Line #55 YMMV/TheSpectacularSpiderMan


1	* AccidentalAesop: Every time the show hands us a lesson about great power and responsibility and the right thing in conjunction with Peter's keeping his identity secret, it ends up telling us that ''secret identities are a stupid idea and nothing good can ever come of them.'' Which is more or less true, if largely [[FantasticAesop inapplicable to our daily lives]].
2	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
3	** Just like in the comics, how much of Eddie's actions as Venom were his own or of the influence of the symbiote?
4	** Is the symbiote an evil parasite that wants to corrupt its hosts or a scared creature that commit these acts out of fear of being trapped in an alien world that wants to hurt them?
5	** WordOfGod is that it is meant to be intentionally ambiguous whether or not Globulin Green really did drive [[spoiler:Norman Osborn]] insane.
6	** Does Walter Hardy know Spider-Man is Peter Parker, nephew of [[spoiler:the man he shot]]? Is that why he knew Spider-Man made it clear he wouldn't forgive him?
7	** Did Chameleon [[spoiler:always know Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin? Knowing that would have helped him avoid mistakes with his deception, but Norman also may have been reluctant to trust that knowledge to a flunky. Chameleon looks shocked after Norman is unmasked, but is that shock about who Green Goblin is or about how his cover is blown? Or is he faking shock to deceive Harry? Finally, if he doesn't know Norman is the Green Goblin, is his relatively pleasant attitude toward Harry in the finale just maintaining his cover or a PetTheDog moment]]?
8	** Does Ned Lee [[spoiler:wrongfully exonerate Peter for being Spider-Man because he really believes the real Spider-Man would never get caught dressing up as himself on Halloween, or does he suspect the truth but want to protect his co-worker from being murdered by vengeful supervillains, considering they're barely subtle about what they'll do if Peter ''was'' Spider-Man]]?
9	** When Ned interviews Norman about Peter being Spider-Man, he thinks long and hard before answering with a BluntNo to being asked if he thinks they are one and the same. [[spoiler:Did he figure it out right then and there? Did he keep it to himself for his own uses? Did he notice anything familiar about Spider-Man when his mask gets ripped and his eye was exposed during their final battle? Keep in mind that Norman in the original comics figured out Peter was Spider-Man before revealing himself, too]].
10	* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: It’s very hard to think back before ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' began, but there was some skepticism due to the show's art style as well as the fact that all Spider-Man shows since the 1994 cartoon were mixed at best. When it finally premiered, ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' quickly became very popular with both fans and critics, and that popularity persists more than a decade since the show's cancellation.
11	* BrokenBase: While the show has received acclaim from fans, one of its most contentious aspects is its art style. Detractors disliked the simplistic designs and point how inferior it is to previous shows like ''WesternAnimation/SpidermanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/SpidermanUnlimited''. The other camp argues that this simplistic art style allows for more fluid animation, especially during its fight scenes, while still giving the show its own unique charm.
12	* CantUnHearIt:
13	** Creator/JoshKeaton is generally considered by many to be the definitive voice actor of Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
14	** Ditto for Creator/SteveBlum as the Green Goblin, who has been cited by many fans as the best voice for Spidey's ArchEnemy and has even been favorably compared to Creator/MarkHamill's performance as the Joker.
15	** Creator/DaranNorris has been lauded by many for his performance as J. Jonah Jameson, and is often seen as one of the best takes on the character second only to Creator/JKSimmons' iconic portrayal.
16	** There's also Creator/CrispinFreeman and Creator/XanderBerkeley as Electro and Mysterio respectively, both of which are often seen as joke villains by fans, but Freeman manages to make Electro sound genuinely [[PsychoElectro menacing and unhinged]] while still staying true to the character's more [[NeverMyFault petulant]] [[PsychoticManchild traits]], and Berkeley nails Mysterio’s LargeHam tendencies without making him too goofy to be taken seriously.
17	** Creator/ClancyBrown is seen by many as the definitive take on the Rhino, with his natural baritone matching Rhino’s brawny stature perfectly while also playing up the character’s iconic DumbMuscle persona. And like with Freeman and Berkeley, he never makes the character come across as too silly to be threatening when he needs to be.
18	* CharacterRerailment: The series features the first version of the Green Goblin to not undergo AdaptationalHeroism. He is, as the Earth-616 Peter described him, a "bad man made worse". Likewise, there is more ambiguity over the effects of the Goblin formula on [[spoiler:Norman]]'s psyche, which matches how his comic book counterpart was portrayed during ''ComicBook/{{The Amazing Spider\|ManLeeAndDitko}}-Man'' era (where he was presented as a rational man who compartmentalized the two sides of his life well).
