Spider-Man Unlimited

Production

Initially, the goal was to do a low-budget adaptation of the first 26 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man comic book, but Sony and Marvel Studios had already engaged in a deal to produce the Spider-Man film, and so Saban Entertainment was cut from any source and could not use the traditional Spider-Man suit or adapt the early comics. Also, in the original idea, Spider-Man was stranded in a Counter-Earth in which Ben Parker did not die and thus Peter Parker lacked the moral fortitude to resist becoming Venom. However, Marvel Comics did not like the idea and stated that they would not do a story with two Peter Parkers. Additionally, the show was made after Marvel decided not to move ahead with a show focusing on Spider-Man 2099 following consideration due to the DC Comics series Batman Beyond premiering earlier that year and having a similar futuristic setting.

Unlike the previous series which used digital ink and paint, the animation on the series was made using traditional cel animation. The characters' designs, including Spider-Man's new outfit, were done by Shannon Denton and Roy Burdine. The show's music was handled by Saban Entertainment, and credited to Shuki Levy and Haim Saban (under his composing alias Kussa Mahchi). The music for Spider-Man: The Animated Series was also handled by Saban Entertainment and credited to Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahchi, although Saban were less involved with that show than they were with Spider-Man Unlimited.

"One Is the Loneliest Number" was produced as, and supposed to be, episode 10, but it was packaged as the 11th by Fox Kids' decision, thus creating continuity errors with Spider-Man referring to his battle with Venom at the middle of "Family Matters" while this battle was delayed by an episode and with the High Evolutionary referring to Spider-Man's interference with his attempts to control the Symbiotes near the end of "Family Matters", which also happens in "One Is the Loneliest Number" and is yet to be shown to the audience.

Several scripts were written for Season 2, including the conclusion of the cliffhanger, but were never produced.

Reception

Spider-Man Unlimited received mixed to moderately positive reviews from critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, Season 1 holds a 50% Tomatometer score based on critic reviews, reflecting a range of opinions.

Common Sense Media noted that the series explored more mature themes than typical children’s cartoons, such as racial purity, totalitarianism, and conflict between species, making it better suited for older children and tweens.

Retrospective reviews have praised the show for its ambitious sci‑fi setting and unique take on Spider-Man, but critics also pointed out weaknesses in writing, pacing, and unresolved storylines, largely due to its cancellation after a single 13-episode season.

User scores on Metacritic indicate a small but dedicated fanbase, suggesting that while the show was not widely popular during its original run, it developed a modest cult following over time.

Plot

While covering the launch of John Jameson's one-man mission to Counter-Earth (another Earth located on the far side of the Sun), Spider-Man attempts to stop his two symbiote adversaries Venom and Carnage from boarding the shuttlecraft. Blamed for losing contact with Jameson by J. Jonah Jameson of the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man becomes a target of persecution by the media and the public at large, with a bounty placed on his head. After John Jameson sends out a distress signal, Spider-Man borrows nanotechnology from Reed Richards to design a new suit that incorporates built in upgraded webshooters and spider-tracers, stealth technology and anti-symbiote sonic weaponry. Making his way to Counter-Earth after persuading an attacking Nick Fury to let him rescue Jameson, Spider-Man learns that Jameson has fallen in with a band of freedom fighters opposed to the High Evolutionary whose Bestials, hybrids of animal and humanoid attributes, are the dominant species whilst humans are the second-class minority.

With Jameson reluctant to return until all of the Bestials are defeated, Spider-Man elects to remain on Counter-Earth, blending in as best as he can as Peter Parker, taking up residence in the apartment of a doctor, Naoko Yamada-Jones and her son Shane and fighting the High Evolutionary, his Knights of Wundagore, and his Machine Men alongside the rebels as Spider-Man. It is soon discovered that Venom and Carnage are also on Counter-Earth, and are following orders from the Synoptic, a hive-minded legion of Counter-Earth symbiotes.

This series also shows the animated version of John Jameson's Man-Wolf form, superhero versions of mainstream villains Green Goblin and Vulture, and Counter-Earth's counterparts of Kraven the Hunter and Electro.

