For many fans, Spider-Man: The Animated Series from the 1990s remains the definitive version of the wall-crawler.
Airing during the heyday of after-school television, the series introduced a generation to Peter Parker’s world and served as their first deep dive into the broader Marvel Universe, well before superhero movies dominated pop culture.
The show ran for 65 episodes before concluding in 1998, but it didn't go out with a neatly tied bow.
Instead, it ended on one of the most memorable cliffhangers in superhero animation. In the final episode, after a reality-bending battle across the multiverse dubbed “Spider Wars,” Madame Web tells Peter she will help him find the real Mary Jane Watson, who had mysteriously disappeared into another dimension earlier in the series.
The last shot shows Spider-Man swinging off into the unknown, leaving fans hanging for over two decades and sparking endless speculation about what came next. Now, with Marvel's newly announced comic continuation of the series, fans may finally get the resolution they’ve been waiting for.
Now, nearly 30 years later, Marvel Comics is set to revisit the unfinished story with a newly announced miniseries titled Spider-Man '94. This continuation will pick up exactly where the animated series left off, promising to finally address the long-standing mystery of Mary Jane’s disappearance and deliver long-awaited closure to one of Spider-Man’s most iconic cliffhangers.
J.M. DeMatteis and Jim Towe are set to lead the series, creatively.
It seems the announcement of the comic book series has caught the attention of the show's former head writer, John Semper Jr., who seems unhappy that Marvel never reached out.
Taking to social media, he wrote, "NO, I am NOT involved with this comic book and no one approached me to be involved in any way. Matt [Dunford's] text message was the first I heard of it. "
On DeMatteis taking over as the lead writer, Semper shared, "I'm positive this new comic is in great hands. I hired him years ago to participate in writing one episode of my series (which ran for 65 episodes) and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. 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 from me."
He went on to state, "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."
Do John Semper Jr.’s recent comments change how you view Marvel’s decision to revisit the world of Spider-Man: The Animated Series?
Given his instrumental role in crafting the original show, should Marvel have at least informed or involved him in the new comic continuation?
Or do you believe Marvel has every right to move forward independently, since they legally own the characters and series? Is this a matter of respect for legacy, or simply standard industry practice? Share your thoughts in the comments below.