19	* CompleteMonster:
20	** [[spoiler:[[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]], aka the Green Goblin, is a cold, ruthless [[CorruptCorporateExecutive businessman]] in public, and a [[AxCrazy cackling supervillain]] in his alter ego. Osborn has created several supervillains that have plagued New York and Spider-Man for months, often using unwitting thugs as test subjects for the potentially lethal superpower experiments before unleashing them on the city to wreak havoc just to turn himself a profit. As the Green Goblin, he tries to bomb Tombstone's charity gala and "paint the ballroom red" with dozens of innocent occupants; transforms meek [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Otto Octavius]] into megalomaniac Dr. Octopus; and booby-traps a massive portion of New York with bombs that endanger countless civilians. Framing his abused son Harry as the Goblin by wounding his leg and taking advantage of his drug habit, Osborn later kick-starts a [[MobWar gang war]] that engulfs a chunk of the city; turns Mark Allan into Molten Man to use him as a slave; and attempts to take control of all criminals in New York as "the new Big Man of crime".]]
21	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsVenom The alien symbiote]] is a lifeform that feeds on emotions, and functions as Spider-Man's most personal enemy. Latching onto Spider-Man as a helpful "black suit", the symbiote slowly taints and infects the hero's personality, turning him into a crooked thug who hurts all his friends. When Spider-Man permanently removes it, the symbiote {{mind rape}}s him with memories of his Uncle Ben's death to break Spidey and control his "mind, body and soul". The symbiote later attaches itself to [[Characters/MarvelComicsEddieBrock Eddie Brock]] to corrupt and twist his mental instability into homicidal rage, merging with him to become "Venom". Venom attacks Spider-Man's loved ones; sets an apartment building aflame; and [[DrivenToMadness drives John Jameson insane]], intending to remove Spidey's powers and expose his identity so everyone he cares about will be targeted by all of his foes. [[{{Yandere}} Behaving like a spurned abuser rejected by its victim]], the symbiote is an evil stain that ruins everyone it touches while claiming to "love" them, and is always quick to ditch its broken host if it finds a better one.
22	* DracoInLeatherPants: Most of the super-villains, especially Venom, Otto, and the rest of the Sinister Six are viewed as sympathetic characters by certain sections of the fandom, particularly on Tumblr. While they do have [[LikableVillain plenty of]] [[AffablyEvil likable]] [[JerkassWoobie qualities]] (and you can get behind them [[PayEvilUntoEvil targeting Norman Osborn]]), they're still for the most part unrepentantly vicious and [[LackOfEmpathy don't care how many people get hurt or killed]] [[ItsAllAboutMe as long as they get revenge on Spidey and take what they think they're owed.]]
23	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
24	** Daily Bugle reporter Frederick Foswell only appears sporadically, and usually in minor roles. Still, he gets a lot of respect for how his last two appearances give him a HeroOfAnotherStory SmallRoleBigImpact arc in investigating the crime lords through covert infiltration and getting valuable information that Spiderman is unable to on his own.
25	** The amount of clamor about how ClassyCatBurglar Black Cat is such an intriguing scene stealer make it surprising to realize that she is only in four episodes, two of which are cameo appearances.
26	** Glory Grant is the least prominent member of the popular clique (besides Hobie), but gets a lot of love from the fans for being the only member of the group to actively call out any of the others for bullying people.
27	** Semi-regular rogue Sandman is only the main villain of two episodes, but is just as popular as the main four villains (Green Goblin, Tombstone, Venom, and Doctor Octopus) for being the only real PunchClockVillain in the series while still having some stunning fighting moves.
28	** The background characters who have a MeetCute moment during a fight in season one and reappear in the ValentinesDayEpisode, getting engaged are pretty popular despite only having about ten seconds of screen time across their two episodes.
29	** In three or four episodes, Hammerhead has a stylish and unflappable DarkActionGirl chauffeur who tries to keep protecting him even after the car is flipped over and she gets thrown against the wall a few seconds later in one episode and pulls a CarFu stunt in another. She is onscreen for less than a minute per appearence, but is interesting enough for some fans to speculate about whether she is meant to be a CanonCharacterAllAlong.
30	* EvilIsCool: Many of the villains qualify.
31	** ComicBook/GreenGoblin either in costume or as [[spoiler:Norman Osborn]] is a frighteningly competent and a dangerous adversary who is LaughablyEvil while [[spoiler:Norman]] is the unflappable ManBehindTheMan.
