The Animated Series’ Speaks Out About Being Excluded by Marvel From Upcoming Comic Continuation

Spider-Man: The Animated Series might be getting a continuation in comic book form, but the series’ original creator is not involved, and he has some choice words to say about it. Marvel Comics recently announced Spider-Man ’94, a comic continuation of the popular animated series that looks to finally resolve the original cliffhanger from the animated series of Peter Parker going off into the multiverse to find Mary Jane Watson. The four-issue limited series will be written by J.M. DeMatteis (who wrote the original series) and feature art by Jim Towe and covers by Nick Bradshaw, Ron Lim, and John Tyler Christopher. One person who won’t be involved, however, is Spider-Man: The Animated Series creator John Semper.

Semper took to X (formerly Twitter) to make an announcement clarifying his involvement or lack of participation in Spider-Man ’94. “Since I will no doubt be asked about it by fans of the series: NO. I am NOT involved with this comic book, and no one at Marvel approached me to be involved in any way,” said Semper. The Spider-Man: The Animated Series creator revealed that Marvel never contacted him about the comic continuation, and says that they still downplay his involvement in creating the popular Spider-Verse concept. Semper did praise writer J.M. DeMattesis, but noted that whatever the writer has planned is not Semper’s original vision for how Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s story would be resolved. Semper said:

“The internet tells me that J.M. DeMatteis is the writer of the comic book, and I have nothing but the greatest respect for him. His amazing body of work over the years in both animation and comic books speaks for itself, and I’m positive this new comic is in great hands. Where he now chooses to take the series story-wise is entirely his decision. But, for the record, they are NOT my creative choices, nor do they represent any oversight by me.”

Yes, it would have been nice (some might even say, respectful) if Marvel had reached out to me at some point as a courtesy. But I have long ago abandoned all expectation that Marvel would acknowledge any of my contributions to the Marvel universe – like, for instance, my creation of what is now known as the ‘Spider-Verse'”

Latest Spider-Man Release’s Official MCU Canon Status Confirmed & is Probably for the Best

Originally developed as an MCU prequel, ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ was changed to a non-canon story to allow for more creative freedom.

Spider-Man No More?

Spider-Man: The Animated Series final two episodes saw Peter Parker / Spider-Man teaming up with multiple versions of himself from across the multiverse, marking the first true Spider-Verse story. However, it did not feature the popular Spider-Verse name. The two-part episodes, “I Really, Really Hate Clones” and “Farwell, Spider-Man,” aired in 1998, 12 years before writer Dan Slott would write the video game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and 16 years before the first Spider-Verse comic was published. The Spider-Verse is an integral part of the Spider-Man mythology, playing a role in the popular animated Spider-Verse films and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Yet, Marvel has largely ignored Semper’s contributions to this creation.

Comic continuations of superhero media have been very popular over the last decade. The modern trend started with Batman ’66, a comic continuation of the Adam West television series that ran from 2013 to 2016. That was soon followed by Wonder Woman ’77, Superman ’78, and Batman ’89, all of which act as continuations of their specific DC live-action adaptations. Marvel has started to revisit their popular past adaptations, notably with X-Men ’97 on Disney+. While X-Men: The Animated Series producers Larry Houston, Julia Lewald, and Eric Lewald are not directly involved with X-Men ’97, they were asked as consultants, a courtesy not extended to Semper for this comic series.

Why exactly Marvel Comics did not reach out to Semper is unclear, but it is certainly disappointing, particularly given that Spider-Man: The Animated Series did end on a cliffhanger. X-Men ’97 featured a cameo from Peter Parker and Mary Jane, seemingly already wrapping up how the story ends. The idea of witnessing how Spider-Man ’94 picks up and wraps up the story of Spider-Man: The Animated Series would have more meaning if it were the original creator coming to finish his story.

Source: John Semper (X)