A versatile character, Spider-Man's many shows have a lot to set themselves apart from one another. The friendly-neighborhood hero works in many different contexts, from kid-friendly heroic adventures to gritty coming-of-age stories, and there is a different animated series that exists for every possible tone of story Spider-Man could find himself in. While each show has its value, some have contributed far more to the cultural domination of Spider-Man as Marvel's flagship character far more than others.

10 Spidey and His Amazing Friends (2021)

3 seasons (Ongoing)

Pros:

• Spidey and His Amazing Friends is perfect for young kids, and keeps a light-hearted tone and art style fitting with this audience.
• The show has a wide range of Marvel characters that is a helpful way to introduce younger audiences to these figures.
• Spidey and His Amazing Friends features a number of moral lessons within its show time.

Cons:

• Spidey and His Amazing Friends' focus on its younger target audience makes it harder for older viewers to fully enjoy.
• Spidey and His Amazing Friends' art style is somewhat restrictive.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends is by far the most kid-friendly version of Spider-Man around. There's nothing inherently wrong with adapting Spider-Man for young children, and the show does a fine job teaching valuable lessons to kids while providing enough of a look into the wider Marvel universe to retain the interest of captive parent audiences. That being said, the show's format, featuring Peter, Gwen and Miles as a heroic trio facing off against the same villains, is seemingly a blatant copy of similar animated series, PJ Masks. Combine that with some painfully colorful assets and an ungainly bobble-headed art style, and Spidey and His Amazing Friends is the weakest Spider-Man cartoon.

9 Ultimate Spider-Man (2012)

4 seasons

Pros:

• Spectacular Spider-Man has a lot of comedy moments for audiences looking for a more comedic-focused series.
• The Spectacular Spider-Man show features a lot of Marvel characters, including some who don't as often get the limelight.
• Spectacular Spider-Man has an eye-catching art style that suits its cast well.

Cons:

• Spectacular Spider-Man's comedy focus can sabotage its own plot lines with its jokes, potentially sabotaging audience's immersion in the world and its story.
• The series can be seen to focus on gadgets and vehicles instead of character development, making its overarching stories less engaging than in other Spider-Man shows.

After the cancelation of fan-favorite Spectacular Spider-Man, fans had big expectations for the next Spider-Man series to debut in its place. A far more comedic take on Spider-Man, the series' sense of humor was painfully informed by Family Guy's cutaway gags, with Peter practically turning to the camera to set up a jarring comedy sequence. With an annoying iteration of Peter, unnecessary crossovers, a stunning lack of character development and needless heaps of gadgets and vehicles, Ultimate Spider-Man ultimately doesn't live up to the lofty standards of its predecessor.

8 Spider-Man (2017)

3 seasons

Pros:

• Spider-Man (2017) does a good job of balancing a wide cast while ensuring Peter Parker remains the series' focal protagonist.
• The series improves over the course of its story, meaning audiences can watch it evolve.
• The 2017 Spider-Man show is able to adapt key elements of Spider-Man's comic story well, ensuring an authentic feel to the series.

Cons:

• Spider-Man (2017) makes some unusual decisions with the hero's villain roster, which may be alienating for those who are fond of the antagonist's usual design and backstory.
• Spider-Man (2017) starts out on the weaker side of its run, meaning some dedicated watching is required in order to see the series at its best.

Something of a return to form after the failures of Ultimate Spider-Man in the eyes of many fans, 2017's Spider-Man had a shaky start, but slowly got better over time. The series navigated important struggles to the Spider-Man mythos, like Peter's financial woes, and captured the character's scientific leanings with flying colors. Spider-Man also spiced things up with additions like Miles Morales, Ghost Spider, and Ms. Marvel, without having them eclipse Peter as the main character too much. However, the show makes some strange changes to Spider-Man's rogues gallery that undermines what made those characters work so well in the first place.

7 Spider-Man (1981)

1 season

Pros:

• The 1981-1982 Spider-Man series is the second-ever animated Spider-Man show, meaning it holds a key place in the Marvel hero's on-screen history.
• Spider-Man (1981) is a good example of classic superhero cartoons, and the weird and wonderful tones found within them.

Cons:

• Spider-Man (1981) is a short show, coming in at 26 episodes.
• The 1981 Spider-Man show has a divisive Spider-Man performance.

Capitalizing off of the renewed interest in Spider-Man following the conclusion of the previous series in the late 70s, 1981's Spider-Man has a lot to appreciate. A solo series to contrast the same year's Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, this show had little of its sister series' unabashed feel-good tone. Not afraid to get weird and dark, the 80s solo Spider-Man series is an overlooked and underrated blip in Spider-Man's animated catalog. But with only 26 short episodes and a somewhat grating Spider-Man performance, it isn't worth fighting for compared to the best of the hero's shows.

6 Spider-Man Unlimited (1999)

1 season

Pros:

• Spider-Man Unlimited is a fresh look at the hero in a new cyberpunk world.
• The show is essentially Marvel's answer to Batman Beyond, and as such is perfect for those who wish to watch the Marvel equivalent.

Cons:​​​​​​​

• Spider-Man Unlimited was canceled before it could really start to lean into its strengths.
• The show's similarities to Batman Beyond can lead to unfavorable comparisons based on the DC's show's success.

