Summary
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manpromises a fresh take on Peter Parker’s story, but he still won’t be able to escape Iron Man. When theMCUgained the right to use Spider-Man, Marvel had to find a way to differentiate this iteration frompast Spider-Man films. The studio ultimately decided not to make a Spider-Man origin story and instead focus on Peter’s growth under the mask. A good chunk of Peter’s MCU character development has revolved around Iron Man’s presence in his life, making Tony Stark a crucial part of the MCU Spider-Man’s story.
Marvel’s new animated Spider-Man projectwill flip Peter’s story on its head according to the Marvel Animation presentation that happened atD23 2024: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. The presentation, whereScreen Rantwas in attendance, teased visuals fromYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.This included concept art of the characters that will be in the series, in whichIron Man is notably one of the heroes featured. Although the series isn’t going to have Iron Man as a mentor to Peter as he was in the MCU, the character is all but confirmed to make an appearance in some way.
Marvel’s 10 Biggest Reveals From D23 From Daredevil To Ironheart
D23 offered another chance for Marvel Studios to show off its slate, bringing lots of reveals for Ironheart, Daredevil, and upcoming movies.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Puts A Spin On The MCU’s Peter Parker Story
While the MCU’s Spider-Man story didn’t feature his origins,Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manwill. TheYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manteaser footagethat screened at the Marvel Animation D23 panel showed Doctor Strange being the catalyst for Spider-Man’s superhero origin. When a monster shows up through a portal, Doctor Strange arrives to save Peter and send the monster back through. However, a spider that manages to escape ends up biting Peter, which is how he will get his powers. The young hero will once again need a Marvel mentor to help him harness his new abilities, but it won’t be Iron Man this time.
Marvel revealed at D23 that the premise ofYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manwill feature a situation similar to aWhat If…?episode. The series will explore a world whereNorman Osborn becomes Peter’s mentor instead of Tony. Norman is known notoriously as the villain Green Goblin, so his teaching methods will undoubtedly be more questionable than Tony’s. Iron Man will still play some sort of role in the show based off of the D23’s presentation, though considering that other Marvel heroes were also featured in the series concept art, it could just be a minor appearance.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Stories Are Still Clinging Too Much To Iron Man
One of the biggest MCU Spider-Man criticisms is that his story relies on Iron Man too much. Their relationship worked in the early days of Spider-Man’s MCU story, as past iterations of Peter hadn’t had a mentor like that before. However,the MCU’s Spider-Man started becoming Iron Man’s sidekickrather than his own hero. WhileYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manhas Norman as the mentor instead, it doesn’t make it much different than the MCU. Switching out the mentor for another character doesn’t automatically make it a good Spider-Man story, as Peter’s development still hinges on another person.
Iron Man’s Death Can Finally Make Spider-Man A Real Avenger, 8 Years After His MCU Debut
Iron Man’s death can actually be beneficial to Spider-Man, as he can finally become a real Avenger and interact with other team members.
Bringing Spider-Man into the animation world should bring a wholly new story with it, not a revamped version of the MCU’s current iteration. Even without Iron Man being Peter’s mentor in the upcoming series, it feels as if Marvel is still clinging to a story of the past.Spider-Man: Far From Homeforced Peter to step up as a hero without Tony’s guidance after the latter’sAvengers: Endgamesacrifice, showing that he’s capable of carrying a story alone. Alongside his mentorship with Norman,Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manwill hopefully show Peter’s independence as Spider-Man too.
