Spider-Man Super-Fit: The Bizarre 1987 Exercise Video & Its Forgotten Star Explained
Ever stay awake at night wondering how Spider-Man keeps his stellar physique? Well, for kids in the late 1980s, finding the answer was as easy as visiting the local video store. Released in 1987, "Spider-Man Super-Fit Youth Fitness System" may not be the first project that comes to mind when thinking of the comic book web-slinger, but in the annals of Spider-Man's history, it undoubtedly ranks among his most bizarre adventures.
"Spider-Man Super-Fit Youth Fitness System" is a fitness video in which Peter Parker teams up with a group of young boys to take down a series of mysterious anti-fitness force fields using their newly acquired muscle toners. While intended to be little more than a well-meaning VHS promoting healthy living, the video becomes a mind-bending fever dream that will constantly have its viewers questioning reality. This acid trip of a project contains cheap trippy special effects, awkwardly long workout montages, jugglers, mimes, and more shots of Spider-Man's butt and crotch than necessary. In other words, it's mandatory viewing.
The end of the video states that the engrossing saga would have a continuation, although no evidence exists that a follow-up ever came to fruition. But perhaps more interesting is what nearly came before for the film's star, Scott Leva, and the Marvel superhero.
Scott Leva was almost cinema's first Spider-Man
While Scott Leva's Spider-Man in "Spider-Man Super-Fit Youth Fitness System" may not rank among the character's most iconic film appearances, there's no denying that the actor adds to the video's, well, interesting quality. His performance gives fans a window into what could have been since Leva was originally set to don the blue-and-red spandex for Spidey's big-screen debut.
The first attempt at a "Spider-Man" movie started in 1985 when low-budget studio Cannon Films purchased the rights from Marvel for $225,000. Screenwriter Leslie Stevens was tasked with helming the script, with producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus looking to make the project a "Wolfman"-esque horror venture that would have been directed by "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" filmmaker Tobe Hooper.
While the team had high hopes that Tom Cruise would star as the titular superhero, actor-stuntman Leva was the more likely candidate given his prior appearances as the character, including posing on the cover of "The Amazing Spider-Man" #262. Following harsh budget slashing and further rewrites, Cannon folded and was acquired by Pathe Communications. Golan, who still possessed the rights, kept trying to get the film made, but the license expired after financing woes kept stalling the project's process.
As for Leva, while his "Spider-Man" film never came off the ground, it wasn't the performer's last rodeo with Marvel. He made crucial contributions as a stunt coordinator for Marvel films and shows such as "X-Men" (where, in a blooper reel, he wears a Spider-Man costume) and "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Additionally, he was on the stunt team for other fan-favorite projects such as 2004's "A Series of Unfortunate Events," "Everybody Hates Chris," "Insidious," and 2011's "The Muppets."