Marvel continues to experiment with animation, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a new take on a familiar story. Initially announced as a prequel to the Tom Holland films, the series eventually turned into something like What if…?, offering an alternative take on the development of Peter Parker. But is it really worth watching?
The events unfold in 2016, when Peter has just received his powers. However, the familiar details are changed: instead of Ned Leeds, the hero’s best friend is Nico Minoru, and the role of mentor is taken by Norman Osborn. The plot generally follows the classic formula: school problems, superhero responsibilities, clashes with crime.
The main feature of the series, which makes you want to take screenshots on almost every frame, is the unusual animation. The visual style is inspired by the original comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, creating the effect of animated pages. However, sometimes it seems that the frames are slow, as if the game is freezing on the PS5. You get used to it, but at times it is distracting.
In addition to standard superhero themes, the show touches on more serious issues — gangster groups, corruption, social inequality. Lonnie Lincoln is especially interesting, a character who unexpectedly comes to the fore and makes the story deeper.
Is it worth watching? If you are a fan of Spider-Man, then Friendly Neighborhood will definitely give you pleasure. It is not “Spiderverse” and not MCU, but an honest and stylish attempt to refresh a classic story that is worthy of restrained praise.
