Survival of the Fittest (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
Encyclopedia
"Survival of the Fittest" is the pilot episode of the animated
television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book
character Spider-Man
, created by Stan Lee
and Steve Ditko
. The episode was written and directed by the series developers, Greg Weisman
and Victor Cook
. In the episode, Spider-Man (Josh Keaton
) faces the evil Vulture
(Robert Englund
) as he begins his junior year in high school
.
Sony Entertainment originally conceived The Spectacular Spider-Man as a series of four DVD
s, and asked Weisman and Cook to develop it. The central idea was to follow Spider-Man in his younger years in the comics; Weisman and Cook wanted to incorporate the styles of the early comic publications by Lee and Ditko. Reviewers have cited other influences in the themes, such as the live action film series and the Ultimate Spider-Man
continuity.
"Survival of the Fittest" originally aired on March 8, 2008, on the Kids WB! block on The CW
. It had previously been shown to a large audience at the 2008 WonderCon
. The episode was the highest rated program of the Kids WB! 2007-2008 combined with the second episode "Interactions
" and alone received a Nielsen rating
of 1.2/3. It was well received by critics, IGN
calling it "a Spider-Man story that feels like classic Spider-Man, and that's a good thing."
, alter ego of Peter Parker (Josh Keaton
), foils an attempted bank robbery
; in the background, a shadowed figure tells his henchman "Hammerhead"
to summon the "Enforcers"
to kill Spider-Man. The next day, Adrian Toomes
(Robert Englund
) is outraged at OsCorp for stealing his anti-gravity
project, until Norman Osborn
(Alan Rachins
) arrives and fires him.
Meanwhile, Peter arrives at school and tells his friends Gwen
(Lacey Chabert
) and Harry
(James Arnold Taylor
) that he is determined to get a date with Sally Avril, though both she and Flash Thompson
(Joshua LeBar
) humiliates him in front of everyone. After school, Peter and Gwen are offered an internship at Dr. Connor
's lab, where the former was given his superpowers; both accept. Peter goes to Harry's apartment, where Norman congratulates him on his new found career. Toomes, going by the name "Vulture," breaks in wearing a bionic, winged suit and kidnaps Norman. Peter slips out to don the Spider-Man costume and pursues Vulture. He succeeds in rescuing Norman but looses Vulture in a fight.
Later, Peter goes to the lab where he meets up with Gwen, his close friend Eddie Brock
(Benjamin Diskin
), and the Conners. When he finds out he will not be paid for the internship, he tries to sell pictures to the Daily Bugle
editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson
(Daran Norris
), though he is kicked out near immediately.
That night, Norman is attacked by the Vulture once more and when Spider-Man tries to stop him, he is fired upon by the Enforcers, who distract him while Vulture chases after Norman's limousine
. While being pursued by the Enforcers, he follows after Vulture and ends up defeating him while getting the assassins off his back. When he returns home, his Aunt May
(Deborah Strang) gives him a curfew
to in ensure he doesn't come home late again and gives him a slice of pie.
s that chronicled the Spider-Man character in his youth. The company brought in Victor Cook
and Greg Weisman
to help with development. Weisman had had critical success with the series Gargoyles
, while Cook worked on the Hellboy
animated features. They both had been Spider-Man fans for decades, as well.
Weisman wanted to incorporate the early stages of the comic when Stan Lee
and Steve Ditko
where the character was in his younger stages; Cook agreed because he had yet to see it done before in any type of adaption for the character. Other influences on the style were the Ultimate Spider-Man
comics and the live action film adaptions of the comic publications. When the idea was changed to an animated television series, they still kept a similar chronicle style where "each episode stands alone as its own story, but like the comic book itself it’s a saga. Then each three episodes is a story and those three episodes are what would be on the DVD releases."
