Spider-Man, commonly known as Spider-Man: The Animated Movie, is a 1995 American animated superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Tony Scott and Ed Scott from a screenplay by John Semper, the film features Christopher Daniel Barnes as the voice of the titular character, alongside Sara Ballantine, Jennifer Hale, Ed Asner, Rodney Saulsberry, Linda Gary, Brian Keith, Roscoe Lee Browne, Edward Mulhare, Maxwell Caulfield and Neil Ross. The film centers on outcast teen genius Peter Parker, who develops spider-like superhuman abilities after being bitten by a genetically-altered spider, and decides to use his newfound powers to fight crime in New York City as Spider-Man.
Spider-Man premiered in the Mann Village Theater on August 10, 1995, and was released on August 15 by New World Entertainment in North America and 20th Century Fox worldwide. It received praise for the light tone, animation, voice performances, action sequences, story and soundtrack. It grossed $665.2 million over a $89 million budget at the box office.
Plot[]
On a school trip, high school senior Peter Parker visits a Columbia University genetics lab, where he is bitten by a genetically engineered "super spider" that escaped containment, and apparently falls ill after returning home. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn, owner of scientific corporation Oscorp, tries to land a major military contract. He experiments on himself with an unstable performance-enhancing chemical and goes insane, killing his assistant and stealing a glider with a flight suit.
The next morning, Peter discovers that he is no longer myopic and his body has metamorphosed into a more muscular physique. At school, he discovers that he can shoot spiderwebs from his wrists, and that he has accelerated reflexes, as demonstrated in a confrontation with bully Flash Thompson. Peter later finds out that he has also developed superhuman strength, the ability to stick to surfaces, and an increased ability to sense danger. Ignoring his Uncle Ben's advice that "with great power comes great responsibility," Peter considers impressing his crush Mary Jane Watson with a car. He enters a clandestine wrestling tournament to raise money and wins his first match, but the promoter cheats him out of his winnings.
When a thief suddenly robs the promoter's office, Peter allows him to escape. Shortly after, he discovers that Ben was killed by a car thief. Peter pursues and confronts the thief, only to discover that he is the same man he let escape. After Peter disarms him, the thief backs away, scared, and falls through a window to his death. Meanwhile, a crazed Norman sports advanced Oscorp armor and military equipment, and disrupts an experiment by Oscorp's corporate rival, Quest Aerospace, killing several people in the process. The following day, he is shown to have no memory of the event. Upon graduation, Peter begins to use his abilities to fight crime in the city, becoming the masked superhero Spider-Man.
J. Jonah Jameson, editor of the Daily Bugle newspaper, hires Peter as a freelance photographer, as he is the only person who provides clear images of Spider-Man. However, Peter learns that Mary Jane is planning to marry Jameson's son, John Jameson, an astronaut.
That night, as Spider-Man stares into the city, he shots his web and swings off. Meanwhile, in the subway tunnel, two maintenance workers are attacked by a giant humanoid lizard. One escapes, but the other gets captured. The subway worker who escaped still believes that the creature is after him so he drives away like a maniac. Spider-Man spots him from above and web-swings after him. As Spider-Man lands on top of the van, he orders the driver to stop. This distracts the subway worker, and he almost crashes but swerves out of the way just in time. However, the van heads for the river. At the last moment, Spider-Man saves him before the van plunges into the bottom of the pier. The subway worker then talks hysterically about a creature with red eyes, which Spider-Man brushes off as nothing.
Later that day at the Daily Bugle, editor Joseph "Robbie" Robertson gives Peter Parker an assignment to take a photo of the Lizard. Peter asks who this is. Jameson walks in and tells him that if he ever got here on time, he would know what was going on. At that moment, Eddie Brock walks in and says that if this wasn't serious, he would have gotten the assignment. Jameson then hands Peter a photo of the subway worker who went missing, and Eddie told him he has a list of scientists who work on reptiles. As Peter learns that one of the names is Dr. Curt Connors, he says he is one of his teachers, and he is an expert in recombinant DNA and mutagenics. Jameson then gives the job interviewing Curt Connors to Peter. Peter then mentions that he believes that this is just a hoax, but he accepts the job. Jameson tells him whoever gets a picture of the Lizard first will receive a bonus of $1,000.
