List of The Spectacular Spider-Man characters

Character designs to some of the main characters in The Spectacular Spider-Man. Left to right: Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, Spider-Man, Peter Parker, J. Jonah Jameson, Dr. Curt Connors and Eddie Brock.

The animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man features an extensive cast of characters originally created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and other comic book creators.^[1] Greg Weisman and Victor Cook and the rest of the crew redesigned these classic characters in the series to be more modern but still to be very truly faithful to its characters in the comics.^[2] Most of these characters are based on the original mainstream universe but there have been characters that have been introduced from the Ultimate Marvel universe such as Kenny "King" Kong and characters from Sam Raimi's film series such as Benard Houseman as well. The majority of the villains that have debuted in the show have started out as supporting characters before becoming villains.^[3] The character's portrayals in the shows have mainly gained positive reviews from TV critics.

Role in The Spectacular Spider-Man

The main character of the series is Peter Parker, a young teenager who attends midtown high school and is an extremely bright honors student. Peter is also secretly a superhero called Spider-Man.^[4] In school his two best friends are Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn.^[3] He (along with his friends) are constantly being bullied and taunted by his peers—particularly football star Flash Thompson (due to the fact that peter is a shy science nerd who has a scholastic interest toward science) —and, as Spider-Man, engenders the editorial wrath of newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson. Ironically enough, much to Peter's dismay, Flash Thompson is also one of Spider-Man's biggest fans.^[3] Also at school, Peter's feelings wrestle between Gwen Stacy and Liz Allan.^[5] Peter Parker soon finds himself getting a job at the Daily Bugle as a freelance photographer working with characters such as J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, Betty Brant, Ned Lee and Frederick Foswell. Parker as Spider-Man fights a lot of villains in the series as the majority of his rogues gallery in the comics are introduced in this series. Season one introduces supervillains such as Vulture, Electro, Lizard, Shocker, Sandman, Rhino, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Venom.^[3] It also introduces crime lords such as Hammerhead and Tombstone who are partly responsible for the supervillains. Season two expanded on the villains already introduced (excluding the Lizard) and also introduces the supervillains Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, and Molten Man.^[3][5] It also introduced another crime lord called Silvermane. The role of the antagonists in the series shifts and changes as the series progresses.^[4]

Creation and concept

As story editor, Greg Weisman approached the character by going and buying the first seven volumes of The Essential Spider-Man and reread them. The creator Greg Weisman originally grew up on Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. and When the creators Greg Weisman created the characters and he later went back and read the original Stan Lee, Steve Ditko stories. He then re-read them and took copious notes and tried to get the voice of those early stories. He then put his own spin on some of the origins and the costume designs. He wanted to create something that was coherent, cohesive, contemporary and classic.^[2]

Greg Weisman stated:

"Peter’s life has a lot of interesting characters and we wanted to bring them in -- the important ones and the most obscure."^[2]

Because Sally Avril's character was later developed in Untold Tales of Spider-Man the creators used her. In Season 2, he used Bernard Houseman from the movie. The creators didn't want to wait several seasons to introduce Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson, all of whom met Peter when he was in college in the comics. The creators wanted to stay true the characters and tried to figure out what they would have been like in high school. "What kind of guy would Harry Osborn have been back in high school?" Greg Weisman stated that. "It doesn’t mean taking his college character and just sticking it in high school, it means extrapolating what he may have been like back then. Same thing with Gwen Stacy, and later with Mary Jane. We included those characters because they meant a lot in Peter’s life and were iconic." ^[2] As for having guest stars in the show, the creators didn't want the show to be guest star of the week. The creators felt that if they started bringing people in too early, viewers would keep asking "well, who’s gonna show up next?" and it would be a distraction from their main characters who are so interesting. Greg Weisman stated:

The Marvel Universe was basically built on the fly. Since we’re starting this cartoon from scratch, we have the luxury of building a more cohesive universe from day one because we know where we’re going to go with these characters and who’s going to come later.^[2]

The characters that the creators decided to put on the show came from some kind of source and were never intended to be original characters. The characters either came from the mainstream comics, the Ultimate Spider-Man comics or in the Spider-Man films.^[6]

Main characters

The main characters featured in the opening credits:

Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Peter Parker / Spider-Man (voiced by Josh Keaton^[7][8]) is the protagonist of the series. Bitten on the hand by a radioactive spider during a field trip to Empire State University, Peter donned a spider costume and sought to fight crime after allowing a burglar to escape, only to have that same criminal who was thought to have killed his Uncle Ben. He learned that "with great power there must also come great responsibility", a phrase that now drives him to act as a super hero. The series focuses on the character's struggles while leading a double life as Parker in Midtown High, maintaining a job at the Daily Bugle, and as the superhero Spider-Man, with his friendships often being damaged by his need to head off to deal with the next super-villain incident. He gets a job as a photographer at the Daily Bugle so he can support his Aunt May with financial troubles. Despite their financial troubles, the 16-year-old and his Aunt May have a great relationship. His best friends in school are mainly Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn and gradually Mary Jane Watson. Peter is an extremely bright and became an honors student at Midtown High School. Although, Peter's shyness and scholastic interest, especially in science, often made him a social outcast and he is often bullied and being referred to as "Puny Parker" by his peers, and although his powers have given him confidence, he often has to take the taunts to stop anyone suspecting his secret.^[4][9] Josh Keaton stated "I grew up reading comic books and Spider-Man was always one of my favorites. I felt that I always identified with him. Spider-Man is awesome. I definitely was a huge Spider-Man fan growing up and still am."^[10] Before he was chosen for Spider-Man, he auditioned for the role of Harry Osborn and Eddie Brock as well.^[10]

Gwen Stacy

Gwen Stacy (voiced by Lacey Chabert) is the main love interest of Peter Parker in the show. Gwen is the daughter of police captain George Stacy, and is one of Peter Parker's best friends and intellectual equal; they are both recommended by their teacher to work in the lab of Doctor Connors. Although initially strong willed,kind, harboring deep feelings for her best friend Peter and unconcerned with her appearance, she gradually evolves into a more confident and attractive character more closely resembling and truly faithful to her comic book counterpart. She is always supportive of Peter, and also shows well-meaning concern for Harry Osborn. Although she is Peter's best friend, her weakness is that she has a colossal crush on Peter.^[11]

Harry Osborn

Harry Osborn (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is portrayed as Peter Parker's best friend and is Norman Osborn's son. While being true to his comic counterpart, He constantly lives in his father's shadow and considers Peter a good friend, though at times also resents him for earning Norman's approval, which Harry has never been able to do. Being ignored and neglected by his father and overprotective of his mother and just like Peter, he is an unpopular kid at school. With his lack of approval, he is prone to do anything to get it.^[11]

J. Jonah Jameson

J. Jonah Jameson (voiced by Daran Norris) is portrayed as a loudmouth,irascible, egotistical, and gruff publisher of the Daily Bugle,New Yorks leading Newspapers . Showing excessive pride in his son John Jameson, he is obsessed with exposing fraudulent claims to heroism, and is therefore always demanding pictures of Spider-Man so that he can continue his smear campaign against the vigilante that has, at least temporarily, turned much of the gullible city against the hero. Even though he loves to sell newspapers of Spider-Man and takes delight in anything that might discredit or defame him, he feels that the real heroes are ones that have nothing to hide such as his son and will do anything to get him on the spotlight instead of Spider-Man. he is shown as a foolishly stubborn and pompous skinflint who micromanages his employees and resents Spider-Man out of jealousy.^[11] However, he reluctantly will give Spider-Man credit where it is due, and will always print retractions for unfair allegations. Aside from that, he retains his dislike for Spider-Man from the comics, and takes delight in anything that might discredit or defame him and considers Spider-Man a menace (if at least a photo-worthy one)and a vigilante. He also retains much of his cynical, avuncular attitude and brusque manner with his staff and he shares a resemblance to his mainstream comics counterpart from the 1970s comics.

Mary Jane Watson

Mary Jane Watson (voiced by Vanessa Marshall^[12]) is portrayed as the niece of Anna Watson. She attends the Fall Formal as Peter Parker's date before ultimately switching schools to be at Midtown. Mary Jane befriends Peter and Gwen Stacy, and is initially determined to stay single, desiring to be a 'free agent'. Vanessa Marshall states "I always make sure my choices for Mary Jane are that of an independent thinker, that she’s not concerned with what the people around her think, which is an uncommon trait in teenage girls, There’s a distinct confidence about her that I try to emulate."^[12] She also explained about the character she played "Mary Jane’s character is incredibly complex, Her strength plays a major part in Peter’s growth and maturation she really keeps him on the straight and narrow. Even though our characters are still only in high school during this cartoon, and you’re not going to get a lot of that character development at this point of the series, I know it’s going to be there in the future and so that has an effect on how I play her now."^[12]

