Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season One Review

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Keep in mind that while it may be the best representation of these heroes, we’re introduced to other familiar characters such as Harry Osborn, Dr. Connors, Nico Minoru, Lonnie Lincoln, Dr. Strange, Amadeus Cho, Otto Octavius,  and Pearl Pangan, these are characters that haven’t become the heroes or villains they were meant to be, writer Jeff Trammell has a plan with each character and story, and it looks pretty fascinating so far. Ever since its introduction, speaking of Norman and Harry Osborn, there have been complaints regarding the Osborns and Doctor Conners due to the fact of “Race Swapping,” “Gender Swapping” and how diverse the cast is, it would become “Too Woke.” There it is, the biggest concern of “Fans” was the fact that it was “woke,” just like Thames (voice actor for Peter) who had the same concern in an interview to promote the show (if I were him, I’d worry more about if I did my job right, or the possibility of being replaced for not doing my job, not if a show was woke.) It’s a waste of time and energy to worry about in my opinion, but aside from that little rant, the premise for the first season was great, there were some problems here and there in certain moments in each episode that included trying to tie everything to the MCU, which include Captain America: Civil War. It’s all well and good if you were doing a show about Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and if the watcher was familiar with each little detail from the MCU films, but this is a different multiverse, and things happen differently in each one.

Speaking of characters, the voice actors involved in this series have done a great job in their roles, my main complaint with Hudson Thames (aside from his “concern” of what makes a show woke) is that he is trying too hard to be like Tom Holland in terms of voicing and mannerisms that the MCU counterpart is known for, I get that is what has brought in the money for the films, but with this show, it should be different, not a Holland Copy. Thames does get the nerdy, and joyful excitement of the character, but he sounds too old to play a high schooler, if he was a senior I could understand, but not as a Freshman. I enjoyed the banter between Pete and Nico, Thames and Song, a great best-friend dynamic with a sense of warmth and charm. As for Norman and Harry (voiced by Colman Domingo and Zeno Robinson), both were great in their roles, Domingo delivered his lines with authority and wisdom, he saw great promise in Peter, but mainly an opportunity to use his new gifts for a financial gain at Parker’s expense. If you have followed Robinson’s voice work in anime, then you’d know he always brings his A-Game in any role he is in, that’s the case of Harry Osborn. Harry is a homeschooled genius who is a Social Media Celebrity and a businessman like his father, but there’s an essence of loneliness and longing for friendship (also his father’s respect) in him, it’s the case whenever he, Peter, and Nico are on screen together, something plenty of fans have seen in films, comic books, and video games.

Aside from the voice actors, one character I was impressed with the most was Otto Octavius, his arc in the beginning was phenomenal, a villain pulling the strings in creating Spider-Man’s future Rogue Gallery, even setting up Lonnie’s descent into becoming the villainous Tombstone (unintentionally of course).  Unlike the way he has been portrayed in previous media appearances, Otto comes off as he always has, a mad genius who is greedy and demanding the world to recognize his genius intellect, even going to great lengths to make those who have wronged him pay dearly.

Now Available: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: The Soundtrack

In the final part of our review, we’ll be discussing the art and animation style involved in this series. Now, it does pay homage to the work of Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr, but at times the animation comes off as lackluster and clunky. I do love how it does have comic book panels, giving it a classic vibe. The characters are uniquely designed and do a good job of portraying the emotional and mental states of the main and supporting cast. The action and fight sequences are much cleaner than those of its live-action counterparts, I loved the Web-slinger zip around alleyways and streets in a dizzying display of combat and athleticism.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s first season is available now to watch on Disney Plus, season two has already been confirmed. If you would like to explore more of this animated series, check out its Comic Book Adaptation, available now at your Local Comic Shop, and e-retailer. Pre-orders are now available for the Collected Edition.

Final Grade:

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