Warning! This article contains light spoilers for Your Freindly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 1 and 2.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man just debuted a brand-new Spidey costume for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and I genuinely think it improves on Spider-Man: Homecoming's design. Before Spider-Man was swinging through the city in a slick red and blue-skin-tight suit, the famous webslinger was just a regular kid named Peter Parker. However, when Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, everything changed, including his wardrobe.
With great power, Peter tackled the great responsibility of concealing his identity and fighting crime as a masked hero. However, making a super suit is no easy feat, and it requires incredible skill, knowledge, and often money to pull the right materials together. So, it's common for heroes like Spider-Man to start with something a little more rough around the edges, with a homemade suit that is clearly pieced together from odds and ends that are more readily available. And this is beautifully shown in both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, albeit there are some big differences between the two.
The MCU's Newest Spider-Man Suit Feels Like It Could Have Really Been Made By A Teen Peter Parker
The Authenticity Of The Suit Adds To The Quality Of The Series
YFNSM keeps things simple with a low-effort spider costume consisting of a sports jersey in the red and blue colors, enhanced with the addition of a spider symbol, a pair of sporty loose-fitting exercise pants, knee pads, fingerless gloves, a mask and some sneakers. This is ideal for Spider-Man's first suit, because most of the items are something that would likely be owned by a teenager attending high school. Of course there are some modifications, such as some high pressure cylinders to hold his web fluid, some sharp goggles in the usual Spidey style, and the spider symbol, but for a smart kid like Peter to get these pieces together, it makes a lot of sense.
Spider-Man's New MCU Origin Story Reveal Was Already Done Almost Exactly The Same In Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse 7 Years Ago
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man explores a new origin story for Peter Parker, but this actually copies Miles Morales' own Spider-Man backstory.
It's practical, it's non-descript, and it sticks to one theme of colors. As such, I firmly think this nails the homemade aesthetic in a way that makes the nascent Spider-Man's journey that much more realistic and believable. And in many ways, I think it improves on the design that was featured earlier in the MCU when Tom Holland's Spider-Man swung onto the screen. After Tony Stark took back his fancy suit as a result of Peter misusing it.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Builds On The MCU's Homecoming Approach
Spider-Man: Homecoming Walked So That Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Could Run
The homemade Homecoming suit Peter wore was one that, again, felt largely practical and like elements that could be cobbled together, but there were some pieces that I felt were a little out of the realm of reality. Yes, I get that it's a fantasy movie, and, of course, suspension of belief is a thing which I am happy to do when it comes to flying superheros and super soldiers, but Peter Parker owning a pair of bizarre knee-high, bright red boots did slightly ruin the immersion for me.
And maybe I'm alone in this, but I think that YFNSM's effort to just take a step back and do something more simple, similar to how Miles Morales' outfit in Into The Spider-Verse is just simple and straightforward normal clothes with a mask and some spray paint, is the right move for Spidey's first attempt. This is not to throw shade on the MCU's live-action suit in any way, and I loved features like the adjustable circular lenses that allow Peter to narrow his focus, but It still felt a little too far beyond normal clothing in a way that I think YFNSM nails.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's Costume Sets Up A Perfect Way For The Show To Demonstrate His Growth
Spider-Man Will Likely Upgrade His Outfit Soon In YFNSM
And of course, suits change over time. Tom Holland's Spidey has the aid of Mr. Tony Stark and YFNSM's may have the help of another mysterious wealthy benefactor if the first two episodes are anything to go by, but Spidey adapts and changes quickly. As seen in the first two episodes, thugs call Peter out on his ridiculous apparel, and while fighting one rival, Peter notes that he should make the next suit fireproof.
Did you like Peter Parker's origin story in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man?
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's first episode gave a new origin story to this version of Peter Parker. After Doctor Strange came out of a magic portal and fought a symbiote, a spider came down and bit Peter, transforming him into Spider-Man. I enjoyed the new take on his origin and how it connects to a mystery. Doctor Strange says he is not supposed to be there, and the camera ominously pans to a character taking their backpack with the spider but never shows their face.
The intro sequence also highlights a large reel of different suits, which may or may not appear in the run of the show, but it does point to some developments regarding Peter's supersuits happening soon. And starting with the bare minimum, it provides Spider-Man with room to grow as a hero, both in of his character, and the way that others in the city view him. There is no doubt that the suit plays a big part in that, and I'm excited to see how Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man handles these upgrades after a promising first attempt.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Release Date
- January 29, 2025
- Network
- Disney+
- Writers
- Charlie Neuner
Cast
Hudson ThamesPeter Parker / Spider-Man (voice)
May Parker (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Franchise(s)
- Spider-Man
- Creator(s)
- Jeff Trammell
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