# Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series)
**Ultimate Spider-Man** (also billed as *Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man*) is an American animated television series based on the [Spider-Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/spider-man) character from [Marvel Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-comics), which aired on [Disney XD](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-xd) from April 1, 2012 to January 7, 2017[1](https://ultimatespiderman.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Episodes) • [2](https://english-voice-over.fandom.com/wiki/Ultimate_Spider-Man_%282012%29). Across four seasons and 104 episodes, it follows a teenage Peter Parker who is recruited by Nick Fury to train with S.H.I.E.L.D. alongside a team of young heroes, and it holds the record run of any Spider-Man animated series to date[4](https://thetvdb.com/series/ultimate-spider-man) • [3](https://www.tvline.com/2150933/spider-man-best-animated-shows-ranked/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | Disney XD; premiered April 1, 2012; ended January 7, 2017[1](https://ultimatespiderman.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Episodes) • [4](https://thetvdb.com/series/ultimate-spider-man) |
| Seasons and episodes | 4 seasons of 26 episodes each, 104 episodes total, roughly 22–25 minutes per episode[1](https://ultimatespiderman.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Episodes) • [4](https://thetvdb.com/series/ultimate-spider-man) |
| Premise | Peter Parker, Spider-Man for about two years, is invited by Nick Fury to train with S.H.I.E.L.D. alongside Nova, White Tiger, Power Man, and Iron Fist[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ultimate_spider_man/cast-and-crew) |
| Main voice cast | Drake Bell (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Chi McBride (Nick Fury), Caitlyn Taylor Love (White Tiger), Logan Miller (Nova), Ogie Banks (Power Man), Greg Cipes (Iron Fist)[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ultimate_spider_man/cast-and-crew) |
| Notable writers | Brian Michael Bendis, Paul Dini, and the Man of Action quartet[6](https://bacol.todayz.workers.dev/post-http-www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/28/ranking-the-spider-man-animated-series-2) |
| Record | Longest-running Spider-Man animated series to date, at 104 episodes[3](https://www.tvline.com/2150933/spider-man-best-animated-shows-ranked/) |
| Streaming | Disney Plus; also available for digital purchase on the Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, and Fandango At Home[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/ultimate-spider-man) |
## Premise
The series opens with Peter Parker already established as Spider-Man: Disney's program summary describes him as having become Spider-Man two years earlier, still learning how to be a superhero[8](https://shows.disney.com/ultimate-spider-man). [Nick Fury](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-fury), director of S.H.I.E.L.D., offers Peter the chance to train and become "The Ultimate Spider-Man," working alongside four fellow teenage superheroes[8](https://shows.disney.com/ultimate-spider-man). His teammates are [Nova (Sam Alexander)](https://www.edgepedia.org/nova-sam-alexander), White Tiger (Ava Ayala), Power Man ([Luke Cage](https://www.edgepedia.org/luke-cage)), and Iron Fist (Danny Rand), and the show's first episodes show Peter joining the organization and learning to work with the team[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ultimate_spider_man/cast-and-crew) • [9](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-ca/browse/entity-a2e424b4-ad77-4733-9f74-fd11222339a8).
Unlike the *Ultimate Spider-Man* comic series of the same name, the show shared almost nothing in common with its printed counterpart; reviewers noted that the title marked a contemporary, team-oriented take on the character rather than an adaptation of the comics' Earth-1610 stories[10](https://www.looper.com/673078/every-spider-man-animated-series-ranked/).
## Seasons and arc structure
Each season ran 26 episodes[1](https://ultimatespiderman.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Episodes). Season 1 aired from April to October 2012, beginning with the episodes "Great Power" and "Great Responsibility" on April 1, 2012, and season 2 ran from January to November 2013[1](https://ultimatespiderman.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Episodes) • [4](https://thetvdb.com/series/ultimate-spider-man).
**Season titles.** Season 3 was branded *Ultimate Spider-Man: Web-Warriors* (July 2014 to October 2015), and season 4 as *Ultimate Spider-Man vs the Sinister 6* (February 2016 to January 2017)[4](https://thetvdb.com/series/ultimate-spider-man). In the later seasons the scope widened beyond the original [S.H.I.E.L.D.](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-h-i-e-l-d) team: Spider-Man crossed into parallel universes and met other Spider-identities such as [Spider-Man 2099](https://www.edgepedia.org/spider-man-2099), and assembled a new spider-team including Agent Venom, Iron Spider, Kid Arachnid, and [Scarlet Spider](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarlet-spider) to fight Doctor Octopus, Hydra, and the Sinister Six[11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=borMWF5DKzI) • [12](https://www.disneyplus.com/fr-fr/browse/entity-a2e424b4-ad77-4733-9f74-fd11222339a8).
The series concluded in January 2017 with a two-part finale arc titled "Graduation Day," in which Spider-Man stops [Doctor Octopus](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-octopus) and the Superior Sinister Six from destroying New York City's heroes[13](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/8A/A6/8AA6C9CF-E727-1FAE-727E-36D1615CDC06/press-release-8-1168460.pdf).
## Cast and creative team
[Drake Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/drake-bell) voiced Peter Parker and Spider-Man across all 104 episodes, with [Chi McBride](https://www.edgepedia.org/chi-mcbride) as Nick Fury, J.K. Simmons as [J. Jonah Jameson](https://www.edgepedia.org/j-jonah-jameson), Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, and Steven Weber as Norman Osborn[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ultimate_spider_man/cast-and-crew) • [14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1722512/fullcredits/). Later additions included Scott Porter as Flash Thompson / Agent Venom and Donald Glover as Miles Morales / Kid Arachnid[4](https://thetvdb.com/series/ultimate-spider-man).
