one of his enemies

** Ricochet is a member of the Enforcers ([[CompositeCharacter Fancy Dan]]) rather than a teen vigilante like in the comics.

* DecompositeCharacter: Fredrick Forswell isn't the Big Man in this adaptation. Instead, Foswell’s role of being the Big Man is given to Tombstone.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Flash Thompson delivers one of these to Peter in "Intervention". For more, see WhatTheHellHero.

* AdaptationOriginConnection: The spider that bites Peter was from a laboratory run by Curt Conners AKA The Lizard and funded by [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Oscorp]]. Also, Uncle Ben was killed by [[spoiler: Black Cat's father.]]

** The Burglar on this show is a combination of Uncle Ben's killer and [[spoiler: Black Cat's father]], which in turn makes [[spoiler: Black Cat one with Jessica Caradine]].

** Also Spider-Man manages to pull one against the Sinister Six in "Group Therapy" after he got the symbiote, but with a twist [[spoiler: he was asleep the whole time.]]

** Hammerhead is the right hand man to Tombstone. [[spoiler: Until he becomes TheStarscream...]]

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Norman Osborn (Green Goblin)]] in the season 2 finale. He even changes his appearance and leaves on a plane.

** Peter Parker came VERY close when he gained the symbiote. However [[spoiler: Eddie Brock]] didn't fare so well, though not a superhero he did pull some pretty courageous moves at the start of the season.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** The Master Planner also takes Gwen hostage so that Captain Stacy can get him Homeland Security Defense Codes. [[spoiler: The Doc/ Planner]] is very fond of this tactic.

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: [[spoiler: Norman Osborn]] and primarily J. Jonah Jameson.

* LoveMakesYouCrazy: Eddie Brock's love for... [[spoiler: the Symbiote.]]

** Though a lot of these were the result of the machinations of one or more of the show's three {{Big Bad}}s - Tombstone, Doc Ock, or [[spoiler: Norman Osborn]], rather than isolated encounters. What's really interesting is the show's justification for why there are so many supervillains running around: The Big Bads had them created to keep Spider-Man busy and thus unable to interfere with their standard criminal operations.

* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler: In the season 2 finale, the Green Goblin, a.k.a. Norman Osborn, atop his trademark flyer sails right into a roof-mounted pumpkin-bomb launcher--which proceeds to go boom with gusto. At the end of the episode, we see a newly blond and facial-hair-sporting Norman Osborn boarding a flight to the Cayman island.]]

* OutOfCharacterAlert: "Norman Osborn ''never'' apologizes!" [[spoiler: The fact that Norman apologizes in the finale is one of the tip-offs that he's being impersonated by the Chameleon.]]

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Sandman...but not really.]]

* RhymesOnADime: While his isn't usually an example, the Green Goblin does this in "Opening Night". Not only is it lampshaded, but it's also partially justified: several of his lines are quotes from Shakespeare's verse. It also acts as a clue to the Goblin's identity: Harry Osborn, the prime suspect behind the mask, was supposed to be playing Puck in a school play, and all of the Shakespeare lines are Puck quotes. [[spoiler: Turned out to be a RedHerring, but nice touch...]]

** Weisman loves this trope so much he actually used it for '''''foreshadowing.''''' In the school play, Harry Osborn was to play the role of Puck, and was one of the big suspects for being the Green Goblin. At the time of the play, Harry was absent (which forced them to use the understudy) and the Goblin was off doing evil and quoting Puck. [[spoiler: Turned out to be a RedHerring, but excellent touch.]]

* SmugSnake: Miles Warren (who admittedly seems perfectly content as right-hand-man to real MagnificentBastard Norman Osborn), Hammerhead (in the [[spoiler: Gang War arc, when he turns against Tombstone only to become the Goblin's pawn]]).

* SoProudOfYou: [[spoiler: Norman Osborn, after revealed to be the ''real'' Green Goblin, says he's never been so proud of Harry in the second season finale. A shame [[WellDoneSonGuy poor Harry]] probably didn't hear him...]]

** The Green Goblin appears to be this for Harry. Subverted when it turns out [[spoiler: Norman has been the Goblin all along, and he claims to have been in total control of his actions. Goblin's wacky personality was presumably just another part of the disguise.]]

* ThisIsUnforgivable: Black Cat tells Spider-Man this after he [[spoiler: successfully convinced her Dad to stay in prison.]]

** This version of the Green Goblin is much more faithful to his comic book counterpart than most versions (particularly the Creator/{{Fox}} [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries animated]] and ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' versions) since they argued that [[spoiler: Norman]] was a flawed but decent man turned evil. In this adaptation, [[spoiler: Norman]] is the Green Goblin, "a bad man turned worse" and his psychopathic, manipulative, abusive MadBomber aesthetic, as well as [[spoiler: his {{Gaslighting}} of his own son]], is [[spoiler: Norman Osborn]] in all his ugliness. Likewise, the Goblin's personality and plans for the two seasons, i.e. take over New York's underworld and killing Spider-Man, are faithful to how Creator/SteveDitko depicted him in the comics, as are his great athleticism and flexibility.

-->'''Venom''': You want the wallcrawler? Then here's a scoop: [[spoiler: PETER PARKER IS SPIDER-MAN!]]

** Flash Thompson of all people calls Peter out on how rude he's been to his friend's who've just been trying to help him. [[spoiler: This ends up causing Peter to eventually give up the symbiote.]]

* YouFightLikeACow: Spider-Man's famous battle patter. Averted in "Group Therapy" since in the second battle, he takes down the Sinister Six without a word because [[spoiler: he's ''asleep''.]] Octopus even says that he knew Spidey was getting serious when he stopped quipping.