Flash Thompson

Flash Thompson (voiced by Joshua LeBar^[13]) is a high school student,star football player at Midtown High, and a prominent school bully. While he idolizes Spider-Man, he frequently bullies and harasses the high school bookworm Peter Parker, believing him to be a "stuck-up egghead,"^[14] despite the fact that they had originally been friends when they were much younger.^[15] He nevertheless idolizes the superhero Spider-Man, being one of his biggest and most loyal fans.^[16] Joshua LeBar said this about the character he played. "I think Flash has a certain brashness, but he also has a likeability, so he's not a complete doof that you hate. He's a dichotomy – he's got a few different sides, and he surprises people. I was both a theatre guy and a football guy in high school, and people tried to stick me into that one-note category, depending on how they knew me – and I didn't like being stereotyped. So when the (Spider-Man) show gives me the opportunity to represent his other sides, like this week when you see Flash's compassion rather than just all that testosterone, I really enjoy showcasing that part of his character because I can relate to his situation." ^[13]

Liz Allan

Liz Allan (voiced by Alanna Ubach^[17]) is depicted as a popular girl and cheerleader at Midtown High. Unlike her comic book mainstream version that's caucasian and a blonde, she is depicted as more hispanic in this series. She is initially Flash Thompson's girlfriend and shows great resentment towards Peter Parker.^[18] As the series progresses, her true feelings become apparent as she demonstrates a much more open and accepting side. She commonly refers to Peter as "Petey". Peter and her begin to date for some time until Peter gets honest with himself about who he really wants to be with.^[19]

George Stacy

George Stacy (voiced by Clancy Brown^[20]) is Gwen Stacy's protective father and a police captain. He is open-minded, and truly believes Spider-Man to be a hero, while J. Jonah Jameson accuses Spider-Man of being a menace. Just like in the comics, it seems apparent that he knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man by giving him strong signals and helping him out with rough situations.^[21]

Supporting characters

The series sports a very wide supporting cast. Every named character who appears in the series, even very minor characters, is based on a character who appeared in the original comics, Ultimate Spider-Man series (such as Kenny Kong), or film series (such as Bernard Houseman).