Characters

Heroes

Peter Parker / Spider-Man (voiced by Rino Romano) – A photographer for the Daily Bugle newspaper who was bitten by a radioactive spider and received spider-like abilities, becoming the superhero known as Spider-Man. The series begins with Spider-Man attempting to stop Venom and Carnage from escaping in a rocket piloted by John Jameson. Failing to stop them, Venom and Carnage took the ship Counter-Earth, with Jameson hostage. Peter borrowed nanotechnology from Reed Richards to design a new suit to counter the symbiotes' powers. He travels to Counter-Earth where he learns that Jameson has fallen in with a band of freedom fighters opposed to the High Evolutionary whose Bestials, hybrids of animal and humanoid attributes, are the dominant species whilst humans are the second-class minority.

Dr. Naoko Yamada-Jones (voiced by Akiko Morison) – A doctor on Counter-Earth. After Peter rescues her son Shane from a Machine Man, she gave Peter an offer to live in her house rent-free for two weeks, which he accepts. She is married to Hector Jones, her long-lost husband. She was initially Spider-Man's ally, but after her clinic was damaged during a brawl between Spider-Man, Venom, and Carnage, she began to hate the hero, unaware that Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker.

Shane Yamada-Jones (voiced by Rhys Huber) – The 10-year-old only son of Dr. Naoko Yamada and Hector Jones. He looks up to Peter and hates when Peter and Naoko fight as it reminds him of his parents fighting and eventual split. He, like his mother, does not know of Peter's Spider-Man secret.

John Jameson / Man-Wolf (voiced by John Payne as John Jameson, Scott McNeil as Man-Wolf) – The leader of a team of rebels who fight against the High Evolutionary, and arrived on Counter-Earth after crash-landing there due to interference from Venom and Carnage, who had stowed aboard his ship. Later in the series, in the episode "Ill Lit By Moonlight", Jameson is subject to the High Evolutionary's experiments, giving him the ability to transform into the Man-Wolf when angered.

Counter-Earth Rebellion – A group of humans that lead a rebellion against the High Evolutionary's forces.

Karen O'Malley (voiced by Kim Hawthorne) – The second-in-command of the Rebellion and John Jameson's love interest. In "Sins of the Father", it is revealed that she is the granddaughter of the High Evolutionary, who experimented on her when she was still in the womb, giving her superhuman strength and agility.

Villains

High Evolutionary (voiced by Richard Newman) – The main antagonist of the series, a human scientist who believes that greater genetic diversity heightens survival traits. He left Earth to travel to Counter-Earth to begin anew, but found the same destructive tendencies that humans had plagued his Earth with. He then proceeded to create a new society, with human/animal creatures loyal only to him called Bestials. The High Evolutionary also created an elite squad of Bestials called the Knights of Wundagore, who also use the Machine Men as law enforcers to keep the humans in order. The New York City on Counter-Earth is divided vertically with humans living on the bottom and the Bestials living miles above the street. Late in the series, it was revealed to the High Evolutionary that he is the grandfather of Karen O'Malley and that he experimented on her when she was young.

Knights of Wundagore – A group of elite Bestials who serve the High Evolutionary.

Lord Tyger (voiced by David Sobolov) – A genetically evolved tiger and one of the High Evolutionary's first New Men. He was later placed as the leader of the Knights of Wundagore. Unlike most Beastials, Tyger has the most tolerance of humans.

Sir Ram (voiced by Ron Halder) – One of the High Evolutionary's Knights of Wundagore and a genetically evolved bighorn sheep. He has done various experiments and was responsible for Git's current appearance as well as creating Firedrake.

Lady Vermin (voiced by Jennifer Hale) – One of the High Evolutionary's Knights of Wundagore and a genetically evolved rat. She has a crush on Spider-Man and often tries to seduce him.

Lady Ursula (voiced by Tasha Simms) – One of the High Evolutionary's Knights of Wundagore and a genetically evolved bear.

Machine Men (voiced by Dale Wilson) – A group of robots that serve as the law enforcers of the High Evolutionary and often back up the Knights of Wundagore.

Eddie Brock / Venom (voiced by Brian Drummond) – One of the series' main antagonists, by this time, the Venom Symbiote has merged completely with him and he attempts to conquer Counter-Earth alongside Carnage with an invasion of Symbiotes. Eddie himself is briefly separated from Venom in the episode "One Is the Loneliest Number" when the Bestials wanted to experiment on it.

Others

J. Jonah Jameson (voiced by Richard Newman) – The father of John Jameson who runs the Daily Bugle. He only appears in "Worlds Apart" Pt. 1 where he blames Spider-Man for what happened with his son's shuttle, putting a $10 million bounty on Spider-Man's head.

