Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends - Series Notes

Series Notes

• The makers of the show had originally intended the stars to be Spider-Man, Iceman, and the Human Torch. However, legal issues about the rights to the Human Torch character (which had also plagued Marvel once before for the 1978 Fantastic Four cartoon) led to the Human Torch being replaced by a new character, Firestar, who had similar powers, but was a mutant like Iceman. Due to Firestar's popularity with fans, she has since become a part of the mainstream Marvel Universe (see Comics above). In pre-production, Firestar's codename changed frequently; the unused names include Firefly, Starblaze, and Heatwave.

• Ms. Lion was actually Firestar's puppy, as Angelica introduced Peter to the dog before she and Bobby knew Peter's secret identity or vice versa (as former teammates in the X-Men, Iceman and Firestar knew each other's secret identities before meeting Peter/Spider-Man). However, Aunt May ended up taking care of her most the time, with Angelica leading the busy life of a superhero and college student. Strangely enough, Ms. Lion actually saved the day in the episode "Seven Little Superheroes", in which The Chameleon was the main enemy; with her canine sense of smell, Ms. Lion was able to distinguish the shape-changing villain from the heroes he was impersonating. This episode was also notable for including Marvel heroes Doctor Strange, Namor, Shanna the She-Devil and Captain America.

• Some of the sound effects used in the series originated from Universal Television's Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

• In her civilian identity, Angelica Jones resembles Peter's girlfriend from the comic books, Mary Jane Watson. This was played up in issues of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane in which Firestar appeared.

• Neil Ross provided the voice for Norman Osborn in both Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and the 1994-1998 Spider-Man animated series.

• In the 1984 Movie Missing In Action with Chuck Norris, an episode of Spider-man and his Amazing Friends is shown on TV. The Name of that Episode is called The Prison Plot.