Nearly three decades after Spider-Man: The Animated Series left Peter Parker chasing Mary Jane Watson through another dimension, Marvel is finally giving John Semper Jr. the opportunity to finish the story he originally intended. Spider-Man ’94 Annual #1, arriving December 9, returns to the exact moment after the 1998 finale and before J.M. DeMatteis’ later comic continuation, making the wait feel especially big.

That makes the annual more than another nostalgic sequel. Semper confirmed, via an interview with CBR, that Marvel is publishing the story he had envisioned as the opening chapter of an unproduced sixth season. For fans who spent years wondering whether Peter would actually find the real Mary Jane, the comic turns a decades-old unresolved ending into official canon while preserving the original showrunner’s plans.

Marvel Is Finally Telling Semper’s Season 6 Story From Spider-Man: The Animated Series

Spider-Man: The Animated Series ended with “Spider Wars, Chapter 2: Farewell, Spider-Man,” the 13th and final episode of Season 5, on January 31, 1998. Peter had just helped save the multiverse from Spider-Carnage when Madame Web offered to help him locate the real Mary Jane, who had vanished through a dimensional portal years earlier after Green Goblin attacked her.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series had complicated that romance considerably. The Mary Jane Peter married was actually a Hydro-Man-based clone created by Miles Warren, while the original remained trapped beyond his reach. After the series ended, Semper repeatedly discussed how a hypothetical Season 6 would begin with Peter pursuing her. Now, he gets to put that plan on the page without having to reinvent its destination.

Semper told CBR that the annual is “very much” the same story he outlined roughly a decade ago, rather than a completely new resolution. He described it as what would have become Episode 66 if Fox had ordered 13 additional installments. That distinction gives the special an unusual connection to the original creative vision and its abandoned television future.

The Annual Leads Directly Into Spider-Man ’94

Marvel’s solicitation identifies Spider-Man ’94 Annual #1 as a story set immediately after the animated series cliffhanger and before DeMatteis’ Spider-Man ’94 comic. Semper is writing, while Alessio Camardella provides the artwork. Nick Bradshaw supplies one announced cover, with Will Robson on another variant and a 1:25 incentive cover still to be revealed by Marvel.

The annual also appears determined to preserve the tone that made the cartoon distinctive. Semper said he structured the story like an episode of television rather than approaching it as a conventional comic, while allowing more violence than Saturday-morning standards permitted. Green Goblin and Carnage appear on the cover, signaling a dangerous conflict that still feels rooted in the original series.

Most importantly, Semper views the project as a long-overdue closure for viewers who grew up with Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He said he never expected the unresolved Mary Jane storyline to cause such lasting frustration, explaining that this comic is his chance to finish what he would have continued nearly 30 years ago. Spider-Man ’94 Annual #1 goes on sale December 9, 2026.

Release Date

1994 – 1998-00-00

Network

FOX, Fox Kids

Directors

Bob Richardson

Writers

John Semper Jr., Mark Hoffmeier, Meg McLaughlin, Stan Berkowitz, James Krieg, Marty Isenberg, Robert N. Skir, Sean Catherine Derek, Brooks Wachtel, Cynthia Harrison, Larry Brody, Doug Booth, Len Wein, Michael Edens, Brynne Stephens, Elliot S. Maggin, Ernie Altbacker, Evelyn Gabai, Gerry Conway, Gordon Kent, J. M. DeMatteis, Jan Strnad, Marv Wolfman, Sandy Fries

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  Christopher Daniel Barnes

  Peter Parker / Spider-Man (voice)

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  Sara Ballantine

  Mary Jane Watson (voice)