Why The 1994 Spider-Man Cartoon Was Canceled

There were a flurry of Marvel superhero cartoons in the 1990s, but there's only two that most people love and remember: "X-Men" (1992-1997) and "Spider-Man" (1994-1998). Spidey and the mutants were indisputably the kings of Marvel in the '90s, and the cartoons cemented that reputation.

Both shows are sometimes given the subtitle "The Animated Series" to play on the contemporary "Batman: The Animated Series." Now, don't get me wrong, "Spider-Man" doesn't measure up to "Batman" in quality. The former was subject to strict storytelling constrictions (many stemming from toy sales) and subpar animation work. The series has also been eclipsed by the later cartoon, "The Spectacular Spider-Man." But for many Spider-fans, lead voice actor Christopher Daniel Barnes is always going to be their Spider-Man.

Indeed, the series remains one of the most influential versions of Spider-Man's story. In fact, a lot of the elements that the Sam Raimi "Spider-Man" films included — namely, Mary Jane being Peter Parker's love interest from the get go instead of Gwen Stacy, the Green Goblin being Norman Osborn's split personality, and the Venom symbiote amping up Peter's aggression — originally came from this cartoon.

"Spider-Man" ran five seasons and 13 episodes. At the time, 65 episodes was the standard number for popular American cartoons (it was the minimum for a show to be syndicated). But the series has a reputation for being incomplete. The show's finale, "Farewell, Spider-Man," depicts Peter going off with Madame Web (Joan Lee) on a journey across time to find the lost Mary Jane (Sara Ballantine), who fell into the limbo between dimensions back in the season 3 finale, "Turning Point."

A rumor that's swirled for years is that executive producer Avi Arad and Fox Kids' network head Margaret Loesch had been butting heads, with "Spider-Man" becoming a casualty of the feud. But "Spider-Man" head writer John Semper Jr. confirmed in a 2021 Facebook post it was actually a money issue. Even so, he doesn't think "Spider-Man" got short-changed.

According to Semper, "Fox hated Avi almost from day one, so nothing much changed there. It didn't help, but it wasn't the reason we were not picked up for more episodes."

The reason was that one of the show's production companies, New World Pictures, folded, and Fox wasn't willing to pick up the bill for more episodes. Semper had ideas for a sixth season, including Spider-Man finding MJ stranded in Victorian London (with Carnage being revealed as Jack the Ripper). But despite that, he thought the fifth season ended the series on a good note.

"Most shows rarely even made it to 65 episodes, so the feeling was we were done and that was enough. 'Spider-Man' wasn't 'canceled.' It ran its full course," as Semper put it.

Sure, "Farewell, Spider-Man" is an open ending, but it's an optimistic one. Peter going off to search for MJ all but reassures viewers that she will be found. Spider-Man just saved all of reality, there's no doubt he can find his one true love. It happening how it does offers the reassurance of a happy ending but also acknowledges that Spider-Man's journey never ends.

In the closing moments of "Farewell, Spider-Man" and the whole series, Spider-Man travels to our world and meets Stan Lee himself. It's hard to get a more full-circle finale than that. Compare this satisfying closure with "Spectacular Spider-Man," which only ran 26 episodes before being abruptly canceled (with several subplots still in-progress).

Don't forget, Spidey's sister show "X-Men" had an open ending too. A terminally ill Professor X (Cedric Smith) had to leave his X-Men behind to seek treatment in the Shi'ar galaxy. The X-Men's struggles for mutant equality were far from over, but now they were out of Xavier's hands and in those of his students and Magneto (David Hemblen). That allowed, in 2024, the new series "X-Men '97" to pick up right where the old one left off. A cameo in "X-Men '97" also confirmed that Peter and MJ did reunite after all.

There's no word yet on whether a "Spider-Man '98" cartoon series is coming, but the show is getting a comic sequel. "Spider-Man '94" is coming out in September, written by J.M. DeMatteis (a significant "Spider-Man" comic writer who once co-scripted the "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" crossover episode "The Mutant Agenda") and drawn by Jim Towe. Semper, though, is not involved and has made it clear the comic doesn't reflect his story. He already said a fond farewell to Spider-Man almost 30 years ago, on his own terms, and let the show's young fans do the same.