• May Parker (voiced by Deborah Strang) is the widow of the deceased Ben Parker and aunt to the orphan Peter Parker. She appeared to be slightly younger and slightly less fragile than her other counterparts (minus the Ultimate universe), but she was still overprotective of Peter (though like her film counterpart, she believed Spider-Man was good) and is mainly based on her comic counterpart. She like in the comics introduced Mary Jane Watson. Of course a major difference than other versions is that she does not seem to hate Spider-Man at all, never complaining about him, and even willing to not move aside for the Sinister Six to attack him. In "Persona", she began to feel faint while cooking dinner, but shook if off the moment Peter arrives. In "Group Therapy", she suffered a heart attack while out to a Broadway show with her friend Anna Watson during the Sinister Six's attack. Peter, who was under the influence of the symbiote suit, was unaware of it until Mary Jane Watson visited to tell him May was in the hospital. She recovered and headed back home for a Thanksgiving dinner with Peter, her doctor, Gwen and Captain George Stacy at the end of the first season, where May informed the others that she was writing a cookbook and had already received an advance from a publisher. In Season 2 she is revealed to be feeling much better after the heart attack though Peter still worries about her. Her and her doctor, Doctor Bromwell, have also seem to have a liking over each other. The doctor described her as his favorite heart patient and even checking her up at her own home. She does not know that her nephew is Spider-Man and when asked by the reporter Ned Leeds if he is Spider-Man she thought she was being punked. After Peter's feelings were mixed in between Liz Allan and Gwen Stacy she gave Peter advice that he needed to be honest between both of the girls but before that he must be honest with himself.
• Ben Parker (voiced by Edward Asner) is Peter Parker's uncle that raised him along with May Parker in their Forest Hills home. when his parents died in a plane crash when they were young. Peter, while competing in a wrestling competition, allowed a burglar (later revealed to be Walter Hardy) to escape as revenge against Sullivan Edwards for not paying him the prize money. The burglar broke into their home and ended up shooting and killing Ben and stealing his car. Later during his career as the superhero Spider-Man, Peter used the memory of Ben to help him get rid of the symbiote.
• Dr. Curt Connors (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a brilliant biologist who lost his arm while working as a surgeon in the United States Army. He got a prosthetic arm to replace it, but always wished he had his real arm back. he found work as a biologist at Empire State University, studying reptiles and cell regeneration with his wife Martha. He used lizard DNA to create a formula that is capable of regrowing human tissue. He experimented on himself to regrow his missing arm, but he transformed into a large lizard creature. He was saved by Spider-Man, his family, and interns. However, Peter took a picture of Spider-Man fighting Lizard and sold it to The Daily Bugle. Not able to trust him, Martha let him go. The Lizard (vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker) is an alternate form and personality of Dr. Curt Connors. He was created when Connors wanted to regrow his missing arm using a lizard-based formula.Spider-Man, Eddie Brock, Gwen Stacy, and Connors' wife Martha Connors developed a formula that would turn him back. It worked, though Spider-Man took a picture of himself fighting Lizard. They decided to keep his transformation a secret. Peter Parker then sold that picture to The Daily Bugle. However, Martha felt she could not trust that Peter wouldn't reveal the secret if he would sell photos and ended his internship.
• Martha Connors (voiced by Kath Soucie) is Dr. Curt Connors's wife and fellow scientist.
• Randy "Rand" Robertson (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is on the Midtown High School football team with Flash Thompson, but is shown in the show to be much nicer and more neutral than his teammates. He is dating Sally Avril and is Robbie Robertson's son.
• Kenny "King" Kong (voiced by Andrew Kishino) is on the Midtown High School football team and is Flash Thompson's best friend and sidekick as the school bully. He is also Glory Grant's boyfriend through most of the show.
• Hobie Brown (voiced by Charles Duckworth) is a friend of Flash Thompson's. A recurring joke throughout the second season is having him not having a speaking role in the series, and is usually interrupted when he is about to speak. The one time he was able to speak was when he was cast as Puck in the school play as a substitute for Harry Osborn.
• Glory Grant (voiced by Cree Summer) is one of the few in the show who seems less arrogant about her status unlike most of the other popular kids at Midtown High School and behaves more friendly towards the unpopular kids such as Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. She is shown to be Kenny Kong's girlfriend through most of the show.
• Sally Avril (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is Randy Robertson's snobby cheerleader girlfriend and Peter Parker's one-time crush.
• Sha Shan Nguyen (voiced by Kelly Hu) is Flash Thompson's love interest after being dumped by Liz Allan in the show.
• Aaron Warren (voiced by Brian George) is Midtown High School's biology teacher and the brother of Miles Warren.He appeared to have a multi-sided attitude towards his top student, Peter Parker, and recommended Peter and Gwen Stacy, his brightest students, for the internship positions with Dr. Curt Connors at Empire State University.
• Betty Brant (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is J. Jonah Jameson's personal secretary. She is shown in the show to be calm and collected, even during Jameson's constant outrages.
• Joseph "Robbie" Robertson (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is the Daily Bugle's Editor-in-Chief and Randy Robertson's father. He is shown to be one of the few people who considers Spider-Man as a true hero.
• Ned Lee (voiced by Andrew Kishino) is a reporter for the Daily Bugle and one of Peter Parker's coworkers.
• Frederick Foswell / Patch (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is a reporter at the Daily Bugle.
• John Jameson / Colonel Jupiter (voiced by Daran Norris) is an Air Force colonel, astronaut, and J. Jonah Jameson's son. It is his space mission that brought the alien symbiote to Earth, and on that same mission exposure to a spore temporarily endows him with superhuman size and strength, but also a mental instability. Spider-Man subdues him until the spore wears off.
• Felicia Hardy / Black Cat (voiced by Tricia Helfer^[7]) is depicted as simply being a thief, and her real identity has yet to be seen. She is shown to possess a wit like Spider-Man does, and has even implied to have a romantic interest for him, having flirted with him every time they met. However, in attempting to break her father (Walter Hardy, aka the Cat Burglar, and Ben Parker's killer) out of prison, she blames Spider-Man for Walter's decision to remain in prison out of shame for his crime.

