The Spectacular Spider-Man/YMMV

• Accidental Aesop: Every time the show hands us a lesson about responsibility and the right thing in conjunction with Peter's keeping his identity secret, it ends up telling us that secret identities are a stupid idea and nothing good can ever come of them. Which is more or less true, if largely inapplicable to our daily lives.
• Character Rerailment: More or less the entire cast. After decades of character drift, this series largely brings everyone back to how they were in the earliest days of Spidey's career on Earth-616.
• Draco in Leather Pants: For perhaps the first time in his life, Doctor Octopus.
  • Electro as well.
• Ear Worm: Just try and get the Spectacular Spider-Man song out of your head. We will wait.
• Fandom Rivalry: Against most other Spider-Man cartoons, Ultimate Spider-Man in particular. Though it largely tends to be an Unknown Rival as fans of other shows have little interest in the feud.
• Friendly Fandoms:
  • Gets along quite well with Greg Weisman's other works, most notably Young Justice.
  • Quite friendly with The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, another Marvel cartoon that was cancelled for what was considered a sub-par replacement. Helps that the producers of EMH were big fans of this show and were annoyed at how Executive Meddling prevented The Spectacular Spider-Man‍'‍s cast from voicing their characters on EMH in favour of those from Ultimate Spider-Man.
• Growing the Beard: The first five episodes are entertaining however episode six abandoned the usual 'two fight' format, going for one big fight with The Rhino instead, and then introduced Tombstone.
• Ham and Cheese: Mysterio, who milks his sorcerer shtick for all its worth. As Tinkerer mutters, "Actors"
• Hilarious in Hindsight: This little piece from "Nature vs Nurture" is even funnier now, considering who eventually picked up the symbiote in the comics.

Spidey: At least Flash isn't evil. Or at least he isn't possessed by an evil symbiote. Well, as far as I know...

• HSQ: The final episode.
• Hype Aversion and Hype Backlash: The show is so aggressively praised by its fans as the best piece of Spider-Man media ever that, combined with their attacks on other Spider-Man shows and their fans, most viewers are turned off from watching it. And if someone does watch it, chances are that, no matter how good they think it is, they're not going to find it that good.
• Jerkass Woobie: Electro in his first appearance. Jerkass he may have been, his condition is horrible and it’s hard not to feel bad for him even as he goes off the deep end,
• Magnificent Bastard: Tombstone, Dr. Octopus, and Norman Osborn. Their schemes run rings around every other character in the show.
• Moe: Gwen is so very, very moe.
• Moral Event Horizon: Norman framing Harry solidifies him as an amoral bastard. But injuring Harry's leg to do it demonstrates a casual cruelty and cowardice that erases any hint of redemption.
• Narm: Eddie Brock, post-Venom, in his moments without the symbiote.

Eddie: It only loves me for the hate!

• Nightmare Fuel: Curt Connors' transformation into the Lizard, around the time that the good doctor's head implodes.
  • Or just a few episodes later when Flint Marko's head explodes after turning into the Sandman.
  • Should call it the "Spooktacular Spider-man". Guys like Venom, Tombstone, Otto's tentacles.
  • The ending to the eight episode of the first season. There's an already creepy mask, shifting (as usual) to the classic, red web. Too bad that both the shifting and the web themselves rhyme with Uncanny Valley. See for yourself.
• Paranoia Fuel: Eddie Brock uses this to make Peter reveal the location of the symbiote, making him Venom once more.
• Signature Scene: Venom's Curb Stomp Battle against the Sinister Six in "Group Therapy". All the more awesome because, aside from breaking out of Doc Ock's hold before it started, Venom didn't pull any moves that Spider-Man couldn't have done on his own.
• Tear Jerker: Eddie Brock's final refusal of friendship from Peter.

Venom: WE'RE NOT BROTHERS!!! Our parents may have died together, but then you had your precious Aunt and Uncle. We've had no one. We've always been alone... until now.

• • When Peter Parker broke up with Liz Allan, she created a huge scene specifically meant to gain the attention of the crowd, making it look like she was doing the dumping instead. As it turns out, this was actually a way of hiding her pain, because immediately after she "storms off", she is seen hiding behind a corner, crying her eyes out. This version of Liz Allan actually had genuine feelings for Peter. It really shows the strength of the writers when they can pull off emotional scenes even with relatively minor characters from the comics.
  • The ending of "The Uncertainty Principal". Harry is revealed (falsely) to be the Green Goblin and has been drinking the addictive and unstable Goboulon Green. Norman is pissed and demands answers. Harry throws him at a wall and tells him that he only wanted to be the son he wanted. He then keeps switching moods due the prolonged addiction. It was both sad and scary.
• Tethercat Principle: Things ended on a bad note for the characters and there won't be any more episodes for them to get better.
• Too Good to Last
• Tough Act to Follow: Near universally regarded as the best Spider-Man cartoon ever produced. Everything that followed, especially the Contested Sequel of Ultimate Spider-Man, had Galactus sized shoes to fill.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The mythos of Spider-Man underwent quite a shakeup just after this show ended, clearly marking it as the product of an earlier time. The lack of Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider, or even a reference to her, for example sticks out as the product of a positively ancient mentality.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Peter in his relationship with Liz Allan. He gets into it just as realizes he has feelings for Gwen and constantly ignores Liz, who, as said above, did have genuine feelings for him.
• Unnecessary Makeover: Arguably Gwen Stacy.
• Vocal Minority: Some fans are just a bit too keen on this show, accomplishing nothing but turning away other fans.
• What an Idiot!: Peter Parker, during his relationship with Liz Allan. He doesn't even attempt to hide that he has feelings for Gwen (or doesn't even realize he shouldn't be making it that obvious) even when right in front of Liz.
• The Woobie: True to the comics, the sheer amount of crap poor Spidey and Peter gets put through over the course of this show, particularly from the first and second seasons, is unbelievable.
  • Also Gwen Stacy, Dr. Curt Connors, Liz Alan, Mark Alan, John Jameson, and Maxwell Dillon (Electro). Otto Octavius was one too, but broke out of it once he became Dr. Octopus.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Eddie Brock.

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