Description:
Somewhere in between his debut as a comic book character and his latest claim to fame as a chart-topping film icon, Spider-Man occupied television airwaves on Saturday mornings in the mid-1990s. This incarnation of “Spider-Man” was neither the first nor the last time the teenager with insect-like superpowers appeared in an animated series.

In fact, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko birthed the character in 1962 and every decade since has seen a TV cartoon adaptation of the web-slinging hero, from 1967’s “Spider-Man” to “The Amazing Spider-Man” in the late ’70s to the ’80s offering which was entitled…you guessed it, “Spider-Man.”

As the titles of the series have never been too concerned with differentiating themselves from earlier renditions, it might be confusing for the unacquainted (who perhaps have only discovered this superhero in recent years) to discern between the numerous different cartoon “Spider-Man” shows. But one look at this version and you can tell it’s a product of the 1990s. This “Spider-Man” made its debut November of 1994, began to air regularly the following winter, and continued through January 1998 for a total of 65 episodes (that magical number for syndicated series). For the most part, the series aired Saturday mornings at 10 AM, though new episodes came sporadically throughout the five-season run, with each “season” consisting of about a dozen shows. On the FOX network’s Saturday morning lineup, “Spider-Man” was accompanied by other comic-adapted cartoons like “X-Men” and “The Tick”, plus “The Power Rangers” in their first and most significant heyday.

With Sam Raimi’s big-budget film adaptations bringing Spidey to a new generation, it’s not surprising that Buena Vista Home Entertainment would want to cash in on the character’s rediscovered popularity. So, from their vaults come episode compilations of this weekly animated series. The Venom Saga is the fifth volume of this kind; three previous releases have been timed to coincide precisely with the theatrical or home video release of Sony’s Spider-Man movies. Such a strategy may be considered generous or shrewd depending on your point of view, but it cannot be considered unwise. After all, the two Spider-Man films theatrically grossed over 1.5 billion dollars around the world and some of that interest must leak over to these cartoon DVDs.

Loud noises pain Spidey in his new black suit. Spider-Man gets a diagnosis from the one-armed Dr. Curt Connors.

This volume contains five episodes, which is one more than the studio’s past releases of the show have offered. (Although, those DVDs did include bonus episodes from the ’60s “Spider-Man” cartoon.) The disc is comprised of a three-episode arc from Season One and a two-parter from Season Three. The common thread is that each prominently features the villain Venom, a more powerful, more evil, and more black antithesis to Spider-Man. Venom shares most of Spider-Man’s skills, like insectually climbing buildings, shooting webs to capture foes, and swinging around high from the same material. But Venom also has a more twisted dual personality and lacks the hero’s noble intentions.

This volume’s opening trifecta, entitled “The Alien Costume”, details Venom’s origins from black ooze in the Hudson River to the potent enigmatic title object to a full-fledged semi-human villain who could rival the enemies featured in the previously-released “Spider-Man” compilations. The remaining two shows catch up with Venom and his troubled human identity, while also introducing his offspring Carnage.

The ’90s “Spider-Man” is diverting, but far from a great show. It is marked by countless bad puns and animation that is several notches below theater-worthy. Though voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes, who was certainly comforting as The Little Mermaid’s Eric, Spider-Man comes across as less than heroic. Perhaps it’s because he’s drawn like a bodybuilder but written like a kid. Maybe it’s the frequent interior monologues which come across as comical but not quite camp. The series lacks the intelligence of Disney’s “Gargoyles”, a show which shared at least one writer (Brynne Chandler Reaves), one regular voice (Ed Asner), and most years of airing. Nonetheless, it aspires to a similar adventure mold, where personalities are plentiful and episodes need not be self-contained. Like most comic book adaptations, “Spider-Man” is driven by characters as much as story. Though the scripts are complex and occasionally clever, there’s a lot of action but also quite a bit of disconnect.

This movie is a dvdrip without any subs.

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