Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge

Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge is a 1981 American live-action superhero film that had a theatrical release abroad, a composite of the 1979 two-parter episode "The Chinese Web" of the contemporary television series The Amazing Spider-Man, released, theatrically, on 9 May 1981. It was directed by Ron Satlof, written by Lionel E. Siegel and stars Nicholas Hammond as the titular character, Rosalind Chao, Robert F. Simon, Benson Fong, and Ellen Bry. The film was preceded by the 1977 film Spider-Man and Spider-Man Strikes Back.

Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge
British theatrical release poster
Directed byRon Satlof
Written byLionel E. Siegel
Screenplay byLionel E. Siegel
Based on
StarringNicholas Hammond
Rosalind Chao
Robert F. Simon
Benson Fong
Ellen Bry
Production
companies
Danchuck Productions
Marvel Television
Distributed byColumbia Pictures Television
Release date
  • February 3, 1981 (1981-02-03) (Europe)
  • May 9, 1981 (1981-05-09) (Worldwide)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

It was the final Spider-Man film that released theatrical outside of North America, until Columbia Pictures acquired the rights in 1999 from its license, due to licensing and financial issues with Cannon Films, Carolco Pictures and New Cannon, and finally released Spider-Man in 2002.

Plot

Min Lo Chan, the Chinese Minister of Industrial Development, who happens to be an old college friend of J. Jonah Jameson, flees China and comes to the United States to locate three men who during the war approached him and offered him money for secrets about Mao Zedong, which he refused at the time. He stays with his daughter, Emily Chan who lives in New York City. But now it appears the incident is being investigated and he needs to find one of them quickly in order to verify his innocence.

He asks Mr. Jameson to help him find them, but he wants it done quietly because it seems that there are elements who want him convicted, so Jameson asks Peter Parker to talk to three ex-Marines on his behalf, but also to find them discreetly. However, it seems one of those elements is an industrialist, Zeider, who is among the ones being considered to build a power plant for the Chinese Government that is worth one billion dollars, and the industrialist knows that the official is considering another company but if he's convicted he knows that his successor will award the contract to him. So he sends Clyde Evans to make sure he doesn't find his witnesses or make sure he doesn't return to China alive.

As Spider-Man, Peter saves Min's life several times. Then Peter gets a line of the last of the Marines needed to clear Min's name, Professor Dent, who agrees to help. Along with Min, Peter and his own niece Emily, he flies to Hong Kong to testify. However, Zeider has Dent kidnapped to ensure his silence. With Emily's help, Spider-Man traces the kidnappers to Zeider. He captures Zeider, ensuring the safety of Dent's life. He then proceeds to prove Min's innocence.

Cast

Release

The film was theatrically released in European territories on 3 February 1981 and in Australia where it screened at the Pix theatre among others, distributed by Hoyts.[1][2] It received a VHS release in 1982.[3][4][5][6]

References

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