Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s Ensemble Shines Bright

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man offers a brand new take on the Marvel character. In the new Disney Plus series, fans are treated to a vision of New York that reflects the bustling energy of the city that ever sleeps. One big point of pride throughout the development of the new Spider-Man show was the wide range of characters represented in these episodes. 

There have been so many Spider-Man cartoons over the years. But, there’s never been one quite like friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Yes, we’ve got Aunt May, a slightly familiar origin story, and high school trappings. However, which characters get to be Peter Parker’s group of friends is where this really shines. 

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Expands Peter Parker’s Orbit

In the live-action Marvel Studios Spidey films, Tom Holland’s circle is pretty tight. You have familiar faces like MJ and Flash Thompson. And, Ned Leeds as the “man in the chair.” Some other Midtown High School students come into view. But, they’re mostly there to frame our core cast.

The new Marvel Animation Spider-Man puts the focus on Nico Minoru, Harry Osborn, Lonnie Lincoln, and Pearl Pangan. While Harry’s been riffed on plenty of times on-screen and on the page, some of these other characters haven’t gotten nearly that spotlight.

Lonnie’s comic book foundations are right there for everyone to find for themselves. But, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man catches him at a much earlier point in his life. He’s a loyal kid with a bright future ahead of him. Seems to have a pretty good family situation at home too!

Pearl is the apple of Peter’s eye in the first two episodes. Her Filipina heritage isn’t just there for show. In the comics, she’s the superhero Wave and has water elemental powers! No telling if she’ll develop those skills for the show. But, it just shows how many Marvel characters the team considered when building the roster here.

Spider-Man’s Amazing Friends 

Of course, the person who never lets our fledgling Spider-Man hear the end of that crush is Nico Minoru. Runaways fans were elated to hear she’d be a part of the cast. Like Peter, she’s an orphan and they bonded very early in his High School life. So, the entire cast is coming from very different places.

Harry Osborn being reframed as a Black kid in a realm of hyper-wealth is also something interesting to mix-up the fundamental bricks of Spider-Man. To say nothing of Colman Domingo’s take on his father Norman. It’s all just treated as standard here without much to-do. 

And, really that’s the key. It’s all really normal and straightforward. A lot of New York City talked about how much this fictional version felt like their corner of the world. It’s a good thing to have. Even better when you consider that’s it’s a part of a critically beloved Spider-Man show.

To catch up on all things Marvel, keep an eye on That Hashtag Show.

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Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Spins A Unique Take On A Familiar Story [REVIEW]