Spider-Man and Friends

"Spider-Man and Friends" was a line of action figures and related merchandise featuring the comic book character Spider-Man and other characters appearing in Marvel Comics publications, released by Marvel Entertainment's toy division, Toy Biz, from 2003 to 2006. The line was aimed primarily at preschool-age children, and the character likenesses used were often altered to seem "cuter" and more child-like (and child-friendly); most characters were depicted as wide-eyed and smiling, even supervillains and characters better known for anger or savagery, such as the Incredible Hulk or Wolverine.

Featured characters

Heroes

* Spider-Man
* Spider-Girl--essentially a female counterpart to Spider-Man, wearing a near-identical costume; has no perceived connection to the Marvel Comics character of the same name or the various characters known as Spider-Woman. Storybooks under the "Spider-Man and Friends" brand name suggest that she is Spider-Man's cousin.
* Wolverine
* The Hulk
* Captain America
* Thor
* Cyclops
* Hercules
* Iron Man
* The Fantastic Four
* Iceman
* Colossus
* The Beast

Villains

* The Rhino
* The Lizard
* The Green Goblin
* Doctor Octopus

The end of "Friends"

The "Spider-Man and Friends" line ceased production at the end of 2006, when all toy licenses for Marvel Comics characters passed from Toy Biz to Hasbro; the final wave of figures was released in December 2006. ["ToyFare" Magazine #111, November 2006]

Hasbro currently continues the concept of Marvel characters for the preschool set with a new line of action figures called "Superhero Squad", which debuted in January 2007. ["Toyfare" Magazine #110, October 2006] Featured characters in Wave 1 include Archangel, Colossus, Captain America, Magneto, Sabretooth, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Hawkeye. ["ToyFare" Magazine #111, November 2006] , ["Toyfare" Magazine #110, October 2006] Wave 2 includes Hulk, Wasp, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, and Ghost Rider. "Superhero Squad" figures are much smaller than their "Spider-Man and Friends" predecessors, and are comparable in size and design to a similarly preschool-specific line of Star Wars toys already produced by Hasbro.

Footnotes