Minor characters

• Officer Jean DeWolff (voiced by Irene Bedard) is a police officer for the New York City Police Department partnered with Stan Carter. Unlike Captain Stacy and Carter, she does not consider Spider-Man as much help as most of the criminals he captures wind up being released.
• Sergeant Stan Carter (voiced by Thomas F. Wilson) is a New York City police officer partnered with Jean DeWolff. He has a short temper and has shown an appreciation of Spider-Man's vigilantism.
• Anna Watson (voiced by Kath Soucie) is May Parker's friend, and Mary Jane Watson's aunt, who lives next door.
• Seymour O'Reilly (voiced by Steve Blum) is a student at Midtown High School that appeared in the episodes "Destructive Testing", "First Steps", "Identity Crisis" and "Opening Night".
• "Tiny" McKeever is on the Midtown High School football team with Flash Thompson. He is usually seen when the members of the football team are in a group.
• Billy Connors (voiced by Max Burkholder) is the son of Curt Connors and Martha Connors.
• Dr. Bromwell (voiced by Dorian Harewood) is a doctor at the New York City Emergency Hospital and a good friend of May Parker.
• Dr. Ashley Kafka (voiced by Elisa Gabrielli) is a psychiatrist at Ravencroft.
• Dr. Ted Twaki (voiced by Clyde Katustu) is Tri-Corp's head scientist who appears in the episode "Reaction".
• Mayor Waters (voiced by B. J. Ward) is the Mayor of New York City with hopes of reelection.
• Dillbert Trilby (voiced by Steven Blum) is a newscaster who reported on the shuttle that John Jameson piloted.
• St. John Devereaux (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is the Midtown High School theater teacher. He cast, produced and directed a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream where many students took part. He first appeared in the episode "Group Therapy", where he was to play Falstaff in a production of The Merry Wives of Windsor before the show was cancelled due to Spider-Man's fight with the Sinister Six.
• Crusher Hogan (voiced by Jim Cummings) was the wrestler that Peter Parker as Spider-Man faced as seen in a flashback accessed by the symbiote suit. Spider-Man easily beat him in a wrestling match for a $1,000 cash prize.
• Debra Whitman is Miles Warren's employee and is explained to be Eddie Brock's replacement.
• Calypso Ezili (voiced by Angela Bryant) is Kraven the Hunter's partner and lover.
• Blackie Gaxton (voiced by Steven Blum) is the Big Sky Lounge's manager and mobster and is one of the men responsible for Molten Man's creation.
• Morris Bench (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) first appeared in the episode "Shear Strength" as a demolition expert.
• Donald Menken (voiced by Greg Weisman) is Norman Osborn's loyal employee.
• Joan Jameson (voiced by Jane Lynch) is J. Jonah Jameson's wife.
• Bernard Houseman (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is Norman Osborn's personal butler who serves the Osborn family.
• Erin (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a young girl who happens to admire Spidey. She appears in the show's intro and the episodes "Interactions", "The Invisible Hand", and "Nature vs. Nurture".
• Vin Gonzales and his partner Alan O'Neal are prominent police officers.
• The Cat / The Burglar (voiced by Jim Cummings in the first appearance, James Remar in the second appearance) is Felicia Hardy's father and the burglar who shot Ben Parker. He later expresses shame for his cowardly act and tries to atone by sacrificing his chance to escape in order to assist Spider-Man in returning order to the very prison he's held in. Spider-Man remains resentful.
• Roderick Kingsley (voiced by Courtney B. Vance) is one of the men who participated in the auction of the Rhino supersoldier blueprints and outbid everyone else. He is said to own a perfume company.
• Emily Osborn is Norman Osborn's wife and Harry Osborn's mother. Interestingly, this version is still alive but never says anything as she appears as a background character in the episodes "Competition", "Blueprints" and "Final Curtain". Had the series received a third season, the character (planned to be voiced by Marina Sirtis) would have had a more central role.
• Cletus Kasady makes a small cameo in episode "Reinforcement" wearing a Santa Claus hat in Ravencroft, during a group therapy session with Doctor Octopus and Electro when Kraven the Hunter attacks to break out the two villains.

Cameos of real people

• Greg Weisman is the supervising writer of the series. He makes an appearance during the introduction of every episode. He appears in the scene with a crowd standing in front of a television store.
• Victor Cook is the supervising director for the series. He makes an appearance during the introduction of every episode, He appears in the scene with a crowd standing in front of a television store. He also makes a cameo appearance in the crowd during the 4 way fight between Spider-Man, Tombstone, Doctor Octopus and Silvermane in the season 2 episode "Gangland".
• Sean Galloway is the character designer of the series. He makes an appearance as the DJ at the Fall Formal during the season 1 episode "Catalysts".
• Stan Lee is the longtime Marvel creator that voices dock worker Stan in the season 2 episode "Blueprints".