The original title for the series was The Amazing Spider-Man, based on the Spider-Man comic publication of the same name
. In mid-2007, the title was changed to The Spectacular Spider-Man, as well a Spider-Man comic series
. Weisman prepared for his role as a story editor
of the new series by going out and purchasing the first seven volumes of The Essential Spider-Man, which he had previously read as a child. he re-read them in order to "get the voice of those early stories" and took extensive notes.
The show was given a specific budget, so Weisman and Cook wanted to allow the animation to "move" more than anything, giving it simple and stylistic designs. Sam Raimi
, director of the Spider-Man live action
films, "set the bar" for the fluent movement styles Spider-Man has, which Weisman and Cook were in complete agreement of incorporating into the series. When designing the Vulture, the two employed the dark green shades from his original design, a color which they use thematically for most of their villains and other negative aspects of Peter's life, along with touches of blood
-like red. His wings were employed in the same style that his comic book counterpart; "[They are] for steering[...]they don’t keep him air born," Weisman describes. Vulture was voiced by Robert Englund, iconic for his portrayal as the horror film
character Freddy Kruger.
"Survival of the Fittest" was written by Weisman and directed by Cook. The episode originally aired on March 8, 2008
, on the Kids WB! block for The CW network. It had previously been shown to a packed audience at the 2008 WonderCon
; several goers were forced to stand and the creators and other members of the crew took the stage to answer questions. When Disney XD
premiered the series, it aired the episode, along with the following two, "Interactions" and "Natural Selection," on March 23, 2009, with a TV-Y7-FV rating.
. In the beginning, Spider-Man swings over gargoyles, including one that looks similar to Hudson from Weisman's previous show Gargoyles. The scene in the episode in which Spider-Man catches Norman Osborn in mid-air and makes several sarcastic comments to Vulture, such as "You guys play hot potato hardcore!" and "He may be right. I only rent [the skies],” were described by Comic Mix reviewer Alan Kistler as in the attitude of Bugs Bunny
.
In its original broadcast, "Survival of the Fittest" received a Nielsen rating
of 1.2/3, which is considered high for American television. The rating was the top mark for the 10:00 a.m. timeslot for the 2007-2008 season and was a 20% increase of the previous week's. In key kids 2-11, it received a rating of 1.4/5, a 25% increase from the previous week's mark in the demographic.
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from critics. IGN
reviewer Eric Goldman gave the episode an eight out of ten rating, commenting that it was "literally jam-packed with classic Spider-Man characters" and "a Spider-Man story that feels like classic Spider-Man." Goldman praised the 1960s-inspired style and described the humor as both "corny" and "legitimately," along with the fight sequences. Goldman enjoyed the fight sequences where Spider-Man faces the Vulture and Fancy Dan and gave "kodos" to the sound design teams for the "distinctive" noises made by Vulture's motors, along with the animation style.
Sean Elliot, senior edit of iF Magazine, gave "Survival of the Fittest" an "A"; Elliot wrote that it was "a Spider-man cartoon that's for all ages and ranges." Elliot said that he enjoyed the usage of several different Spider-Man villains to the point of watching the episode twice. Though the Vulture is not a favorite of Elliot's, he commented that the episode made him seem "pretty cool;" he went on to praise the voice cast, including Englund's performance as Vulture. Like Goldman, Elliot commented favorably on the animation style and nods to classic comic stories and said that it had a "bit for every level of Spider-man fan."
Merlin Missy from Firefox News
said that the episode was "an interesting take on the old mythos" and called the action sequences "high-energy." Missy reviewed highly of the voice portrayal, especially that done by Alan Rachins which she described as "very earnest and likeable, and less toony than the other teen characters, if that makes sense." Unlike Elliot and Goldman, though, Missy was highly critical of the animation style which she called "the same exaggerated style that seems to be the trademark of superhero animation these days," citing The Batman
as an example.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, created by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
. The episode was written and directed by the series developers, Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
and Victor Cook
Victor Cook
Victor Cook is an American television director, writer, and producer. Cook is perhaps best known for producing and developing for television the animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man along with Greg Weisman....
