Spider-Man Classic 70's Archive Trilogy in High Quality
Far more obscure is the very first trilogy of live-action Spider-Man movies. These motion pictures were spun off from a CBS TV show entitled The Amazing Spider-Man and were only given theatrical releases internationally. Given these qualities, it's no wonder they've proven more obscure to the public than the MCU Spider-Man outings. Though they may be minor entries in Spider-Man's film history, there are still plenty of strange and notable qualities in these three movies that make it worth remembering Spider-Man's first live-action trilogy.
These three Spider-Man movies weren't originally supposed to be movies. In fact, all three hail from the live-action TV show The Amazing Spider-Man that aired on CBS. The Amazing Spider-Man aired from 1977 to 1979. The feature-length pilot that kicked off this trilogy also served as a movie entitled Spider-Man, the first entry in this trilogy of Spider-Man movies. The subsequent two installments of the trilogy, Spider-Man Strikes Back and Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge, were comprised of two episodes each of the Amazing Spider-Man show.
Whereas modern Spider-Man movies get massive global theatrical releases, the original Spider-Man trilogy had a much more limited theatrical reach. Domestically, audiences only saw these episodes as part of Spider-Man's brief stint on the airwaves. In certain international territories, though, these episodes were repackaged as a trilogy of movies distributed by Columbia Picture. Interestingly, this trio of movies helped to extend the shelf life of The Amazing Spider-Man. Though the program's final episode aired in July 1979, the final movie, Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge, ended up debuting theatrically in May 1981.
Spider-Man (1977)
Peter Parker's debut live-action movie follows a plot familiar to anyone who's seen Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's first takes on Spider-Man. Nicholas Hammond's debut as Spider-Man begins with the superhero's alter-ego, Peter Parker, getting bitten by a radioactive spider. Soon after, he discovers that he's been bestowed with extraordinary superpowers like being able to crawl up walls. Future incarnations of this storyline would see Parker facing off against Green Goblin and The Lizard. For this pilot, Spidey would go toe-to-toe with Edward Bryon (Thayer David), a guru who's hypnotizing New Yorkers to commit crimes. Clumsy fight scenes involving Bryon's henchman and an assortment of near-death experiences involving hypnosis ensue as Spider-Man does his best to stop Bryon.
Spider-Man Strikes Back aka Deadly Dust (1978)
Spider-Man Strikes Back, is all about nuclear warfare. The topic is explored through Spider-Man's confrontation with Mr. White (Robert Alda). Spidey's newest foe hatches a devious plan that involves bombing the World Trade Center. Thankfully, this isn't the only scheme Mr. White has concocted. Mr. White eventually moves on from nuclear weapons to an assassination attempt on the President of the United States. The film eventually ends with Mr. White escaping and promising to get his revenge on Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1981)
Wrapping up the trilogy was Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge, which saw the web-crawler facing off against Zeider (Richard Erdman), a wealthy man who wants to kill an old colleague of J. Jonah Jameson by the name of Min Lo Chan (Benson Fong). With incriminating information on Zeider in his possession, Min Lo Chan's life is in constant danger. The only person who could possibly protect Lo Chan and his niece Emily (Rosalind Chao) from these threats is Spider-Man. Thus, the web-crawler ends up protecting Min from the various bruisers Zeider sends to assassinate him. Eventually, Peter Parker uses his wits to expose Zeider and his treachery, thus preserving the life of Min Lo Chan.