‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ Swings in To Save The Day! -

By Luis Zonenberg

After viewers got tangled up in Madame Web last year, interest in most Spider-Man-related projects has been declining rapidly. With no word on Beyond the Spider-verse and the decline of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, the lackluster release of Kraven the Hunter seemed to serve as the final nail in the coffin. And yet, in the darkest hour, Spider-Man swung in and delivered a fantastic rebound with his new animated series.

In this iteration of the famed web crawler, we see Peter Parker (Hudson Thames) trying to adjust to high school when a mystical encounter with Doctor Strange (Robin Atkin Downes) results in him being bitten by a radioactive spider. Months later, we see him now suited up and fighting crime as he balances his new life in high school. His whole life soon turns around when famed businessman Norman Osborne (Colman Domingo) uncovers Peter’s identity and takes him under his wing.

While initially billed as the origin for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, this version was reworked midway through production to be its own thing. You can definitely tell when certain easter eggs and callbacks appear that make it a touch distracting, but the first two episodes do serve as a strong start to the overall series. The writers clearly did their homework and brought a lot of heart into this new series.

Reminiscent of an actual moving comic book, the animation replicates the feeling of the Spider-Verse films while still making it feel fresh. Vibrant and colorful, this new coat of paint helps immerse viewers right in the action whenever Spider-Man swings on the scene. It can look a little clunky at times when the characters are standing still or loitering around, but the style did work more times than not.

The voice acting was a perfect marriage of camp and charm, matching the tone of the series very well. After voicing a variant of the character in What If…, Hudson Thames slips back into the role with ease and is very believable in it. The supporting cast also helped bring some energy, with Grace Song and Colman Domingo serving as the real highlights.

What really goes a long way is the world-building here, helping to show the many streets of New York. We quickly get a strong sense of the characters here and how they relate to each other in one way or another. I do feel like other elements like Oscorp could have been seeded better, but that is more of a nitpick when compared to everything else the series offers us so far.

Considering we are only two episodes in so far, I was impressed how quickly the series grabbed my attention. All the characters are very likeable and the animation, while clunky at times, does help immerse the viewers in the action much better than most of the other series. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man swings in with action and heart, riding on a stellar wave of animation that suggests a strong start for this new series.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is Now Streaming on Disney+
Rating: ★★★★☆