Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

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TV screenshot of the show's title.
TV screenshot of the show's title.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is an animated series produced by Marvel Productions Ltd. which starred the Marvel Comics characters Spider-Man and Iceman whilst also introducing the character Firestar to complete the group. It is suspected that Firestar was created because the Fantastic Four's Human Torch was unavailable. Together, they fought against various villains. Originally broadcast on NBC as a Saturday morning cartoon, the series ran first-run original episodes for three seasons, from 1981 to 1983, then aired repeats for an additional two years (from 1984 to 1986). It was later re-aired in the late 1980s as part of the ninety-minute Marvel Action Universe (not to be confused with 1977's The Marvel Action Universe), a syndicated series that was used as a platform for old and new Marvel-produced animated fare (the newer programming featured RoboCop: The Animated Series, Dino-riders and on occasion “Pryde of the X-Men”, which was intended to serve as a pilot for a potential "X-Men" animated series).

This animated series was noticeably more popular than the solo Spider-Man animated series that aired around the same time. It has also become more well known in recent years, thanks in part to syndication on the Jetix programming block. As of 2006, as with the majority of the other Disney-acquired Marvel Comics animated series, there are no plans to release the show to DVD.

Contents

[edit] Storyline

Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Bobby Drake (Iceman) and Angelica Jones (Firestar) are all college students at Empire State University. After working together to defeat the Beetle and recovering the "Power Booster" he stole from Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) the trio decide to make the team-up permanent as the "Spider-Friends." They live together in Peter's Aunt May's home with her and a pet dog Ms. Lion. Together, the superheroes battle various supervillains.

The more memorable stories from the series included various team-ups with other characters from the Marvel Universe. These included Captain America, Iron Man, and the "All-New" lineup of the X-Men, the latter of which made their animated debut on this program (the original line-up of X-Men once appeared in a Sub-Mariner episode from the 1960s).

[edit] Episodes

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Season 1

Episode Title Overview
1 "The Triumph of the Green Goblin" While escaping from a mental hospital, Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin and kidnaps his niece at a college campus superhero costume party.
2 "The Crime of All Centuries" Kraven kidnaps Firestar and plots to unleash a dinosaur army.
3 "The Fantastic Mr. Frump" When a spell goes wrong, Doctor Doom gives a lonely old man fantastic powers, who attempts to woo Aunt May, and causes problems with Doom and the Spider-Friends.
4 "Sunfire" Firestar falls in love with Sunfire, a Japanese superhero who is being used by his corrupt father to unleash a fire monster on the city.
5 "Swarm" The Swarm, an alien entity controlling a hive of bees start transforming New York City residents into drone slaves.
6 "7 Little Superheroes" Captain America, Shanna, Sub-Mariner, and Doctor Strange join up with the Spider-Friends to battle the Chameleon.
7 "Videoman" Electro creates a villain called Videoman from an arcade machine.
8 "The Prison Plot" Magneto holds the visitors of an abandoned prison hostage, demanding the release of his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
9 "Spidey Goes Hollywood" Mysterio forces a movie director to con Spider-Man into starring in a movie. Bruce Banner a.k.a. the Incredible Hulk guest stars.
10 "The Vengeance of Loki" Loki masquerades as his half-brother, Thor, and attacks New York City.
11 "Knights and Demons" Spider-Man and the Black Knight team up to battle Mordred.
12 "Pawns of the Kingpin" The Kingpin uses a mind control device to force Captain America and Iceman to commit crimes.
13 "Quest of the Red Skull" The Red Skull kidnaps the Spider-Friends so that they will not interfere in his plot to start World War III.

[edit] Season 2

Episode Title Overview
14 "The Origin of Ice Man" Videoman returns and Iceman retells his origins.
15 "Along Came Spidey" Shocker injures Aunt May, and Spider-Man recounts how he got his powers.
16 "A Fire-Star Is Born" Iceman and Firestar attend an X-Men reunion (featuring Cyclops, Angel, Storm, and Wolverine) where Firestar recalls her origins (cameos by Magneto and a Sentinel). Meanwhile, the Juggernaut crashes the party in an effort to destroy his stepbrother, Professor X.

