Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Premiere Review

Every first day at school is a little rough but imagine getting attacked by a symbiote! Now there’s something to ruin your vibe. And that’s exactly what happens to Peter Parker one fateful morning at Midtown High. Some days you just can’t catch a break.

Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is now on Disney+ with two premiere episodes, “Amazing Fantasy” and “The Parker Luck.” This newest iteration of Spidey gives an unusually fresh take on the neighborhood scene for the beloved Marvel super hero. Here’s my review on the show’s premiere and what could be in store for the series.

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Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Presents an Alternate Timeline Spidey

One of the most interesting aspects of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is that this Peter Parker lives in an alternate timeline, not the usual 616. He’s still a super-smart, semi-dorky teen from Queens but his spider bite origin is pretty different. Rather than getting bit in a lab, he gets bit on his first day at Midtown High — and by a spider that’s not even from his dimension!

As a fight breaks out between Doctor Strange and Venom (who’s sporting some ruffled fur and creepy pincers), a spider hangs by a thread from Strange’s interdimensional portal. Once the battle is over and Doctor Strange closes the portal, the spider’s thread is broken and it drops down onto Peter’s neck. The rest, as we all know, is web-head history. A well-placed time jump also lets the series’ adventures swing right in to Peter’s heroics instead of giving too much screentime to him adjusting to these amazing new powers.

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Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Animation Style

In addition to this wall-crawler’s altered origin, the animation style of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is the next noteworthy thing to discuss. It’s not quite the 3D-inspired style of Marvel’s What If…?, though it does feel more layered than traditional 2D animation. Probably it’s visually closest to X-Men ’97. While some might object, I think YFN Spider-Man‘s animation style is a strength for the show.

As Spider-Man fans, most of us are coming from the comics. And that’s exactly what this style captures. It feels as if you’re flipping through comic book panels, brought to life from your mind’s eye. To me, the style is like a comic book panel in motion. Plus, the character designs by Marvel’s Ryan Meinerding are extremely original, and Peter’s initial homemade Spidey suit is arguably the most realistic-looking so far for someone of his age and robotics skillset. The series’ intro sequence is also full of references, from corner boxes with different Spidey suits to the spiraling genetic codes (a fun homage to Sony and Fox movies) and an updated Spider-Man theme from The Math Club (feat. Relaye and Melo). We’re swinging through Queens in style.

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Hudson Thames as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spidey

The show excels in creating an authentic, nuanced neighborhood where Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man. Queens is a New York City borough full of life and perspective, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man depicts Queens with that in mind. It’s interesting to see Peter swing through his neighborhood’s streets, passing by buildings and local businesses rather than the skyscrapers we might normally picture. We even see Peter catching a thief, returning the money to a pizza parlor’s owner, and encouraging the owner to let the down-on-her-luck thief go free. This series drives home the fact that Peter is still a neighborhood kid and just starting out on his adventure.

Despite voice actor Hudson Thames’ unfounded fear that the series would be too “woke,” Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is weaving a web of great storytelling. Thames also voiced Spider-Man in Marvel’s What If…? season 1 episode 5, but I think he has yet to grow into the role like those before him have. On the other hand, Peter Parker’s friends Nico Minoru and Lonnie Lincoln, voiced by Grace Song and Eugene Byrd, give heart to Peter’s story here. Nico quickly becomes Peter’s closest friend, teasing him but also keeping him grounded by pointing out the ethical dilemmas of OsCorp. Lonnie Lincoln, traditionally a bully in the comics, is portrayed as a peer with more than meets the eye. He’s the popular star quarterback but he also loves science, faces microaggressions as a young Black man, and seems to want a genuine friendship with nerdy Peter.

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Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Cameos!

While his role is certainly not a cameo, Colman Domingo elevates Norman Osborn to an entirely new role in Peter Parker’s life: mentor. Whereas Tony Stark was Peter’s mentor in the MCU, this Norman Osborn (AKA Green Goblin) seems like he will take Peter under his wing — especially after Peter is caught by security footage changing into his Spidey suit. The consequences of this all-new mentorship will surely bring a unique layer to Spider-Man’s evolution.

From various trailers, we also know that Daredevil, Scorpion, Doctor Octopus, and other Marvel mainstays will be making appearances. In addition to these high-profile cameos, Peter’s OscCorp internship brings a whole team of eye-catching names to the story. Peter works directly with Dr. Carla Connors, whose arm and name imply she could be connected to some version of the Lizard. His fellow interns include Jeanne Foucault (known in the comics as Finesse, with abilities similar to Taskmaster), a Wakandan named Asha (the Kimoyo Beads were a giveaway before the accent!), and Amadeus Cho, a confident young genius who eventually becomes a Hulk.

Finally, back in episode 1 when Peter gets bitten, you can see the spider crawl away toward someone else’s backpack. Could this be a significant detail for later? A radioactive spider on the loose will surely have future repercussions.

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What do you think of this animated alternate timeline Spidey?

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