TV REVIEW: YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN - Season 1

3.5/5

The Spider-Man Chronicles.

10 Episodes: Starring: Hudson Thames, Kari Wahlgren, Grace Song, Eugene Byrd, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy & Colman Domingo. Showrunner: Jeff Trammell. On: Disney +.

QUEENS, in big, bold letters, comes into play over the beautiful borough of New York, as we follow the back of Peter Parker, walking back to his apartment. School bag, one strap on his back, clutching a DVD player he found in the trash, under his arm, like it was the homework he should have got around to doing by now, despite the fact that he just aced another test. Sound and look familiar? As he says hey to his Aunt May (that's not Marisa Tomei, but my oh my, Jessica Rabbit), she looks back from the couch to say he has a guest, who he's just ignored like the back of his head. The suited like money and booted like Iron Man character turns around, but it's not Tony Stark...it's someone else entirely. Surprise!

You only have to go across the amazing Spider-Verse and superior animation, in this multiverse of madness, to see that the legend of this incy wincy web-crawler goes even further than the home of Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield and the legacy made by the legendary Tobey Maguire. Since Stan Lee saw an arachnid crawl up his wall on just another day in the Marvel offices, the comic-character has been the favourite for everybody to marvel at that don't say they're a dark knight in a gruff voice. Especially for the relatable teenage generation. There have been so many amazing animations. 'Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends' (the 80s classic and the new kids Pixar like one on Disney Plus), 'Spider-Man: Unlimited, the 'Ultimate Spider-Man' and all the shorts like summer. And now Marvel Animation rules, like the separate syndicate of Marvel Television. Following the finale of the hugely popular 'What If...?' multiverse of possibilities and the return of the iconic, classic and nostalgic 'X-Men '97', 'Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' enters a whole new universe on Disney in the same week Anthony Mackie's Captain America shows us a 'Brave New World'. Sorry, Tom Holland!

With great power comes...a whole new end to that line that could make Uncle Ben spill his rice. What do you mean that's not the right one? Well, some of the characters may confuse some, but don't fear that it's going to be "too woke" as your actual friendly neighborhood Spider-Man Hudson Thames actually said, but didn't mean to in a bad way (comments taken out of context). Wake up! This is just a whole new world represented. And for all the 'Across The Spider-Verse' like Easter Eggs that hark back to the comic with their own web weaved twist, this Kari Wahlgren, Grace Song, Eugene Byrd, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy and Colman Domingo co-starred show ran by Jeff Trammell is a new classic from the outstanding opening credits and remix of "here comes the Spider-Man" by The Math Club (featuring Relaye & Melo Makes Music) for the terrific theme tune 'Neighbor Like Me'.

Looking like an actual comic with cool cameos and real reveals, think of this as like one of the 'Spider-Man' video game offshoots for this extended universe. And when it comes to suiting up. Let's hope the next Playstation update comes with the skin of the homemade attire here...because it looks, for want of a better word, amazing. In the same thunderbolt of a year that we're about to get the first and hopefully lasting 'Fantastic Four' family on another branch of the multiverse tree, this other world works. Phase five is alive with these top ten epic episodes that you'll want to make your neighbor like Mr. Rogers. Taking it to the streets of New York with strange days and scorpions that sting like a spider bite. Not to mention what else is crammed and hidden in this kid's locker with a flash. Yet in this alternate timeline homage to the hallowed ground that is the air the swinging Spider-Man walks on, it's the legendary Colman Domingo that steals the show. The 'Rustin' and 'Sing Sing' Academy favourite, who has already voiced Batman with that baritone in an audio play podcast, makes for a nuanced and outstanding Norman Osborne. One we'd gobble up if he goblin'd up on the live-action big-screen, despite how we wish those Matthew McConaughey rumours were true. This is one friendly foe for your neighborhood Spider-Man that's leaving everyone green with envy. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming', 'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse', 'Spider-Man: Unlimited'.