[edit] Season 3

Episode Title Overview
17 "Spider-Man: Unmasked" The Sandman learns that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.
18 "The Transylvanian Connection" Firestar is kidnapped by Dracula.
19 "The Education of a Superhero" Videoman merges with a game addict, who decides to be a superhero while the Gamesman seeks world domination by electronically hypnotizing the public.
20 "Attack of the Arachnoid" A mad scientist turns into a monster when he tries to recreate Spider-Man's powers. He frames Spider-Man for a crime (Matt "Daredevil" Murdock guest stars as Spidey's lawyer), and the Scorpion stages a jailbreak.
21 "Origin of the Spider-Friends" Stan Lee explains how the superheroes teamed-up to fight the Beetle. Tony Stark makes a cameo.
22 "Spidey Meets The Girl From Tomorrow" Spidey falls in love with a stranded alien, whose spaceship has been stolen by Doctor Octopus.
23 "The X-Men Adventure" The Spider-Friends visit the X-Men and battle an old flame of Firestar.
24 "Mission: Save The Guardstar" S.H.I.E.L.D. teams up with the Spider-Friends to save a mutant named Lightwave, who turns out to be Iceman's half-sister (who oddly was never mentioned in "The Origin of Ice Man, though that could have been due to Bobby weakening during the probe").

[edit] Voice credits

[edit] Comics

[edit] Adaptation

The first comic book that directly referenced the Amazing Friends show was Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends #1 (December 1981), a one-shot that adapted the pilot episode, "The Triumph of the Green Goblin". Though the comic version altered the story to bring it in line with established Marvel Universe continuity (such as making the Green Goblin identity a costume as in the comics, rather than a physical transformation as in the episode), it was not considered part of said continuity. It is notable as the first appearance of Firestar in a Marvel Comics story, though the version of Firestar that exists within Marvel continuity would not appear until Uncanny X-Men #193 (May 1985). The story was later reprinted as Marvel Action Universe #1 (January 1989), released to coincide with the airing of Amazing Friends reruns on the television series of the same name.

[edit] Firestar

After her aforementioned initial appearance, the Marvel Comics version of Firestar was given an origin story in a self-titled mini-series (March-June 1986). The character went on to be a founding member of the New Warriors, and later a member of the Avengers.

[edit] Amazing Friends 2006

To take advantage of the 25th Anniversary of the show, Marvel released Spider-Man Family: Amazing Friends #1, during August 9, 2006. The comic starts with an all new story, Opposites Attack, which is officially set before Web of Spider-Man #75. After that is a Mini Marvel tale titled Spider-Man And His Amazing Co-Workers, the word Friends in the title is crossed off. Both stories were written by Sean McKeever.

The rest of the one shot reprints Untold Tales of Spider-Man #2 and Spider-Man 2099 #2.

[edit] Opposites Attack!

While this story isn't in continuity with the cartoon, it is filled with various in-jokes to aspects of the show, such as Firestar believing Wolverine to be Australian, a reference to an erroneous voice characterization for Wolverine in the episode "A Firestar Is Born" and the fact that the actor who played Wolverine in the X-Men movie, Hugh Jackman, is Australian. It is notable that this is the first appearance of the show's most recurring villain, Videoman, in Marvel Comics continuity.

Iceman has recently returned to the X-Men (after he and the other members of the original X-Factor had disbanded to rejoin their original team), but is taking a break from both the team and his current girlfriend. After he and Spider-Man team up to save a video arcade from Videoman, they take a lunch break on the side of a building (Spidey hanging from webs, Iceman in an ice-chair) and are joined by Firestar. Iceman is dismissive of Firestar as a "newbie", as the story takes place in the same year as Firestar's public debut as a member of the New Warriors, while Iceman and Spider-Man have had significant careers as heroes at that point. Though Spider-Man, having met the Warriors, warns Iceman to watch his tone, Firestar takes offense and melts Iceman's chair; as Iceman uses his powers to break his fall, Firestar kisses Spider-Man on the cheek as a thank-you for standing up for her. This ends up costing Spidey, as his wife Mary Jane makes him sleep on the couch after seeing the kiss on the evening news.

That night, while out on patrol (and trying to work out the kinks in his body caused by the couch), Spider-Man encounters both Firestar and Iceman again, and the latter pair briefly quarrel again until the web-slinger spots the Beetle carrying the loot from a robbery, prompting the three heroes to "go for it" and take the criminal on. The unseen battle ends with the heroes lamenting the Beetle's escape, which devolves into another argument between Iceman and Firestar (apparently, their powers counteracting each other's contributed to their failure).

