The latest Marvel series to be released exclusively on Disney+ is a new animated show called “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” The show follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero, with a journey unlike any we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots.

This new animated series features a unique 3D cel-shaded animation art style similar to the classic 1960s comic book.  I’m still not 100% sure I like this art style, even after watching the whole series, but I kinda got used to it after watching a few episodes.  I also loved the opening credits, which uses a remixed version of the original 1960s animated series theme song.

Originally, “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” was going to be called “Spider-Man: Freshman Year” and focus on Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to the events of “Captain America: Civil War.” Instead, it’s now set in an alternative multiverse of the MCU, allowing the show to expand beyond the confines of the larger universe and giving the storytellers more opportunities to do something different.  

Some of these changes include how Peter Parker gets bit by the spider, (a weird opening scene involving Venom and Doctor Strange), along with the group of kids he hangs out with at school, which includes Nico (you might know her from the “Runaways” show), with no sign of Ned, Mary Jane or even Flash Thompson, which highlights how they are trying to separate the show from the MCU.

For Marvel fans, this series features many established comic book characters, setting up plenty of options for the series should it be a hit and expand beyond the initial two seasons that it has been greenlit for.   Many of these characters have gone through some changes from their comic book origins, some of which might bring the series negative attention for taking Doc Conners, but swapping both the character’s gender and race. 

Another significant change, sees Norman Osborne help out Peter Parker with more advanced technology, including new suits.  The shift to using Norman Osborne is an interesting choice, which I think undermines Peter Parker’s own scientific abilities and also adds a lair of knowing at some point, Norman is going to be revealed to be the Green Goblin. 

One of the biggest problems with this series is that setting it up as an alternative version of the MCU, just makes things a little confusing for audiences.  It has references to the events in the “Avengers” movies, such as the Alien invasion, Sokovia Accords, and Ultron, but it still isn’t the Tom Holland Spider-Man that most fans are going to be expecting, and the whole show just feels a little bit awkward.  

Overall:  “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” is a fun adventure series, which I enjoyed, but I never lose that nagging feeling that it’s some weird multiverse adventure that doesn’t mean anything. I have a feeling “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” went through a major creative shift halfway through production, and that’s why so much of it feels slightly off.    I can’t help but think that they should have rebooted entirely this series and separated it from the MCU, rather than this awkward mess.  If you can put all of that aside, the show is really enjoyable, especially for younger fans, but I’m expecting die-hard Spidey fans to struggle with this show. 

Rating: 3.5 Out Of 5

The first two episodes of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” will be released on Disney+ on January 29th 2025, and new episodes will be released each week throughout February.

Are you looking forward to watching “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”?

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Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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