In all the years that Marvel’sSpider-Manhas been swinging on our big screens, moviegoers have also come to learn all about his corresponding villains. Names like Green Goblin, Lizard, Sandman, Electro, and Rhino have come to life in the live-action movies, while others like Prowler, The Spot, and Spider-Man 2099 have found a place inSony’sSpider-Verseentries. Obviously, Disney doesn’t have any sort of problem with the names mentioned. But in Season 3, Episode 10 ofSpider-Man, the ABC television network had a problem with one of the more obscure Spider-Man villains. Well, the character itself was just a powerful bug wizard the creators ripped off from another cartoon. The real problem was what this character brought to the eyes and minds of the children watching.
“Revolt in the Fifth Dimension” introduced the villain Infinata, whoseobsession with death, trance-like psychedelic powers, and creepy home-world didn’t sit right with the American Broadcasting Company. Let’s be fair for a moment. This somewhat underratedSpider-Manshow had some pretty outrageous stories. There were episodes where the Marvel hero had to fight giant beetles or stop the Green Goblin from summoning demons out of the cemetery. Ideas like this (and many more) came from director and executive producer Ralph Bakshi of Krantz Animation, Inc., who headed the second and third seasons of the show.
Remember that Infinata (the powerful bug wizard) was taken from someplace else? This enormous, one-eyed praying mantis (that wanted to destroy entire galaxies just for the heck of it) was originally from one of the companies’ other shows calledRocket Robin Hood.Not only did hedestroy galaxies, but he also almost destroyed Spider-Man’s reputation with the network.
Spider-Man Goes Psychedelic Horror
Spider-Man
For the first 10 minutes of “Revolt in the Fifth Dimension,” there is very little Spider-Man. You instead watchtwo tiny little aliensdesperately trying to escape Infinata’s wrath. One is left behind to die, while the other escapes in a rocket with the entire knowledge of the planet in a microscopic sphere.
When the ship crashes in New York City, the second little alien also dies after telling Spider-Man how important all this knowledge is (you’re able to already see why ABC was acting as they were). Before he can get this device to the “proper authorities,” Infinata whisks him into the fifth dimension (also called Dementia Five). If you thought things couldn’t get any stranger, you are sorely mistaken. The skies are all dark shades of red and blue. Spider-Man is sent through dizzying spirals, and he turns into a sheer white skeleton at one point!It’s all quite eerie.
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The psychedelia revolution of the ’60s and ’70s is certainly on full display in this episode ofSpider-Man. As this is all taking place in the world of animation, any aspects of campiness, as you would see inthe live-action Batman showthat aired in those same years, certainly take a backseat. Instead of talking to a supporting character like the Caped Crusader does with Robin, the Marvel hero talks to the audience about what he is experiencing and the out-of-this-world scenarios taking place before him.
In Dementia Five, he suddenly spins in place, walks up winding staircases, and gets sucked into doorways through a monstrous yellow hand. Rather than narrating this with some sort of hopeful or comedic punchline (as to bring some comedic relief), Spider-Man himself is downright frightened, too.
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While these sequences are rather interesting or possibly even bewildering for adults (let’s be real here), you may only imagine the imprint these frightening images left on children 55 years ago. All’s well that ends well, though. Right beforeour pivotal herois dragged into poisonous black water — only his head is visible at one point — he realizes that everything about Dementia Five is an illusion.
If he keeps his eyes closed momentarily, he returns to New York City. Infinata and his frog soldier minions with laser eyes are then left alone, and our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man lives to fight another day. The only mystery that remains is why he wanted to give an alien civilization’s entire knowledge to the “proper authorities.” But we’ll never know, because that’s how the episode ends.
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Even though the episode is now freely available to watch on Dailymotion and The Internet Archive (the second source showing it in 4K),“Revolt in the Fifth Dimension” was initially replaced with an episode from the first season called “Sting of the Scorpion/Trick or Treachery” due to the themes of death and psychedelic imagery.ABC cannot try and tell us thatthe usual bland villainand bank robbers that can use fly-like abilities can ever compare to a giant cloaked insect that rules over a trance dimension. If you watch this episode of 1967’sSpider-Man(and the rest of the second and third seasons, for that matter), you’ll see that the current MCU still has a long way to go.
