Spider-Man and Friends
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Spider-Man and Friends was a line of action figures and related merchandise featuring the comic book character Spider-Man and other characters appearing in Marvel Comics publications, released by Marvel Entertainment's toy division, Toy Biz, from 2003 to 2006. The line was aimed primarily at preschool-age children, and the character likenesses used were often altered to seem "cuter" and more child-like (and child-friendly); most characters were depicted as wide-eyed and smiling, even supervillains and characters better known for anger or savagery, such as the Incredible Hulk or Wolverine.
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[edit] Featured characters
[edit] Heroes
- Spider-Man
- Spider-Girl--essentially a female counterpart to Spider-Man, wearing a near-identical costume; has no perceived connection to the Marvel Comics character of the same name or the various characters known as Spider-Woman. Storybooks under the Spider-Man and Friends brand name suggest that she is Spider-Man's cousin.
- Wolverine
- The Hulk
- Captain America
- Thor
- Cyclops
- Hercules
- Iron Man
- The Fantastic Four
- Iceman
- Colossus
- The Beast
[edit] Villains
- The Rhino
- The Lizard
- The Green Goblin
- Doctor Octopus
[edit] The end of Friends
The Spider-Man and Friends line ceased production at the end of 2006, when all toy licenses for Marvel Comics characters passed from Toy Biz to Hasbro; the final wave of figures was released in December 2006.[1]
Hasbro currently continues the concept of Marvel characters for the preschool set with a new line of action figures called Superhero Squad, which debuted in January 2007.[2] Featured characters in Wave 1 include Archangel, Colossus, Captain America, Magneto, Sabretooth, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Hawkeye. [3],[4] Wave 2 includes Hulk, Wasp, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, and Ghost Rider. Superhero Squad figures are much smaller than their Spider-Man and Friends predecessors, and are comparable in size and design to a similarly preschool-specific line of Star Wars toys already produced by Hasbro.