The writers Marvel assembled for the project included [Brian Michael Bendis](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-michael-bendis), writer of the *Ultimate Spider-Man* comic; [Paul Dini](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-dini), writer and producer of *Batman: The Animated Series*; and the Man of Action quartet[6](https://bacol.todayz.workers.dev/post-http-www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/28/ranking-the-spider-man-animated-series-2). Man of Action was credited on 37 episodes, the most of any writing entity on the series[4](https://thetvdb.com/series/ultimate-spider-man).
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. Rotten Tomatoes' season 1 critics page collects reviews that saw potential for a great Spider-Man cartoon but found the creators "content with 'fine' rather than 'excellent'", and described the tone as closer to a sitcom than a superhero action series, aimed at a younger audience[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ultimate_spider_man/s01). IGN's retrospective ranking made a similar point: given the "dream team of writers," it was frustrating that the show was not "a stronger, more cohesive, and more dramatically ambitious show"[6](https://bacol.todayz.workers.dev/post-http-www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/28/ranking-the-spider-man-animated-series-2).
The animation was the most consistent point of praise. Forum and fan assessments repeatedly identified Ultimate Spider-Man as the best-animated Spider-Man series, and TVLine credited it with the animated debut of Miles Morales roughly four years before 2018's *Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse*[16](https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/rank-the-animated-spider-man-tv-series-into-categories.5643951/) • [3](https://www.tvline.com/2150933/spider-man-best-animated-shows-ranked/). The show also drew heavy crossover traffic with the broader Marvel universe, which some viewers welcomed and others felt came at the expense of a focused Spider-Man story[10](https://www.looper.com/673078/every-spider-man-animated-series-ranked/).
## Audience and legacy
The series performed strongly for its target demographic. A Disney XD press release dated October 2016 reported that for 2016 to date the series had reached 51 million total viewers across the U.S., generated close to 4 million consumer engagements via VOD and set-top boxes, and ranked among the network's top 5 animated series in key targeted boy demographics[13](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/8A/A6/8AA6C9CF-E727-1FAE-727E-36D1615CDC06/press-release-8-1168460.pdf).
Its 104-episode run remains the highest of any Spider-Man animated series[3](https://www.tvline.com/2150933/spider-man-best-animated-shows-ranked/). The show also kicked off a new group of interconnected Marvel animated shows following Disney's acquisition of the company, and it was followed on Disney XD by a separate reboot, *Marvel's Spider-Man*, announced for 2017[13](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/8A/A6/8AA6C9CF-E727-1FAE-727E-36D1615CDC06/press-release-8-1168460.pdf). It carries a 7.2 rating on IMDb[17](https://as.com/meristation/series/como-y-donde-puedes-disfrutar-de-las-mejores-series-sobre-spider-man-r/).
## References
1. [List of Episodes, Ultimate Spider-Man Wiki (Fandom)](https://ultimatespiderman.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Episodes)
2. [Ultimate Spider-Man (2012), English Voice Over Wikia (Fandom)](https://english-voice-over.fandom.com/wiki/Ultimate_Spider-Man_%282012%29)
3. [5 Best Spider-Man Animated Shows, Ranked, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/2150933/spider-man-best-animated-shows-ranked/)
4. [Ultimate Spider-Man, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/ultimate-spider-man)
5. [Ultimate Spider-Man: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ultimate_spider_man/cast-and-crew)
6. [Ranking the Spider-Man Animated Series, IGN](https://bacol.todayz.workers.dev/post-http-www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/28/ranking-the-spider-man-animated-series-2)
7. [Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/ultimate-spider-man)
8. [Ultimate Spider-Man, Disney Shows](https://shows.disney.com/ultimate-spider-man)
9. [Ultimate Spider-Man episode guide, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-ca/browse/entity-a2e424b4-ad77-4733-9f74-fd11222339a8)
10. [Every Spider-Man Animated Series Ranked, Looper](https://www.looper.com/673078/every-spider-man-animated-series-ranked/)
11. [Ultimate Spider-Man | Web Warriors: Spider-Man 2099 | Disney XD, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=borMWF5DKzI)
12. [Ultimate Spider-Man, Disney+ (France)](https://www.disneyplus.com/fr-fr/browse/entity-a2e424b4-ad77-4733-9f74-fd11222339a8)
13. [Marvel's Spider-Man press release, October 8, 2016 (Disney XD)](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/8A/A6/8AA6C9CF-E727-1FAE-727E-36D1615CDC06/press-release-8-1168460.pdf)
14. [Ultimate Spider-Man (TV Series 2012–2017) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1722512/fullcredits/)
15. [Ultimate Spider-Man: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/ultimate_spider_man/s01)
16. [Rank the Animated Spider-Man TV Series, Anime Superhero Forum](https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/rank-the-animated-spider-man-tv-series-into-categories.5643951/)
17. [¿Cómo y dónde puedes disfrutar de las mejores series sobre Spider-Man?, MeriStation (AS)](https://as.com/meristation/series/como-y-donde-puedes-disfrutar-de-las-mejores-series-sobre-spider-man-r/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Comic-book and superhero television series › Marvel television series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license