I get that! It was a prominent series and influential in many ways plus holds a lot of nostalgia with people, clearly.
Yet, there's even more Spider-Man animated series where Kingpin is only a small part of or doesn't even appear at all. Three separate Spider-Man live action film series where Kingpin makes zero appearances.
To me a character on the "Mount Rushmore" of whatever would be an indispensable part of that thing and clearly Kingpin is not one of the main necessities when it comes to doing a Spider-Man adaptation. Compare it to Daredevil where every live-action adaptation so far has featured Kingpin. Because they are way more intertwined.
I've decided to put my fears behind me. I'm not going back.
If you're gonna scream, scream with me