Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man opens with freshman Peter Parker running late on the first day of school orientation at Midtown High School in Queens, NY. If only he woke up on time! But there’s no time to think about “ifs” when he’s already missed the train, and his day is going to hell. Suddenly his Aunt May arrives in her car, offering to give him a lift, and there’s a reassurance everything is going to be okay. But Aunt May can’t save Parker from everything, including a radioactive spider from another dimension that bites Parker during a sudden and violent battle on school grounds involving Dr. Strange and a killer symbiote. But right now, Parker just wants to get through the day as a normal teenager.
Flash forward several months, and Parker is anything but a normal teenager. That spider bite has given him great powers that come with great responsibilities. Thankfully, viewers aren’t subjected to the training montage and discovery that’s been used for decades. With great power comes great responsibility to the audience not to rehash the same information. Instead, the series jumps right into Parker trying to balance being a student at Bales High (Midtown was leveled in the symbiote attack) with being a low-level crime fighter. Despite his great powers, he hasn’t mastered the ability to give equal attention to his friends, schoolwork, internship and criminals. His close circle of friends Nico Minoru (Grace Song), his way-too-obvious crush Pearl Pangan (Cathy Ang), and quarterback Lonnie Lincoln (Eugene Byrd) all support Peter but at times feel he’s incapable of keeping his promises. While Lonnie is more understanding, distracted with his own issues of taking care of his family and keeping his younger brother out of harm by joining a gang to protect his brother, Nico is constantly disappointed by his flaky behavior. But is she overacting and not addressing her own abandonment issues? Should Peter be worried about Lonnie’s preoccupation?
Operating more like the season of What If…? viewers should have gotten, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an alternate universe to the MCU, but within the multiverse. Freeing the writers from the constraints of The Scared Timeline, this series presents fresh ideas, remixed, and original concepts. In this alternate universe, Norman Osborn becomes Spider-Man’s mentor instead of Tony Stark/Iron Man. Impressed by Peter’s skills, he wants to guide him into not just being the hero but hopefully leading others into their heroic destiny. Could we see the origins of an animated The Young Avengers? This series also reshuffles characters like Nico Minoru, who is known from the Runaways comics, and race-swaps Norman Osborn, his son Harry Osborn, and Lonnie Lincoln, who is known as the villain Tombstone. These changes are refreshing, presenting old storylines from a different perspective. Black characters aren’t treated like a monolith, with Harry coming from wealth while Lincoln lives in a poor neighborhood where the cops follow Black men and gangs are formed as a way of survival.
Peter also has his own personal struggles. With his parents and Uncle Ben dead, he lacks a male parental figure in his life and longs to look up to one. So, when Norman presents himself as someone ready and willing to help Peter navigate being a hero and also sees his intelligence, he leaps at the chance despite Nico warning him Osborn is not someone to be trusted. Interning at Oscorp brings him personal joy as he works with other students known from various comics. Hello, Wakanda! Soon, Peter sees Nico just might be right; Norman is not being entirely truthful to him; his motives may not be for the best. But Norman has done so much for him, forming a father/son vibe, even though Harry never had that with his actual father. This relationship’s tension is felt throughout the series and makes one wonder how Harry feels about a stranger getting the attention he should be receiving. Could Harry be the key to unlocking Norman’s true colors?
Just like any good comic book-inspired series, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man expands to showcase the world its characters inhabit and the trickle-down effect of its many characters. The 110th Street gang that Lonnie is forced to belong to is led by Big Don (Ettore “Big E” Ewen) in Harlem, who gives Lonnie the Tombstone nickname. But unlike Norman Osborn, Big Don isn’t the supportive mentor; instead, he rules with an iron fist, putting Lonnie’s life in danger with the Scorpions, demanding Lonnie’s time even if it conflicts with school and football. The only time he shows sympathy is when his life is being saved. Even though it’s easy to be disgusted by Big Don’s actions, Lonnie feels a sense of brotherhood within the gang similar to being on the football field. Will he find a way to balance both lifestyles or will he decide the gang life is for him? There’s a streak of excitement he’s never felt before.
Meanwhile, Otto Octavius (Hugh Dancy) is causing chaos downtown, arming various villains with gamma-filled devices ready for a future attack. But who is funding the creations of these devices, and how does it connect to Spider-Man, and are they the conduit for the arrival of Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio)? Spider-Man can only be in so many places, and he’s still just a kid.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a love letter to comic books, with the nostalgic comic book feel seeping through every 2D and 3D animated scene. Designed to pay homage to Spider-Man’s comic roots, its visual style reflects the early comic book art of Spider-Man, connecting the series to the legacy of Marvel’s creation. The script is not just filled with an homage to the MCU but is a reflection of the writers love and passion for storytelling that seeps into every character. Nico is annoying but cares deeply for Peter while facing her own fears about her future; Lonnie is the backbone of the football team, but maybe what he longs for is a sense of community, even if it’s in a gang. Despite being rich and given the world, Harry is isolated, bored, friendless, and isn’t his father’s main priority. What can that do to a kid? Peter’s friendship and being part of Peter’s inner circle represent a chance to change all this. While Norman has it all, he’s never been fully satisfied until Spider-Man came along; but what does he want from a high schooler? Why is he pretending to be interested in Peter when it’s Spider-Man he’s really after? All these questions present themselves in refreshing ways no other iteration has tackled before, making this series (and the many seasons after it) must-see TV.
To learn more about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, check our extended review in the video above and check out our extensive guide to every Marvel TV Show and movie releasing in 2025.