32	** Tombstone, who's essentially this adaptation's version of ComicBook/TheKingpin. Not only is he in-charge of New York's criminal underworld, but he disabuses Spidey's belief he's a pushover by laying him flat on his back within seconds of meeting him. Throughout his appearances, Tombstone shows intelligence, bravery, style, and enough standards[=/=]pragmatism to remain a deadly foe and MagnificentBastard.
33	** Hammerhead is quite interesting as a middle-man for Tombstone and ([[spoiler:later Goblin]]) who shows some EvilVirtues (namely loyalty, perseverance) and the animation where he goes into his famous headbutting move is genuinely cool and compelling. Add in that he dresses like a classic '30s gangster (complete with vintage car), and you have a memorable minor villain. The fact that he and Silver Sable are exes makes him pretty interesting.
34	** The Sandman gets this especially in his final appearance where he really shows off his powers by attacking an oil tanker in the ocean and does by converting himself into a moving sandbank (lampshaded by the ship captain noting that the beach is coming to them), and the battle with Spider-Man features an entire forest of fists jutting out of the ground, showing the true potential of his powers in a way that ''Film/SpiderMan3'' didn't do. [[spoiler:The fact that he reveals heroic qualities by saving some of the sailors in that attack only makes it cooler.]]
35	** The ComicBook/{{Venom}} symbiote becomes self-aware and fights the entire Sinister Six by itself and wins and then provides Peter a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind that is genuinely compelling and suspenseful. And after bonding with [[spoiler:Eddie]], Venom wholly falls into CreepyAwesome territory, uncaring about money or power and being solely hellbent on ruining Peter's life while having clever plots (especially in the "Human Development" arc) and complete immunity to Spider-Sense. [[spoiler:Eddie]] having a sadder and much more complex history with Peter helps too.
36	** ComicBook/DoctorOctopus starts out as a pawn in Norman's schemes but eventually becomes much more independent and actually runs his own schemes ''from within prison walls.'' He's also AffablyEvil, as he's good friends with the other Sinister Six members (especially Vulture and Electro) and once kindly allowed two elderly women to run away to safety before fighting Spider-Man. [[CardCarryingVillain Oh, and he has a coffee mug that says "evil genius".]]
37	* FandomRivalry:
38	** Primarily with ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider\|Man2012}}-Man''. With the former, fandom got into nasty arguments over which is the "definitive" animated Spider-Man adaptation. With the latter, ''Ultimate'' was Disney's replacement series for ''Spectacular''.
39	** And now a similar rivalry is starting to form with ''WesternAnimation/MarvelsSpiderMan'', with many ''Spectacular'' fans bashing the show after its first ''short'' and complaining that their favorite adaptation still isn't coming back.
40	* FanNickname: Many.
41	** The Spectacular Spider-Bro.
42	** Doc Ock has two. Pre-breakdown is "[[TheWoobie D'awww]]c Ock", post- is "Doctor Octopus, Lord of The Vampires" due to his rather vampire-esque attire in "Gangland".
43	** Due to the various girls that Peter/Spider-Man attracts, fans have decided to rename the show "Bitches Love Spider-Man: The Animated Series".
44	* FriendlyFandoms:
45	** The fandom gets along really well with the ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' fandom because they both share Creator/GregWeisman as a creator. This got [[http://gargwiki.net/Religious_Studies_101:_A_Handful_of_Thorns to the point that Greg Weisman himself]] [[http://s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=844 wrote a non-canon crossover]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZxFc1tZxvc that was performed at the Gathering of the Gargoyles con]]. Sadly, the fandom has gotten less friendly since the 'Save Spectacular Spider-Man' movement started on Twitter and Greg Weisman has not thrown in his support (because he does not believe the show can come back due to legal and corporate politics between Sony, Disney, and Marvel) while often supporting the 'Keep Binging Gargoyles' hashtag as he does see a path for that series to return. Some fans of ''Spectacular'' seem to believe that Weisman is playing favorites and have since resorted to attacking ''Gargoyles'' and its fandom.
46	** The ''TSSM'' fandom also shares members with that of ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', which both experience disappointment with their respective shows getting cancelled before the writers could resolve all the loose ends and Disney XD instead replacing them with lower-quality animated adaptations of those comics. It also helps that at least two of the ''EMH'' story guys, Creator/ChristopherYost and Josh Fine, love ''TSSM'' so much that they hired Josh Keaton to voice Spidey again.[[note]]Unfortunately, ExecutiveMeddling replaced him with Creator/DrakeBell as a tie-in with ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider\|Man2012}}-Man''.[[/note]]
47	** The fandom also gets along very well with fans of ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse'' fans and DC fans on the whole. It helps that Greg Weisman worked on ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice\|2010}}'' which most consider the best of the Post-''DCAU'' cartoons. Both groups of fandoms consider ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' the best of Marvel's animation series and the only one near the [=DCAU=]'s high level of quality.
48	** Fans of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' also get along with fans of this show. It helps that they aired around the same time and were both CutShort.
49	* GrowingTheBeard:
50	** The first five episodes are great and entertaining; however, "The Invisible Hand" abandoned the usual "two fight" format, going for one big fight with The Rhino instead, and then introduced Tombstone.
51	** Season 2 introduced much more complicated, long-running plot threads and twists, and generally amped up the quality of the fight scenes, which were already arguably amongst the best of WesternAnimation as is.
52	* HarsherInHindsight:
53	** Remember the Lizard's failed attempt to eat his own son in his one appearance? Becomes a lot more disturbing when you remember that the comics would have him succeed in doing that a few years later.
54	** [[CutShort The title of the 2nd Season finale]]: ''Final Curtain''.
55	** Greg Weisman once mentioned that [[SparedByTheAdaptation he was never going to kill Gwen Stacy off]] despite ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' being the most infamous story about her. This led to fan debates of whether ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' would continue to adhere to the original comic book stories (and kill Gwen off in the proposed DTV movies) or take a brand new direction untethered by canon events. ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'' gives this debate darker context by revealing that [[spoiler:the show's George Stacy is destined to die in a "[[DoomedByCanon Canon Event]]" to maintain balance of the multiverse, which doesn't bode well for Gwen Stacy's fate since the movie alludes that a Gwen Stacy that falls for Spider-Man is destined to die as well.]]
56	*** Spider-Man's declaration of "[[ComesGreatResponsibility I can't ever look the other way again]]" becomes this when his appearance in ''Across the Spider-Verse'' [[spoiler:shows him encouraging Miles Morales to ''do just that''.]]
57	*** Really, Spider-Man's struggles itself become even harder to watch once factoring in ''Across the Spider-Verse''. [[spoiler: At some point, he witnessed Captain Stacy dying, allowing Miguel to manipulate his grief. Peter always had a hard time in life, especially since almost everyone around him barely helped with said issues. From the one person who may have known his secret identity now dead, Peter was finally pushed over the edge and became a pawn for someone who actually seemed to care.]]
58	* HilariousInHindsight:
59	** This little piece from "Nature vs Nurture" is even funnier now, considering Flash becoming Agent Venom in the mainline comics continuity and subsequent adaptations like ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider\|Man2012}}-Man''.
60	--->'''Spidey:''' At least Flash isn't evil. Or at least he isn't possessed by an evil symbiote. Well, as far as I know...
61	** In "Shear Strength", one of Creator/GreyDeLisle's ancillary roles is as an AI. Fast forward [[WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries a couple of years to another series with Josh Keaton as the lead...]]
62	** Any episode with Electro fighting Spider-Man might seem like this, after both of their voice actors can claim to have also played [[ComicBook/AntMan Ant-Man II]] (Crispin Freeman in a 2012 ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' episode, Josh Keaton in some 2017 ''Ant-Man'' shorts and ''[[WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble Avengers: Secret Wars]]'').
63	** Here, Electro joined forces with Dr. Octopus to be cured of being an EnergyBeing. In ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' [[spoiler:his reasoning for joining the Sinister Six is the exact opposite--he ''wants'' to become one there]]. Additionally, that version of Electro is voiced by Creator/JoshKeaton. In ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', [[spoiler:Doc Ock ''does'' cure Electro of being an EnergyBeing in the climax, except, this time, he does it against his wishes]].
64	** During his second fight with Mysterio, Spider-Man is almost hit by a steam train, but it turned out to be a hologram. [[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome If only the MCU's Spidey had been so lucky...]][[note]]he gets hit by a ''bullet'' train.[[/note]] Spider-Man also quips at Mysterio that "I'm using that stupid fishbowl of yours as a snow globe" [[spoiler:and Mysterio's fishbowl of a helmet does get used as a snow globe in ''Far From Home'' to mentally scare Peter by trapping him in one.]]
65	** In "Identity Crisis" after Peter and Gwen ditch a mob of reporters, one asks if Spider-Man can turn invisible. Well now ''a'' [[ComicBook/MilesMorales Spider-Man can.]]
66	** There is a scene where Gwen flawlessly dodges a football in season 2, and Peter notices how impressive it was, given that she has no Spider Sense. [[ComicBook/SpiderGwen Not this Gwen, anyway.]]
67	** In their first encounter, Spider-Man compares Molten Man to an Oscar. Years later, a [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse different Spider-Man]] actually would win an Oscar (specifically, for best animation). Not only that, but this show's Spider-Man will be appearing in [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse that film's sequel]].