Later that night, Peter returns home excited about what he could buy if he got $1,000. However, he learns that his Aunt May is in financial trouble. He decides that if he gets the money, he will give it to her. Peter as Spider-Man then crawls into the sewer to search for the Lizard. At first, he believes that the Lizard is just an urban legend, but finds a giant footprint and takes a picture of it. A few minutes later, Peter takes the photo to Empire State University to show it to Dr. Curt Connors. On his way to the lab, Peter is stopped by Debra Whitman, another ESU student. As they walk into the building, Eddie Brock hears them and hides. Peter then hears a noise coming from the lab, and his spider-sense goes off. Every light in the building then go off. As they enter the laboratory, Dr. Connors warns them to stay away. Debra runs up to try and help him, but discovers that it isn't Curt Connors, but instead it's the Lizard. Debra then screams for Peter's help, and the Lizard jumps out of the window. Peter attempts to chase after him, but Debra begs him not to leave her alone.
Peter then recalls about an experiment he helped the doctor with. During the experiment, Peter took the blood from a lizard and injected it into a mouse that's missing one leg. Dr. Connors then exposed the mouse to radiation from a device called the Neogenic Recombinator, and the mouse regrew its leg. Then as Dr. Connors touches his shoulder with the lost arm he says they will do the same thing for human beings. Peter is then shown in his Spider-Man costume, and he wonders why anybody would want to kidnap Dr. Connors. He then swings away through the city.
In another part of the city, the Lizard is shown crawling out of the sewer and up to the house. Inside the house, his wife and son, Margaret and Billy, are in the kitchen cooking. As Margaret looks around, she sees someone and shouts to stay away. However, it's just Spider-Man who tells her that he's just looking for Kurt. Margaret then tells him that she won't let him get hurt, much to Spider-Man's confusion. Outside the Connors home, Eddie Brock is attacked by the Lizard. However, he runs away before the Lizard can bring harm to him. Spider-Man then goes outside and takes a photo of the Lizard, but accidentally drops the camera in a water puddle. As Spider-Man swings around, the Lizard picks up Billy's tricycle and throws it at him. However, Spider-Man dodges the attack. He then attempts to shoot a web at the Lizard, but he catches it and throws Spider-Man into Billy's treehouse. Margaret and Billy emerge outside, and the son calls the Lizard daddy. The Lizard then vanishes into thin air. Spider-Man then walks up to Margaret and asks if he heard Billy right. Margaret then replies that the Lizard is Curt. She goes on to tell Spider-Man that Curt exposed himself to radiation from the Neogenic Recombinator after injecting himself with lizard DNA. It worked in regrowing his arm, but also turned him into a man-sized lizard. Spider-Man then hears Eddie run away, and he chases after him and catches him in his web. He then tells him he won't let him ruin the doctor's life. At that moment, his spider-sense goes off, and he web-swings back to the Connors house. Then, he asks Billy where his mother was, and Billy replies that his father came back and took her into the sewer.
As Spider-Man enters the sewer, he hears Margaret's voice, and he follows the sound of it. He then comes across the missing subway worker, who's held prisoner in a cage, and Spider-Man frees him. The worker then mentions the Lizard needed his help in building some kind of machine. At that moment, Spider-Man hears Margaret's scream again, and he follows the sound of her voice.
Spider-Man catches up with the Lizard. The Lizard tells Margaret that the reason he kidnapped her was because he needs her to operate the Neogenic Recombinator. That's because his hands are too big to operate the controls. The Lizard says he's about to use it to turn everyone in the city into lizard creatures. Margaret attempts to convince the Lizard that what he's doing is wrong. While she does that, Spider-Man attacks him. Curt then totally loses control of his mind to the reptile side and becomes an unthinkable monster. Margaret then picks up the Neogenic Recombinator, and the Lizard accidentally hit her with his tail. The Neogenic Recombinator flies across the room.
