Spider-Man
Peter Benjamin Parker
Animated series
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
2025 · 27 min
A fifteen-year-old Peter Parker is bitten by a spider that arrives via a magical accident rather than a science lab, and finds himself sponsored through the Osborn Academy by Norman Osborn himself…
Marvel AnimationDisney+97%Released
The story
A fifteen-year-old Peter Parker is bitten by a spider that arrives via a magical accident rather than a science lab, and finds himself sponsored through the Osborn Academy by Norman Osborn himself. The premise deliberately inverts the MCU films: instead of Tony Stark's mentorship, Peter is being groomed by the man who will destroy him.
Across ten episodes it builds a genuine Spider-Man supporting cast — Nico Minoru from Runaways, Lonnie Lincoln on his way to becoming Tombstone, a rival Otto Octavius — and stays resolutely small. It is a school show with a Ditko drawing style, and it is one of the best Spider-Man adaptations there has been.
Key facts
- Release date
- 29 Jan 2025
- Status
- Released
- Phase
- Non-MCU
- Saga
- Marvel Animation
- Runtime
- 27 min
- Certificate
- TV-14
- Director
- Mel Zwyer
- Writers
- Jeff Trammell
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 10
- Streaming
- Disney+
- Timeline placement
- An alternate reality distinct from the main MCU timeline, though Doctor Strange appears in the premiere
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Hudson Thames | Peter Parker / Spider-Man (voice) |
| Colman Domingo | Norman Osborn (voice) |
| Hugh Dancy | Otto Octavius (voice) |
| Zeno Robinson | Harry Osborn (voice) |
| Grace Song | Nico Minoru (voice) |
| Charlie Cox | Matt Murdock / Daredevil (voice) |
| Kari Wahlgren | May Parker (voice) |
Characters
Daredevil
Matthew Michael Murdock
Green Goblin
Norman Osborn
Doctor Octopus
Otto Gunther Octavius
Doctor Strange
Stephen Vincent Strange
Easter eggs
- Doctor Strange appears in the premiere and inadvertently causes Peter's spider-bite, immediately signalling that this is not the MCU's Peter Parker.
- Charlie Cox voices Matt Murdock, connecting the series to his live-action Daredevil work without being in continuity with it.
- Nico Minoru arrives from the Runaways comics, one of very few adaptations of that team since the cancelled Hulu series.
- Lonnie Lincoln's arc sets up Tombstone, a 1988 Spider-Man antagonist rarely used on screen.
- Norman Osborn as benefactor rather than enemy inverts the Tony Stark mentorship of the Holland films, and Colman Domingo plays him with total warmth.
- Peter's homemade first suit and the Osborn-designed upgrade both nod to specific comic-costume eras.
- The credit sequence and character designs are drawn from Steve Ditko's original 1962 run rather than any modern house style.
- Otto Octavius appears as a peer and rival rather than a mentor, a version of the Superior Spider-Man dynamic played in reverse.
Trivia
- It was originally titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year and reworked when Marvel decided it would not be strict MCU canon.
- It debuted with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, settling at 97%, and was Marvel's first release of 2025.
- Hudson Thames voices Peter after playing the character in What If…?.
- Jeff Trammell, who wrote for Craig of the Creek, created the series.
- The art style was built from Steve Ditko's original panels, including his distinctive hand poses and web patterns.
- Season two was greenlit before season one aired and arrives in autumn 2026, with Gwen Stacy and Venom confirmed.
- The series is produced by Marvel Animation and sits outside the MCU's numbered phases.
Reviews
Critics
97%
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a gorgeously drawn, refreshingly patient origin story that understands Peter Parker better than most live-action attempts.
The MarvelGossips verdict
The best Spider-Man on screen right now, animated or otherwise, and Marvel released it in January with almost no marketing. Colman Domingo's Norman Osborn is a masterstroke — the villain as the kindest person in the room. Its willingness to be a small show about school is exactly what the character has been missing.
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Frequently asked
Is Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man MCU canon?
No. Marvel reworked it from the planned Spider-Man: Freshman Year specifically so it would not be bound to MCU continuity, despite Doctor Strange's premiere appearance. It exists in its own reality.
When is season 2 released?
Autumn 2026 on Disney+. Marvel has confirmed Gwen Stacy and Venom will feature, and the season was greenlit before the first even aired.
Why is Norman Osborn Peter's mentor?
It is the series' central inversion: instead of Tony Stark sponsoring Peter, Norman Osborn does, which turns every act of kindness into dramatic irony. Colman Domingo plays him entirely without menace, which makes it worse.
How does it compare to Spider-Verse?
It is quieter and cheaper and aiming at something different — a serialised school drama in a Ditko style rather than a formal experiment. Both are among the best Spider-Man adaptations made.