Product Description

Swing into action with America's most amazing superhero as Spider-Man faces off against arch-rival The Green Goblin and a host of his most evil foes in "The Ultimate Villain Showdown." Bitten by a radioactive spider while on a high school field trip, young Peter Parker is transformed into a human web-slinger with incredible spider strength. Now, for the first time on DVD, you can discover how the Spider-Man legend began and watch as he learns the dark origins of The Green Goblin and wages spectacular battles with supervillains Dr. Octopus and Kingpin. You'll get caught in a web of excitement with this thrilling animated adventure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19204 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 79 minutes

Amazon.com
Spider-Man takes on Dr. Octopus, the Kingpin, and the Green Goblin, and takes us on a flashback trip to his origins for good measure, in this four-episode arc from the third season of the 1990s animated series. These web-slinging moral tales have none of Batman's sleek style, and the breathless pacing doesn't quite make up for the awkward animation and pedestrian writing, but the episodes are bright, busy, and action packed. --Sean Axmaker

Additional features
The real treat of this DVD lies in the supplements, especially The Origins of Spiderman from the original 1967 series, which spices a limited animation style with a great theme song, trippy graphics, a jazzy score, and dark colors that recall the deep inks from an old comic book page. Also check out the "Rogues Dossier," an interactive guide to Spidey's villains with statistics, trivia, and video clips, and video interviews with Spiderman creator Stan "the Man" Lee. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

4 Episodes?
It's cool that they put these out, seeing as how THEY HAVEN'T DONE SEASON BOXES YET?? But, 4 episodes for this price and they think this is an Ultimate Villian Showdown?? I don't think so. Just rent it and burn a copy.

Great DVD To Own if You Don't Want To Get the Entire Series!
As this DVD is directed at what Disney aka BVHE feels is its target audience i.e. kids under 14 and above 3, I cannot fathom the negative responses from adults who lament that just because we don't have full season releases that this DVD therefore sucks. I think the phrase "grow up" comes to mind; although the cartoons here may appeal to a larger, older audience, these are after all cartoons and are aimed at the target audience mentioned earlier. Box sets are clearly out of the financial reach of these young-ins and so for their sake, thankfully we have relatively inexpensive offerings like this one.

Given this, this is actually a very good DVD as it has very strong bonus extras which would appeal to any young fan. The 1967 classic: "The Origins of Spider-Man" although severely dated and poorly preserved is a great collectors' item and allows the young viewer a peak into what animated television was like in the late 60s. Although, the enjoyment level is limited by the old technology, the educational level ranks as very high.

We also get great introductions to each episode by none other than the genius, Stan Lee, himself, the creator of most of the characters showcased on this disc. This in itself is a collectors' item as given his advanced age, it's doubtful fans will be treated to many more candid conversations/interviews with Mr. Marvel himself. "Stan Lee's Soapbox" is a brilliant interview in which the man covers many aspects of the character he created and more importantly, his own world view giving us a glimpse of what makes the man tick, what motivates him etc.

We also get a fun extra for younger viewers in the treasure hunt-like feature of "Rogues' Dossiers" where the viewer gets to play "hide-and-seek" as it were to learn more about Spidey's arch-nemeses. The only hangup I have with this is that they only stopped at 12 villains which means the great Lizard does not feature among other great villains that Spidey has had to face over the years.

The 4 episodes themselves have also been very well chosen:

"Make a Wish" is the modern version of the 1967 classic which re-tells Spidey's origins in flashback form as he relates the story to a young girl at the age of the average target viewer.

"Attack of the Octobot" features Doc Ock and allows for further association of said target viewer by allowing the young girl to assist Spidey on defeating his foe.

"Enter the Green Goblin" is the best episode here and showcases probably the best villain Spidey has ever faced.

"Rocket Racer" again allows for association with the viewer but this time in the older age group of said target audience who also plays a significant part in Spidey's adventure.

Overall, this is a great DVD to have for young Spidey fans and Stan Lee's preaching is very evident here in both obvious and subtle/subliminal forms although never in nauseating excess.

Kids are unlikely to finish watching this DVD without at least remembering the adage: "With great power comes great responsibility" In conclusion and to quote another gem from Stan the Man, "Excelsior!"

Look out! Here Comes the Spider-Man...
....the grand-kid (now 3) is into super-heroes ever since the Spiderman movies and The Incredibles DVD. And he also gets excited whenever he sees The Batman. I stumbled across this when I was looking for something a little more mature than his regular Sesame Street type videos (which he still loves, but this gives him a variety). While it has Spiderman's origin story told again (to a little girl who is Webhead's greatest fan) and some 'only in New York' scenarios such as the female jamaican cabby who comes to the aid of the Webhead, the grand kid still is a bit frightened at the Green Goblin. He calls the Goblin "Monster" and edges near his paw-paw for protection. Overall, the web swinging and the sticking on the walls alone are enough to keep him into it. This may be a better show for him when he gets older...but hey! For all other Spiderman fans, this is a great video of the 80's series that adequately touch all the bases. Additionally Stan the Man Lee shows up in the extras. That's gotta be Webhead gold..