As Spider-Man web-swings across the room, he grabs the Neogenic Recombinator. The Lizard then tackles him, and they both fall into the water below. During their battle, Spider-Man activates the Neogenic Recombinator, which turns the Lizard back into a human. However, the mutated blood is poured down the drain. Spider-Man grabs the camera, and then takes them back home.
The next day, Eddie Brock drags J. Jonah Jameson to Curt Connors' house to show him pictures of the Lizard. Jameson has his doubts that Connors is the Lizard, and Eddie says that if he's wrong, he will eat today's issue of the Daily Bugle. After Eddie rings the doorbell, Kurt opens the door and greets Mr. Jameson. J. Jonah Jameson then hands Eddie the newspaper, and asks if he likes it cooked or raw.
Back at the Parker house, Peter hands Aunt May the money for her bills. Aunt May asks where he got the money. Peter answers that he got the money by selling an exclusive photo to the Daily Bugle. As Aunt May looks at Peter's photo of Spider-Man fighting the Lizard, she tells him that he must have had germs on him from heading to the sewer. Aunt May is about to make Peter a bowl of hot soup. Sometime later, Spider-Man swings through New York City. He then says that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are stuck together forever.
As Spider-Man web swings through New York City his spider sense alerts him to danger. Spider-Man is then attacked by small flying robots. Spider-Man manages to take out a few of the robots. However, the remaining robots attempt to box Spider-Man into a corner. However, Spider-Man is able to make two of the robots hit each other and explode.
Meanwhile at OsCorp, Norman Osborn who was watching the fight on a computer monitor scolds a robotics expert named Spencer Smythe for his failure to kill Spider-Man. However, Spencer tells Osborn that the Spider Seekers are not designed to kill Spider-Man only to find him. Spencer then takes his son Alistair Smythe (who is in a wheelchair) into another room and Norman follows them. Spencer then shows Osborn a giant robot that looks like a spider and tells him that he calls it the Black Widow.
The next day at the Daily Bugle, Felicia Hardy meets with Jameson and discusses plans for a Hardy Foundation charity ball with him. Felicia then mentions that she needs a photographer at the charity ball and Joseph Robertson suggests Peter Parker. Robbie then calls Peter into Jameson's office. Felicia then greets Peter and Peter reveals to Jameson that they go to Empire State University. Felicia then leaves Jameson's office.
Back at OsCorp, Spencer puts the final touches on his Black Widow spider slayer. Brock was also there because Norman and Spencer wanted a reporter to write the story when they captured Spider-Man. Norman then reveals that he wants to capture Spider-Man because he believes that he is a dangerous criminal. Osborn and Brock then leave the room and Spencer reveals to his son Alistair (who is in a wheel chair) that the reason he is working for Norman Osborn is so he can build him a hover chair.
A short while later Norman goes to the Chrysler Building (which is secretly the headquarters for the world's largest criminal organization) and meets with Wilson Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin. Osborn tells Kingpin that the Black Widow is complete. Kingpin then goes on to say that if the Black Widow fails he gets OsCorp. Norman notices that no matter what happens he wins because he will either kill Spider-Man and if Spider-Man is not killed he becomes the new C.E.O. of OsCorp. Fisk then tells Norman "That's why I'm the Kingpin."
A short while later Norman goes to the Chrysler Building (which is secretly the headquarters for the world's largest criminal organization) and meets with Wilson Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin. Osborn tells Kingpin that the Black Widow is complete. Kingpin then goes on to say that if the Black Widow fails he gets OsCorp. Norman notices that no matter what happens he wins because he will either kill Spider-Man and if Spider-Man is not killed he becomes the new C.E.O. of OsCorp. Fisk then tells Norman "That's why I'm the Kingpin."
