Who doesn’t love Spider-Man? The legendary web-slinger with a heart of gold and a soul of angst, filled with love and loss. Let’s face it – Spider-Man’s 50+ year long comic book arc is the stuff of legend.
And, of course, there were many different movie and television Spider-Man projects. A slew of wildly popular Sony movies from the past 20 years, featuring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland all playing the webslinger (and in one film, all three actors playing the webslinger in a multiverse arc). Heck, even Spidey’s greatest villains have enjoyed their own film series, albeit with varying levels of success (the Venom films were great, and maybe someday I’ll do a triple-feature watch of Mobius / Madame Web / Kraven the Hunter, but it’s going to take a lot of resolve for that).
I mentioned the television runs as well, because Spidey has enjoyed several animated shows (most recently, Disney+’s “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” series). There was also a Japanese Spider-Man series, and a 1970’s live-action CBS series with Nicholas Hammond in the costume.
Which brings me to Spider-Man’s first live-action television appearance.
On a PBS children’s show.
Yes, for a few seasons, there was a Spider-Man segment on the PBS series The Electric Company.
For those not familiar, The Electric Company was a 1970’s PBS / Children’s Television Workshop program that offered children reading and comprehension lessons, along with a bit of comedy. And partway through the show’s run, the producers licensed Marvel’s webslinger as a character on the show. Interestingly, Spidey did all his usual tricks – and by “tricks,” I mean shooting a web at the bad guy – and talking in word balloons that young viewers had to read out loud.
Check out a few of the segments here.
The episodes followed the same formula – a comic book would open, and Spidey would deal with some kooky villain (usually one of the Electric Company’s rotating castmembers who hammed it up beyond all possible camp) before Spidey threw a web at the miscreant, saving the day.
And in case you’re wondering, The Electric Company’s rotating cast included early appearances by Morgan Freeman. Yes, THAT Morgan Freeman. Here he is in a Spider-Man episode, playing a policeman.
Now this episode is really meta – because it includes not only Spidey, but also three recurring Electric Company characters; Morgan Freeman as the cool cat Easy Reader, Skip Hinnant as the Inspector Clouseau-garbed Fargo North, Decoder (yeah, it’s a pun), and Judy Graubert as the kooky Jennifer of the Jungle. So yeah, Spidey was involved in multiverse crossovers long before those Into the Spider-Verse crossover films. Surprisingly, they didn’t add Rita Moreno as the Director, but then if they did, they’d have to have Freeman play double-duty as her overworked cue card holder Marcello.
I should note that the Spidey segments on The Electric Company were so popular, Marvel Comics even produced their own tie-in comic book, creating a “Spidey Super Stories” series that ran for a couple of years (and in Marvel’s multiverse collection, put Spidey in Earth-57780).
Definitely a fun piece of nostalgia for today.
Chuck The Writer 
Lemme help ya with that, Chuck, since I saw the reruns back in the day, like everyone else. The Spidey Super Stories segment began appearing during season 4 (1974-5). Stuntman Danny Seagren was TV’s first Spider-Man, for those who wonder why Seagren’s name was in the credits. Not only did the show’s regulars act in the skits, but so did the members of the vocal group, the Short Circus. Marvel began publishing a comics version of Spidey Super Stories in conjunction with Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) 2 years later, and the series actually outlasted its TV parent. The book lasted 5 years (1976-81), while the skits ended when the original Electric Company did in 1977. Plus, Spidey’s been around for 63 years now. He’s older than you & me in real time.
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I was in college in he early 1970s. I watched Sesame Street, the Electric Company, and ZOOM often
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