Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider-Man is an American animated television series based on the superhero Spider-Man comics, published by Marvel Comics, including some elements of Marvel's Ultimate line of books. The series is written by Brian Bendis (who also writes the comic book series Ultimate Spider-Man), Paul Dini, and Man of Action (a group consisting of Steven T. Seagle, Joe Kelly, Joe Casey, and Duncan Rouleau). It was first announced to air on Disney XD in early 2012, and debuted alongside The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes ' second season as part of the Marvel Universe programming block on April 1, 2012.

Production
Brian Michael Bendis and Paul Dini will be serving as writers and producers on the show. Man of Action (a group consisting of Steven T. Seagle, Joe Kelly, Joe Casey, and Duncan Rouleau), the creators of the animated series Ben 10 and Generator Rex, will be serving as supervising producers on the show. 26 episodes have been ordered for the first season. According to Paul Dini, this series will have a "redefined" Peter Parker. He further stated that the series will have Spider-Man guest-starring with different characters and will be partially based on Bendis' comics while the rest will be original material, such as the origins of some heroes and villains. Actor J. K. Simmons has confirmed that he will reprise his role as J. Jonah Jameson from Sam Raimi's live-action Spider-Man film trilogy for the series. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, actor Adrian Pasdar confirmed that he would be voicing Iron Man in the series; the character was also voiced by him in Madhouse's and Marvel's Iron Man anime. In an interview with MTV, voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson announced that he would be voicing Robbie Robertson and an unnamed member of the Wrecking Crew in the series.

According to Marvel and Disney, the series depicts Spider-Man becoming the newest member of S.H.I.E.L.D. under the leadership of Nick Fury, on a team with four other teenage superheroes. Villains such as Living Laser, Venom and Doctor Doom were seen in a trailer shown at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con.

Marketing
Ultimate Spider-Man premiered on April 1, 2012 on Disney XD in the United States, while the pilot episode was released on Xbox Live and PlayStation Store on April 2, 2012.

A comic book series that ties in with the show called Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures will debut on April 25, 2012. Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures will be an ongoing series and will be released alongside The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Adventures. The comics will be written by Dan Slott and Ty Templeton, while Nuno Plati provides artwork.

Launch parties for the series were held in New York City and Los Angeles on March 31, 2012, the day before the series' broadcast television debut. On hand at the New York City party at Midtown Comics Downtown in Manhattan were Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, writer/producer Joe Kelly and Chris Eliopoulos, who wrote the first issue of the tie-in comic book, while the Los Angeles party at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood was attended by Marvel Head of Television Jeph Loeb, Duncan Rouleau, Steven T. Seagle, voice actors Clark Gregg and Misty Lee, and Creative Consultant Paul Dini, who wrote the series pilot.

Synopsis
As the series begins, Peter Parker has been Spider-Man for one year. He has saved lives and fought supervillains, but he is still in the process of learning how to be a superhero. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. offers Peter the chance to train to be a real superhero and become "The Ultimate Spider-Man". However, beforehand Peter will have to learn how to work with a team of four fellow teenage superheroes, known as Nova, White Tiger, Iron Fist, and Power Man.

Main cast

 * Drake Bell – Spider-Man/Peter Parker
 * Ogie Banks – Power Man/Luke Cage
 * Greg Cipes – Iron Fist/Daniel "Danny" Rand
 * Clark Gregg – Agent/Principal Phil Coulson
 * Tom Kenny – Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius, Wizard/Bentley Whittman, Dr. Curt Connors, Whirlwind/David Cannon
 * Matt Lanter – Harry Osborn, Eugene "Flash" Thompson, Venom, Klaw/Ulysses Klaw
 * Misty Lee – Aunt May Parker
 * Caitlyn Taylor Love – White Tiger/Ava Ayala
 * Chi McBride – Nick Fury, Thunderball/Eiliot Franklin
 * Logan Miller – Nova/Sam Alexander
 * J. K. Simmons – J. Jonah Jameson
 * Tara Strong – Mary Jane Watson, Thundra
 * Steven Weber – Green Goblin/Norman Osborn Trapster/Peter Petruski

