Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: What Would Peter Parker Do… in the MCU?
By John Kirk
Rating: A
In the world of Marvel Comics, this Spider-Man fan uses the gold standard question of “what would Peter Parker do” in measuring the worth of a hero.
That’s exactly the vibe in the animated Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man, which does more than just re-invent the character, but actually reaches back to its roots, creates a new beginning for the hero in the 21st Century, but still keeps the essence of the hero who has enthralled readers for decades.
Yeah, there are some changes. But imagine if Steve Ditko and Stan Lee were first creating this character today, delivering this animated series? The changes not only impart a more modern sense to the origin than the radioactivity that gave Spider-Man his powers, but still keep the essence of his alter ego’s character intact.
The story (warning: a little spoiler ahead): when gifted science student, Peter Parker (voiced by Hudson Thames) starts his first day at the esteemed Midtown High, he and his fellow students are faced with a dimensional invasion by an alien creature intent on wrecking their school. The timely arrival of Dr. Stephen Strange brings order to the chaos, but through the rift, a small spider appears, biting young Parker and rendering him unconscious.
Sure, there’s a change to the hero’s origin story with this slight series of changes to the history. In comparison, the spider is different. It’s also the younger Marissa Tomei-ish version of Aunt May (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) who sends young Peter off to school that day to meet a cast of friends, who are different from the ones we knew from the comics and even the movies.
The secret to Spider-Man’s appeal isn’t the super powers or the science technology that Peter invented. It isn’t even about the donnybrooks between super-hero and villain. It’s about Peter Parker’s conscience; his desire to help people at his own expense, placing the good of his neighbours and the people of New York above his best interests.
The constant struggle of someone who has the abilities that Parker has, means making choices of being a hero or being selfish. It’s Peter’s character that stands out and is a shining example of a heroic ideal. Remember: Spider-Man isn’t the hero, Peter Parker is.
That’s the focus of this series. The powers and the secret identity are secondary to appreciating just what a noble human Peter is. He cares about his friends. He throws himself into harm’s way for the sake of others and he chooses to do the right thing regardless of the danger. His thinking? He has these powers for a reason, and it has to be for the good.
Peter Parker has always known what the right thing to do is … and that’s his appeal to the millions of readers over the decades. He’s an inspiration, a reminder that even without powers we can all be heroes by simply remembering the right thing to do in a situation, and that’s what makes this show a success.
Of course, the big dilemma that was always present in Spider-Man comic stories was the personal issues Peter Parker had to contend with. He was either late for missing a date with a girlfriend, because there was disaster in the neighborhood he had to take care of. Or he would miss an important test at school because his Aunt May had been taken hostage at a bank robbery.
Peter’s personal life always seemed to be at the expense of his responsibilities as Spider-Man, much to the detriment of his personal relationships. Of course, this increased the readers’ empathy for him.
Even though Parker’s friends may be new or different from the ones we remember from the comics, the movies, or even the 1960s TV series, they’re still worthy of Parker’s loyalty. They bring out the best in his and that’s where this show wins the loyalty of even a die-hard comic reader, loyal to canon like me.
Speaking of the 1960’s, the theme to the show is a re-vamped version of the iconic 1967 animated production’s theme song. Fully modernized, it pays homage to the music of Paul Webster and Bob Harris that is remembered even by those who didn’t grow up with the show.
The art stylings are also wonderfully vintage-inspired. Experienced Spider-fans will easily recognize that the art is reminiscent of not only the original Steve Ditko, but also the John Romita jam-layouts of the busts of the main characters. It’s perfectly in synch with the legacy of this character.
But this just epitomizes what Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man sets out to successfully do: integrate the original Spider-Man story into one with modern trappings.
While this sort of approach often fails, because the series creators haven’t tapped into the core values of the main character, it fully works here because Peter is so well understood. Nostalgia has been honoured, canon has been tinkered with, but there’s a good reason. And with that homage to the original, it can be understood and accepted. That’s a very difficult feat to accomplish with legacy characters like Spider-Man and this show completely succeeds.
The tie-ins to the modern Marvel films are also present as well, which makes Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man fully integrated into the MCU events. This shows a real sense of character progression as we see Spider-Man grow and develop with his powers to the point where he can match even Captain America’s level, as we saw in Captain America: Civil War. This show has got it all covered.
Original-Cin will get a chance to chat with the series lead character designer, Leonardo Romero about the work that went into portraying Peter Parker so carefully. Watch for that upcoming interview.
But, at the end of the story, if the character measures up to what Peter Parker Would Do, then the series is a winner.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Voice cast: Hudson Thames, Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy and Charlie Cox. Available on Disney+ on January 29th.