. In the episode, Spider-Man (Josh Keaton
Josh Keaton
Joshua "Josh" Keaton is an American actor, voice actor, singer and music producer.-Early life:Keaton was born Joshua Luis Wiener in Hacienda Heights, California. He has three sisters: Danielle, Alitzah , and Sabrina...
) faces the evil Vulture
Vulture (comics)
The Vulture is the name of six comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The best known Vulture in the Marvel Universe is Adrian Toomes, an elderly enemy of Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 .-Golden Age Vulture:In Young Men #26, a scientist...
(Robert Englund
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...
) as he begins his junior year in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
.
Sony Entertainment originally conceived The Spectacular Spider-Man as a series of four DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s, and asked Weisman and Cook to develop it. The central idea was to follow Spider-Man in his younger years in the comics; Weisman and Cook wanted to incorporate the styles of the early comic publications by Lee and Ditko. Reviewers have cited other influences in the themes, such as the live action film series and the Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man was a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
continuity.
"Survival of the Fittest" originally aired on March 8, 2008, on the Kids WB! block on The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
. It had previously been shown to a large audience at the 2008 WonderCon
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...
. The episode was the highest rated program of the Kids WB! 2007-2008 combined with the second episode "Interactions
Interactions (The Spectacular Spider-Man)
"Interactions" is the second episode of the animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man, which is based on the comic book character Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
" and alone received a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 1.2/3. It was well received by critics, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
calling it "a Spider-Man story that feels like classic Spider-Man, and that's a good thing."
Plot
The night before school starts, Spider-ManSpider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, alter ego of Peter Parker (Josh Keaton
Josh Keaton
Joshua "Josh" Keaton is an American actor, voice actor, singer and music producer.-Early life:Keaton was born Joshua Luis Wiener in Hacienda Heights, California. He has three sisters: Danielle, Alitzah , and Sabrina...
), foils an attempted bank robbery
Bank robbery
Bank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
; in the background, a shadowed figure tells his henchman "Hammerhead"
Hammerhead (comics)
Hammerhead is a fictional character, a supervillain that has appeared in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics. He is primarily an enemy of Spider-Man and a member of organized crime who exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe...
to summon the "Enforcers"
Enforcers (comics)
The Enforcers are a fictional team of villains in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Steve Ditko, the team's first appearance was in The Amazing Spider-Man #10 .-Publication history:...
to kill Spider-Man. The next day, Adrian Toomes
Vulture (comics)
The Vulture is the name of six comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The best known Vulture in the Marvel Universe is Adrian Toomes, an elderly enemy of Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 .-Golden Age Vulture:In Young Men #26, a scientist...
(Robert Englund
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...
) is outraged at OsCorp for stealing his anti-gravity
Anti-gravity
Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift...
project, until Norman Osborn
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
(Alan Rachins
Alan Rachins
Alan Rachins is an American television actor, best known for his role as Douglas Brackman in L.A. Law, which earned him both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, as well as for his portrayal of Dharma's hippie father, Larry, on the hit television series, Dharma & Greg...
) arrives and fires him.
Meanwhile, Peter arrives at school and tells his friends Gwen
Gwen Stacy
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 ....
(Lacey Chabert
Lacey Chabert
Lacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and voice actress, known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
) and Harry
Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn is a fictional character, a supporting character of Spider-Man in the . In addition to being Peter Parker's best friend, Harry was the second Green Goblin and is the son of Norman Osborn...
(James Arnold Taylor
James Arnold Taylor
James Arnold Taylor is an American voice actor, Impressionist, and Announcer. He is the current voice provider for Fred Flintstone as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and also the movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Johnny Test in Johnny Test...
) that he is determined to get a date with Sally Avril, though both she and Flash Thompson
Flash Thompson
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 ....
