I Can't Believe The MCU's New Spider-Man Origin Story Reveal Still Missed Some Of Its Most Important Parts
Spider-Man's origin still hasn't been explored.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 1, "Amazing Fantasy"
Marvel Studios still hasn't explored Spider-Man's full origin story in the MCU, even though Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man promised to provide more insight into Peter Parker's history. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man premiered on January 29 and brought MCU audiences to a new alternate universe, which allowed a brand-new version of Peter Parker to take center-stage. Voiced by What If...?'s Hudson Thames, this new Spider-Man has already done something Tom Holland's wall-crawler never did, but Marvel could have taken this further.
When Tom Holland debuted as Spider-Man in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios neglected to explore his origin story as the web-slinging hero. Spider-Man: Homecoming revealed that he had indeed been bitten by a spider, but, since Peter Parker's origin story as Spider-Man is quite well-known, Marvel decided not to bring it into live-action again. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man did, however, as audiences watched Peter Parker be bitten by a spider during Doctor Strange's battle at Midtown High School, yet this still wasn't enough.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Didn't Show Enough Of Peter Parker's Origin
While Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man did open with an unpowered Peter Parker heading for his first day at Midtown High, getting caught in the middle of Doctor Strange's battle with a Symbiote, and getting bitten by a spider, Marvel still failed to show Spider-Man's full origin story. After being bitten and watching the eight-legged culprit escape on a nearby student's backpack, Peter Parker's story picked up "A Few Months Later." Marvel once again decided to skip over some of the most important parts of Peter Parker's evolution into Spider-Man, which was seriously disappointing.
Yes, the spider bite is perhaps the most pivotal event in Peter Parker's life, so it was great to finally see this event depicted in the MCU. However, the aftermath of this is also crucial to Spider-Man's evolution, as audiences still haven't seen how or why Peter Parker decides to become a superhero in the MCU, particularly since Uncle Ben was already revealed to have died prior to Peter Parker receiving superpowers in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Marvel still seems to be afraid to depict Spider-Man's origin story on-screen, even though 13 years have passed since it was last seen.
Peter Parker's Origin Story Was Last Seen In 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man
Back in 2017, Marvel boss Kevin Feige revealed to ComicBook that Tom Holland's Peter Parker would not get his origin story told on-screen. Many figured this was because Spider-Man's origin story had been told not too long before in both 2002's Spider-Man and 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, so it didn't need to be told again. This made sense at the time, but now, 13 years after The Amazing Spider-Man saw Andrew Garfield suit up as Spider-Man, Marvel is still afraid to tell this story in the MCU, even though it would be wildly different from anything that came before.
[Spider-Man: Homecoming] will not be an origin story. But, with great power comes great responsibility. It is inherent to who [Peter Parker's] character is. But we want to reveal it in different ways and spend much more time focusing on this young high school kid in the MCU dealing with his powers. There is a young kid [already] running around New York City in a homemade version of the Spider-Man costume in the MCU, you just don’t know it yet.
Both Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Hudson Thames' version from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man have very different histories to any previous iteration of the wall-crawler. These differences would drastically alter Spider-Man's known origin story, so it's unfortunate that Marvel Studios keeps missing the opportunity to tell a brand-new Spider-Man story. Perhaps more of Spider-Man's early activities will be explored as the MCU progresses, or Marvel may simply choose to completely move on from this unseen period in Peter Parker's life.
Your RatingYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Release Date
January 29, 2025
Network
Disney+
Writers
Jeff Trammell
Franchise(s)
Spider-Man
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man follows Peter Parker as he embarks on a journey to embrace his destiny as a hero. The film explores his unconventional path and the challenges he faces in balancing his newfound responsibilities with the ordinary aspects of his life. Released in 2025.
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