Matt Wayne, who serves as the scriptwriter for SSM is no stranger to superhero cartoons, having also worked on Justice League and Hellboy: Sword of Storms. Toonzone got the chance to talk to Wayne about his work on The Spectacular Spider-Man.

This new Spider-man cartoon doesn't begin with his origin story, and so Wayne was asked why they were taking this approach with the cartoon. Wayne responded:

We aren't assuming viewers know his origin. You can tell from the online preview clips that Greg made a choice to introduce Peter Parker in action, though AMAZING FANTASY #15 did it another way. Probably the right call, as this is a half-hour cartoon in 2008 and not seventeen pages or whatever in 1962. As our show tells it, Spider-Man's situation is recapped quickly and then the high school and super villain woes begin ... and away we go. A flashback to That Fateful Day may come later, you never know.

Asked about other interpretations of the character, Wayne had some feelings to express. He said that of the three Spider-Man films, Wayne said that he preferred the second film out of the trilogy. "The third movie came out while we were working on the new show, so we spent a lot of time gabbing about it," Wayne said. "But The Spectacular Spider-Man is set in high school, so our Peter Parker's not very much like the 20-something Pete of the last movie."

Wayne also said that while they appreciated, and would draw from other classic Spider-Man stories, "our take on the characters will spin the story to a new place. Direct adaptations are unlikely, but familiar bits are everywhere."

The Spectacular Spider-Man premiers on the CW network on Saturday, March 8, 2008.