The news of the upcoming Spider-Man: Freshman Year series has fans excited as it marks another look at the superhero in animated form. It's far from the first time he's appeared in that format and most are on Disney+ other than things such as his early Electric Company shorts and the Spectacular Spider-Man series. However, the streaming service that serves as home to the MCU has 10 cartoons based on Spider-Man's world at this time.
These include classic shows from the 1970s and 1980s, the groundbreaking Spider-Man animated series from the 1990s and even some exclusive shows made exclusively for Disney to entertain all the Wall Crawler's fans. Fans on IMDb have made it clear which they prefer, so it might make it easier for newcomers to check out the best of the best.
Spidey And His Amazing Friends (2021): 5.7
The lowest-rated Spider-Man cartoon on Disney+ is one made specifically for little kids. In a twist on a popular '80s Spider-Man animated series, Spidey and His Amazing Friends hit Disney Jr. in 2021 and had a Japanese form of animation with characters like Spider-Man, Miles Morales, and Ghost-Spider.
The animation seemed to turn off most Spider-Man fans voting on IMDb. While it has a low 5.7 rating, there are a lot of positive reviews of the show on the site, calling it "fun," "bright," "colorful," and "funny." However, most agree this is a show for very young children.
Spider-Woman (1979): 5.8
While Spider-Woman is her own character in Marvel Comics, she debuted on television as a spin-off of Spider-Man in 1979, and Spidey even made appearances in her show. However, fans on IMDb don't see the show as fondly as others.
Spider-Woman has a 5.8 rating on IMDb, one of only two animated Spider-Man cartoons on Disney+ that didn't reach a 6. Originally, Spider-Woman was a Saturday morning cartoon on ABC, but it only survived for one season. The reviews seemed to split evenly between terrible and great, with many criticizing the animation and others praising the strong female hero.
Spider-Man (2017-2020): 6.1
In 2017, a new Spider-Man animated cartoon came to Disney XD and is now available on Disney+. This was the lowest-rated regular Spider-Man animated series on Disney+, although a lot of the criticism had to do with it failing to reach the levels of previous cartoons.
The show replaced Ultimate Spider-Man and had three seasons, with the third an adaptation of Maximum Venom. While the cartoon sits at 6.1 on IMDb, some reviewers hated it, calling it "the worst" and "painfully bad." However, others wrote it grew on them, with another saying it isn't as good as the other shows, but that didn't make it bad.
Spider-Man Unlimited (1999): 6.3
In 1999, Saban Entertainment, the home of the Power Rangers, made a Spider-Man animated series called Spider-Man Unlimited. The show only ran for a few episodes before Fox Kids canceled it. However, the network brought it back and finished out the 13-episode season with an unresolved cliffhanger.
Because Sony was working on a movie, the show couldn't use any comic book stories or the actual Spider-Man suit from the comics, which hurt its status for many fans. Now available on Disney+, IMDb fans once again disagreed with the quality, with some saying it was ahead of its time and others saying the storylines were disappointing.
Ultimate Comics (2016): 6.4
Ultimate Comics was a series of shorts released in 2016. While this was more than Spider-Man, he played a big part in the season. In Ultimate Comics, Spider-Man and Iron Man teamed up in the first three episodes before Black Panther starred in the fourth.
These were very short, all four checking in at four minutes an episode. It also isn't very well-known, with only 62 votes on IMDb, likely because the site calls the show Marvel Video Comics, causing most fans not to realize they are the same.
Spider-Man Shorts (2017): 6.9
On Disney+, Marvel Spider-Man Shorts came out in 2017 and lasted for one season. The season had only six episodes, and each one traces a path to him gaining his superpowers. The six episodes are 29 minutes combined, Peter getting bit in the first and learning his life-lesson of responsibility in the sixth.
IMDb lists the show as Spider-Man: Origins, while the short running time is like fellow Disney+ shows, Groot and Baymax. This means, while the IMDb score is middle of the road, it provides nice quick entertainment for fans of Spider-Man, geared towards younger audiences.
Spider-Man (1981): 6.9
In 1981, Spider-Man came to TV in his own animated series, and while it wasn't his first cartoon, it is the oldest one that Disney+ has for fans right now. The cartoon lasted for 26 episodes and had Peter Parker as a college student, working part-time for the Daily Bugle, and caring for his elderly Aunt May.
The cartoon didn't have many poor reviews. Those who didn't like it pointed out the dated animation and how it doesn't measure up to later cartoons. However, IMDb fans who can separate it from what came later praised it, calling it fun and often overlooked.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-2016): 7.1
Ultimate Spider-Man had a lot to live up to, following the critically acclaimed Spectacular Spider-Man series, which is not on Disney+ right now. However, originally released on Disney XD, Ultimate Spider-Man lived up to its promise and was different enough to win over most fans.
In this show, Nick Fury took Spider-Man under his wing and the show had him going on some pretty incredible adventures. A highlight was when Spider-Man ended up going through the multiverse and teaming up with Spider-Man variants along the way to battle the Ultimate Green Goblin. While there were fans who couldn't get past Spectacular Spider-Man's cancelation, those who could, called this the "best Spider-Man show" of them all.
Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends (1981): 7.2
In 1981, Spider-Man had a show where he teamed up with two unlikely partners in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. These partners were Iceman of the X-Men and the lesser-known Firestar. While the animation and stories remain dated, fans love it enough to award it a 7.2 IMDb score.
The series, which lasted for three seasons, also featured appearances by Thor, Hulk, The X-Men, and more. With the show on Disney+, fans are rediscovering it, with IMDb reviewers calling it a favorite cartoon from childhood and being surprised it still holds up.
Spider-Man (1994-1997): 8.4
The highest-rated Spider-Man animated series on Disney+ right now is the groundbreaking show from 1994. Also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, this cartoon ran for five seasons on Fox Kids Network and finished with 65 total episodes.
The series has most of Spider-Man's main characters in it, from Black Cat and Mary Jane Watson to J. Jonah Jameson, Harry Osborn, Curt Connors, and almost every major Spider-Man villain. With an 8.4 rating, there are almost no bad reviews, with most calling it the best representation of Spider-Man ever.