Villains

Picture of the original Sinister Six in the series, a group consisting of Spider-Man villains in The Spectacular Spider-Man.

The series incorporates a number of villains from different eras of the Spider-Man universe, almost all of whom are introduced as regular characters in first episodes before they transform into established villain identities; Eddie Brock was introduced at the very beginning of the series, but only became Venom in the season 1 finale.

• Norman Osborn (voiced by Alan Rachins) is a recurring character and a behind the scenes antagonist. Norman Osborn is a ruthless businessman, inventor, gifted chemist, the founder and head of OsCorp Industries, and the father of Harry Osborn who believes himself incapable of failure and never apologizes,^[22] Norman is involved in many shady dealings with the Big Man such as helping create supervillains.^[23]
• Green Goblin (voiced by Steven Blum) is a major villain. The mysterious Green Goblin, terrorizing New York City, is one of Spider-Man's greatest opponents along with Venom and Doctor Octopus. He ruthlessly plans to Become the reigning crime boss in New York and eventually succeeded and tried to kill Spider-Man. Spider-Man originally suspected the Goblin was Norman Osborn, but later saw Harry Osborn unmasked after a confrontation. The Goblin disappeared following the unmasking, but later resurfaced after becoming the leader of New York's organized crime from behind the scenes. When he resumes trying to kill Spider-Man, he is revealed to be Norman having framed Harry to escape prison.
• L. Thompson Lincoln / Tombstone (voiced by Keith David and Kevin Michael Richardson) is one of the lead antagonists of the series. L. Thompson Lincoln is the true identity of the "Big Man" but has gone by many names with his favorite being Tombstone. Tombstone is one of the few villains to best Spider-Man in a fight. Tombstone is often the force behind many of Spider-Man's superpowered foes, having created them in an alliance with OsCorp to draw attention away from day-to day crime. In the second series, Tombstone comes into conflict with the Master Planner and Silvermane in control for New York, before being ensnared in a trap set by the Green Goblin. This version is a replacement for the Kingpin which could not be used due to copyright issues.
• Hammerhead (voiced by John DiMaggio) originally organized much of the mysterious Big Man's criminal empire, providing the face (and muscle) in various dealings. It was through Hammerhead that Big Man made a deal with Norman Osborn to continue making supervillains so Spider-Man would be too distracted to stop Big Man's operations. He also once worked for Silvermane and had a relationship with Sliver Sable.
• Enforcers / New Enforcers: are a group of hired assassins. Among its members are:
  • Jackson Brice / Montana / Shocker (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is the Enforcers' field leader and is a trained mercenary. Despite his criminal activities, he is very much a professional, having no personal grudge with Spider-Man, just considering it his responsibility to bring him down. He speaks with a southern accent and enjoys wearing a cowboy hat when out of uniform. For Greg Weisman, the decision to make Montana into this series iteration of Shocker instead of Herman Schultz like in the comics is because he wanted to go with something that has an iconic feel for it. He stated that "we are trying to create something that is the three C's: Coherent, cohesive and contemporary. And yet, still, the fourth C: Classic." Greg looked carefully at the fictional character and said, "Who is this guy? What is it that's iconic about Shocker? What is it that really matters?" And according to Weisman, it was the powers, the suit, the relationship with Spider-Man. And he and the creators felt that Schultz didn't have that. He stated that "he's not Otto Octavius and he sure as hell ain't Norman Osborn". He also stated that he is speaking "as a fan, not just a producer" and that he "felt that tying that in with the Enforcers and with Montana worked better for the show".^[24]
  • Daniel Brito / Fancy Dan / Ricochet (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is the Enforcers' martial artist and is shown to be able to dodge Spider-Man's web with ease and can take him in hand-to-hand combat.
  • Raymond Bloch / Ox (voiced by Clancy Brown in the first appearance and Danny Trejo in the second appearance) is the Enforcers' brute force, being able to break Spider-Man's web with ease.
• Adrian Toomes / Vulture (voiced by Robert Englund) is an aerodynamics engineer who developed an anti-gravity technology. In his old age, he took his designs to become the supervillain Vulture to terrorize Spider-Man and join the Sinister Six.
• Max Dillon / Electro (voiced by Crispin Freeman^[25]) Electro is the adopted moniker of Maxwell Dillon who was a former electrician who fell victim of an electrical freak accident that gave him powers Composed of and that Controls Electricity. After a vicious fight with Spider-Man, Electro becomes a supervillain, eventually becoming a member of the Sinister Six.
• Flint Marko / Sandman (voiced by John DiMaggio) is introduced as a petty criminal until an experiment accidentally turned him into Sandman, a being made up of and able to control sand. He became a member of the Sinister Six to defeat Spider-Man.