Later on Spencer releases an great number of Spider Seekers into New York City. Meanwhile at the Hardy charity ball Peter shows up with his Aunt May. Felicia then goes up to Peter and takes him by the hand and begins to dance with him. Flash Thompson then gets jealous and he and Harry Osborn walk off. Flash then puts on a Spider-Man costume and goes back into the building. However, he is spotted by a Spider Seeker and Norman and Spencer mistake him for the real Spider-Man. Spencer then activates the Black Widow and sends it to the charity ball.
Back at the charity ball Peter and Felicia finish their dance. Felicia then kisses Peter but at that moment Flash dressed as Spider-Man walks in and grabs Peter by his dress jacket. Flash then goes onto tell Peter that he doesn't like the pictures he takes of him. Flash attempts to intimidate Peter. However, Flash sees the Black Widow outside the window and screams. At that moment the Black Widow crashes through the ceiling and everyone runs away in terror. The Black Widow then goes after May but Peter manages to get her to a safe place. The Black Widow then went after Felicia but Peter got into his Spider-Man suit and saved her. During the battle debris falls on Spider-Man and knocks him out. The Black Widow then captures Spider-Man and brings him to OsCorp.
Back at the penthouse Jameson and May watch a news report by Brock who reveals that he has captured Spider-Man. As Brock unmasks Spider-Man it is Flash Thompson underneath the mask and not Peter Parker. Back at the party the Black Widow grabbed the wrong Spider-Man. May then tells Jameson that his name is Flash Thompson and that he goes to Empire State University with Peter. However, the real Spider-Man arrives revealing that the one that was captured was a fake. A short while later Kingpin's men barge into OsCorp and take Flash hostage. Spencer then tells Norman that he thought they were going to hand Spider-Man over to the police and Norman reveals that what is happening is out of his hands. Spider-Man then saw that Flash was in danger and went off to save him.
Spider-Man arrives and takes out two of the guards. As the other thugs try to kill Flash, Spider-Man webs their guns and pulls them away from them. Spider-Man is easily able to take out the thugs. however, one of the thugs forces Spencer to activate the Black Widow. As Spider-Man fights the Black Widow, Norman Osborn activates a Spider Seeker and it goes after Spider-Man as well. However, Spider-Man hits the Spider Seeker with a girder and it explodes causing a fire. As Spencer starts to leave with Alistair he is stopped by Norman who tells him that their deal is that Alistair will only get the hover chair if he kills Spider-Man. Spencer then stays behind and Norman takes Alistair outside.
After Norman takes Alistair and leaves Spencer takes control of the Black Widow and attempts to kill Spider-Man. The Black Widow then picks up an girder and uses it to hit Spider-Man across the room. Spider-Man then tries to us his Web-Shooters but discovers that his cartridge has run out of web fluid. Spider-Man climbs the wall to get away from the Black Widow. However, the Spider Slayer uses it's jets to fly above Spider-Man and sprays the wall in oil which causes Spider-Man to slide downward. Spider-Man then leaps off the wall and lands on top of the Black Widow. Smythe then has the Black Widow slam against the wall. Through the Black Widow's surveillance camera Smythe sees Flash (still in his Spider-Man costume) and goes after him. Spider-Man then crawled underneath the Black Widow and placed web cartridges inside his rockets and used his web to force the Black Widow off the scaffolding. As Smythe attempts to activate the rockets the cartridges exploded and the webbing gums up the inside of the Black Widow which causes the rockets to malfunction. The Black Widow then falls into a vat of acid and is destroyed.
After the Black Widow is defeated Flash approaches Spider-Man and says that he always wanted to be like him until now because he has discovered what kind of trouble he attracts. Spider-Man then grabs Flash and they he web swings out of the building. At that moment Norman, Eddie, and Alistair are outside OsCorp. As Alistair asks where his father is OsCorp explodes along with his father inside.
The next day at Jameson's penthouse looks at the destruction caused by the Black Widow and blames Eddie Brock and fires him. When Brock refuses to leave Jameson has security take him out. At that moment Felicia scolds Flash for doing something so stupid as dressing up as Spider-Man and nearly getting killed. As Flash leaves Peter enters and Felicia coments that he is a coward because he abandoned her when the Black Widow attacked. Felicia then walks away angry. Aunt May then walks up to Peter and says that she was so worried about him. Peter and May then head home and May tells Peter more about Anna Watson's niece, Mary Jane.
