Plot: Following Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero.
Season 1 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was hit and misses.
Pros: I like Dr. Stephen Strange ties into this Peter Parker journey to become Spider-Man. I did like a lot of his friendships with Nico, Lonnie & Pearl. I’m glad Otto Octavius, Scorpion & Tombstone were set up really well. How they recreated the animation style to look like his original comic books and I ended up liking this series a little bit.
Cons: They didn’t properly develop the chemistry with any of the heroes at all. I didn’t like these versions of the Osborns being black. Many of his suits wasn’t used that much. I didn’t like a lot of Spider-Man’s Ideals and talked down to him. A whole of it felt fast paced and they used a lot of elements from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but doesn’t feel connected to that world.
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Superhero fiction
Created by Jeff Trammell
Written by Jeff Trammell
Based on Spider-Man; by: Stan Lee; Steve Ditko
Starring: Hudson Thames, Kari Wahlgren, Grace Song, Eugene Byrd, Zeno Robinson, Colman Domingo, Hugh Dancy & Charlie Cox.
Music by Leo Birenberg; Zach Robinson
Executive producers: Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Jeff Trammell
Production companies: Marvel Studios Animation
Network: Disney+
Casts & Characters:
Main:
- Hudson Thames as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
A 15-year-old freshman at Rockford T. Bales High School who gains spider-like abilities after being bitten by a spider. Head writer and showrunner Jeff Trammell enjoyed exploring Peter’s mindset, how he is impacted by the different characters around him, and the effect that has on his growth as Spider-Man. - Kari Wahlgren as May Parker: Peter’s widowed aunt
- Wahlgren also voices Roxanna Volkov, a Russian criminal
- Grace Song as Nico Minoru: Peter’s classmate and best friend who secretly practices witchcraft
- Eugene Byrd as Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone:
Peter’s classmate and captain of the Bales football team who reluctantly joins the 110th Street gang to protect his brother, leading him down a dark path - Zeno Robinson as Harry Osborn:
Norman’s son who befriends Peter and provides him support as Spider-Man’s “dude at the desk”, referencing the “guy in the chair” terminology that is used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s (MCU) main timeline. - Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn:
The CEO of Oscorp, Harry’s father, and Peter’s mentor. Trammell noted that Norman is not a hero like Tony Stark / Iron Man—Peter’s mentor in the MCU’s main timeline—and his methods “may not turn out in everyone’s best interest”. - Hugh Dancy as Otto Octavius: A scientist who sells his high-tech weaponry and equipment to various criminals
- Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil: A blind lawyer with superhuman senses from Hell’s Kitchen who leads a double life as a masked vigilante
Recurring:
- Cathy Ang as Pearl Pangan: Peter’s classmate and childhood crush who formerly dated Lonnie
- Erica Luttrell as
- Roger Craig Smith as Phil Grayfield: The coach of the Bales football team
- Smith also voices James Sanders / Speed Demon, Maria Vasquez’s lover and partner in crime who wears high-tech boots that give him superhuman speed; Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon, a Russian criminal who wears a mask to hide his identity; and John Gallo, an Oscorp security guard who Norman claims to be the true identity of Spider-Man when signing the Sokovia Accords
- Anjali Kunapaneni as Jeanne Foucault / Finesse: A vigilante allied with Daredevil who infiltrates Oscorp as an intern to spy on Norman
- Aleks Le as Amadeus Cho: An Oscorp intern
- Paul F. Tompkins as Bentley Wittman: An Oscorp scientist who oversees the interns
- Zehra Fazal as Carla Connors: An Oscorp scientist who works with Peter during his internship
- Fazal also voices Susan O’Hara, Nico’s adoptive mother
- Leilani Barrett as Big Donovan: The leader of the 110th Street gang
- Ettore Ewen as Bulldozer: A member of the 110th Street gang
- Anairis Quiñones as Carmilla Black: The second-in-command of the Scorpions gang
- Quiñones also voices Maria Vasquez, James Sanders’s lover and partner in crime who uses high-tech gauntlets capable of generating energy blades
- Jonathan Medina as Mac Gargan / Scorpion: The leader of the Scorpions gang who wears armor equipped with a mechanized scorpion-like tail
Guest:
- Kellen Goff as
- A symbiotic alien that attacks Midtown High School
- Vincent Patilio: Octavius’s assistant
- Robin Atkin Downes as Dr. Stephen Strange: A neurosurgeon who became a Master of the Mystic Arts following a career-ending car accident
- Phil Lamarr as
- Mr. Taylor: Peter’s science teacher
- Mr. Lincoln: Lonnie and Andre’s father
- Jake Green as Butane: An arsonist who uses high-tech, flame-throwing gauntlets
- Matte Martinez as Andre Lincoln: Lonnie’s younger brother
- Alex Désert as Grift: A member of the 110th Street gang
- Travis Willingham as
- Mikhail Sytsevich: A Russian criminal
- Thaddeus Ross: The United States Secretary of State who attempts to enforce the Sokovia Accords
- Sarah Natochenny as Mila Masaryk / Unicorn: A Russian criminal equipped with a high-tech helmet that shoots lasers
- Zach Cherry as Klev: A bystander who records Nico’s street race
- Mick Wingert as Tony Stark / Iron Man: An Avenger who operates electromechanical suits of armor of his own creation
- Josh Keaton as Richard Parker: Peter’s father who is incarcerated
I still recommend watching this series on Disney+ to those who are Spider-Man fans.
Rating: 7 out of 10 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident Flim reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe