“Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” is a return to the classic Spider-Man stories seen prior to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Since Spider-Man’s addition to the MCU, fans have been divided on the handling of his character, as the MCU wedged him between the Avengers and the multiverse. “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” impressed fans by addressing their issues with the MCU’s Spider-Man story and reworking it to create a new start for the young hero which is not part of the MCU.
Before discussing the plot, we should address the elephant in the room: the animation. It is super inconsistent with choppy frame rates, empty backgrounds and stiff movement. It tries to look like the other Marvel animated shows like “X-Men 97” and “Marvel’s What If?,” but it struggles to find a balance between two-dimensional and three-dimensional animation.
Despite those animation issues, the show’s art direction is phenomenal. Led by renowned comic book artist, Leonardo Romero, the show pays homage to “The Amazing Spider-Man” comics from the early 1960s. Every character is designed in a way that perfectly fits that classic comic book aesthetic, even taking designs from those early comics.
Known for her debut in the “Runaways” comics, Nico Minoru appears in this series as Peter Parker’s best friend, with her character centering around not wanting to lose Peter as her friend after starting his internship at Oscorp. She does not follow the same origin as she does in the “Runaways” series, with her past being unknown to the audience, but her role as Parker’s best friend emphasizes how strong their bond is and how it is challenged throughout the season.
Just because Nico is Peter’s friend doesn’t mean that Harry Osborn is out of the picture. While not his closest friend from the get-go, we see their friendship grow just as strong as Peter’s relationship with Nico. In fact, many of Harry’s scenes are focused on helping others. He tries bonding with Nico to help her to understand what Peter has been doing. He tries to be friends with both, while also trying to help Peter become Spider-Man. It is an interesting balance that fleshes out their bond as a trio.
As for villains, there are not many that stand out, as they are mostly comprised of one-offs that emphasize Spider-Man fighting crime with the assistance of Norman Osbourn – CEO of Oscorp and Harry’s father. The only ones that are worth mentioning are Doc Ock and Scorpion, but there is not much to say about either one. Doc Ock is a weapons dealer, hellbent on revenge toward Norman Osborn. He never interacts with Spider-Man. Scorpion’s biggest contribution is mainly through his interactions with the 110th Gang and his fight scenes in the final few episodes. However, the show focuses on two villains in particular: Norman Osborn and Lonnie Lincoln.
Instead of acting as the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn plays the role of mentorship for Spider-Man, seeing something special in him after saving his son and offering him an internship at Oscorp to work with Spider-Man in secret. It’s a brilliant choice to make Norman Osborn Spider-Man’s mentor over Iron Man, showing a different side to Osborn without the Green Goblin’s influence. While there are hints of the Goblin, it is never outwardly stated, which makes the possible betrayal much more impactful.
Next, we have Lincoln, also known as Tombstone, who is written beautifully. Rather than being a crime boss, his origins start as a high school football star who quickly becomes great friends with Peter. However, that all changes when he joins the 110th Gang to keep his brother safe. From there, we see Lincoln slowly becoming Tombstone, but what makes him such an interesting character is that he never really takes up the mantle of a crime boss. Lincoln is written in a way that shows his heart is in the right place, not wanting to get involved in any gang violence and seriously trying to balance his relationships and football career with the 110th Gang.
Much like Norman Osborn, he is not exactly an antagonist here. His story is more sympathetic than anything else, and the audience sees that through his actions and motives, eventually taking up the role of leader of the 110th Gang to protect the people in it from Scorpion. In fact, Lincoln’s arc reflects Peter’s almost perfectly, as Peter’s rise to Spider-Man reflects that of Lincoln’s descent to Tombstone.
The show brilliantly excels in character writing. Every character is written beautifully with an emphasis on having a strong bond between either Peter or Spider-Man, something that was missing from the MCU in general. “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” uses these characters to tell a story seen before and working its way up the ladder to something greater.
