The newest incarnation of the web-slinging hero harkens back to Spidey's angst-ridden teen years. All images © 2007 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.

Spider-Man first swung onto the comic book scene in 1962, in Amazing Fantasy #15 from Marvel Comics. From the beginning, this Marvel hero was anything but super -- Peter Parker was a geeky science student by day and the wisecracking, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man by night.

Spider-Man appealed to the kid in all of us. As it turns out, he still does.

The newest incarnation of the web-slinging hero harkens back to Spidey's angst-ridden teen years, and the goal is to engage a new generation of Spider-Man fans. The Spectacular Spider-Man, from Sony's Culver Entertainment, premiered on Kids' WB! on The CW on March 8, 2008, and Marvel and Sony Pictures Television recently announced that they have green-lit production on an additional 13 half-hour episodes, bringing the current series run to 26 episodes.

"What has made the character so beloved in the comics, what has made the movies so successful, and what I hope we've managed to translate into our series is Peter Parker's 'relatability' as a character to all ages," said Michael Vogel, director of animated programming, Sony Pictures Television.

The Spectacular Spider-Man picks up the original web-slinger's mythology at the beginning of his hero's journey as a not-so-typical 16-year-old entering his junior year of high school.

"Obviously we wanted to make a show that was appealing to kids, and with Spidey's wisecracks, nonstop action and amazing rogues' gallery, there was plenty to work with," Vogel says. "But we also wanted older fans to be able to really get into the show. In looking at the brand as a whole, we saw the things that had universal appeal and focused on those key ingredients -- awesome action, great stories and characters you really care about."

Kids' WB! Senior Vice President and General Manager Betsy McGowen says that the use of the Spectacular title is an homage to Marvel's popular series of Spider-Man comics, and that it reflects the enthusiasm and high regard they have for the production.

Writer and Supervising Producer Greg Weisman.

Spidey has his gloved hands full coping with the pressures of teenage life at home and school, while combating super-baddies. According to writer and supervising producer Greg Weisman, for this new animated series, the timeline of the original Spider-Man story arcs has been condensed to move the series forward and include such classic characters as Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant, Harry Osborn, Jean DeWolff, J. Jonah Jameson, Aunt May Parker, Joe 'Robbie' Robertson and Liz Allan. As for villains, Spidey gets hit from all sides by the Vulture, Hammerhead, The Enforcers, Electro, Venom, Doc Ock, the Lizard, Sandman, and more.

"We are being very true to the spirit of those early [Stan] Lee/[Steve] Ditko and Lee/[John] Romita issues," Weisman says. "But we're consciously giving ourselves the freedom to change things, contemporize them, to make them more coherent and cohesive. But we never want to lose what's iconic about the characters and their look."

The goal, Weisman says, is to reinterpret these great characters and concepts for our millenniun. And what differentiates a 1960s-era teen hero from a 21st-century one? "Cellphones, cellphones, cellphones," Weisman says. "The Internet. The ubiquitousness of technology (but not the non-ubiquitousness of the positive effects of radiation). A more diverse multi-cultural New York. And surprisingly little else. Some life experiences are truly universal -- like adolescence."

"In the 1960s, the world was analog; today, it is digital," agrees supervising producer/director Vic Cook. "In the 1960s, kids passed notes to each other in class, listened to records, got their news and information from radio and a few TV channels. Today, kids text each other, download music to iPods and have access to the Internet and 24-hour news channels."

"While technology has changed, a lot of the teen social structure hasn't," Cook says. "Today, as in the 1960s, we still have cliques -- the popular kids, the outsiders, the jocks and geeks. I think a 16-year-old becoming a superhero today is more challenging than it was in the 1960s -- the villains and criminals have access to more advanced technology."

The Spectacular Spider-Man combines old and new in the spirit of the original comics. Weisman notes that there will be plenty of resonant material for the Spider-Man fan, while engaging the Spider-Man novice with the thrill of being exposed to the character for the first time. The stories will include plenty of eye-candy, action, humor and colorful characters for the youngest demographic, balanced with extensive character development for 'tweens, teens and adults.