Mary Jane Watson-Parker (voiced by Jennifer Hale) – At some point, Mary Jane Watson married Peter, and Peter revealed his secret identity as Spider-Man to her. They continued to be a happily married couple and Mary Jane was constantly worried about Peter's life as Spider-Man. When Peter chased Venom and Carnage to Counter-Earth, MJ remained behind on Earth and waited for him.

Nick Fury (voiced by Mark Gibbon) – A member of S.H.I.E.L.D. He only appears in "Worlds Apart", confronting Spider-Man over his theft of a shuttle to hitch a ride to Counter-Earth.

Green Goblin / Hector Jones (voiced by Rino Romano) – The heroic Counter-Earth version of Green Goblin. He is an ally of the Rejects, a group of Bestials whom the High Evolutionary deemed useless and abandoned, and wields a winged backpack rather than a glider. Additionally, he initially mistakes Spider-Man for a villain before learning the truth and becoming an ally to him.

Mr. Meugniot (voiced by Garry Chalk) – The editor of the Daily Byte, who is named after series producer Will Meugniot.

Vulture (voiced by Scott McNeil) – The Counter-Earth version of the Vulture, who is a Bestial with bird genes. He previously lived in the upper world and aided his rich friends in tormenting humans, but reformed after unwittingly setting his human friend's home on fire.

Episodes

The following list reflects the correct viewing order of the Spider-Man Unlimited episodes.

Release and streaming

In Australia, the series aired on Network Ten's Cheez TV morning cartoon block in August 2001. It ran again on Cheez TV in June–July 2002.

As with the majority of the other Disney-acquired Marvel Comics animated series, Liberation Entertainment UK planned to release this on DVD in 2009. Due to Liberation's bankruptcy, the Marvel licenses were re-acquired by Clear Vision Ltd, who released it on DVD (in Region 2 PAL format) in a two-disk set containing all 13 episodes. It was released on the May 3, 2010. Marvel.com had uploaded all of the series – sponsored by Panasonic – to their website in late 2009; each week another episode was uploaded. All 13 episodes are available on Amazon.com.

In 2019, Disney released all 13 episodes on Disney+ for streaming.

Comics

Comic adaptation

Alongside the animated series, Marvel Comics commissioned a comic to tie in with the series. It would be the second volume of Spider-Man Unlimited as a whole from the company, but the only one of the Unlimited volumes to be based on it. The first two issues were adapted from the first three episodes of the series, with the last three providing their own storyline in which Counter-Earth served as an alternate reality to Earth, rather than its own planet, with all of the Fantastic Four exist with the same human appearance and names but with other biographies. Reed Richards appears in one issue as The Brute, the Counter-Earth iteration of the Hulk.

In the final issue, Spider-Man meets an escapee from Haven, a Bestial version of Wolverine. After fighting, the two team up and take down a Bestial Chameleon. It is hinted that Wolverine is really Naoko Jones' missing husband (although the cartoon hints that the Goblin is really Naoko's husband). The question was never resolved as poor sales ended the comic's run.

The series was somewhat referred to in the Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man issues #13 and 14 from February and March 2000, where the Peter Parker of Earth-616 is teleported into another dimension ruled by Blastaar while chasing Carnage (who himself was running away from the NYC police) and finds himself in the costume Spider-Man wore in this TV show. He joins forces with Dusk and remains in this suit until he defeats both villains and is transported back to his homeworld with the knocked-out Carnage.

Mainstream continuity

A copy of the series' universe, labeled Earth-7831, is massacred by Morlun's brother Daemos during the events of Spider-Verse. Another version of Spider-Man wearing this costume is seen alive and assisting other Spiders in the climax of Spider-Geddon.

In other media

Film

The Peter Parker / Spider-Man from Spider-Man Unlimited appears in the animated feature film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), depicted as a member of Miguel O'Hara's Spider-Society. He is revealed to have survived the cliffhanger ending of the series while the events after it however still remain unknown. An image of Eddie Brock turning into Venom from the episode "One Is the Loneliest Number" was used in the film.

Video games

The Unlimited suit appears as an unlockable costume for Spider-Man in Neversoft's Spider-Man video game and its 2001 sequel, Spider-Man 2: Enter: Electro.

Other

In 2025, Hasbro's Marvel Legends line released an action figure of this show's incarnation of Spider-Man.