Action is his reward.

Finally, a cartoon that captures the true spirit of the Spider-Man mythos. The new Spectacular Spider-Man (Saturdays at 10am on Kids’WB) places Peter Parker squarely in high school, with all the problems and worries of a teenager. No origin revamp. No angsty inner monologue. No weird purple and white polo shirt.

There’s not only a youthfulness in the main character. The entire series feels young and fun, from the brightly-colored backgrounds to the Scott Pilgrim-esque stylings of the characters (look at those eyes and tell me there’s no influence there!). Even the voice casting is spot-on…except Harry Osborn who sounds like a chipmunk with nasal congestion.

For those who wish to know, the initial sketches for the characters were done by Sean Galloway, famous for his take on the animated Hellboy.

My favorite part of the show has to be the characterization. They’ve stayed true to the comics to some extent, but the digressions they’ve made also fit as well. Peter still lives with his Aunt May and they’re having money problems so he pursues a photography career at the Daily Bugle (just like in comics continuity)…where J. Jonah Jameson’s character is perfectly played. Peter is still dogged by Flash Thompson and the rest of the football team. He’s still best friends with Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy. And he still works as a pseudo-intern for Dr. Curt Connors (who now has a mechanical arm in place of the one he lost).

As far as differences go, there are some superficial ones that don’t really change characters, such as Bugle reporter Ned Leeds now being the Asian Ned Lee or Liz Allen being a Hispanic cheerleader. The more interesting changes, though, are the ones that take characters in a new direction. First off, Eddie Brock also works for Dr. Connors. He’s a few years older than Petey and Gwen, but they obviously know each other and are friendly. Sandman and The Rhino both started out as two-bit hoods that Spidey kept catching red-handed every episode…that running joke turned into incentive for the two to become super-powered villains (facilitated by Norman Osborn and the mysterious “Big Man” unseen villainous mastermind). Perhaps the most “shocking” change is the fact that Montana from The Enforcers has taken on the mantle of The Shocker in an effort to take out Spider-Man once and for all.

There are little touches in the cartoon that the traditional Spider-Man fan will enjoy too. Dr. Octavious works for Norman Osborn. The Vulture has a grudge against Osborn for stealing his flight technology. Max Dillon becomes Electro by accident while repairing equipment in Connors’s lab. Peter has a crush on Betty Brandt. Hobie Brown (Prowler) is on the football team. And there are repeated references to Mary Jane Watson throughout the first few episodes…everyone says she has a “great personality”…that culminate in her appearance as Petey’s emergency prom date (when she offers her classic introductory line “Face it, Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!). Cute and classic all at once.

The show is building its own continuity quickly and any comic book fan worth their salt can see some big things coming on the horizon. Hammerhead has been used as the underworld connection for the first six episodes, but then Tombstone was introduced as being one rung above Hammerhead on the bad guy ladder. I can only assume that the “Big Man” will turn out to be Kingpin. I haven’t watched this week’s episode yet, but it features the Green Goblin…and who’s behind the mask (Harry’s been acting strangely)? Obviously, something is going to happen with Eddie Brock and the whole Venom thing. And will Gwen Stacy meet a similar fate to that in the comics?

It’s a fun and fast-paced show with a good mix of action and drama. Spider-Man’s fight scenes are well choreographed, although at times it seems that the producers forget about his Spider-Sense when it’s convenient for the storyline. I can’t complain though, because this is the first superhero cartoon that my sons have actually shown interest in. That makes this the best cartoon ever, in my book!