Web Chat

Right up there as one of the truly great superhero cartoon shows of all time, SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES first aired on FOX Kids in November 1994. It ran for a total of 65 episodes over five seasons and many still revere the series as the definitive Spidey show to this very day. One person who was there for the entirety of that run is the fantastic BOB RICHARDSON - who served as the main driving force behind the show in his position as supervising producer and director. To mark 25 years since the Spider-Man show debuted, we were lucky enough to grab some time with Bob to reflect back on this most beloved of animated offerings and discuss why SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES was so special, how the series was put together, getting to explore so many characters, and just why ol’ Web-head is such an iconic pop culture figure...

- Andrew Pollard

STARBURST: Before you began working in animation, were you a comic book or Spider-Man fan? If so, what were your first memories of Spidey?

Bob Richardson: As a kid, I always liked to draw and was interested in everything regarding animation and comics, from Disney to Marvel to Mad Magazine. These were all being done by artists and writers who I wished I could emulate in some way. Spider-Man was particularly interesting to me because it was about a real boy in a real city with the same problems that normal kids might have. Then, suddenly he has superpowers - probably every kid’s dream at some time in their life. I also enjoyed DC’s Batman and Robin, but it was less realistic in setting and more serious and dark, whereas Stan always managed to get humor into the comics he did. This addition of comedy elevated the writing and made it much more interesting, entertaining, and relatable.

When did you first hear that Marvel Films Animation was developing a new animated Spider-Man series, and how did you become involved in the show?