6 Worst Ever Comic Book TV Shows

1. The Amazing Spider-Man

amazingspiderman If your reaction to this headline is, €œwait, there was a live-action Spider-Man TV series? How did I miss that?€ then consider yourself extremely lucky. Back in the late 70s, CBS was getting something of a reputation for being a superhero network. Lynda Carter had been thrilling TV audiences as Wonder Woman since 1975 and 1977 saw the release of Bill Bixby in The Incredible Hulk. The late 70s also saw two extremely awful made-for-TV Captain America films and a made-for-TV Doctor Strange film. While Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk were well-received and fondly remembered to this day, Captain America and Doctor Strange are less so. But nothing was as bad as The Amazing Spider-Man. Beginning as a made-for-TV movie in 1977 in which university student Peter Parker (Nicholas Hammond) gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gets his familiar powers. But there€™s Uncle Ben in this retelling, no lessons about power and responsibility. Instead, Peter becomes Spider-Man when a mysterious guru mind-controls people into robbing banks and threatens to force ten people to commit suicide unless he€™s paid $50 million dollars. In 1978, the film was followed by a live-action series called The Amazing Spider-Man. Hammond reprised his role as Peter with a different actor playing J. Jonah Jameson in the series. Although calling him Jameson is something of a misnomer, as the name was the only thing he had in common. Gone was the flamboyant personality from the comics (which J.K. Simmons captured so well in the Raimi trilogy), and instead this Jameson was more of a kindly father-figure. Maybe they confused Jameson with Uncle Ben? Speaking of family, Aunt May was also in this series, although played by a different actress every time she appeared. No villains from the comics ever made an appearance in the series and Spider-Man frequently went up against mad scientists, insane cultists, international criminals, and thieves. The costume looks like a bad attempt as cosplay, especially with the oversized web-shooters and belt, plus those ridiculous eyes. I€™ve seen fan trailers with higher production values than this. It lasted only thirteen episodes, spread out over two seasons before being cancelled, despite doing well in the ratings department. The series was notable for Stan Lee dismissing it as too juvenile. Stan Lee, the man who pretty much never has a bad word to say about any Marvel adaptation, can€™t even bring himself to defend this monstrosity.
 
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Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com