It's because there's a difference between a licensed adaptation and getting inspired by Western superhero material. It's no surprise that Marvel worked with Toei before meeting Saban. Marvel working with Saban probably did better than working with Toei. Marvel gave Toei the green light to what I'd call the weirdest licensed adaptation of Spider-Man. Professor Monster is blatantly based on Doctor Doom. The whole environment felt really weird. Japanese Spider-Man's real identity as Yamashiro Takuya was no reporter. Instead, Takuya himself was a motocross racer. Shouldn't that be a spider-themed Kamen Rider instead? The results were so off. That's why I'm amazed the late Stan Lee gave praise to Supaida-Man. I praise it as a good experiment though.
The attempt to make an X-Men cartoon for Fox Kids was difficult. They had the pilot Pryde of the X-Men which became the basis for Konami's arcade game X-Men Adventure in 1992. It was the same year when X-Men: The Animated Series was released on October 31, 1992. I'd say that Saban did Marvel cartoons BETTER than Disney could these days. The show's success allowed it to hit up to 65 episodes. I'd say this was probably Saban's masterpiece of an adaptation.
I believe Saban understood Spider-Man better than Toei could
I'd prefer to use Spider-Man: TAS as my reason to say Toei just didn't get how to do Marvel. Sure, I can praise Toei for experimenting on something new and they created one F*CKING weird experiment. In 1994, Saban showed how the company understood Spider-Man better than Toei. I may no longer want to rewatch Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers BUT Spider-Man: TAS has been a better treat. Saban's adaptation may have toned things down from the comics to remain consistent with TV ratings. However, it was still entertaining like how Morbius absorbed plasma instead of blood, replacing bullets with lasers (and somehow, Super Sentai has been doing this too), and many times it does get people into Fates Worse Than Death.
Saban had been long connected to Fox Kids. We had Margaret Loesch who helped Toei get into the American market. Loesch worked with Lee. Lee found a better partner in Saban. I guess that's why Toei no longer has a Marvel license. Saban would know how to handle American superheroes better than Toei would. Toei works in a more Japanese (or Asian) setting. Toei created an entirely different Spider-Man with a Japanese Spider-Man. Saban created his own Spider-Man that deviated from the comics too. The difference lies with Saban knowing American superheroes better than Toei. Toei was better at getting inspiration from American superheroes to create a few characters.
What got interesting was that Spider-Man: TAS had a two-part crossover with X-Men: TAS. Those two episodes were among my favorites. I use it as another jab against Supaida-Man and say, "TAKE THAT!" The people working under Saban Entertainment did what it did. It simply took the comics, toned it down for TV-YY-FV and you had an amazing two-partner. Did Saban think the same idea would work when the company did that failed Saban's Mashed Rider introduction in Mighty Morphin'? Yes, that three-part crossover was so terrible. Even better, I like the episodes when other heroes in the Marvel Universe showed up. I also enjoyed the Carnage introduction arc with its deviant introduction. Having Carnage and Venom under Dormammu and Dr. Strange's involvement was fun. I also enjoyed how Iron Man and War Machine helped out. After all, Marvel was meant to operate in an expanding universe, unlike Super Sentai. Power Rangers trying to be in some expanding Universe and mostly singular timeline doesn't work as much as Saban dealing with Marvel.
I acknowledge Toei actually had some references to American superheroes too. Keido Keiji Jiban and Tokosou Robo Janperson are loosely based on Robocop. I acknowledge that the Takara Trilogy was a licensed, non-canon spin-off to the American Transformers continuity. The difference was that Toei's bigger strength was creating characters based on existing American fiction. Dragon Ball Z also blatantly copied stuff like Future Trunks as a reference to Cable and his storyline gets vibes from the Days of Future Past in the comics in the 1980s.
Not all of Saban's adaptations for Marvel worked. Saban's Avengers; United We Stand (and it was only one season) cartoon didn't get the hype as much as X-Men: TAS and Spider-Man: TAS. The Iron Man and Fantastic Four TV series under him only lasted 26 episodes each. The Incredible Hulk only had 21 episodes. It's a disappointment for me that these shows didn't run long. I was actually a fan of Saban's FAILED Marvel adaptations. I was disappointed some of them got canceled too quickly. I was frustrated when Avengers: United We Stand only had 13 episodes. I think at least seven or more episodes could've been good.
Just imagining Toei handling Marvel can be very funny. I could still accept it if Toei provided only the ANIMATION but not the production. I think it'd be cool if Toei provided the animation for Saban's Marvel adaptations. However, I feel Toei working with Marvel may have not been its strongest point. Toei knows how to handle Tokusatsu but Marvel may be one of its weaker spots. However, Saban decided to continue what might've been more profitable for him at that time - his alliance with Toei!
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