Mistaking the pair's quarreling for misplaced affection, Spider-Man is determined to play matchmaker for them (despite Mary Jane's misgivings when he tells her his plan). He initially succeeds (despite another brief argument during their Spidey-arranged "first date"), and a three-week whirlwind romance ensues. However, after another encounter with Videoman, Spidey's suggestion of a permanent team-up leads to trouble when Iceman's egotism sparks a fight between the loving couple. When Spidey tries to interfere, Iceman and Firestar turn their attention towards him, seeming to recall his role in bringing them together. As a result, Peter Parker ends up with a cold (and back on the couch) in the end, and Mary Jane heckles his matchmaking skills while caring for her sick husband.

[edit] Spider-Man And His Amazing Co-Workers

It seems that Mini Spidey has been "slacking", as boss J. Jonah Jameson puts it, on the job as delivery boy for the Daily Bugle, due to his obsession with a portable video game starring the Incredible Hulk. Despite Spidey's protests, Jameson assigns him a pair of new partners to get him "back on track"--Bobby (Iceman) and Angel (Firestar). Bobby and Angel pointlessly go through their transformation sequences (as per the TV show), despite both already being in costume, much to Spidey's annoyance.

Due to the pair's idealistic dedication to their new job (as opposed to Spidey's near-apathy), Bobby and Angel deliver the papers in record time. So Spidey decides to slack off again, by claiming he's got a "really important battle to fight" (later claiming that his opponent is Doc Ock on three separate occasions). While the other "Spider-Friends" perform so well that Jameson triples their route, Spidey finally beats the level boss that had been blocking his progress in the video game--that boss being a giant, pistol-wielding Ms. Lion.

Just as Spidey defeats the dreaded Ms. Lion, Bobby and Angel return and explain that Spidey's claims of fighting super-villains had sparked a desire to do so themselves. Thus, they quit their delivery job to follow their new partner in crimefighting--as "Hawkeye and His Amazing Friends"! Spidey is left with a huge amount of papers to deliver and his prospects for new partners looking grim, as he doubtfully interviews Ghost Rider for the position.

[edit] Trivia

  • The makers of the show had originally intended the stars to be Spider-Man, Iceman and the Human Torch, but legal issues about the rights to the Human Torch character (which had also plagued Marvel once before for the New Fantastic Four cartoon) led to the Human Torch being replaced by a new character, Firestar, who had similar powers, but was a mutant like Iceman. She has since become a part of the mainstream Marvel Universe (see Comics above). In pre-production, Firestar's codename changed frequently; the unused names include Firefly, Starblaze and Heatwave.
  • Ms. Lion was actually Firestar's dog, as Angelica introduced Peter to the dog before she and Bobby knew Peter's secret identity or vice versa (as former teammates in the X-Men, Iceman and Firestar knew each other's secret IDs before meeting Peter/Spider-Man). However, Aunt May ended up taking care of the dog most the time, with Angelica leading the busy life of a superhero and college student. Ms. Lion actually saved the day in the episode "Seven Little Superheroes" where The Chameleon was the main enemy, since she was able to distinguish the villain from the people she knew. This episode was also notable for including other Marvel heroes, such as Doctor Strange, Namor, and Shanna the She-Devil.
  • Some of the sound effects used in the series originated from Universal Television's Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers.
  • In their civilian identies, Peter Parker resembled the same character in the comics, while Angelica Jones and Bobby Drake both resemble Peter's friends, Mary Jane Watson, and Flash Thompson. Flash Thompson was also featured in the TV series, but had reddish-brown hair instead of blonde; both Thompson and the look-alike Drake/Iceman were voiced by Frank Welker.

[edit] External links


 v • d • e Spider-Man
Publications Main continuity: Amazing Fantasy • The Amazing Spider-Man
The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) • Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man • Astonishing Spider-Man • Spider-Man Family

Other continuities: Ultimate Spider-Man • Marvel Adventures Spider-Man • Spider-Girl • Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
Spider-Man: Reign
Television Spider-Man (1967) • Spidey Super Stories (1974, live action) • Amazing Spider-Man (1978, live action) • Supaidāman (1978 - Japanese) • Spider-Man (1981) •Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981) • Spider-Man (1994) •Spider-Man Unlimited (1999) • Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003) • The Amazing Spider-Man (2008)
Films Spider-Man (2002) • Spider-Man 2 (2004) • Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Other topics
Fictional history of Spider-Man • Spider-Man supporting characters • Spider-Man villains • Spider-Man's powers and equipment •
Video games • Alternate versions of Spider-Man • Spider-Man in other media
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