68	** Here, Steve Blum plays a flying villain with a high-pitched voice who causes trouble for the hero ''and'' the villain at different times, and is willing to backstab anyone ForTheEvulz. Years later, he'd play a very similar character when he was cast as Starscream in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''.
69	*** Funnily enough, he isn't the only actor in this show to be later cast in ''Prime'': Josh Keaton (Peter Parker/Spider-Man) would later voice Jack Darby (one of the show's [[TokenHuman Token Humans]]) and Clancy Brown (the voice of the Rhino) would be cast as the terrorist Silas.
70	* HoYay: Norman Osborn's obsession with Peter Parker already borders into Ho Yay territory (not that Peter helps matters, Normie-kins indeed...), but Spider-Man and the Green Goblin?
71	* HypeAversion: Unfortunately, the fandom has caused this, due to their boasting that this is ''absolutely the best Spider-Man adaptation ever'' and not accepting any other opinion, as well as their consistent (and often times unnecessary) bashing of both ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider\|Man2012}}-Man'' and ''WesternAnimation/MarvelsSpiderMan'' (along with their respective fans) have scared off a lot of people who missed this show, and caused them to not want to watch it, either due to disliking said fandom's attitude or feeling it won't stand up to the sheer amount of hype and praise surrounding it.
72	* IKnewIt: In the first season, we are introduced to the Green Goblin. Most people by now know that [[spoiler:Norman Osborn]] is the Green Goblin, and at first the show didn't do much to deny this, giving several indications that it was him. Then later that season, we were shown that it was in fact [[spoiler:Harry Osborn]]. When Goblin made his return in the second season, the final episodes played up the idea that other people could be the Goblin, giving the audience some very serious misdirection. Of course, all of this was proven to be just subterfuge, as in the final episode it was revealed that the Goblin had, in fact, been [[spoiler:Norman Osborn]] all along. Adding to the confusion, of course, was the fact that [[spoiler:Harry Osborn]] was ''also'' the Goblin in the comics for a while.
73	* JerkassWoobie:
74	** Electro is a dick, but it’s mainly because he was transformed into a living electrical dynamo, ruining his life and taking away his humanity, causing him to snap. Throughout the series, he continues to mentally decline, and eventually embraces being a supervillain thanks to Doctor Octopus’s influence.
75	** Eddie Brock. Having lost his parents in a plane crash, he's left all on his own. Towards the end of Season 1, his life starts to fall apart due to circumstances beyond his control. The jerkass part comes into play when he starts lashing out at Peter and blaming him. This resentment, coupled with the symbiote's corruptive influence, drives him to become a poison in Peter's life by targeting everyone that Peter cares about, including Gwen Stacy whom Eddie likes as well.
76	* LesYay: Mary Jane and Liz in "Subtext", particularly in the last scene when they are performing their lines for the play to one another - even the episode's ''title'' adds to this feeling. For all anyone knows, MJ and Liz were each other's rebounds after the show ended! It certainly adds another dimension to MJ's "Finally!" line in the last episode.
77	* LoveToHate: Green Goblin[[spoiler:/Norman Osborn]] is a nasty piece of work, but at the same time you can't help but admire how [[TheChessmaster cunning]] and [[LargeHam over-the-top evil]] he is.
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81	%% Do NOT change any Magnificent Bastard entries without first coming to the trope's [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15255322860A44444400&page=104#2587 cleanup thread]].
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84	* MagnificentBastard: ComicBook/SpiderMan has had to take on quite a few intelligent masterminds with these standing above the crowd.
85	** Green Goblin, [[spoiler:[[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]]]], is the [[BigBad ultimate villain]] that Spider-Man faces throughout the series. The mastermind behind many of the series' villains, Goblin consistently stays one step ahead of Spidey throughout the series, faking injuries and even death, unleashing various villains and criminals onto him as distractions, and framing [[spoiler:his own son]] as the Goblin all to throw the hero off his scent. Outsmarting all the biggest crime bosses in New York in a fell swoop of manipulation to kickstart a gang war, Goblin moves in and takes control of the city's criminal element before using all his resources in a grand, final attempt at wiping Spider-Man off the map to leave the city for his rule. [[spoiler:In his public guise, Osborn builds Oscorp from the ground up, making it into a world-renowned organization, hires Chameleon to masquerade as him to avoid suspicion, and slowly tries to mold his son Harry into becoming a cruel monster like himself]]. At times a psychopathic, LaughingMad supervillain, [[spoiler:and at others a cold, ruthless businessman]], Green Goblin was the most personal and most diabolical villain Spider-Man ever faced, standing in stark contrast to Tombstone's professional brilliance with his own brand of psychotic ingenuity and charm.
