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The highly anticipatedYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manhas finally arrived on Disney Plus. Previously known asSpider-Man: Freshman Year, this animated series brings us back to the beginnings of Peter Parker’s career as the web-slinging hero. More specifically, the show offers an alternate take on the MCU version’s previously offscreen origin and overall early days career.
Reintroducing a decades-old hero like Spider-Man yet again and having it feel fresh is no easy task. But with a bold, comic book-inspired art style and a more grounded feel compared to the multiverse-spanning shenanigans of the most recent films, does the first episode pull it off? Let’s dive right in with full spoilers (This is your final warning if you haven’t seen it yet) and find out.
What happens inYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-ManEpisode 1?
As our story begins, Peter Parker, voiced by Hudson Thames fromWhat Ifcapturing the vibe if not the exact cadence ofTom Holland, is late for orientation day at Midtown High, a prestigious STEM-focused school. However, his big first day does not go as planned. Not only does he miss his train, hitching a ride with Aunt May, voiced by Kari Wahlgren doing a subtle but noticeable Brooklyn accent despite the character being from Queens and not Brooklyn; but also a mysterious portal quickly opens above the school. And out of that portal pops Doctor Strange and a bipedal alien possessed by the Venom symbiote. Or possibly just that universe’s version of the Venom symbiote.
Notably, this Doctor Strange doesn’t appear to come from this universe or any other previously established MCU timelines, up to and including 616. Peter doesn’t recognize him despite the established existence of other Marvel heroes like Iron Man and he says, in the voice of Robin Atkin Downes and notBenedict Cumberbatch, “We’re not supposed to be here.” Anyways, the ensuing battle leaves most of the people unharmed but the school destroyed and the interdimensional interlopers leave a spider behind that quickly bites Peter; knocking him out shortly after being introduced to his soon-to-be best friendNicoMinoru, voiced by Grace Song.
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We cut to a few months later, leaving plenty of space for the recentYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manprequel comic to take place, as Peter is again running late to school; now attending Rockford T. Bales High while Midtown is being rebuilt. But this time, he doesn’t need to worry about catching a train as he can simply swing through the city as Spider-Man, even stopping to rescue fellow teen Harry Osborn, voiced byZenoRobinson, from a gang of street thugs who unintentionally embarrass themselves by streaming the fight on Legally Distinct TikTok (There’s also a blink and you’ll miss it reference to Screwball in the live chat).
As if balancing school and being Spider-Man wasn’t enough, Peter is also attempting to jumpstart his love life, slowly working up the courage to ask out his childhood crush/technically former babysitter Pearl. After excusing himself from class and sneaking off to stop some bank robbers in a car chase as Spider-Man, Peter returns to the school athletics field prepared to finally ask Pearl out. Only for Nico to inform him that she’s already been taken by football team captain Lonnie Lincoln, with her humorously lamenting “I was really hoping it’d be one of us,” a subtle but cute way of confirming that her bisexuality from the comics and other adaptations has indeed carried over into this new show.
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The surprises continue into a group science lab project when Lonnie requests Peter be his partner, apparently due to Pearl always talking about how smart Peter is, and Lonnie demonstrating a genuine scientific aptitude of his own, with the two becoming friends in spite of Peter’s jealousy. And once school wraps, we get a closer look at the unexpected duo’s contrasting lives.
Lonnie is hard-working and always willing to help around the house or with his little brother’s homework and manages to keep a positive attitude in spite of his family’s clear financial struggles and the dirty looks given to him by police officers and random citizens simply because he’s Black; a small but impactful bit of social commentary that I’m sure the Internet will be Totally Cool and Normal about.
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Meanwhile, Peter suits up as Spider-Man to return some stolen money to a local pizzeria (named Pizza Time in an obvious homage to Sam Raimi’sSpider-Man 2), only to find out that the woman who robbed the place only did so out of instinct and desperation due to recently losing her job. And that, combined with her clear remorse for her actions, convinces both Spidey and the owner to let her go; with the owner offering the wall-crawler a free pizza for his help.
As Peter is enjoying his pizza in a nearby alley, he spots a perfectly functional DVD player in the dumpster and claims it for himself. We then cut to an exact recreation of Peter Parker’s introduction scene fromCaptain America: Civil War, as we see Peter walking back to the apartment carrying the DVD player in a behind-the-back camera view as alt-J’s “Left Hand Free” plays in the background. But the rich benefactor sitting next to Aunt May on the couch isn’t Tony Stark this time, it’s Norman Osborn, voiced by Colman Domingo, who extends his hand to Peter as the episode ends.
IsYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-ManEpisode 1 worth watching?
As an introduction, I would sayYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s first episode does its job rather well. It establishes all our main characters and their dynamics and sets the tone with a good mix of Spider-Man action and high school drama. I particularly enjoyed Nico and Peter’s rapport (Really hope they don’t turn it into a romantic thing) and I appreciate that a show like this is willing to shine a light on the very real struggles of growing up poor and middle class in the big city through both Peter and Lonnie’s stories.
The one thing that feels missing is the villains. All of Spidey’s fights in this episode are against petty criminals, so it’s difficult to get a sense of what, if any, overarching threat our hero will be facing throughout the season. Yes, we know from the comics and other adaptations that Norman Osborn is a bad guy, but we don’t know how true that is for this version, especially with him filling the Tony Stark role.
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I also imagine the art style might be a barrier to entry for some, but I actually really liked it. The black, bold outlines around characters and the overall character design are obviously reminiscent of classic Spider-Man comics and the panel-style shots and cuts are a nice touch to go along with that. It admittedly took me a bit to adjust to how the characters moved, but once I did, the action scenes felt consistently engaging and smaller character moments carried a shocking amount of personality and expression. A strong first outing for the series that makes me excited for more.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manis now streaming on Disney+.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Episode 1 SPOILER Recap/Review: The New Spidey’s New Origin
Callie Hanna
Articles Published :136
Callie Hanna is an up-and-coming writer, aspiring actor, and full-time nerd. She grew up in a small town in Delaware and was instilled with a love for superheroes, science fiction, and all things geeky from an early age. When she’s not catching up with her comically large backlog of movies, games, shows, and comics, Callie can be found working, writing, chatting with friends, or browsing the dying husk of Twitter.
