Lead Designer Cheeks Galloway.

Other villains that Galloway designed include The Enforcers, the Vulture, Electro, the Lizard, Shocker, Rhino, Tombstone, the Green Goblin, Doc Ock and more.

Galloway found Spidey's adversaries a pleasure to work on because they were so different from his usual style. "I generally draw cutesy, but the villains gave me the chance to pull away from that and draw something scary, although not too scary," he says. "I have a lot of favorites -- Vulture, Doc Ock, Otto, Venom and Lizard. Their designs offer really good contrasting shapes, and I was able to show that we can push the limits on those designs."

Galloway was also involved with some background design, but notes, ""I did some initial designs on the backgrounds to establish a look and a color scheme. But Vince Toyama took it to a whole new level."

Spidey's New Web
To capitalize on Spidey's refreshed popularity, a major marketing effort by Kids WB!, Sony Pictures Television and Marvel is underway. While the creators of the new Spider-Man series are dedicated to revisiting Spidey's roots, the new adventures also mean big business -- spectacular Spider-toys, clothes, food and more.

"I think the great thing about Spider-Man is that it's not just a great children's brand; it's a great brand, period," comments Vogel.

Since this new Spider-Man is in tune with the Web-savvy generation, it seems natural that one of the marketing initiatives is an extensive "kid-focused" online presence via a Sony Pictures Kids website that offers character info, downloads, video, games, links, and more.

When auditioning for the job, Galloway chose to design Sandman because of the opportunity to push the edges. He knew modernizing the classic villain would be a challenge.

"I believe viewers today don't think of things in just one medium anymore," Vogel says. "To successfully brand a show, you need to have characters and ideas that transcend just one type of storytelling. Spider-Man has proven he can swing from one medium to another and retain the virtues that make him appealing. I think that Spider-Man lends itself to a more layered storytelling that the online world can really delve into. These characters have such rich backstories and years and years of history, and the online world allows you to focus on your favorites and really explore."

Other promotional elements for The Spectacular Spider-Man include on-air, in-school and at-retail activities. In addition to on-air teasers and comic book convention promotional activities, Sony Pictures Television and Kids' WB!/The CW Network are introducing an in-school Milk Media Campaign in 85% of all U.S. schools. The campaign includes localized tune-in information that will be featured on The Spectacular Spider-Man branded posters and book covers in the top 8-10 markets, as well as branding on nearly 40 million milk cartons.

Spidey even has his own dedicated merchandising group. Spider-Man Merchandising, L.P. is the limited partnership comprising Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc. that oversees the licensing and merchandising activities for Columbia Pictures' Spider-Man feature films and animated series. The partnership has already attracted some of the biggest names in key categories -- ranging from toys and apparel to domestics and publishing.

Participating industry heavyweights include Hasbro (master toy licensee), Wear Me Apparel (master apparel), IMT (sporting goods), Fashion Accessory Bazaar (back-to-school and storage), Bendon Publishing (publishing), DecoPac (cake decoration), Giant Merchandising (t-shirts), Berkshire Fashion (headwear, cold weather and hosiery), Fast Forward (back-to-school), and Jay Franco (domestics). Spider-Man Merchandising, L.P. is continuing to work on expanding the program with additional licensees.

Paul Gitter, president of consumer products for North America, Marvel Entertainment for Spider-Man Merchandising L.P., reports that the early feedback on The Spectacular Spider-Man has been phenomenal, with licensees quick to embrace the series. Their goal, he says, is to create a merchandising program and entertainment event that aims to fuel the ongoing demand for the Spider-Man franchise.

Hasbro unveiled The Spectacular Spider-Man toys at Toy Fair 2008, including the first-ever Spider-Man toy that actually scales walls -- Remote Control Wallcrawler Spider-Man for ages five and up -- available in the fall. For kids wanting to join Spidey in his crime-fighting escapades, Hasbro offers the Spinning Web Blaster, as well as action figures featuring characters from the new series.

Will kids like these toys? They're already popular with series director Vic Cook, who says, "They're in my office for inspiration and they're just fun to look at."