Marvel’s Most Valuable Figure Right Now Is Based on a Bizarre 1977 Spider-Man Show

Spider-Man continues to prove that he’s the most popular superhero on the planet. With Spider-Man: Brand New Day continuing to break box office records and Amazing Spider-Man #1000 marking a major milestone in comics history, it looks like the sky’s the limit for the web-slinger. However, the biggest example of Spidey’s popularity doesn’t lie in matinée tickets or comic book collections. Rather, it lies with an action figure that’s gathering plenty of heat on the market, according to the collector site ActionFigure411.com.

ActionFigure411 recently released its list of the 20 most valuable action figures based on Marvel Comics, and topping that list is a Hot Toys figure of Spider-Man. Specifically, it’s the version of Spider-Man depicted in a short-lived 1977 television series featuring the wall-crawling hero. While the 1977 Spider-Man figure has a retail price of $255, it has sold for as much as$768.50. That’s solid proof that Spider-Man is a major draw, no matter the version. But it also brings back memories of what might be the weirdest Spider-Man series ever.

The 1977 Spider-Man series took major liberties with the web-slinger’s lore

Nearly everyone on the planet, whether they’ve read a comic book or not, knows Spider-Man’s origin. Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, which grants him arachnid-like abilities, and then decides to use them to fight crime after a robber he fails to stop kills his Uncle Ben. The 1977 Spider-Man series made one major change: Peter is still bitten by a radioactive spider, but he decides to be a hero out of the blue, which doesn’t live up to his iconic mantra of “with great power comes great responsibility.” On top of that, the villains Spidey fights in the series are bottom of the barrel; there’s no Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, or Kraven the Hunter to be found. These changes didn’t sit well with Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee, who made his displeasure known during an interview:

“The whole appeal of the character is the contrast and conflict between his private life as Peter Parker and his life as Spider-Man…The comic book version is more adult and sophisticated than the TV version.”

The 1977 Spider-Man lasted only a single season before it was canceled, because CBS wanted to step away from superhero television at the time. As a result, the series languished in obscurity for years, with actor Nicholas Hammond failing to get a crossover between Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk off the ground. Hammond would later take a role in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, digging up long-lost memories for certain fans in the process. While the 1977 Spider-Man might not have been the hit fans wanted, the action figure based on it certainly is.