Review – ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ is Fresh and Fun

As a kid, there was one animated series theme song that I sang constantly – “Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!” That theme song from the 1967 animated series is so iconic that my immigrant parents knew it and I can still hear it in my head today.

Since that original animated series, there have been a few different shows featuring everyone’s favorite web-slinger. Many fans grew up on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981), Spider-Man (1994) and even the younger kid focused Spidey and His Amazing Friends (2021). Given the fact that Spider-Man is one of the oldest and most popular superheroes, with countless Iterations in comics books, TV and film, it’s not easy to do anything fresh with the character today.

So when Marvel Studios, under the Marvel Animation banner, announced a new Spider-Man animated series, my initial feelings were mixed. What could this series do that hasn’t already been done, even recently with the outstanding Spider-verse animated films by Sony?

Thanks to head writer, executive producer and showrunner, Jeff Trammell, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has managed to tell a genuinely unique and refreshingly fun new Spider-Man tale.

The series honors the animated history of the character, while updating him and his robust roster of friends, allies, and villains, for modern audiences. This is both the Spider-Man you know, and one you will want to learn more about.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man premieres January 29th on Disney+.

Review – A Refreshingly Fun Spin on an Iconic Story

Series showrunner Jeff Trammell is best known for his work as head writer on the beloved animated series Craig of the Creek. By putting Trammell in creative control, it was clear that Marvel was taking a completely unique approach to the Spider-Man mythos. But the question always remains, how much is any creator allowed to play in a sandbox as carefully curated as Marvel?

Thankfully, based on this series, Trammell was able to build a world that is similar to the Spider-Man world that many fans grew up on, but is distinct in a variety of noteworthy ways. This show does not take place in the same universe as the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and shows. While the MCU is dubbed Earth-616, Trammell and series supervising director Mel Zwyer joked that this series takes place in Earth-616x.

While an official designation is yet to be confirmed, what’s clear is that the events of this series overlap with the MCU at certain moments, but then diverge like one of the branch timelines we saw in Loki. For example, we see that like the MCU, this world’s heroes engaged in the divisive “civil war” triggered by the Sokovia Accords. Also, this Peter Parker (voiced by Hudson Thames) feels and sounds very close to Tom Holland’s MCU character. However, when it comes to Parker, the characters closest to him are drastically different. Tony Stark is not his mentor; that role is filled in this series by Norman Osborn (voiced by Coleman Domingo). Peter‘s best friend is not the lovable Ned Leeds, but instead another notable character from the Marvel universe, Nico Minoru (voiced by Grace Song). Trammell was also allowed a little bit of race-bending of the characters, as Osborn and his son Harry (voiced by Zeno Robinson) are black characters in this series.

The changes are all done with a clear vision for the overall story and character development, as several of the characters are given noteworthy story arcs that intertwine to form a rich and compelling series. Here, we see Peter Parker early in his Spider-Man career, but the series doesn’t waste time retreading the same spider bite we’ve all seen before. Instead, it jumps straight into his early adventures. But just as much as we see Spider-Man grow into his powers, we see a teen Peter Parker trying his best to navigate the always challenging teen years. Parker is surrounded by a wealth of characters, many of whom have their own Marvel comics ties. His best friend Nico in comics is a member of the Runaways and has magic powers. His other friends, Lonnie (voiced by Eugene Byrd) and Harry, are well known Spider-Man antagonists. Another one of his childhood friends is Pearl Pangan, better known as Filipina superhero Wave. Even when Peter secures a valued internship at Oscrop (not Stark Industries), he runs into a trio of characters with their own intriguing backgrounds: Amadeus Cho, Jeanne Foucault and Asha from Wakanda. The series as a whole is stacked with both well-known and obscure comic references that audiences will surely enjoy picking out. It’s truly a love-letter to comic fans.

What’s just as impressive as the wealth of characters, is how many of them are given the screen time to genuinely enjoy the spotlight. Often shows with a titular character are laser focused on that character at the expense of everyone else. Trammell though knows how to tell an ensemble story. Nico and Harry strike up an unlikely friendship due to their mutual affection for Peter and we see the two of them spend actual time together without Peter. Lonnie and Pearl on the other hand start as a couple, but run into challenges when Lonnie gets involved with a local gang in order to save his younger brother. Peter’s friends aren’t the only ones who enjoy development, as Norman, Otto Octavius and a few other established Spidey villains are introduced as early versions of their eventual villainous selves.

To add even more fun to the stories, Peter as Spider-Man runs into several established Marvel heroes, along with numerous references to the Avengers as well. This is a world where superheroes exist in abundance and Spider-Man is trying to find where he fits into that world just as much as Peter is with his high school world.

The voice cast as a whole is strong, led by award winning actor Coleman Domingo. Ironically, as amazingly talented as Domingo is, his voice is so distinct that at times it was actually a distraction that took me out of the story. It’s hard to ignore the the fact that I was listening to Coleman Domingo voicing Norman Osborn as opposed to just hearing Norman the character.

When an award winning actor’s voice is one of the primary issues with a series, it’s unquestionably a success. This is a show that sets the standard for a relatable superhero story. Audiences of all ages can connect with Peter and his friends’ very human challenges while enjoying Spider-Man’s superheroic adventures. It’s a balance that Trammell struck perfectly and should only pay off in greater amounts in future seasons.

Rating – 4.5/5 Pocky