• Alex O'Hirn / Rhino (voiced by Clancy Brown) is at first is just a petty crook working with Flint Marko under orders of the Big Man. He is captured by Spider-Man with ease times and time again, which increases his annoyance and hatred of Spider-Man. Just like his partner, he was experimented by Norman Osborn after Big Man wanted supervillains to distract Spider-Man. Unlike his partner though, money is a secondary interest to him, his primary one being revenge. And with Rhino's titanium suit, he got superhuman strength.
• Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus / Master Planner (voiced by Peter MacNicol) is a respected nuclear physicist, atomic research consultant, and inventor working at OsCorp. He is very timid and willing to apologize for every little thing, a direct contrast to his boss Norman. He is one of OsCorp's most intelligent scientists and designed a set of highly advanced mechanical arms controlled via a brain–computer interface to assist him to do dangerous experiments, playing a part in the creation of Sandman and Rhino. Eventually, as the result of a devastating accidental radiation explosion, his arms became permanently fused to his back and he was driven out of his mind, becoming the vengeful Dr. Octopus. He has telepathic control of these arms and they are strong enough to physically hurt Spider-Man when Octavius controls them. He is revealed to be the "Master Planner".
• Chameleon (voiced by Steven Blum) is an international spy-for-hire and master of disguise.
• Eddie Brock / Venom (voiced by Benjamin Diskin) has had a lifelong connection to Peter Parker, with both of their parents having died together in a plane crash. But while Peter had May Reilly and Ben Parker to act as his legal guardians, Eddie did not have anyone to take him in. Because of this he has always carried an envious subconscious hatred towards Peter for being able to live an easier life. However, he has repressed this attitude over the years by acting as a friend and mentor to Peter, often calling him "Bro". As the series progresses, Eddie develops animosity towards Peter due to a series of misunderstandings, often involving photographs Peter had taken while secretly disguised as Spider-Man. This ultimately damages their friendship. In the series Spider-Man finds himself merged with an alien symbiote which Doctor Connors was studying at ESU. The loss of the alien meant a loss of funding for the lab, and as a result Eddie had to be let go from his job as lab assistant (his only source of income for tuition). Spider-Man eventually manages to separate from the symbiote after revealing its true intentions. He attempts to destroy it in front of Eddie, thus incurring an animosity towards Spider-Man as well as Peter, which attracts the alien. The symbiote then subsequently bonds with Eddie, revealing to him Spider-Man's identity, making him the first and only person in the series to learn his secret identity. Together, they formed the creature known as "Venom".
• Dr. Miles Warren (voiced by Brian George) is a professor of biochemistry at Empire State University and Aaron Warren's younger and ruthless brother. He had a part in giving Kraven the Hunter his powers and was enlisted by Green Goblin to turn Mark Allan into Molten Man
• Quentin Beck / Mysterio (voiced by Xander Berkeley) was originally one of the Chameleon's partners in crime being an expert of special effects. Beck is revealed to Mysterio in the episode "Blueprints" using his illusions while claiming to be a sorcerer.
• Phineas Mason / Tinkerer (voiced by Thom Adcox) is one of the Chameleon's partners in crime. His main expertice is technology but is useless in a fight. He is then shown in the show working for the Master Planner in season two and helps create the New Enforcers.
• Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter (voiced by Eric Vesbit) is a skilled hunter while garbed in a lion-themed vest similar to his original comic book counterpart. He is the most skilled hunter in the known world, relying only on his natural talents and using his bare hands to subdue his prey. Using a serum concocted from Miles Warren's own research (which was based on Curt Connors's own Lizard formula), he is then mutated into a humanoid black-maned lion with elements of leopard and cheetah calling himself 'Kraven the Hunter' much like his Ultimate comic book counterpart.
• Sable Manfredi / Silver Sable (voiced by Nikki Cox) is Silvio Manfredi's daughter and takes the name Silver Sable. She was once in a relationship with Hammerhead when he used to work for her father.
• Silvio Manfredi / Silvermane (voiced by Miguel Ferrer) is a rival crime lord in New York to Hammerhead, Tombstone and Dr. Octopus.
• Mark Allan / Molten Man (voiced by Eric Lopez) is Liz Allan's brother. He first appeared in the episode "First Steps" where it was mentioned that he just got out of juvenile hall. He is a love interest of Mary Jane Watson. Due to his gambling addiction and the payments he owes Blackie Gaxton, he is put in the debt of the Green Goblin who as payment enlists Miles Warren to fuse his skin with an especially hot impenetrable armor using nanites. While the armor is able to be switched on and off, only the Goblin holds the remote. In order to get the remote and in essence his life back, Mark becomes Molten Man attempting to eliminate Spider-Man despite his own conscience about the action.