86	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Dr. Otto Octavius]] was once the [[FromNobodyToNightmare meek, milquetoast assistant]] to Norman Osborn, and created several supervillains with his scientific genius, but upon nearly dying in a lab accident and having his arms welded to him, becomes the genius, diabolical "Dr. Octopus". After his initial defeat by Spider-Man, Octopus grows smarter and more resourceful, creating the villainous team-up of "the Sinister Six", using them to beat Spider-Man to such a point that the hero flees for his life. A [[AffablyEvil gentleman]] who is genuinely friendly with his fellow villains and willing to allow safe passage to innocent bystanders, Octopus takes over a chunk of New York's criminal underworld as the "Master Planner" from the luxury of a mental hospital he has manipulated himself into by [[FalselyReformedVillain pretending to be redeemed]]. Octopus's master plan is to take over the computer systems of every piece of technology in the world, and succeeds in doing so to Manhattan before being stopped by Spider-Man. A mastermind so brilliant that he ran rings around every other villain in the series at least once, Dr. Octopus is one of Spider-Man's greatest, most intelligent foes.
87	** [[AdaptationalIntelligence L. Thompson Lincoln]], better known as "Tombstone", is the "[[TheDon Big Man]]" of crime in New York City, running all criminal activities with a flawless, business-like approach. Introduced after sending numerous supercriminals against Spider-Man, Tombstone calmly and charismatically offers to pay Spider-Man to look the other way for some of Tombstone's activities, and frames the hero as a criminal when he refuses the offer. Displaying numerous moments of [[NobleDemon honorable qualities]], be it helping to locate a bomb at one of his parties at the cost of his own life or even saving the life of one of his closest henchmen, Tombstone is also an excellent VillainWithGoodPublicity, convincing the entire city that he is an upstanding, charitable man, despite his monstrous appearance. No situation catches Tombstone off guard for long, as he attempts to be the voice of reason when the Green Goblin starts a gang war, and even publicly assists Spider-Man in dueling numerous villains to keep up his appearance, only to then betray and attempt to murder the man once out of public eye. Unlike most every villain in the series, Tombstone gets off scot-free, easily paying his way out of prison and returning to his former seat of glory, with only surface-level damages to his organization.
88	** [[ProfessionalKiller Montana]], the leader of Tombstone's Enforcers, quickly joins the ranks of New York's rising supervillain presence as the [[EmpoweredBadassNormal Shocker]]. Hired to kill Spider-Man, Shocker frequently works with other villains to overwhelm the hero in sheer numbers, notably making his debut by ambushing Spider-Man with an attack helicopter during his second fight with the Vulture. Executing brilliant heists to steal gold and even his own suit, Shocker uses a bank robbery to hide the theft of Federal Reserve uniforms, allowing the upgraded Enforcers to effortlessly enter and commence with their true heist under the guise of delivering a gold shipment. Shocker easily adapts the plan accordingly when Spider-Man gets in their way, giving him a brutal thrashing the entire time and ultimately only failing due to the unexpected betrayal of Hammerhead. A pragmatic [[ConsummateProfessional professional]] focused on getting the job done, Shocker is defined by his loyalty to the Big Man and his dedication to "squashing the bug".
89	** [[MasterOfIllusion Mysterio]], real name Quentin Beck, starts out as a special effects expert in the employ of Chameleon before graduating into a full-fledged supervillain. With a mastery of illusions and holograms, Mysterio makes his debut posing as a sorcerer with a hatred of machinery to disguise the theft of technology needed for [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]]'s master plan. Managing to keep Spider-Man on his toes throughout their encounters with a bevy of tricks designed to confuse reality with his manipulations, Mysterio manages to escape with all of the technology by leaving a lifelike robotic duplicate in his place after a grueling battle, later successfully repeating this escape after joining the second iteration of the Sinister Six and coming the closest to killing Spider-Man with an explosive duplicate. Even his duplicates are equipped with the ability to replicate his tricks, allowing his second imprisoned decoy to aid in the fight against Spider-Man when he's trapped in the Vault with all his enemies. A delightfully hammy performer, the theatrics of the self-declared "Master of the Arcane Arts" allow Mysterio to end the series still on the loose to pull whatever capers he desires.
