Forget Race-Swapped Norman Osborn: ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ Repeats One Disastrous Mistake the MCU Trilogy Forced Onto Tom Holland

SUMMARY

• In the MCU, Spider-Man was guided by Iron Man, even when it came to his suits.
• Similar might be the case for Peter in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
• The show promises to take the webhead to his roots, which hasn't been done in a while.

One of the biggest traits of Spider-Man, which continues to resonate with millions to this date, is the character’s relatability. On top of being a crime-fighting vigilante, it’s Peter Parker’s compassion and resilience, accompanied by his genius intellect, which made him one of the most beloved superheroes of all time.

But the modern renditions under MCU’s banner have shifted away from many facets that make him compelling as a character, including his suit, and the upcoming animated series is yet again taking a page out of MCU’s book.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is skipping Peter Parker’s independence

Captain America | Credit: Civil War | Credit: Marvel Studios

While the MCU ended Peter Parker’s slump of underwhelming theatrical releases, in doing so, they dropped several aspects of the webhead that made him iconic. For instance, in comics, Peter is known for being a genius, who designed his own suit, but in Tom Holland‘s case, excluding No Way Home‘s ending, he was aided by Tony Stark.

Like the MCU, which dropped Peter’s authentic suit in favor of Tony Stark’s tech, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is bringing in Norman Osborn to fill Tony’s shoes. In this alternate timeline, Norman Osborn is set to take the mentorship role for the web-slinger, who will also serve as the creator behind Parker’s suit, thus continuing the trend of undermining one core aspect of the web-slinger.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man | Credit: Marvel Studios

Although time will tell how the new iteration will pan out, given how Insomniac’s Spider-Man handled the dynamic between Norman and Peter, hopefully, the animated series will take a page out of its book.

The new iteration will take Spider-Man back to his roots

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man | Credits: Marvel Studios

On the bright side, Brad Winderbaum, the head of Television and Animation at Marvel Studios, expressed (via comicbookmovie) that the animated series will take the character back to its roots, adding “It is very much like a cut from that Steve Ditko era of the comics”.

Moreover, the series will finally focus on his personal struggles of being overwhelmed with responsibilities, which involve his high school and taking care of his aunt amidst his financial troubles.

It’s Peter Parker back in high school just trying to make it work, take care of his aunt, completely broke, and having to be a superhero. It’s so essentially Spider-Man, and what Jeff Trammell, the creator of that show, did, which I think people are going to love, is he built this ensemble of characters around Peter that you fall in love with.

Considering that the MCU has largely avoided telling more personal Peter Parker stories in favor of grand narratives that serve the overarching cinematic universe, this could finally fill that gap for fans.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will premiere on 29 January on Disney Plus.

Written by Santanu Roy

Articles Published: 1994

Santanu Roy is a film enthusiast with a deep love for the medium of animation while also being obsessed with The Everly Brothers, Billy Joel, and The Platters. Having expertise in everything related to Batman, Santanu spends most of his time watching and learning films, with Martin Scorsese and Park Chan-wook being his personal favorites. Apart from pursuing a degree in animation, he also possesses a deep fondness for narrative-driven games and is currently a writer at Fandomwire with over 1500 articles.