Reception

Goldman wrote that Electro's redesigned costume retained "some nice visual nods to the Electro many of us grew up with." Liz Allan's characterization, though, he found confusing, with the character's accent and background unclear.^[26] Goldman also praised the Lizard's design, calling it "the most visually familiar villain the show had introduced yet".^[27] Goldman enjoyed the design of Shocker which he felt stayed true to his original design and was "intrigued" by changing his secret identity.^[28] Goldman also praised the unveiling of Tombstone and Mary Jane Watson.^[29] Goldman gave a mixed response about Green Goblin — noting that he is "perhaps a bit hyper sensitive on how he's portrayed" — considering the design, while similar to the comics, be more of an exact version of it; Goldman considered the character's personality was "a bit too evocative of the Joker," the iconic villain from DC's Batman comics, but believed that his "malice side" worked. Goldman also praised Mary Jane Watson for being "much like Stan Lee created her – a quick witted, fun loving girl." He also applauded the mysterious factors of Green Goblin's true identity.^[30] Goldman opted that Jonah's hatred of Spider-Man that was formed in the episode was "perhaps the most understandable and best way it's ever been portrayed before." ^[31]

Season Elliot, senior editor of iF Magazine, wrote "The Lizard himself was a nice update of the original Lizard and he was still in his torn pants, shirt, and lab coat." Elliot praised the design for differentiating itself from that used for Spider-Man or Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, and that he "can't wait for the action figure of this guy!" ^[32] He also stated "Even the Shocker was more interesting on this show, so I continue to have high hopes for future episodes, characters, and villains." When talking about the change of Shocker's secret identity, he quoted that it "saves the writers from having to come up with a completely different origin for a character that pretty much is a second tier villain anyways." ^[33] Elliot was "pleased" with the portrayal of Rhino as an unintelligent brute; he also enjoyed the change of the "Big Man's" identity from that of the comics - where he was a Bugle reporter named Frederic Foswell - and found it humorous to have Foswell be the reporter to tell Peter who the "Big Man" is rumored to be.^[34][35] Similar to Goldman,^[31] Elliot applauded the mystery of Goblin's true identity, which he described as a "bait and switch."^[35]

Rob M. Worley of Mania described Dr. Octopus' introduction as "explosive," while praising MacNicol for balancing such a heavy workload between both the episode and other series.^[36]

References

External links

• http://www.nick.co.uk/shows/spiderman/characters.aspx
• http://thespectacularspider-man.webs.com/villains.htm

The Spectacular Spider-Man
Developers: Greg Weisman Victor Cook
Episodes	"Survival of the Fittest" "Interactions" "Natural Selection" "Market Forces" "Competition" "The Invisible Hand" "Catalysts" "Reaction" "The Uncertainty Principle"
Characters	Main Spider-Man/Peter Parker Gwen Stacy Harry Osborn Liz Allan Flash Thompson Mary Jane Watson J. Jonah Jameson Norman Osborn George Stacy Supporting Aunt May Uncle Ben Randy Robertson Kenny King Kong Hobie Brown Glory Grant Sally Avril Betty Brant Robbie Robertson Ned Lee Frederick Foswell John Jameson Black Cat Antagonists Tombstone Hammerhead Enforcers / New Enforcers Montana Ox Fancy Dan Vulture Electro Lizard Shocker Sandman Rhino Green Goblin Doctor Octopus Chameleon Venom Mysterio Miles Warren Tinkerer Kraven the Hunter Silver Sable Silvermane Molten Man
Category