Later that evening Alistair looks at the destroyed OsCorp factory and mourns his fathers passing. Kingpin then approaches Alistair and tells him that he was an associate of his father's and that he now wants to be an associate of his. Alistair refuses at first but accepts Kingpin's offer when he says that he will fund the construction of more Spider Slayers to kill the man that took his father from him.
Spider-Man is on a pay phone talking to Aunt May. May tells him about Mary Jane and Peter finally agrees to meet her. After Spider-Man hangs up, his spider sense goes off and he jumps out of the way before two metallic claws can grab him. Spider-Man then looks around and to his surprise sees the Black Widow. Spider-Man webs the Black Widow but it is able to cut itself free with a laser. Spider-Man then sees a relay tower on top of a building and uses it to mess with the Black Widow's circuits. However, the relay tower is attacked by another Spider Slayer that resembles a tarantula. The Tarantula then knocks over the tower and Spider-Man begins to fall toward the street below. However, Spider-Man is able to shoot a web line onto a building and make a smooth landing. As the Tarantula comes down to street level Spider-Man web swings over it and places a Spider-Tracer on it's back.
At Crime Central, Alistair tells Kingpin that everything is going according to plan. Kingpin then says that he better kill Spider-Man because he is hard on employees that fail him.
Meanwhile, as Spider-Man continues to fight the Tarantula the Black Widow flies down to the street below. At that moment a little girl and her mother walk outside. Their dog (named Trooper) then runs in front of the Black Widow and starts to bark at it. The mother then runs out to the middle of the street and picks him up but the Black Widow goes for the woman. Spider-Man is able to web swing over and get the woman to safety. Spider-Man is then caught in between the two Spider Slayers and as the Tarantula freezes Spider-Man with it's freeze ray the Black Widow captures Spider-Man with it's grapple hooks. Spider-Man then places a Spider-Tracer on the Black Widow and the Tarantula knocks him out with a missile that explodes and releases knock out gas.
The Spider Slayers then take the unconscious Spider-Man to Crime Central and he is placed on a table and restrained. Smythe then calls Jameson and tells him to come and meet him. As Jameson arrives he sees Spider-Man captured and attempt to unmask him. However, Jameson is captured as well and Smythe handcuffs the both of them to a bomb set to explode in one hour. Smythe then reveals that he blames Spider-Man, Jameson, Norman, Flash and Brock for his father's disappearance.
The Tarantula then takes Spider-Man and Jameson far away from Crime Central and drops them off on a roof top. Spider-Man realizes that he only has one hour to save the others and with Jameson goes to save them.
As Flash's date with Felicia ends he is attacked by the Black Widow. When Flash runs away the Black Widow captures him with it's grapple. Spider-Man and Jameson then arrive and Spider-Man uses the Black Widow's lasers to free Jameson from the bomb (however, Spider-Man is still attached to it). Flash and Jameson then run away and Spider-Man hooks the Black Widow to a crane and lifts it into the air. Spider-Man then slams the Black Widow into a wall and stops it.
A short while later Jameson calls Norman Osborn and warns him about the Spider Slayers. Norman appears confident that he can handle the Spider Slayers and then calls the OsCorp security. Across town Eddie Brock is attempting to get a job at another news paper. At first the editor refuses to hire him because J. Jonah Jameson told him that he is bad news. However, Brock convinces him to give him a job. Just then the Tarantula crashes into the building and scares everyone away. The Tarantula then fires a laser at Brock. However, he is able to jump out of the way. Brock then runs off and is followed by the Tarantula. At that moment Spider-Man arrives and saves Brock who is less than grateful. The Tarantula then attacks Spider-Man. However, Spider-Man is able to grab the Tarantula's leg and stick it into a fuse box and the electricity from the fuse box causes the Tarantula to malfunction. The news paper publisher then looks at his destroyed building and tells Brock that Jameson was right about him and he fires Brock. As Spider-Man swings away Brock shouts at him saying that he will get even with him.