Breaking the mold of the traditional Spider-Man narrative, Spider-Man Unlimited took things in a bold new direction, plunging Peter Parker into the cyberpunk world of Counter-Earth. Clearly Marvel's answer to Batman Beyond, which came out the same year, Spider-Man Unlimited struggled to get out of its inspiration's shadow, with even its name sounding like a legally-tenuous synonym. Even though it was a solid Saturday morning cartoon that livened up the traditional Spider-Man formula, the series was simply canceled too soon to build momentum, forever robbing it of the potential it could've had.

5 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981)

3 seasons

Pros:

• Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends brings in a range of Marvel heroes to the show, including seeing Peter team up and live with X-Men heroes Iceman and Firestar, adding some true novelty to the series.
• Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends introduced heroes before they appeared in the comics, adding to its place in Marvel's overall history.

Cons:​​​​​​​

• Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends' overall story isn't massively fleshed out in some crucial areas.
• The show is limited in its overarching storylines and the development of its characters.

A spin-off of the same year's standalone Spider-Man cartoon, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends saw Spider-Man team up with the X-Men alumnus, Iceman, and Firestar, a pyrokinetic heroine who wouldn't debut in the comics until later. Iceman and Firestar were interesting additions to a Spider-Man serial, even if it was strange for them to all be living at Aunt May's house, with the characters opening up the possibilities for other fresh Marvel villains to enter Spider-Man's world. Iterative of DC's Super Friends, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was a cheery Spider-Man adventure that wasn't bad, but was entirely not asked for.

4 Spider-Man (1967)

3 seasons

Pros:

• The 1967 Spider-Man cartoon brought to life the iconic Spider-Man pointing memes as well as several others.
• Spider-Man (1967) was the first-ever Spider-Man cartoon, making it a must-watch for those interested in the history of the character, and his evolution over time.

Cons:​​​​​​​

• The 1967 Spider-Man cartoon is reflective of the era it was made, seen both in its animation quality, and in the relative lack of depth in its storylines.

The progenitor of all Spider-Man cartoons, Spider-Man owes a lot to the 1967 cartoon, which is largely responsible for thrusting the character into pop-culture notoriety as Marvel's flagship character. The series is responsible for Spider-Man's iconic theme song and a handful of iconic Spider-Memes that have steadily supplied the character with a fresh stock of relevance, even years later. When objectively looking at the cartoon as a series, however, it certainly shows its age, with its cheap animation, and campy sensibilities. A venerated classic for a reason, 1967's Spider-Man still pales in comparison to more modern takes on the character.

3 Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003)

1 season

Pros:

• Spider-Man: The New Animated Series broke the mold with its distinctive animation style.
• The show's tone manages to be surprisingly mature, in fitting with its story adaptating Peter Parker's college life.

Cons:​​​​​​​

• Spider-Man: The New Animated Series' animation style can make it a hard watch in a modern era, and likely will only continue to appear that way as 3d animation advances further.

After the tough act to follow that was the 90s series, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series chose to break the mold in more ways than one, being the first Spider-Man cartoon to use 3-D animation and choosing to focus on Peter's college days. Featuring the voice talents of Neil Patrick Harris as Spider-Man, the MTV series had a refreshingly mature tone that toed the line of being kid-friendly, likely in response to the popularity of Sam Raimi's first live-action film. If there's one thing that makes the show tough to watch, it's the nasty-looking early 3-D animation that time has not been kind to.

2 Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994)

5 seasons

Pros:

• Spider-Man: The Animated Series is perhaps the most well-known and defining animated Spider-Man series in the character's history.
• The show provides one of the most accurate versions of the web-slinging hero.
• Spider-Man: The Animated Series has aged relatively well based on its deeper storylines and high production values, which is assisted by Christopher Daniel Barnes' solid voice acting.

Cons:

• The show is overshadowed by other 90s animated series in of both quality and fandom by X-Men: The Animated Series.

Though often overshadowed by the 90s X-Men animated series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series got the public's attention as an instant defining rendition of the character. The beloved series simply got so much about Spider-Man right without trying to "fix" the winning concept of the character with unnecessary changes. From the high production values to the deep storylines and Christopher Daniel Barnes voice acting performed as if his life was on the line, there's a reason that the 90s Spider-Man cartoon is so fondly ed to this day.

1 The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008)

2 seasons

Pros:

• The Spectacular Spider-Man has one of the most striking visual art styles in the hero's animated roster.
• The show blends action and high-school drama in a way that feels engaging.
• The Spectacular Spider-Man provides an engaging and lively cast, from its villains to its iteration of Spider-Man.

Cons:

• Its success is hard to replicate for other Spider-Man shows.

As good as the 90s cartoon is, the enjoyment of it today still has traces of irony resulting from its age. The Spectacular Spider-Man has no such weaknesses, with a striking art style that balanced Western animation with clear anime influences, a la Avatar: The Last Airbender. Blending engaging but not soapy high-school drama with tremendous action scenes and some of the most lively versions of Spider-Man's rogues gallery around, this cartoon also comes with the single most relatable Peter Parker in animation to-date. It's no wonder that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse included this version of Spider-Man, clearly recognizing the greatest of his animated shows.