Of the many things Spider-Man: Brand New Day gets so right about Marvel’s beloved wall-crawling hero, one that stands particularly tall is its commitment to Spider-Man being a friendly neighbourhood hero. In fact, it’s the first real ‘neighbourhood’ Spidey film since Homecoming, but this time with a grown-up Peter Parker (Tom Holland) existing among a rogue’s gallery of baddies, listening to police scanners, and fighting crime out of his crappy apartment. This locality – with stakes that are city-centric, not world-ending – is prime Spidey material.
But there’s another Marvel Spider-Man project you may not have seen that also commits to that core concept of a more ground-level hero – and, aptly, it’s called Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man. Produced by Marvel Animation – the same branch of Marvel Studios that gives us X-Men ’97 – the show was first pitched as a canonical early-years MCU Peter Parker series, titled ‘Spider-Man: Freshman Year’. What eventually emerged is something different – still a high-school-set series, but one that doesn’t just retread MCU ground.
Beyond telling a great Spidey story of its own, it presents as a remix of previous tellings.
The show, effectively, takes place in an MCU multiverse. This Peter Parker is clearly modelled on Tom Holland’s version – voiced by Hudson Thames, who subbed in for Holland on What If…? and Marvel Zombies. He lives in Queens, with a Marisa Tomei-alike Aunt May, and no Uncle Ben on the scene. Except, this Peter doesn’t have MJ or Ned (see instead pals Nico, Lonnie, and a certain Harry Osborn), nor does he begin the show with powers – we actually get to see a new version of the classic origin story, which unfolds with another familiar hero in the mix.
This is what makes Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man so compelling – beyond telling a great Spidey story of its own, it also presents as a remix of previous tellings. It knows that you know the tropes and the previous narratives, and then revels in twisting them. Rather than Peter being talent-spotted by Iron Man, here he’s mentored by another major power-player. We get to see Peter in various iterations of the classic Spidey costume. There are references to the Avengers being torn apart by the Sokovia accords, a fallout that, in the MCU, led to Spider-Man being drafted onto Team Tony in Civil War.
The show also keeps so many great things from previous Spider-stories. Like in Homecoming, we see Peter learning to sling his webs in early homemade Spider-garb. Like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, we see him navigating a friendship with Harry while witnessing the growing shadow descending on Norman Osborn (Colman Domino, impeccable casting). And like the Spider-Verse movies, it boasts a specific visual style indebted to its comic book origins, nodding to ‘60s Archie books and, of course, The Amazing Spider-Man itself.
And like Brand New Day, Friendly Neighbourhood is firmly set in a living, breathing comic book world. There’s an early pivotal appearance from Doctor Strange. Daredevil drops in during the season, voiced by actual Charlie Cox. Tony Stark and General Ross have parts to play. And, in setting itself in its own strand of the multiverse, the show gets to play with a wide roster of Spidey villains without breaking continuity. We have Doc Ock, the Scorpion, Unicorn, symbiote monsters, and gadget-boosted street thugs. And looming over the whole show, Norman’s nefarious dealings at Oscorp, threatening future dangers.
In short, it’s everything you’d want from an animated Spider-Man series – and while it received strong reviews upon launch in early 2025, it still feels deserving of a bigger audience. Now, post-Brand New Day, is the perfect time to catch up and see another example of Spider-Man’s seemingly endless malleability – especially with Season 2 expected to drop in the not-too-distant future. Thwip!
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man Season 1 is streaming in full on Disney+
