Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Review
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is such a breath of fresh air and there is just a lot of unpack with this series. For starters I love how the intro for the series pays homage to the original Spider-Man series while still being it's own thing. Not just that but the every single intro has a different comic book cover from an actual Spider-Man comic. There are even scenes in the show where certain characters are simply having a conversation and the split screens make it feel like you're reading a comic book panel.
Some people may have a problem with the art style but I absolutely love it. It did throw me off at first but it helps the series stand out. The animation actually reminds me of a combination of the Ultimate Spider-Man video game from the 2000's and Iron Man: Armored Adventures. One thing that definitely helps the series stand out along with the animation are the fight scenes.
Nico, Pearl, Lonnie Thomas Lincoln and Harry Osborn are our batch of supporting characters for this season. I’m glad that they didn't go with Ned and MJ because to me it feels like Tom Holland's Spider-Man possess morebcharacter traits from Miles Morales. Typically, I prefer a lot of Spider-Man stories with an older Peter Parker because there is a lot of untold stories with Peter as an adult. However, after watching this series the showrunners prove that there is still untapped potential when it comes to Peter as a teenager.
Lonnie Thomas Lincoln takes Flash Thompson's role as the popular, jock in school but with a different take. Usually, in film and TV the joke is always the bully, usually dumb and always has a girlfriend that our main protagonist has a crush on. This series do the opposite of that by making Lonnie a smart, likable jock that's easy to root for once you see his personal struggles at home. I don't have too much to say about Pearl but I do feel there is a lot of untapped material with Nico and we have barely scratched the service with her.
Even Peter's relationship with some of the villains are handled differently as well. Norman Osborn is more like a teacher to Peter as opposed to a antagonist. The villains don't feel like they overstay their welcome either because the gang rivalry is the sole focus of the season. I’m glad they kept the hero team ups limited because the last thing I wanted was for Spider-Man to get overshadowed in his own show like Tom Holland's Spider-Man with Tony Stark.
I also feel like this isn't talked about enough so I'm going to say it. Having the showrunners address the sovia accords and rather you should be team Cap or team Iron Man was very smart on their part. That might seem small but it is very important for Marvel to show how big events like Civil War effect civilians because they're the main ones suffering from the damages from the fights taking place in the city. And it shows how heroes should be more cautious about how they handle fighting crime in crowded spaces where innocent civilians can get hurt.
Overall Thoughts: This show is absolutely spectacular. From the animation, the fight scenes, even seeing certain characters develop into the characters that we know and love them as. My overall rating for the series is 8.5/10.
Favorite Episodes:
EP2: “The Parker Luck"
EP4: “Hitting the Big Time"
EP9: “Hero or Menace”
