SUBSCRIBE
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
No Result
View All Result
  • MOVIES
  • TV
  • GAMING
  • TECH
  • COMICS
  • SNEAKERS
  • TOYS
  • VIDEO
  • WIN
Fortress of Solitude
No Result
View All Result

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1991) Review – Bad!

Home > TV Series > Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1991) Review – Bad!

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1991) Review – Bad!

Peter Parker is fake Spider-Man! Dr. Doom beaten by Donald Frump!

Rick AustinbyRick Austin
August 3, 2020
in TV Series
Tags: MarvelSpider-Man

For those too young to remember, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was a very short-lived animated show back in the early 1980s, apparently meant to cash in on DC’s Super Friends.

Originally planned to be the adventures of three swingin’ superhero bros, namely Spidey, Iceman and the Human Torch, instead, plans had to be changed. The Human Torch was unavailable, and so the creators came up with the newcomer Firestar, a young woman… which suddenly added a not-quite-romantic-but-maybe love triangle between the three characters, which was surprisingly ahead of its time. Especially given everything that’s happened with the characters since then.

Not that they had any idea back then. Oh, if only…

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

In Triumph of the Green Goblin, it’s double date night for Peter (Spider-Man) Parker, Bobby (Iceman) Drake, Angelica (Firestar) Jones and Mona Osborn. While the young heroes are enjoying their costume party, Mona’s uncle Norman Osborn survives a plane crash which turns him back into the supervillain known as the Green Goblin. When the Goblin plans to continue his science experiments and transform New York’s population into mutated goblins, it’s time for the heroes to step in and save the day.



Meanwhile, in The Fantastic Mr. Frump, Doctor Doom uses his knowledge of dark sorcery to try and harness enough cosmic power to change reality itself. The problem? That cosmic power didn’t go to Doctor Doom, but instead goes to an unemployed, down-on-his-luck elderly man called Mr. Frump. When Spider-Man, Iceman and Firestar are drawn into a battle against Doom, this unlikely nobody will become the deciding factor in who wins and who loses. But will Frump choose revenge on the world, or save it?

As for these Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episodes, Triumph of the Green Goblin is anything but a triumph, although it does set the level for the cheesy nature of the show. You know you’re getting something special when Peter Parker is shown as being either so cheap or so cocky that he actually goes to a costume party dressed as Spider-Man… in front of Aunt May, no less!

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends



Mind you, every cool kid in town is at this party, and they’re all dressed as Marvel characters. Even the less famous ones that Marvel usually don’t promote. This cosplay extravaganza also sees Iceman dressed as Captain America (it’s funny because, you know, Cap was frozen in ice for decades), while Peter’s “date” Firestar is dressed as, uh, Spider-Woman. Yeah, nothing weird there. Anyway, the story has Iceman’s date Mona gets kidnapped right in front of him by the Goblin… although he actually doesn’t mind her getting kidnapped because he’s such a moron, does nothing to save her, and even encourages her to go with the supervillain with a smile.

Sadly, there’s not much to this Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode. Other than a few cheap and unfunny jokes, it’s more fascinating than fun and the only joy is in seeing how bad it can get.

Things get a little better with The Fantastic Mr. Frump, which features a surprisingly accurate Doctor Doom living in a Twisted ToyFare Theatre-style world of bad plotting. Due to a blunder, some dopey old geezer with the hots for Aunt May gains phenomenal cosmic powers. Imagine Homer Simpson taking possession of the Infinity Gauntlet, and that’s kind of the situation here. Frump isn’t a bad guy, but he’s an easily-manipulated idiot who genuinely believes that Doom is his friend and the heroes are the bad guys. Also, for some reason, he thinks the world needs to be redecorated with rainbows and polka dots.



Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Of course, Doom plays second fiddle to nobody! As such, Latveria’s monarch needs the help of the heroes to betray Frump. While this Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode is as cheesy as they get, and Frump is annoying as anything, there’s a weird level of fun in seeing Spidey and his friends struggle alongside Doom, while Aunt May seems to put up more of a fight than any of them. It boggles the mind how such a stupid episode can be so wildly entertaining, but it is.

Oh, and for the record, Frump’s first name isn’t Donald. But it should have been given the timely parallels.

The action in these Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episodes is laughably bad, the jokes are worse, and the plotting is so simplistic that it’s hard to appreciate them if you never grew up with them. Yet they regularly feature a popular character created for the small screen who would make her way to comics, in the form of Firestar – years before Harley Quinn ever existed and did the same thing. Likewise, it’s cool seeing Spidey as more of a team leader and with SHIELD gadgets, while Iceman makes for an intriguing foil and occasional rival.

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

So basically, what you’ve got here are two barely watchable Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoons that are classics… in their own way. Just don’t expect greatness.

The Review

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1991) Eps. 1 & 2

2 Score

Bad, but in a good way… kind of.

Review Breakdown

  • Verdict
ShareTweetSend
ADVERTISEMENT

POPULAR

  • The 15 Most Powerful Anime Characters Of All Time

    The 15 Most Powerful & Strongest Anime Characters Of All Time

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 10 Best Anime Series Of All-Time

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The 15 Most Powerful Characters In The Marvel Universe

    26 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Why Johnny Cage Isn’t In The Mortal Kombat 2021 Movie

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 12 Most Powerful Characters In The DC Universe

    181 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Related Posts

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Trailer
Movies

WATCH The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Trailer

by Caryn Ganess
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 Recap & Review
TV Series

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 Recap & Review

adidas x Marvel X-Men - A Superhero Football Collection
Sneakers

adidas x Marvel X-Men – A Superhero Football Collection

by Evan Saunders
netflix sony spider-man
Movies

Netflix Sony Deal Includes Rights For New Spider-Man Films

by Caryn Ganess
doctor strange 1978 Movie
Movies

Marvel, We Haven’t Forgotten That 1978 Doctor Strange Movie

by Rick Austin
ADVERTISEMENT

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fortress of Solitude

Fortress of Solitude

Fortress of Solitude has become one of the most popular geek entertainment interest websites in South Africa and covers news and reviews on movies, games, comic books, gadgets, TV series, toys, sneakers and more.

The articles on Fortress of Solitude are written by a group of talented, professional and experienced freelance writers, all experts and leaders in their various fields.

Categories

  • Board Games
  • Books
  • Comic Books
  • Competitions
  • Gaming
  • Internet
  • Movies
  • Podcast
  • Sneakers
  • Tech
  • Toys
  • TV Series

Newsletter

Sign up for news in your inbox.

  • For more information on COVID-19
  • About Us
  • Authors
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy & Site Disclaimer
  • Contact Fortress of Solitude

© 2021 Fortress of Solitude, a division of Fortress Entertainment. Registered in South Africa. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Movies
  • TV
  • Gaming
  • Tech
  • Comics
  • Sneakers
  • Toys
  • Video
  • Win
  • Contact

© 2021 Fortress of Solitude, a division of Fortress Entertainment. Registered in South Africa. All Rights Reserved.