Back at Crime Central, Smythe puts the finishing touches on his final Spider Slayer, the Scorpion and sends in into New York City to kill Spider-Man. Meanwhile outside OsCorp drone tanks surround the building and shoot as the Scorpion as it arrives. However, the Scorpion is easily able to destroy the tanks. Spider-Man then arrives and hears the laser blasts. He then sees the Scorpion and realizes that he has only seconds to stop it before the bomb on his wrist goes off. From inside Norman Osborn orders security to launch the helidrones which they do.
At that moment Smythe reactivates the Black Widow and Tarantula and both Spider Slayers fly off. Meanwhile, back at OsCorp Spider-Man runs out of web fluid and changes the cartridge in his Web-Shooters. A few seconds later the Black Widow and the Tarantula arrive at OsCorp and and the three Spider Slayers combine to make one giant Spider Slayer. The Tri-Spider Slayer then destroys the tank drones and goes after Spider-Man. However, before the Tri-Spider Slayer can shoot Spider-Man with it's lasers Spider-Man jumps into OsCorp through the helidrone entrance.
From Crime Central, Smythe watches as the Spider Slayers attack OsCorp. There, Norman Osborn escapes in his car before the Tri-Spider Slayer can kill him. Spider-Man then finds a container of liquid nitrogen and uses it to freeze the bomb and it shackle freezes and becomes brittle and breaks off his wrist.
With only one minute left on the bomb's timer Spider-Man web swings out of OsCorp with the bomb in hand. At that moment on the George Washington Bridge the Tri-Spider Slayer catches up with Norman Osborn and causes Osborn to crash his car which also causes Osborn to lose consciousness. When Spider-Man arrives he pulls Osborn out of the car and runs off with the Tri-Spider Slayer chasing him. Spider-Man the crawls to the top of the bridge's pillar and leaves Norman in a safe place. As the Tri-Spider Slayer flies to the top of the bridge Spider-Man jumps on top of the Tri-Spider Slayer and places the bomb on it. Spider-Man then jumps off and the bomb explodes destroying the Tri-Spider Slayer and it falls into the river.
From Crime Central, Smythe watches as his Spider Slayers are destroyed. Kingpin then walks up to Smythe and says that they had a deal and he will work for him until Spider-Man is killed.
Later that night at Aunt May's house Peter is in his room sewing up his torn Spider-Man costume. At that moment Aunt May tells him to get ready for his date with Mary Jane Watson. Peter completely forgot about the date and dreaded this blind date. However, when Peter answered the door he saw that Mary Jane was a beautiful red head. Mary Jane then tells Peter "Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot." The film ends with Peter and Mary Jane hanging out together as the song "Heart and Soul" plays over the credits.
Voice cast[]
- Christopher Daniel Barnes as Spider-Man/Peter Parker
- Sara Ballantine as Mary Jane Watson
- Jennifer Hale as Felicia Hardy
- Ed Asner as J. Jonah Jameson
- Rodney Saulsberry as Robbie Robertson
- Linda Gary as May Parker
- Brian Keith as Ben Parker
- Roscoe Lee Browne as The Kingpin/Wilson Fisk
- Edward Mulhare as Spencer Smythe
- Maxwell Caulfield as Alistair Smythe
- Neil Ross as Norman Osborn
- Gary Imhoff as Harry Osborn
- Joseph Campanella as Lizard/Dr. Curt Connors
- Linda Hamilton as Debra Whitman
- Hank Azaria as Eddie Brock
- Giselle Loren as Margaret Connors
- Toby Scott Ganger as Billy Connors
- Patrick Labyorteaux as Flash Thompson
- Bob Bergen as himself
- Rob Paulsen as himself
- Russi Taylor as herself
- Stan Lee as himself
Trivia[]
- The laughing sound that Jameson makes was recorded by J. K. Simmons, which would be recycled for Spider-Man 2.