Additional cast

 * Dee Bradley Baker – Sandman/Flint Marko, Lizard/Dr. Curt Connors (Season 2)
 * Troy Baker – Loki, Hawkeye/Clint Barton
 * Christopher Daniel Barnes - Electro/Max Dillon
 * Steven Blum – Wolverine/James "Logan" Howlett, Beetle, Doc Samson/Leonard Samson
 * Dave Boat – Leo Zodiac Soldier #1
 * Clancy Brown – Taskmaster/Tony Masters
 * Cam Clarke – Captain Ultra/Griffin Gogol, Piledriver/Brian Calusky
 * Jack Coleman – Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange
 * John DiMaggio – Wrecker/Dirk Garthwaite
 * Michael Clarke Duncan – Groot
 * Greg Grunberg – Uncle Ben Parker
 * Mark Hamill – Nightmare, Shao Lao
 * Maurice LaMarche – Doctor Doom/Victor Von Doom
 * Phil LaMarr – JARVIS
 * Stan Lee – Stan the Janitor
 * Peter Lurie – Sabretooth/Victor Creed
 * Phil Morris – Scorpio/Max Fury, Leo Zodiac Soldier #2
 * Adrian Pasdar – Iron Man/Anthony "Tony" Stark
 * Rob Paulsen – Batroc the Leaper/Georges Batroc
 * Kevin Michael Richardson – Joseph "Robbie" Robertson, Bulldozer/Henry Camp, Juggernaut/Cain Marko, Howard the Duck, Awesome Android, Mac Porter of Damage Control
 * Dwight Schultz – Mesmero
 * Roger Craig Smith – Captain America/Steven Rogers
 * Keith Szarabajka – Living Laser/Arthur Parks
 * Fred Tatasciore – The Hulk
 * Travis Willingham – Thor, Skurge the Executioner

Crew

 * Brian Michael Bendis – Writer, Producer, Creative Producer
 * Dana Booton – Supervising Producer
 * Dan Buckley – Executive Producer
 * Joe Casey – Writer, Supervising Producer
 * Paul Dini – Writer, Producer, Creative Consultant
 * Alan Fine – Executive Producer
 * Joe Kelly – Writer, Supervising Producer
 * Cort Lane – Supervising Producer
 * Stan Lee – Co-Executive Producer
 * Jeph Loeb – Executive Producer
 * Leanne Moreau - Line Producer
 * Eric Radomski – Co-Executive Producer
 * Duncan Rouleau – Writer, Supervising Producer
 * Steven T. Seagle – Writer, Supervising Producer
 * Collette Sunderman – Casting and Voice Director
 * Harrison Wilcox - Associate Producer

Critical reception
Critical and fan reception of the series has been mixed. Brian Lowry of Variety criticized the series, suggesting that the source material was "strained through the juvenile, rapid-fire-joke filter of Family Guy", and called the show a "high-profile misfire" that didn't "bode well for Marvel's efforts to straddle the line of catering to kids without dumbing down venerable properties that plenty of adults know and love." Eric Goldman of IGN gave the pilot an "Okay" rating of 6 out of 10, stating that while some of the humor was enjoyable, and that the show's target audience of children would love it, "this Spider-Man just doesn't feel like Spider-Man" and that it felt "off, mannered and forced." Goodman also felt that the animation was unimpressive, and that the breaking of the fourth wall was a more familiar signature trait of Deadpool's than of Spider-Man's. He summed up the show as "a missed opportunity for something that truly hit[s] home with Spider-Man fans of all ages."

David Sims of The A.V. Club gave the pilot a "C" ranking, writing that the first episode "feels rather lame and perfunctory, with wackiness dialed up to 11 in an effort to distract from how fundamentally bland it is." Sim subsequently gave a "C+" to the episode "Doomed" and a "B+" to the episode "Back in Black." Oliver Sava, also of the A.V. Club, gave the episode "Venom" a "B", stating that the title of the show should be changed to Synergy Spider-Man, because it goes beyond movie and Ultimate continuity to create an entry point for young viewers into the main line of Marvel titles. Sava subsequently gave the episode "Field Trip" an "A-".

Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show a 4 out of 5 stars, noting the abundance of action and humor afforded by the series' premise, and opining that the lessons that Parker learns about growth and responsibility under the guidance of his mentor and friends would make lasting impressions on young viewers.