90	** [[Characters/BlackCatMarvelComics Black Cat]], [[ClassyCatBurglar Felicia Hardy]], is a charismatic, [[FemmeFatale seductive thief]] who balances her criminal career with a [[DatingCatwoman genuine attraction for the heroic Spider-Man]]. Black Cat always goes out of her way to help Spider-Man in any way she can while simultaneously using him to further her own thrill-seeking ways, in one instance helping him to clear his name from a frame-up to serve as a cover while she swipes the mayor of New York's priceless tiger necklace under everyone's noses. Capable of infiltrating high security locations with minimal effort, Black Cat even breaks into the secure prison the Vault to free her imprisoned father, taking time during the rescue to concoct a scheme that quells a PrisonRiot, and even when she grows to blame Spider-Man for her father being left behind in the prison, she jumps to his rescue and scares off the Green Goblin to save the webhead's life one last time.
91	* MemeticMutation: The interaction between Chameleon!Spider-Man and the real Spider-Man in "Persona" is viewed as a metaphor of the [[FandomRivalry the rivalries]] between this show and ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider\|Man2012}}-Man'''s.
92	* {{Moe}}: Gwen Stacy spends a lot of her screentime either being EndearinglyDorky or doggedly protective of her friends in a way that melts plenty of fans' hearts.
93	* MoralEventHorizon:
94	** [[spoiler:Norman framing Harry solidifies him as an amoral bastard, but injuring Harry's leg to do it demonstrates a casual cruelty and cowardice that erases any hint of redemption.]] Though manipulating Mark Allan was also up there.
95	** Venom crosses it by revealing Spider-Man's identity in the first place knowing that he and his loved ones will be threatened.
96	** Doctor Octopus inspires quite a bit of RootingForTheEmpire throughout the show, but it becomes a lot harder to wholeheartedly approve of his actions after he tries to leave Innocent hostage Gwen Stacy and his own loyal minion Electro to die in an exploding lair.
97	* {{Narm}}: Eddie Brock, post-Venom, in his moments without the symbiote.
98	--> '''Eddie''': It only loves me for the hate!
99	* OlderThanTheyThink:
100	** Many who are aware of the symbiote since the '90s animated series probably didn't know that in its original comic book appearance, it was able to take over Peter's body in his sleep.
101	** This is not the first time that Tombstone has been portrayed as a crime lord. He was first portrayed as a crime lord in the ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' comic book series.
102	* ParanoiaFuel: Eddie Brock uses this to make Peter reveal the location of the symbiote, allowing him to become Venom once more.
103	* PeripheryDemographic: Many of the show's fans appear to be adults. This is most likely because Creator/GregWeisman was working on it, who has many fans that were children when ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' came out and by the time ''Spectacular'' was created they have grown up. The top-notch writing and fight scenes don't hurt either. It's generally popular among comics fans who like ''ComicBook/{{The Amazing Spider\|ManLeeAndDitko}}-Man''.
104	* QuestionableCasting: Tinkerer's voice makes him sound like a child, when he's supposed to be an old man. It's obvious that the voice was misused, since years later, Adcox would indeed use the same voice [[WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010 when cast as a child.]] However, that's Adcox's actual voice, and he's about as old as Tinkerer.
105	* RootingForTheEmpire: Be honest, once it becomes clear what a horrible man Norman is, it's hard not to get behind the Vulture and Doc Ock gunning for his head.
106	* RewatchBonus: After Peter gets the symbiote, it starts speaking to him (in his head). You won't realize this until Pete does.
107	* ShippingBedDeath: Liz Allan was pretty blatantly meant to serve as a RomanticFalseLead for Peter to delay both he and Gwen actually getting together. The problem however was Pete's sudden [[UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo change of feelings for Gwen in Season 2]] made him come off as an asshole to Liz and the writers' attempts to turn Liz into a DerailingLoveInterests [[UnintentionallySympathetic fell flat]]. This resulted in quite a few viewers upon rewatching feeling completely conflicted on this incarnation of Peter and Gwen becoming a couple given all the baggage that would've led up to it.
108	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
109	** For some, Mary Jane Watson. She was built up a good deal before her introduction in "The Invisible Hand", and then showed the makings of a great supporting character and potential LoveInterest for the rest of Season 1. But in Season 2, MJ is regulated to being Gwen's CoolBigSis figure who's a ShipperOnDeck for Gwen and Peter, and is only a focal point of a subplot centered on Mark Allan. The series was cancelled before her role could ever expand, so she comes off as an underwhelming waste of potential for a character who's been established across other media as the love of Peter Parker's life. Greg Weisman and his writing staff might have wanted to replicate the slower build towards the Peter/MJ romance from the original comics, but many feel that sort of slow build didn't pan out well in this medium. Others, who are fans of ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson appreciate the series however for portraying her just like how she was originally portrayed in the comics (along with getting her personality right, and for her being a genuinely good person, and for averting the DamselInDistress that the Raimi movies affixed on her).
