Back in the mid-'90s, Fox Saturday mornings were anchored by Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and the man responsible for that show was one John Semper Jr.
On the Facebook fan page for Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Semper has posted the cover to a script outline given to him by none other than Marvel legend Stan Lee. Semper says that the document, called a treatment, was for a live-action feature film Lee had hoped to get made called Spider-Man: The Untold Story. According to Semper, Lee gave him the treatment because it included something called the "Spidey Van," which Lee suggested also be used on the show.
What the heck is a Spidey Van, and what was Stan Lee thinking? Your guess is as good as ours. But keep in mind this was the '90s, when the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series was in its heyday. It's possible that Lee saw the licensing potential of a toy vehicle while observing the popularity of the Turtles' van.
Maybe it's a family-sized version of the rarely-seen Spider-Mobile. The Spider-Mobile was a buggy that could drive up walls, shoot webs, and had a spotlight adorned with the spider icon. It was only in a handful of comics from the '70s, but the whole notion of Spider-Man possessing and using a car was so preposterous — not to mention an obvious cash-grab opportunity for toymakers — the little vehicle became a favorite among fans (in an eye-rolling kind of way.) It resurfaced many years later in the "Old Man Logan" storyline in Wolverine.
As for the Spidey Van, Semper seems as bemused at the notion as fans. He says:
"I just found this a few hours ago. I haven't seen it in twenty years. Here's the cover of a treatment written by you-know-who for a 'Spider-Man' live-action feature film. He gave it to me, apparently to reference something called the 'Spidey Van' for Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which I obviously never used."
Semper goes on to say that he can't reprint the treatment for legal reasons, but he does have the entire thing. He's promised to reveal more of the rare, Spider-Man related materials in his archives on Facebook, so be sure to Like the Spider-Man: The Animated Series page if you want to know when he does.
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