The MCU is all the rage when it comes to movies and television based on Marvel Comics, while 2018's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is often viewed as the greatest animated superhero film ever. Despite that, many longtime fans are able to look back at the '90s for their dose of animated superhero classics, which is especially true for television.
Fans everywhere loved X-Men: The Animated Series but Spider-Man: The Animated Series is actually held in just as high esteem. The show was popular for the way it told storylines that spanned multiple episodes, which was far different from most cartoons of the era. It also adapted comic book plots in an impressive fashion. Many feel the show was canceled prematurely but it's still worth looking back to see which season was considered the best.
Season 4 (7.7)
The penultimate season was centered around the "Partners in Danger" arc. It began with Peter Parker dealing with the loss of Mary Jane in "Guilty" (7.8) and that set the tone for the quality of the season. Most episodes hovered around that score with the low point being "Return of Kraven" (7.5), which still clearly scored pretty solidly. A major part of the season was also Felicia Hardy becoming Black Cat, which was a focal point of her titular installment (7.9).
One thing that worked for season 4 was the inclusion of some characters who were seen as a bit "out there" compared to others. Morbius, who is about to get his own feature film, and Blade came together for a strong arc in the middle of the season. The best part came in "The Return of the Green Goblin" (8.3), which saw Harry Osborn discover Spider-Man's true identity. The shocking return of Mary Jane at the end also set up a great cliffhanger.
Season 2 (7.9)
The "Neogenic Nightmare" arc was front and center for this season of Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Right off the bat, it started with a bang thanks to "The Insidious Six" (8.5) and "Battle of the Insidious Six" (8.4), which brought together some of Spidey's greatest villains. Things hit a bit of a snag in the back half of the season, with "Tablet of Time" and "Ravages of Time" (7.6) scoring lower than the rest of the installments.
This season also included Morbius, Blade, and went a pretty weird route with a multiple-episode arc where Spider-Man grew extra arms and turned into Man-Spider. However, the real treat of this season came with "The Mutant Agenda" (8.5). It was a huge Marvel crossover long before The Avengers hit the big screen as characters from X-Men" The Animated Series showed up. Spider-Man partnered up with Wolverine the rest of the team in a memorable episode.
Season 1 (8.0)
When Spider-Man: The Animated Series premiered in 1994, nobody really knew what to expect. Would it be a typical superhero cartoon or would it work along the same lines as the X-Men series that was airing at the time? The latter was true and it was instantly clear. Season 1's "Lizard Behavior" arc dealt with Dr. Curt Connors turning into the villain. "Night of the Lizard" (8.0) proved to be a strong pilot for the series and most of the season was consistent after that.
There were some misses, most notably "The Return of the Spider-Slayers" (7.3), which scored one of the lowest totals of the entire series. Many popular villains appeared from Kraven to Scorpion to the Hobgoblin. The show proved how fantastic it could be with "The Alien Costume" trilogy of episodes. Each scored impressively (8.9, 9.0, and 9.0) while introducing Venom/Eddie Brock into the fray. He'd go on to return many times over, often in quality episodes.
Season 5 (8.1)
Season 5 was met with widespread acclaim and sadly ended up being the final run of episodes for the show. Unlike previous seasons, this featured a handful of story arcs and each is telling about the overall quality. Although "Six Forgotten Warriors" didn't score as high as the rest, it was memorable for bringing in heroes from the past including Captain America. Then, "The Return of Hydro-Man" brought back the villain but also included a shocking twist. In "The Return of the Hydro-Man: Part 2" (8.3), it was revealed that the Mary Jane who Peter married was merely a clone.
Things were taken to the next level with the final two arcs. "Secret Wars" adapted the famous comic arc and saw Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, X-Men, various villains, and more do battle in another dimension. These three episodes scored 8.2, 8.1, and 8.1. It was immediately followed by "Spider Wars," which worked as a two-part finale for the series. The Beyonder sent Spider-Man into another dimension to team with other Spider-Men against Spider-Carnage. Those two installments scored 8.9 and 9.2, which are among the highest in series history.
Season 3 (8.2)
Season 3 pulled off a rare feat. Although it has the highest average rating, it also features the lowest-scoring single episode. "The Rocket Racer" (6.6) was a pretty major misfire for the show but it was more than evened out because the rest of the season featured almost non-stop greatness. "Enter The Green Goblin" (8.8) gave fans a long-awaited clash, while "The Man Without Fear" (8.6) introduced Daredevil into the series.
Along those lines, this season also saw Iron Man, War Machine, and Doctor Strange make appearances. The final few episodes were the best, with "Venom Returns" (9.0) and "Carnage" (9.0) seeing the two symbiotes involved as well as Baron Mordo and the aforementioned guest heroes. Things got really interesting in the finale, "The Turning Point," (9.0) which saw Green Goblin target Mary Jane.