110	** On one hand, many felt that the Alien Symbiote was a more interesting villain than ComicBook/{{Venom}} and Eddie Brock. Many lamented the fact that given how the show is trying to be TruerToTheText, that the showrunners didn't go with the original scrapped ideas for Venom (where the Symbiote was the main bad guy who would periodically latch on to other hosts, drain it and move on vampirically and Eddie Brock was never intended as the final or only host) and instead went with Eddie Brock as a host, for legacy reasons. On the other hand, Venom fans were disappointed to find out that Eddie's seemingly heroic actions before bonding to the symbiote were motivated more by suicidal tendencies, as it seemed to be setting up Venom's HeelFaceTurn into the Lethal Protector.
111	** The three unnamed thieves whom Green Goblin coerces into being his {{Mook}}s in "Catalysts". They contribute fairly little to the plot and are quickly PutOnAPrisonBus, put some fans like their pumpkin masks and dynamics with the Green Goblin and each other and wish they had been recurring characters. While more "Pumpkinheads" show up at the end of season 2, it is unclear if the original three are among them and the new ones aren't very rounded characters.
112	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: When John Jameson has difficulty in space and all of Earth is transfixed by it, Randy Robertson is particularly worried and says that John is "like an older brother to him". Given that their fathers (J. Jonah Jameson and Robbie Robertson) work closely together, this relationship makes perfect sense. However, ''nothing more of it is ever seen or spoken of'', even after [[spoiler:John is driven insane]]. It seems like in juggling the many characters in this show, the ball was dropped on Randy.
113	* TooGoodToLast: Even in its short two seasons, it managed to become one of the most well-regarded adaptations of the character ''ever'', pulling from multiple different prior versions to create something as close to a definitive portrayal of a superhero this side of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''... and it was axed because of rights disputes.
114	* ToughActToFollow: To basically ever other animated Spider-Man project since not named ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'', especially so with its immediate successor ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider\|Man2012}}-Man''.
115	* UnintentionallySympathetic: Peter getting criticized by Flash in "Intervention" over his [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide aggressive attitude]] is supposed to be a case of JerkassHasAPoint. However, considering how shoddy Peter's life can be, with his sole living relative nearly dying from a heart attack, it's not hard to see why he became so upset. Not helping matters is the massive hospital bills that Peter had to pay for. Likewise, most of the people Peter snapped at have either mistreated him in some way or [[BystanderSyndrome ignored his bullies' actions]], causing a fair amount of viewers to see it as a case of TheDogBitesBack.
116	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: While hardly anything new in the Spider-Man franchise, a lot of people in Peter's life really can be unreasonable towards him. Not only should most of them be aware of Peter's DarkAndTroubledPast as a kid, but the fact that they hardly acknowledge his other hardships (losing his uncle, struggling as the breadwinner for his family, getting constantly bullied) tends to downplay their complaints over Peter's mistakes.
117	** [[TheBully Flash]] scolding Peter for "mistreating his friends" when Aunt May was hospitalized really comes across as hypocritical, especially when it was later revealed that they used to be friends until Flash became a bully.
118	* UnnecessaryMakeover: Gwen Stacy. It's true that she looks closer to her comic book portrayal like that, but many of her fans prefer her [[BespectacledCutie ridiculously adorable look with the glasses]] any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Of course, Gwen Stacy in the comics has always had a malleable look and personality.
119	* TheWoobie: As always, Peter/Spider-Man is this since things have the tendency of going wrong for him.
120	* WoobieFamily: The Allan siblings get pulled through the wringer in Season 2. That said, they can be considered more or less [[JerkassWoobie Jerkass Woobies]], since neither were exactly "role-models" for younger audiences.
121	** Liz Allan. Already having to deal with her boyfriend who, from her point of view, keeps standing her up, her brother falls back into his old gambling habits and becomes a supervillain. Peter, preoccupied with his super-heroics, is unable to provide her emotional comfort and breaks up with her. The last we see of her is her breaking down in tears, clearly distraught over Peter breaking up with her. Despite having mistreated Peter at times, she really liked him.
122	** Mark. A guy with a gambling addiction who was at the wrong place at the wrong time when the Green Goblin and Blackie Gaxton rope him into a science experiment just so he could pay off his gambling debts. What he got was [[BlessedWithSuck an armour that turns him into a walking volcano]], leading to him becoming a supervillain and left to rot in prison. While Mark's short-sighted actions and unreasonable attitude towards Spider-Man were his own fault, he was ultimately just trying to turn back into a normal human being.

Context YMMV / TheSpectacularSpiderMan