(Joshua LeBar
Joshua LeBar
Joshua Matthew LeBar is an American-born actor whose television credits include ABC's Pushing Daisies, CBS's CSI: NY, CBS's The Man, Fox's Boston Public, WB's 7th Heaven, and HBO's Tell Me You Love Me....
) humiliates him in front of everyone. After school, Peter and Gwen are offered an internship at Dr. Connor
Lizard (comics)
The Lizard is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and enemy of Spider-Man. The Lizard first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 , and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
's lab, where the former was given his superpowers; both accept. Peter goes to Harry's apartment, where Norman congratulates him on his new found career. Toomes, going by the name "Vulture," breaks in wearing a bionic, winged suit and kidnaps Norman. Peter slips out to don the Spider-Man costume and pursues Vulture. He succeeds in rescuing Norman but looses Vulture in a fight.
Later, Peter goes to the lab where he meets up with Gwen, his close friend Eddie Brock
Eddie Brock
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
(Benjamin Diskin
Benjamin Diskin
Benjamin Isaac "Ben" Diskin is an American voice actor. He is known as the voices of Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 2 in the animated series Codename: Kids Next Door....
), and the Conners. When he finds out he will not be paid for the internship, he tries to sell pictures to the Daily Bugle
Daily Bugle
The Daily Bugle is a fictional New York City newspaper that is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media...
editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
(Daran Norris
Daran Norris
Daran Morrison Nordland , usually credited as Daran Norris, is an American film and television actor and voice artist. Since 1977 he has participated in more than 400 films, video games, and television projects. He is best known as Gordy from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, the voice of...
), though he is kicked out near immediately.
That night, Norman is attacked by the Vulture once more and when Spider-Man tries to stop him, he is fired upon by the Enforcers, who distract him while Vulture chases after Norman's limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
. While being pursued by the Enforcers, he follows after Vulture and ends up defeating him while getting the assassins off his back. When he returns home, his Aunt May
Aunt May
May Reilly Parker-Jameson, commonly known as Aunt May, is a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared as May Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15...
(Deborah Strang) gives him a curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
to in ensure he doesn't come home late again and gives him a slice of pie.
Production
The Spectacular Spider-Man was originally conceived by Sony Entertainment as a series of four animated DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s that chronicled the Spider-Man character in his youth. The company brought in Victor Cook
Victor Cook
Victor Cook is an American television director, writer, and producer. Cook is perhaps best known for producing and developing for television the animated television series The Spectacular Spider-Man along with Greg Weisman....
and Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
to help with development. Weisman had had critical success with the series Gargoyles
Gargoyles (TV series)
Gargoyles is an American animated series created by Greg Weisman. It was produced by Greg Weisman and Frank Paur and aired from October 24, 1994 to February 15, 1997. Gargoyles is known for its dark tone, complex story arcs and melodrama...
, while Cook worked on the Hellboy
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
animated features. They both had been Spider-Man fans for decades, as well.
Weisman wanted to incorporate the early stages of the comic when Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
where the character was in his younger stages; Cook agreed because he had yet to see it done before in any type of adaption for the character. Other influences on the style were the Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man was a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
comics and the live action film adaptions of the comic publications. When the idea was changed to an animated television series, they still kept a similar chronicle style where "each episode stands alone as its own story, but like the comic book itself it’s a saga. Then each three episodes is a story and those three episodes are what would be on the DVD releases."
The original title for the series was The Amazing Spider-Man, based on the Spider-Man comic publication of the same name
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
. In mid-2007, the title was changed to The Spectacular Spider-Man, as well a Spider-Man comic series
The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man is the name of several comic books and one magazine series starring Marvel Comics' Spider-Man.The character's main series, The Amazing Spider-Man, was extremely successful, and Marvel felt the character could support more than one title. This led the company in 1968 to...
. Weisman prepared for his role as a story editor
Story editor
Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". A story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits stories for screenplays....
of the new series by going out and purchasing the first seven volumes of The Essential Spider-Man, which he had previously read as a child. he re-read them in order to "get the voice of those early stories" and took extensive notes.
