Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) in Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
Launching on Disney+ with its initial two episodes on 29th January (before going to a weekly schedule for the remaining eight), ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ is a diverting take on the Spidey mythos that brings the character back to the time even before Tom Holland’s Peter Parker met the Avengers.
Yet while it was originally developed as a series outlining the Holland incarnation’s origin story (which Marvel Studios chose to skip on the big screen since we pretty much known it all already), this has instead been converted to show the early days of an alternate Peter Parker, here voiced by Hudson Thames, who is not the MCU’s Pete.
That scenario is confirmed early on when we see Doctor Strange appear from a portal and wrangle a strange spider-like creature back to the universe we’re used to. Instead, what we get is this Peter Parker being bitten by a mysterious spider left behind and putting the resulting powers to familiar use.
Related Article: Sony Confirms Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson as the Directors of ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’
Is ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ going to make friends?
(Far Left) Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) and (Second from Right) Harry Osborn (Zeno Robinson) in Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
If that early description has you rolling your eyes and dreading that you’re in for yet another take on Spider-Man’s well-utilized origin, think again. The new series skips forward in time to find Peter already wearing a basic (yet entertainingly steampunk) version of his suit and busy doing good around New York.
This is a universe where the Avengers exist, and when the show opens, they’re going through the internal strife as shown in ‘Civil War’ (the Sokovia Accords also exist here), but Peter doesn’t link up with them, and they’re shown very much in classic Marvel comics style rather than the cinematic variations.
Along the way, we meet several characters that comic book fans will recognize, but portrayed in fresh new ways, including Lonnie Lincoln, known as Tombstone, who here is a friendly, strong high school friend of Peter’s… at least until he’s forced to work with a local gang.
Perhaps the biggest shift is in Norman Osborn, voiced with effortless panache by Colman Domingo, who is Peter’s sponsor and supporter here (at least in the early going).
Script and Direction
Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) in Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
With Jeff Trammell, previously of ‘Craig of the Creek,’ the tone of the show is light and zippy, Peter displaying his talent for puns while fighting crime and facing the standard Spider-Man issues of balancing his “work” and his attempts to have a life as a teenager.
Trammell and his team have found a new way into the story that still feels right for both Parker and Spidey, and the action is entertaining.
On the visual side of things, this is very much styled to mimic classic ‘Spider-Man’ comics, blended with the experience of the Marvel Animated team from the seasons of working on ‘What If…?’
‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’: Performances
With Thames leading the cast, the voice acting here is solid.
Hudson Thames as Peter Parker
Spider-Man/Peter Parker in Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
Thames, who has had the advantage of playing the Tom Holland/MCU version of Parker/Spidey in ‘What If…?’ already, here finds a relatable, easygoing gear for the character in this alternate universe.
His Peter is charming and sometimes chaotic, but always familiar enough.
Kari Wahlgren as Aunt May
The May Parker of this universe has already lost her Ben, and while that weight of grief is felt, she’s also a lively, warm character very much in the Marisa Tomei mold of the role.
While she might not get as much to do as that version just yet (at this point in this Spider-Man’s story, she has no idea Peter is swinging around town battling wrongdoers), Wahlgren gives her the right amount of energy.
Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn
(L to R) Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) and Norman Osborn (Colman Domingo) in Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
Domingo’s been putting in great performances elsewhere for years, and his take on Osborn drips with both style and just enough subtle menace that you truly wonder about the character’s true intentions.
Eugene Byrd as Lonnie Lincoln
As we mentioned earlier, Lonnie is quite different from the Tombstone of the comics, but certainly ends up in a situation that will sour his intentions. And Byrd makes that journey believable.
Paul F. Tompkins as Bentley Wittman
Though the character shares a name with a famous Fantastic Four foe (the Wizard), here he’s more of an uptight scientist working for OsCorp who is tasked with overseeing the interns –– including Peter –– and would clearly rather be doing anything else.
With veteran character performer Paul F. Thompkins in the role, he’s a snarky delight, the perfect mix of frustrated wannabe genius and bad boss.
Final Thoughts
(Fourth from Left-R) Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) and Harry Osborn (Zeno Robinson) in Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
Though we perhaps didn’t need yet another Spidey variant swinging across our screens, ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ more than makes its case as a worthy successor to the likes of ‘What If…’
The sort of family-friendly entertainment that works well in animated form, it its bursting with comic book and MCU Easter eggs, but never forgets to tell a good story. Like its opening theme, a remix of the classic Spider-Man cartoon opening credits, it’s a welcome refresh and lively Spider-outing.
If you enjoy these initial 10 episodes, there’s good news that a second season is already in development.
“Meet the new hero on the block.”
Peter Parker is on his way to becoming a hero, but his path to get there is anything but ordinary. Read the Plot
What’s the plot of ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’?
‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ explores Peter Parker’s (Hudson Thames) origin story and early days using the Spider-Man persona. The series is set in an alternate timeline within the multiverse where Norman Osborn (Colman Domingo) becomes Parker’s mentor instead of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), as happens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Sacred Timeline”.
Who is in the cast of ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’?
- Hudson Thames as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
- Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn
- Eugene Byrd as Lonnie Lincoln
- Grace Song as Nico Minoru
- Zeno Robinson as Harry Osborn
- Hugh Dancy as Otto Octavius
- Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil
- Kari Wahlgren as May Parker
- Paul F. Tompkins as Bentley Wittman
Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.