First impressions of "Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man", is it good?

“Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” has finally premiered exclusively on Disney Plus, and, although I have been quite distant from everything that has to do with Marvel for a couple of years, it is easy to make a small exception for Peter Parker.

Since its first announcement in November 2021, public expectations were quite divided, with a good portion of the public considering the project as a perfect opportunity to return to the level of quality seen in gems like Spectacular Spiderman and the animated series of the 90s, but with another portion of the public considering it a waste, taking into account the irregular quality of other series like What It or a good portion of the live action series that are part of the MCU.

With an animation style that was meant to be quite risky (leaving aside what we've seen in gems like X-Men 97 or the previously mentioned What if?), “Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” pays homage to the original comics by Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr., something evident not only in the color palette and the entire aesthetic style of the characters and the universe that surrounds them, but also in the way Peter Parker was going to be handled.

Personally, it was hard not to feel excited about the project, especially because it was made very clear beforehand that it would be detached from the main continuity of the MCU, leaving a free field to experiment with new ideas and characters without having to face the restrictions of the cinematic universe.

And although I must admit that the final result did not leave me entirely satisfied, with only two episodes released this Wednesday, January 29, I think it is still too early to give a definitive opinion, and there are several elements that have undeniable long-term potential. You see, despite being disconnected from the MCU, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man clearly draws too much from the live-action interpretation that Tom Holland gave us, and I feel that it suits it very well, allowing us to even fill in a couple of gaps that Jon Watts' trilogy never clarified (Uncle Ben's death, Peter's first days as Spidey, etc.). With only a half-hour difference, the new Disney Plus series knows how to trap us in its narrative, taking us out of our comfort zone but retaining enough characteristic elements of our favorite arachnid's universe for us to enjoy this journey.

This time we follow a young Peter who for some reason was accepted into a school for “geniuses”, after a tragic accident involving a Dr. Strange from another dimension he ends up being bitten by a radioactive spider, and the rest is history…

The animation style of Your Friendly Neighborhood is quite bittersweet, mixing three-dimensional elements with almost minimalist movements that seem to seek to mimic the style of a 70s comic, however, it works particularly well in the action scenes and feels like a breath of fresh air, especially compared to how monotonous the MCU can be in visual terms.

Although the writing could be better, the new characters are charismatic and I enjoy that they are connected to lesser-known parts of Spider-Man lore, this makes the evolution of the story not predictable and gives us a solid reason to maintain long-term interest.

It's a solid series but I hope things get better week after week.