Okay, so apparently I'm a little behind the times with this, but cut me some slack I live in Canada.
So Spectacular Spider-Man, the greatest Spider-Man cartoon and possibly the greatest Marvel cartoon of ALL TIME, has been cancelled after just two seasons and 26 episodes, despite plans for a third season being drawn up and despite the producers hoping to get 65 episodes to finish their storyline.
Why has this happened? By all measurements Spec Spidey was a resounding success -- great ratings, great DVD sales, and by far great critical response -- it was the best written and best acted Spidey for sure, beating the movies, the 90s cartooon and the 60s cartoon over and over again in quality.
And to add insult to injury, a NEW Spider-Man show will be debuting in Fall 2011, starting YET AGAIN at the beginning, with Pete in high school meeting his villains for the first time -- in other words treading over the exact same fucking tired old ground that the movies, Spec Spidey, and all other Spidey media has treaded over and over and over again instead of giving us something new. Spec gave us a Spider-Man show that respected, added to, and glorified comics continuity all while providing twists, turns, and great character interaction. After two seasons it was really only just getting started. So to replace it with a new show that will simply repeat the same stories seems asinine.
So why is it being done? Well, turns out Spec Spidey was a Sony Television production, and Marvel EiC Joe Quesada wanted a Spidey show that would be a completely Marvel (read: Disney) production, hence the cancellation and new show.
Now, on this blog, which I've been admittedly ignoring, I've never much gone into anything other than Batman, and never anything other than DC. That's gonna change, partially in order to ensure more updates on a regular basis. But for now, I will note that I also read Marvel, although I prefer DC, and that I love Spider-Man. And Joe Quesada has ruined Spider-Man three times in my lifetime now, and its getting fucking tiresome. First was the John Byrne/Howard Mackie reboot in the comics in 2000. Then there was the entire One More Day/Brand New Day debacle that continues to be the reason why I no longer read new Marvel Comics. And now this selfish bullshit.
I suppose they can't just hire Greg Weissman and his team over at Disney and make a third season as a Disney show since Sony owns all the character designs, but why can't they fucking just BUY THEM??
No, instead we're getting a brand-new show based on the Ultimate Spider-Man comic, which by the way Spec Spidey incorporated into its universe in great ways. And that comic is IMO too different from the regular stories to really work (Gwen as a popular girl, MJ as the nerdy girl next door Pete's always loved, the Green Goblin as a giant Hulk Monster) -- whereas Spec Spidey incorporated all the classic characterizations and additions from all the various versions of Spidey into one great, cool, cohesive whole.
I hate this fucking bullshit. Goddamn it, Marvel. I don't have to put up with this crap from DC.
