The Web-Slinger Visits Counter-Earth This Fall

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by Steve Fritz
webdate: 8/18/99 2:33:27 PM

Animated@AnotherUniverse.com

Of all the new shows coming to Fox Kids, probably the most controversial is the new Spider-Man Unlimited. Even though the series won't debut until this October, when I mention the plot line to certain die-hard Marvel zombies it sends them into a lathering frenzy of hatred and disgust.

As I love poking sticks at Marvel zombies, I'm giving Spider-Man Unlimited a chance. Besides, the preview clips makes me just want to grab a shovel and bury the zombies once and for all.

For starters, it's not like Marvel or Fox doesn't know what they are doing here.

"When we conceived Spider-Man Unlimited, the idea was we already had done 65 episodes of classic, but updated, regular Spider-Man," says Avi Arad, co-executive producer on the series as well as board member at Marvel. "We had to create 26 new episodes, so we created a whole new universe--if you will--for him. Our goal is come 2001, there will be another whole new series of Spider-Man episodes that will be completely different from Spider-Man Unlimited. It will be another new show with a new title.

"You have to realize that the original Spider-Man series is still seen on Fox every weekday afternoon as well as Saturdays," adds Arad. "It's already become one of the most popular animated shows of all time. It's always working."

"For this one we sort of borrowed from the Warlock and 2099 mythology for Spider-Man," continues Roland Poindexter, Fox Kids Vice President and Head of Programming. "We sort of took from different parts of the Marvel universe to create something new and what we think is solid.

"Look," Poindexter emphasizes. "Every possible major, traditional story about Spider-Man has been told in animation. We needed to take him in a radical, new direction in order to prolong the story of what we feel is one of the most enduring comic book icon in history. So, yeah, we did take a radical turn, but I think it's one that everyone is going to enjoy. The reason is a lot of the core values and elements of what has endeared Spider-Man to his audience is there. Spider-Man is still about his personal sense of responsibility, self-sacrifice, a little self-pity and constantly being misunderstood, but otherwise what makes Spider-Man a really, really good person. While we think this is a Spider-Man that no one has ever seen before, that fans are going to watch him because of that."

Part of me wants to inject that the Gwen Stacy story arc hasn't been done, but the cynic in me also reminds me that TV Standards & Practices (aka the censors) would have a field day with the death of both Stacy and the impalement of the Green Goblin. As such, Arad and Poindexter were the trigger men on a plot line giving the zombies the heebie jeebies.

"What we did was come up with the story of Counter Earth," says Arad. "It's based on an old Marvel Comic story where the High Evolutionary got fed up with what was going down on the original Earth. He found another Earth with all the same basic quirks on the other side of our sun. So he went there in sort of a Noah's Ark with his main creations, the Bestials and the Knights of Wundagore and decided he could start anew."

"This Counter Earth is not really a parallel earth," says Poindexter. "It was a planet that was created in our Earth's image. It was created by the High Evolutionary, who is very familiar with our history and our way of life. In some cases our Earth is mirrored. In other cases, it wasn't. He basically copied what he felt was needed from this world and did his own with what he felt was the least desired."

When we start our story, our Earth has discovered this Counter Earth. We decide to send a space mission--headed by John Jameson, the astronaut son of J. Jonah--to explore it. Since we last saw him, Peter Parker has become a sort of super scientist, and is now working for our equivalent of NASA.

Venom and Carnage have learned of this mission and decide they are going to steal a ride on board the space craft. Parker sees Venom and Carnage trying to sneak on board. He, naturally, changes into Spider-Man and tries to stop them. He fails and gets thrown off the ship by the villains, but not before the TV cameras mounted all over the launch catch shots of Spider-Man by the space ship.

John Jameson's ship goes out of control and disappears when it gets near the Counter Earth. Of course, all J. Jonah "knows" is that Spidey was somehow connected to all this, and he accuses our hero of sabotage. Spider-Man is now one of the most hunted men on our planet. Parker is left with the dilemma of trying to prove his innocence on a very hostile home.

Let Arad pick up the story from here. "Being Peter is helping in the space program," he says, "he manages to get himself on the second space mission that will rescue John Jameson. All he knows is Jameson is alive and that something is very wrong with this Counter Earth. It's a skyscraper land that will be perfect for Spider-Man's climbing ability. Humans are the lowest on the totem pole [that] the High Evolutionary's created, much like the Planet of the Apes. Just above them are the Bestials, and they have their own society. Then there's the Knights of Wundagore and the High Evolutionary."

"It won't be long before Peter finds John Jameson. In fact, Jameson is now like this Spartacus character, leading the human slaves in revolt against the Bestials. The Bestials naturally hate humanity because they did originally come from our planet and remember how we treated them back there. After all, we used to kill their ancestors and throw them in the rotisserie. As far as the Bestials are concerned, whatever humanity touches, we eventually screw it up. Before you know it, Spider-Man becomes involved in the liberation of the humans, but is also seen as one their own by the Bestials, who thinks there is another one of them under the costume. Peter winds up working for another newspaper, with an editor who is even worse than J. Jonah Jameson."

"What eventually happens is Peter gets accepted by the humans but hated by the Bestials, while Spider-Man ends up being hated by the humans," Arad explains. "So again, Peter ends up a man with no land and he still has to find Jameson, reclaim his space ship which has been captured by the Bestials and get back home to our Earth. How we wrap that up will take up all 26 episodes of Spider-Man Unlimited."

For the record, neither Arad or Poindexter would leak out what Carnage and Venom have to do with the plot line. About the only comment was Poindexter saying the two symbiotes will be the "wild cards" of the series and will eventually provide a major recurring plot point.

One thing that is highly impressive regarding the new Spider-Man series is the animation. It's some of the best work that Saban Entertainment, who did the actual grunt work, has come up with in their entire history. It's also very different from Saban's other key Marvel project, The Avengers.

"Both are very different shows," says Poindexter, regarding both new Marvel series, "even though they both use traditional animation. With The Avengers we wanted to be what was a little more 'classical.' The colors are very bold and vibrant. Spider-Man's more moody, darker and detailed. The reason is the subject matter is more complicated and darker than The Avengers or the previous Spider-Man. In fact, this Spider-Man looks completely different from the previous show, as well as any other version of Spider-Man that television ever been on the air. It's much more sophisticated."

"The look of this show is just out of this world," Arad chimes. "For the Bestials we have come up with this terrific combination of what is human and what is beast. It's really an interesting show. The animation is just as good, if not better than the original Spider-Man."

As for the Marvel zombies, Arad is well aware of what he's up against. Turns out he's been doing his share of pre-testing.

"Basically, all I do is say 'Hey guys! Give this show a chance.' When we showed some of our initial drawings, we knew there was going to be some people who were going to freak out. But that's OK, freaking out is good. The point is we can't keep doing the same stuff from the '60s. If we don't update, we're stupid. It's something you have to do. A lot of the stuff that was science fiction in the 1960s is happening today. The stories are what they should be given today. I'm very excited about it."

Truth be told, from what I've seen there is a lot to like about this new Spider-Man. If not, I get the feeling that Spider-Man 2001, as the next webbed wonder series is currently being called, will get things back on track with Parker back on our own planet and with many of his more traditional enemies.

Still, I personally am going to give Spider-Man Unlimited a chance. As I said before, I love poking sticks at the Marvel zombies, and this new series has all the makings of being a nice, sharp one.

Particularly as it does look so good.

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