Things haven’t exactly been going swimmingly with theMarvel Cinematic Universefor a while now. There is a reason spending the money to bring back Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo brothers forAvengers: Doomsdayfeels like a massive desperation swing. Marvel Studios has mostly been running in place (if they’ve been running at all) sinceAvengers: Endgameblew the doors off the worldwide box office back in 2019. That being said, the House of Ideas still has a little gas left in the tank and one particular recent show certainly proves that.
Say what you want about the overall state ofMarvel’s film business, but recent hits likeGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3andDeadpool & Wolverineput a bit of shine on a lineup that includes box office disappointments likeThe MarvelsandCaptain America: Brave New World. If every other movie you’re making grosses near a billion dollars, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Things have been decidedly less successful on the television side of things.
The high points ofWandaVisionwere let down by a lackluster ending. Everything aboutLokigot muddled due to the (understandable) letting go of Jonathan Majors.The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,Hawkeye,Moon Knight,andMs. Marvelwere solid, if unsurprising and safe.She-Hulk: Attorney at LawandAgatha All Alongwere both a bit too niche for a general audience whileEchoandWhat If…?barely get mentioned at all.Secret Invasionwas an outright disaster.Daredevil: Born Againis off to a good enough start, but who knows how that will end. It’s hard to know if Marvel will ever truly get live-action television right. Thankfully, Marvel Animation is picking up the relative slack in a big way.
As undoubtedly great asX-Men ‘97is at continuingX-Men: The Animated Seriesfor a new generation and telling a great story for fans of the mutant team, it lacks the mainstream flavor of Marvel Animation’s other big hit:Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. There is no baggage with the new Spidey series whatsoever. Unlike the majority of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is no legwork or studying required here; anyone can turn on the first episode of the series and simply, you know, watch it. That is only part of whyYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manworks so well, though. Somehow, series creator Jeff Trammell has done the impossible in making a Spider-Man cartoon in 2025 that feels both faithful to everything that has come before while feeling almost entirely new and exciting.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s Subtle Changes Make It Great
On its face, there is nothing groundbreaking aboutYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.Peter Parker is learning how to be a superhero, he runs afoul of numerous recognizable baddies, he has a mentor helping him out, and there is a supporting cast featuring Aunt May and a group of high schoolers. The devil is in the details with this show. What’s the deal with all these villains? They’re all getting tech from one Otto Octavius! That guy should really use some of his own gadgetry. Who is the mentor? It’s Norman Osborn! That is going to turn out well. Who are his friends at school? Nico Minoru, Tombstone, and Wave! No Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, or Flash Thompson in sight. It’s hitting all the classic Spider-Man beats while composing an entirely new vibe.
Take replacing Flash Thompson withLonnie Lincoln, aka Tombstone.Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Mantakes Thompson’s star quarterback/bully and turns Lincoln into a star quarterback/ally. Some of the most interesting storytelling in the show comes in the form of Lonnie, with his reluctant descent into leading the 100th Street gang despite holding on to his moral compass being a real highlight. At the beginning of the season, Lonnie is a beloved athlete doing his best to get a great education. The only reason he falls from grace is to protect his little brother from falling into the gang. Instead of having Flash Thompson be there as a bully to Peter and a cheerleader for Spider-Man, this series has Lonnie to be a friend to Peter and a moral compass for Spider-Man. It’s Lonnie who reminds Peter at the end of the season that Spidey stands for something greater than himself and doesn’t use violence as a means to an end.
Being Free Of MCU Lore Gives Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Flexibility
When this show was originally announced, it was titledSpider-Man: Freshman Yearand was meant to tie into the MCU on a much larger scale. Ultimately,the decision to go in a different directionwas made and has proven to be a masterstroke. Imagine this series taking place in the mainline MCU canon: it would be completely hamstrung by everything that came before it. A show centering around Tom Holland’s Spidey and his first year of high school would force the series to have extremely low stakes. Nothing in it would be able to contradict the things that’ve happened in Holland’s numerous film appearances. The creative team wouldn’t be able to have Spidey interact with a host of characters or introduce others that clash with the MCU at large because, well, that’s just the way it goes.
SinceYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Mandoesn’t have to adhere to the MCU’s ever-expanding canonical happenings, it is free to not only do its own thing but reference the franchise it is still clearly a part of. Tony Stark’s Iron Man can show up to arrest Otto Octavius. Doctor Strange and Spider-Man can team up to take down a strange alien symbiote. Zach Cherry’s goofy cameo standout Klev can show up and do his thing. Charlie Cox can appear numerous times as Daredevil and havehis own little sidekick in Finessedespite her never showing up in the NetflixDaredevilseries.
Is Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man The New Best Animated Spidey Show?
It is hard to claimYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manis the best animated Spider-Man show ever made after just one season. Who knows where it is going to go after this? Clearly, Richard Parker, the alien symbiote, and Doctor Octopus are going tohave parts to play in the future, but there are so many places the series can go. Maintaining the high level of quality thatYFNShas set for itself isn’t going to be easy.
If Jeff Trammell and the creative team manage to pull it off and provide a complete, satisfying show from start to finish, then it’ll have a very strong case to be the best animated Spidey show of all time. After all,the two best Spider-man cartoons ever made—Spider-Man: The Animated SeriesandThe Spectacular Spider-Man—both weren’t able to finish out their respective storylines due to cancellation. Perhaps whenYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manis all said and done, we’ll look back on it as the greatest of all time.
Season One ofYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manis available to stream on Disney Plus.
