This is a spoiler-free review of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 1, the first two episodes of which are now streaming on Disney+.
Marvel Animation’s new animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finds a winning formula in swapping out Peter Parker’s mentor for what may as well be a stick of dynamite. Instead of Tony Stark taking Peter under his iron wing, this time it’s a different billionaire genius: Norman Osborn. Yep, the guy better known in the comics as the Green Goblin, Spider-Man’s greatest nemesis. This bold alternate-reality spin on the MCU version of Spidey is what makes Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man work so well. It’s also the key ingredient – the sinister spice, if you will – that helps it stand out amongst the vast sea of other Spider-Man TV shows, games, movies, and comics. The way it fundamentally alters Peter’s canonical superhero journey makes for a fun and fresh story that also has a hint of danger to it.
Funnily enough, Marvel has a different animated series called What If…? that explores alternate realities, but Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is not that show, despite it being the best “What If…?” concept in recent memory. The story takes place in a world that has a lot in common with the MCU, but with key differences that are fun to explore as the story unfolds. Even the origin story of how Peter is bitten by a radioactive spider is given a major overhaul, as it now bizarrely involves Doctor Strange pursuing a peculiar (yet familiar) creature in a destructive brawl that tears across Midtown High School. The story starts there but then jumps three months into the future, mercifully skipping the seen-it-a-million-times scenes of Peter discovering his powers, learning to swing on webs, etc. We catch up on Peter’s life, where he struggles with money, girls, and being a complete dork, all while also trying to protect the city as a fledgling Spider-Man. It’s not long before he’s hand-picked for an internship at Oscorp because he’s a science whiz. Thus his ominous (yet wickedly entertaining) partnership with Norman Osborn begins.
Rank these onscreen Peter Parkers
Rank these onscreen Peter Parkers
It’s not only the addition of a nefarious new mentor – just about everything in the world of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a little bit different from the standard Spider-Man story. But it also embraces the core essentials that have been with the character since his inception. The animation style – inspired by classic Spider-Man comics drawn by legendary artists Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr. – lends these new ideas a sense of familiarity.
It’s astounding how the 3D cel-shaded animation captures the look and feel of classic 2D hand-drawn Spidey comics, to the point where it looks like Ditko and Romita art come to life. The action is slick and fast-paced, with the occasional, neat use of comic paneling as a wink to the source material. And there’s a lot of great physical humor, too, thanks to this version of Peter being particularly accident prone. The web-slinging sequences are full of wild, rush-inducing acrobatics – although, if you’ll allow me a nerdy nitpick, Spidey does a lot of maneuvers that are a little advanced for someone who’s only been on the job for three months. All that said, the animation is sometimes hampered by odd movements, and the backgrounds aren’t exactly gorgeous works of art. It’s definitely not on the same level as, say, Arcane, but most of the time the animation does its job and looks good doing it.
A major deviation from the norm is Spidey’s supporting cast. Absent are beloved mainstays like Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, and Flash Thompson, but they aren’t particularly missed, as a host of new faces goes a long way to help keep things interesting. We’ve seen Peter go through high school a million times, but not with folks like these: His best friend here is the quirky and sarcastic Nico Minoru, who Marvel fans will recognize from Runaways. Harry Osborn is essentially a whole different character this time around – he’s now a rich, naive, and out-of-touch teenage social media sensation. Lonnie Lincoln fills the jock role usually occupied by Flash, but this high school football star turns out to be a kind, intelligent, and enthusiastic friend to Peter. (By the way, if you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t look up Lonnie Lincoln’s comic book history!)
Peter may be the same nerd he always was, but this time around he’s accepted by his peers and even celebrated by the meathead types who would’ve picked on him elsewhere in the multiverse. Though it’s nice to see a positive spin on Peter’s social life, it does feel like something’s missing. On Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Peter no longer represents the little guy, the outcasts, and the bullied – the rejects who must find a way to persevere despite facing social challenges.
Of all the teen characters, Lonnie turns out to be the surprise standout. Caught between pursuing his football dreams and reluctantly getting involved with a gang to help his family, his story mirrors Peter’s in that he is also burdened by great responsibility. Lonnie’s relationship with Peter is a core to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and every tough choice they’re forced to make has a sizable impact that builds and builds until it bursts.
Lonnie’s story feels especially grounded and includes real-world issues faced by young Black men like him, such as racial profiling by police. Conversely, the traditionally white Osborns are depicted as Black men in this show, yet they experience no such discrimination, perhaps because they are insulated by their vast wealth and high social status. This tinge of social consciousness is commendable to include in a series primarily about superheroes punching supervillains, as is the presence of an authentically diverse array of people shown populating New York City. The series isn’t as dedicated to a thorough exploration of discrimination as other action-adventure animated series such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Static Shock, or The Dragon Prince, which leaves Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man feeling like it has the untapped potential to say something a little weightier, should the writers choose to go in that direction.
There’s a lot said about responsibility, however, as one would expect from a Spider-Man show. What’s most fascinating here is how Norman has his own version of Uncle Ben’s iconic words about great power and great responsibility, tinted by the worldview of a powerful, domineering businessman. Watching a young Spider-Man develop under Osborn’s amoral philosophy makes for some of season 1’s best moments, and underscores the Peter/Norman relationship’s significance to these episodes.
The way the two lead characters are performed is outstanding. What If…?’s Hudson Thames returns to the role of Spidey, giving him an appropriately high-pitched and scratchy adolescent voice that’s not too far from Tom Holland’s. He plays Peter with an ever-present earnestness befitting the character’s big heart. Back-to-back Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo gives Norman a strong and imposing tone that also boasts a deceptive amount of warmth and charm. It’s almost enough to make you forget he’s supposed to be the Green freakin’ Goblin; no wonder the young and impressionable Peter Parker accepts his offer to help him become a better hero.
There’s a devilishly delicious dramatic irony whenever the two interact: Anyone who’s read a Spider-Man comic or seen a Spider-Man movie knows what evil Norman is capable of, but this Peter is none the wiser. (Maybe he should subscribe to Disney+ to brush up on Norman’s filmography.) There’s a surprising amount of depth to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s Norman, who isn’t simply a cackling maniac but a shrewd industrialist, a flawed father, and, oddly enough, an effective motivational speaker. He sees the sudden rise of superheroes in the world as a problem, and it’s endlessly intriguing to watch how he tries to make Spider-Man the solution.
All the while, it’s impressive how season 1 includes references to MCU continuity while remaining squarely focused on Peter and his immediate circle. Even the handful of surprise superhero cameos don’t distract from the story but rather add to it in interesting ways. In terms of the MCU timeline, these events spin off into their own reality just after the events of Captain America: Civil War, and what we learn about the state of the larger superhero world consists of discussion, debate, and headlines about the fallout of the Avengers clashing over the Sovokia Accords. (You’ll remember the Sovokia Accords as the controversial laws that forced all superheroes to register and submit to government oversight.)
There are multiple villains for Spider-Man to face throughout the story, and the series does a sublime job of building them up over time and positioning them as genuine threats. One baddie in particular never had his potential realized in the MCU, but is used to astounding effect here, to the point where I genuinely feared for Spidey’s life. And the character designs for the villains are particularly well-executed, too. Some go in a brand new direction and others look ripped from the pages of a back issue, but they’re all winners. Some familiar faces known for being seriously evil master planners even get much-welcome new layers to their personalities – and even a sense of humor!
