Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man TV Show Review — Don't waste your time
On January 29, the premiere of the first two episodes of the new animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man took place on small screens. The project did not generate much interest, but the creators chose an art style reminiscent of old comics, which was intriguing to some extent. We didn't miss the series' release and have already watched the available episodes. As it turned out, it was in vain. Details in the article.
Spider-Man was and remains one of the most important superheroes of modern times. Today, it's hard to find someone who couldn't recite this character's origin story by heart. Moreover, Spider-Man had an important advantage over other superheroes that made him relatable to ordinary people: Peter constantly faced everyday problems. The chaos with work, personal life, constant tardiness, and attempts to find his place in this world were relatable to regular folks. And although no one was swinging on webs, there were still plenty of common moments.
In many ways, it is precisely the everyday groundedness that has become the hallmark of all versions of Spider-Man, regardless of age and interpretations. Even Disney, with Tom Holland, built an entire first movie around this single idea, where a very young Peter learned to pay attention to the struggles of local people rather than global threats on the Avengers' level.
In the new series, the creators have suddenly decided to abandon all of the above. Or rather, as it is trendy to say today, to modernize. The cartoon Spider-Man of 2025 is just transitioning to high school. He has a young aunt (yes, just like in the latest movies), and he is simply a chill guy without any apparent problems.
And this is where the first difficulties begin. For some reason, the authors decided that showing the origin story for the millionth time would be a good idea. But genetically modified spiders are too boring today, so Parker is bitten by a spider from a parallel reality. And not just any spider, but one from a reality where Doctor Strange is currently battling a strange horned Venom. If you say it sounds like a mess, you'd be absolutely right. The writers didn't bother to think through the rules of their own world and just shoved everything into a general multiverse. Where did the spider come from, why isn't it a symbiote, what is this Venom? Who cares! It's just that "strange man" accidentally opened a portal.
However, very soon the true intention becomes clear. The maximum attention of viewers in the two pilot episodes will be focused on Peter's school troubles, which, of course, do exist, but in reality, do not drive the plot at all. And it's hard to even call them troubles. Bullying at school? Forget it. Everyone here is kind, non-confrontational, and understanding. Problems with the first job? Absolutely not, because the kind doctor, naturally not white, Connors is ready to risk her position in the company for a kid she's known for 3 hours.
The complexity of situations Peter faces has been reduced to regular tardiness (which affects nothing) and the fear of asking a girl out. Here you might expect to hear about Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy, but again, you'd be wrong. The love interest will be a no-name girl (again, not white) three to four years older than Peter, who used to babysit him as a child. And she looks... well, let's just say it's an acquired taste. Remember all of Spider-Man's past love interests and just wipe away a nostalgic tear.
You've probably noticed that we mentioned two characters, each differing in skin color. In reality, it's much worse. Absolutely everyone Peter gets along with is either non-white or has broad views on the concept of relationships. Even his best friend is now an informal Asian feminist.
Harry Osborn will also make an appearance, and he is not only African American but also a hipster with earrings and a trendy man-bun hairstyle. The local Flash Thompson, who according to canon should be Peter's school antagonist, is also a stately African-American football player. He doesn't tease the nerd at all but wants to learn something new from him. Only pink unicorns are missing.
Is it even worth mentioning how far all this is from realism, even by Spider-Man standards? Instead of presenting the timeless themes associated with the character in an interesting way, the creators added so much, excuse me, trendy Gen Z nonsense that they turned the cartoon into an empty shell. It's impossible to relate to such a Spider-Man because, in any school, the atmosphere is, to put it mildly, different. Watching what's happening without laughing through tears is simply impossible.
As a joke, in one of the episodes, a good 7 minutes out of the 30-minute runtime are dedicated to showing how "non-Flash Thompson" returns home, white people shy away from him, and a white cop follows closely behind, watching the student intently. Shouldn't this be offensive to African Americans? Meanwhile, the bullies that the newly minted superhero fights are also very strange. They're either a scrawny bespectacled streamer who, for some unknown reason, believed in himself and poses a threat to others, or an unemployed woman who stole money out of desperation, or a pyromaniac who simply burned down the wrong house. The last time we felt this bad was watching another animated masterpiece — Velma.
Here, it's necessary to make a remark, as we have nothing against diversity in races and skin colors. The same series of cartoons about Miles Morales turned out to be fantastic. However, it's always important to assess the relevance of such innovations. What does it add to the story and characters; or conversely, what does it take away? If all that the theme of skin color or agenda brings is merely a statement from the authors, which they try hard to emphasize, well, perhaps such features could have been dispensed with. We came to watch Spider-Man, not a young footballer oppressed by toxic white people. Let's recall MJ from the Marvel movies. Zendaya is a wonderful actress and also not white. Is there anything in the three films that highlights this? Of course not. She is an ordinary person and no different from others.
Some plot twists also raise questions. For example, the cartoon almost completely repeated the scene of Tony Stark meeting Peter Parker, only instead of the genius, billionaire, and philanthropist, it was Norman Osborn who visited. Why it was copied so frame-by-frame is unclear.
As for the art style, which is stylized after old comics, there's nothing to be pleased about here either. While you're looking at various screenshots, everything seems more or less fine. But as soon as the models start moving, you feel like gouging your eyes out. Some characters turned out so horrifying, like May, that you genuinely wonder how this was approved for release. Additionally, there are amusing moments related to the art style, such as when Peter's friend and his "love interest" literally have the same faces, just with different skin tones and makeup. Tricks like imitating a comic book spread are used very rarely, and we wouldn't be surprised if they are completely forgotten in future episodes. It's better not to examine the backgrounds at all. Most of the time, they skimp heavily on detailing, hoping the viewer simply won't notice. Overall, the idea of stylization ultimately does not justify itself.
***
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is a mediocre narrative something that seems unclear for whom it was made and carries absolutely no artistic value. The first episodes are the most important; they should captivate the viewer and show why the project is worth spending time on. This series lacks any spark of creativity or anything special, just continuous statements from the authors on "important topics." In pitiful attempts to modernize the character for some reason, the creators lost everything that was loved about him. In return, we were given a trend that will undoubtedly pass. Will the series be relevant over time? It seems it was outdated even before its release.
