Why don’t you just call it Firestar and Her Friends…Who Are Lame
Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar are fighting crime and protecting the world from villains. As Peter Parker, Bobby Drake, and Angelica Jones, the three heroes are not only teammates, but roommates and friends. As they try to keep Aunt May and Angelica’s dog Ms. Lion in the dark, the Spider-Friends battle enemies from Doctor Octopus and Doctor Doom to Green Goblin and the Red Skull. Fortunately, the Spider-Man, Firestar, and Iceman have allies in Captain America, the X-Men, and other heroes…saving the world is a hard job!
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends ran for three seasons on NBC from September 12, 1981 to September 10, 1983. The series was produced by Marvel Productions and aired with The Incredible Hulk cartoon starting with the second season.
Saturday mornings was ruled by the Super Friends. DC Comics had gotten the jump on the super team show and Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Wonder Twins were already well established with Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends premiered. Despite that, I couldn’t wait for every Saturday morning to see Spider-Man due to his appearances on The Electric Company and my all-mighty Underoos. I can remember wishing that the series had more “real” supervillains and heroes, but watching it now, I see that the show was rather loaded with superheroes and villains…I just didn’t know it.
This is my favorite X-Men line-up. Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Marvel Girl, and Cyclops…because one Cyclops isn’t enough…
The series was cheap. There are episodes where there are out and out mistakes (my favorite is “The Origin of Iceman” where a flashback of Iceman’s time with the original X-Men accidentally features two Cyclops in a group shot). You get lots of coloring errors and animation that changes. In addition to that, there are inconsistencies and things like just unknowns about the series…like Wolverine having an Australian accent instead of a Canadian (which would have been a lot easier for Hugh Jackman). It even stole character designs like for Cyberiad in “The X-Men Adventure” who was a complete copy of Legion of Super-Heroes’ Fatal Five enemy Tharok.
Surprisingly, the show is loaded with cameos. Characters like tons of villains, Matt Murdock, Captain America, Iron Man, and others make cameos throughout the series and the series helped introduce the X-Men to a larger audience (I can remember being excited when “The X-Men Adventure” would come on…which strangely didn’t include Wolverine but did include Thunderbird). There were even odd choices for costumes in the episode where Flash impersonates Peter (like Firebird being a costume choice). It is more fun to watch now to see who was included (though many of the “made for Amazing Friends characters” were quite lame).
Hey, it’s the famous Australian X-Man Wolverine…wait what?
I would say that the best addition to the Marvel Universe from Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is easily Firestar. Firestar was meant to be the Human Torch who was tied up in legal tape. Firestar was created for the show to look like Mary Jane Watson, but ended up being retconned into the Marvel Universe in Uncanny X-Men #193 (May 1985). I love Firestar and she’s one of the few characters who really transitioned well from “made-for-TV” to comic (look at the poor above mentioned Wonder Twins).
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is a fun series…if you grew up with it. The cheapness of the series probably won’t impress younger viewers, but as a fan from childhood, it is great to revisit the show and see what episodes I remember. I am rather amazed that this series really hasn’t seen much play in the United States. It was mixed in to Marvel Action Universe which aired from 1988 to 1991. The episodes are available online and currently available on Netflix…so swing by and revisit your friends.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends—Season 1
“The Triumph of the Green Goblin”
1.1 The Triumph of the Green Goblin Airdate: 09/12/81
Peter Parker, Bobby Drake, and Angelica Jones go to a school super-hero costume party but find the real Green Goblin is lurking around. When the Goblin plans to transform the city into goblins, Spider-Man and the Spider-Friends must stop the Green Goblin.
“The Crime of All Centuries”
1.2 The Crime of All Centuries Airdate: 09/19/81
Kraven the Hunter is planning to use dinosaurs from the Savage Land to attack New York City, and all he needs is Firestar’s heat to hatch the eggs…only Spider-Man and Iceman can stop him.
“The Fantastic Mr. Frump”
1.3 The Fantastic Mr. Frump Airdate: 09/26/81
Dr. Doom has gotten ahold of a magic amulet which gives people immense power. When Spider-Man causes him to drop the amulet, an old man named Mr. Frump finds it…and discovers wishes can come true.
“Sunfire”
1.4 Sunfire Airdate: 10/03/81
Sunfire is tricked by his ruthless uncle to go after Firestar. In his attempts to capture Firestar, Sunfire finds himself falling in love…and must decide between his family and Firestar.
“Swarm”
1.5 Swarm Airdate: 10/10/81
An asteroid crashes near a beehive creating a monster bee creature called Swarm that can transform and control others. Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar take on the creature but Spider-Man learns he might have to go the battle alone when Firestar and Iceman become part of the swarm.
“7 Little Superheroes”
1.6 7 Little Superheroes Airdate: 10/17/81
The Chameleon manipulates Namor the Sub-Mariner, Shanna the She-Devil, Doctor Strange, Captain America, Iceman, Firestar, and Spider-Man.
“Videoman”
1.7 Videoman Airdate: 10/24/81
Electro attempts to use an arcade game called Videoman to infiltrate businesses for robbery…leading him into a showdown with Spider-Man and his Spidey-Friends. Plus, Firestar finds Flash Thompson has discovered her secret identity!
