Animation Congregation: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends!

Martinex1:  Back in 1981, NBC aired a Saturday morning cartoon that would have caught any Bronze Age comic book lover's attention...Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends!

  

 

 The show featured Spider-Man, Iceman, and newcomer Firestar.  Today we will keep it simple and share some tidbits, pictures and trivia about the show.

The original concept was for Spidey to team up with fire and ice powered heroes, Iceman and the Human Torch.  But much like what kept the Torch out of the revamped Fantastic Four show a few years earlier, Johnny Storm was also unavailable for Amazing Friends.  To resolve the issue on the FF show, the cartoon introduced Herbie the robot.  For Amazing Friends, Firestar was created.

Did you know that during the designing of Firestar, the creators toyed with naming her Starblaze, Firefly, and Heatwave before settling on Firestar?

Do you think Angelica Jones looks like Mary Jane Watson?   There are rumors that that was intentional but there has never been official confirmation.

Firestar appeared on the television show first; her introduction in comic books was two-fold.   She of course appeared in the one-shot adaptation of the first episode of the series. 

But she did not appear in the mainstream Marvel universe until Uncanny X-Men #193, where she was introduced as one of Emma Frost's students, one of the Hellions.  That was in 1985.

 She was fairly popular and even appeared in her own 4 issue limited series.

Did you know that in the cartoon, Firestar was voiced by Kathy Garver who played the eldest sister Cissy on the hit sitcom Family Affair?

The cartoon ran for a few years, and then was recycled as part of  a Spider-Man and Hulk cartoon hour.  A total of 24 episodes were produced and some guest-starred Marvel's elite heroes.  The X-Men appeared (with Wolverine having an Australian accent), as did Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor.   One episode actually featured the Black Knight.

The main cast consisted of the heroes, Aunt May and her dog named Ms. Lion.

 Occasionally some lesser known characters from the Marvel Universe would show up.  I never thought I would see Sunfire on television back then.

Although, the series did create new and less memorable characters, some of Marvel's elite villains showed up as well.

Some of the episodes were written by Don Glut.  If you recognize the name, it may be because he was a rather prolific writer for comics, television, and adaptations.  His work includes writing for Archie Comics, DC, and Gold Key.  He also worked for Marvel on What If, Captain America, and my favorite issues of Marvel Premiere (starring 3-D Man).  He may be best known for the novelization of The Empire Strikes Back.

The series was not as memorable as the early Marvel cartoons; it had its flaws.  One of my favorite gaffes is from the episode that explores Iceman's past.  As the story focuses on the original X-Men, take note of the below scene... there are two Cyclops in the picture!

 If you are looking for some Bronze Age cartoon fun, check out the series as you are bound to run into some great guest stars and some familiar scenes.

So what do you think?  Did you watch the show?  Did you enjoy the characters, plots, and guest stars?  Or was it just typical early 80's fodder?  Did you watch or were you too old for cartoons in 1981?  And how about Firestar; did her entry into comics do her justice, or was her limited exposure in the New Warriors just enough? We'd like to get your impression of this Spidey cartoon from back in the Bronze Age. Cheers!