The show was given a specific budget, so Weisman and Cook wanted to allow the animation to "move" more than anything, giving it simple and stylistic designs. Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
, director of the Spider-Man live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
films, "set the bar" for the fluent movement styles Spider-Man has, which Weisman and Cook were in complete agreement of incorporating into the series. When designing the Vulture, the two employed the dark green shades from his original design, a color which they use thematically for most of their villains and other negative aspects of Peter's life, along with touches of blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
-like red. His wings were employed in the same style that his comic book counterpart; "[They are] for steering[...]they don’t keep him air born," Weisman describes. Vulture was voiced by Robert Englund, iconic for his portrayal as the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
character Freddy Kruger.
"Survival of the Fittest" was written by Weisman and directed by Cook. The episode originally aired on March 8, 2008
2008 in television
The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2008. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel launches.-January:-February:-March:-April:-May:-June:-July:-August:...
, on the Kids WB! block for The CW network. It had previously been shown to a packed audience at the 2008 WonderCon
WonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...
; several goers were forced to stand and the creators and other members of the crew took the stage to answer questions. When Disney XD
Disney XD
Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
premiered the series, it aired the episode, along with the following two, "Interactions" and "Natural Selection," on March 23, 2009, with a TV-Y7-FV rating.
Cultural references
"Survival of the Fittest" follows a title scheme given by Weisman that follows "The Education of Peter Parker." For the episode and beginning arc of season one, the titles are based on BiologyBiology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. In the beginning, Spider-Man swings over gargoyles, including one that looks similar to Hudson from Weisman's previous show Gargoyles. The scene in the episode in which Spider-Man catches Norman Osborn in mid-air and makes several sarcastic comments to Vulture, such as "You guys play hot potato hardcore!" and "He may be right. I only rent [the skies],” were described by Comic Mix reviewer Alan Kistler as in the attitude of Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
.
Reception
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 1.2/3, which is considered high for American television. The rating was the top mark for the 10:00 a.m. timeslot for the 2007-2008 season and was a 20% increase of the previous week's. In key kids 2-11, it received a rating of 1.4/5, a 25% increase from the previous week's mark in the demographic.
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from critics. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
reviewer Eric Goldman gave the episode an eight out of ten rating, commenting that it was "literally jam-packed with classic Spider-Man characters" and "a Spider-Man story that feels like classic Spider-Man." Goldman praised the 1960s-inspired style and described the humor as both "corny" and "legitimately," along with the fight sequences. Goldman enjoyed the fight sequences where Spider-Man faces the Vulture and Fancy Dan and gave "kodos" to the sound design teams for the "distinctive" noises made by Vulture's motors, along with the animation style.
Sean Elliot, senior edit of iF Magazine, gave "Survival of the Fittest" an "A"; Elliot wrote that it was "a Spider-man cartoon that's for all ages and ranges." Elliot said that he enjoyed the usage of several different Spider-Man villains to the point of watching the episode twice. Though the Vulture is not a favorite of Elliot's, he commented that the episode made him seem "pretty cool;" he went on to praise the voice cast, including Englund's performance as Vulture. Like Goldman, Elliot commented favorably on the animation style and nods to classic comic stories and said that it had a "bit for every level of Spider-man fan."
Merlin Missy from Firefox News
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
said that the episode was "an interesting take on the old mythos" and called the action sequences "high-energy." Missy reviewed highly of the voice portrayal, especially that done by Alan Rachins which she described as "very earnest and likeable, and less toony than the other teen characters, if that makes sense." Unlike Elliot and Goldman, though, Missy was highly critical of the animation style which she called "the same exaggerated style that seems to be the trademark of superhero animation these days," citing The Batman
The Batman (TV series)
The Batman is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. It ran from 2004 to 2008, on the Saturday morning television block Kids' WB...
as an example.
External links
- "Survival of the Fittest" on Marvel.com