Sure, cultural differences get in the way sometimes (see: Thailand, which blurs one-piece swimsuits in imported anime ), but other times the desire to protect children's sensitive brains turns into bizarre self-parody. For example ...

The whole problem with censorship is that it's so arbitrary. For instance, you could make a strong argument in favor of a cartoon getting censored, like when it involves replacing smoking references in The Flintstones and Tom & Jerry , or getting rid of over-the-top racist stereotypes , or not getting blown up -- all of which was deemed appropriate for broadcast at one point or another. But then the stuff that does get censored makes no goddamned sense.

5 The '90s Spider-Man Cartoon Was Forbidden from Showing Punches

Marvel Animation

Hey, children of the '90s, remember Spider-Man: The Animated Series? Can you name a single instance of Spider-Man punching someone in that show? Or anyone punching anyone? Surely there's at least one example -- how about that fight with Venom where Iron Man crashed the show for some reason?

Marvel Animation

"Take thish, Hulk! *hic*"

"Dude, I can feel your breath through the mask. You need help."

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Nope: They just roll around in a way that we find strangely arousing. OK, then, what about the super-violent confrontation between Blade and Morbius? Nope again: They throw shit at each other but never actually fight.

Marvel Animation

"My secret weakness! Bricks!"

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The closest we come to a punch in this series is an episode featuring the villain Spot where Spider-Man is forced to propel his fist through a portal to hit him, as the writers must have suddenly realized that grappling and dodging make less sense if done interdimensionally.