“The Prison Plot”
1.8 The Prison Plot Airdate: 10/31/81
Peter, Angelica, and Bobby attend a press conference at a prison at Niagara Falls…only to find Magneto has taken over the prison to ensure the release of his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
“Spidey Goes Hollywood”
1.9 Spidey Goes Hollywood Airdate: 11/07/81
When Aunt May needs money, Peter, Angelica, and Bobby spring into action. A producer offering Spider-Man money to appear in his motion picture seems like the prime opportunity to earn money for Aunt May, but the Amazing Friends are unaware that it is a plot by Mysterio. Unknown to Mysterio is that Spider-Man, Firestar, and Iceman have just befriended Bruce Banner—the Incredible Hulk!
“The Vengeance of Loki”
1.10 The Vengeance of Loki Airdate: 11/14/81
Loki is plotting against his brother Thor and using Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar to get revenge. Impersonating Thor, Loki sets out to rule Earth with the Twins of the God, and Iceman finds himself trapped in Asgard.
“Knights & Demons”
1.11 Knights & Demons Airdate: 11/21/81
A demon statue of Modred is discovered and put on display at Peter, Angelica, and Bobby’s school. The statue comes to life, the Amazing Friends find themselves teamed with the Black Knight to retrieve the Ebony Blade from Modred before he can invade Earth.
“Pawns of the Kingpin”
1.12 Pawns of the Kingpin Airdate: 11/28/81
The Kingpin and Dr. Faustus have teamed up to steal a weapon of immense power. With Captain America and Iceman as their mental slaves, it is up to Firestar and Iceman to free them.
“Quest of the Red Skull”
1.13 Quest of the Red Skull Airdate: 12/05/81
The Red Skull targets Peter, Bobby, and Angelica’s teacher and the Spider-Friends team with Hiawatha Smith to hunt down the Red Skull before he can achieve his goal of following in Hitler’s footsteps by starting World War III.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends—Season 2
“The Origin of Iceman”
2.1 The Origin of Iceman Airdate: 09/18/82
When Bobby’s powers begin to fail, Peter and Angelica look into his past to see if there is a connection. From his beginning with the X-Men to his meeting with Spider-Man, the Amazing Friends find how he became Iceman…and face their enemy Videoman again!
“Along Came Spidey”
2.2 Along Came Spidey Airdate: 10/02/82
When Aunt May is injured in a battle with the Shocker, Peter Parker recalls gaining his powers as Spider-Man and learning with great power comes great responsibility.
“A Firestar Is Born”
2.3 A Firestar Is Born Airdate: 09/25/82
Iceman and Firestar go to visit their mentor Professor X and his X-Men while Spider-Man tries to deal with a rampaging Juggernaut bent on destroying Professor X. Angelica reveals her past and how she gained her secret identity thanks to a rival named Bonnie.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends—Season 3
“Spider-Man: Unmasked”
3.1 Spider-Man: Unmasked! Airdate: 09/17/83
The Sandman learns Peter Parker is Spider-Man and Iceman and Firestar realize they must find a way to stop the Sandman alone.
“The Bride of Dracula”
3.2 The Bride of Dracula Airdate: 09/24/83
When Angelica is seduced by a strange man, Bobby and Peter find she’s been hypnotized by Dracula. Travelling to Transylvania, Iceman and Spider-Man must save Firestar before it is too late!
“Education of a Superhero”
3.3 The Education of a Superhero Airdate: 10/01/83
The Gamesman uses arcade games to enslave their players. When a boy named Francis Byte beats the Gamesman’s game, he is transformed into Videoman.
“Attack of the Arachnoid”
3.4 Attack of the Arachnoid Airdate: 10/08/83
A scientist named Zoltan recreates Spider-Man’s origin giving himself Spider-Man’s powers…for evil! As Iceman and Firestar try to prove Spider-Man is innocent, Spider-Man and his attorney Matt Murdock find Spider-Man jail and with the Scorpion seeking revenge.
“Origin of the Spider-Friends”
3.5 Origin of the Spider-Friends Airdate: 10/15/83
Meeting at college, Peter, Bobby, and Angelica find each other’s secret identities while saving Tony Stark from the Beetle. Deciding to form a new team, the Spider-Friends are formed!
“Spidey Meets the Girl from Tomorrow”
3.6 Spidey Meets the Girl from Tomorrow Airdate: 10/22/83
Sucked into the past, Barto and Ariel find themselves trapped on the Earth of the past. As Peter falls in love with Ariel, they must retrieve the chemicals to power the ship…but Doctor Octopus also has eyes on the ship from the future.
“The X-Men Adventure”
3.7 The X-Men Adventure Airdate: 10/29/83
Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar visit the X-Men for Firestar’s training. When a man named Cyberiad attacks, the X-Men and Spider-Friends find they must battle their way through the mansion to stop Cyberiad.
“Mission: Save the Guardstar”
3.8 Mission: Save the Guardstar Airdate: 11/05/83
S.H.I.E.L.D. has recruited Spider-Man and Firestar to protect a weapon called the Guardstar from a rogue agent named Lightwave. Unfortunately, Iceman has a tie to Lightwave that none of the Spider-Friends expected.
