Jonathan Shelby
Spider-Man shoots a web strand from his left web shooter. Episodes 9 and 10 of "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" left many questions for Season 2. (Marvel Entertainment under Fair Use)
Editor’s note: This review contains spoilers.
The final two episodes of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” Season 1 have brought twists and turns as well as upcoming plot points for the potential next season. As a first season, Peter Parker and his heroic alter-ego did well.
In Episode 9, “Hero or Menace,” Lonnie Lincoln of the 110th Street Gang along with other members plan to steal technology from an Oscorp truck. The technology was created by Dr. Otto Octavius, also known as the villain Doctor Octopus, but was given to Norman Osborn after Octavius was captured.
A rival street gang, the Scorpions, emerge with their leader Mac Gargan, better known as “The Scorpion,” which leads to a fight breaking out between the 110th and the Scorpions. Spider-Man intervenes in the scuffle in his new costume.
The costume has a red and blue color scheme with a web pattern decorated all over. This is the classic costume Spider-Man is known for. His previous costumes were the black and white Oscorp suit and the homemade costume. The new suit is better because of what it represents, an expression of freedom to be oneself with colors instead of dull black and white.
Lincoln tries to steal some technology from the truck, only to have a canister break and spray on him. To his surprise, the canister made his skin incredibly durable, a key attribute to his future as the crime boss Tombstone.
Spider-Man and Lincoln team up to fight Scorpion in a blend of two fighting styles: Parker’s reliance on his powers and Lincoln’s time as a football player. The two styles match up well and the duo even take down Scorpion, even if that’s for a short time.
Scorpion buries Lincoln in a pile of girders, leaving Spider-Man livid. Osborn’s words “with great power, comes great respect” ring in his head as the hero relentlessly pummels Scorpion, almost finishing the villain with an attempted stab from Scorpion’s tail.
Lincoln stops the attempted murder reminding Parker that killing clashes with being a hero. How can someone call themselves friendly if they kill their enemies?
This is where the title of the episode is most prominent. In true fashion, Spider-Man chooses to be a hero by not killing Scorpion, repairing his friendship with Nico Minoru and telling Osborn over the phone he will stay a hero.
The final episode of the season, “If This Be My Destiny,” leaves the door open for multiple surprises, including a surprising and unique twist on the origins of Spider-Man’s powers.
Parker and the other interns discover Osborn’s “Project Monolith,” a portal generator allowing people to travel into space. Everyone, except Amadeus Cho, one of the Oscorp interns, is aghast at what they see and speak out against the project. In true fashion with Osborn’s character, he doesn’t listen.
Just as the generator starts working, Dr. Strange appears and orders Osborn to shut off the machine. He refuses to listen to the sorcerer and turns it on, only to have the same alien that appeared in Episode 1 emerge.
Parker suits up as Spider-Man to join the fray with Strange to combat the alien. During the fight, Spider-Man is thrown and breaks the containment for the spider Norman was experimenting on that contains a sample of Spider-Man’s DNA.
Strange attempts to send the alien to the Dark Dimension, but after the alien tampered with his mystic amulet, the Eye of Agamotto, they are sent to Midtown, kicking off the event that would lead to Parker becoming Spider-Man.
This twist on Spider-Man’s origin that he made himself Spider-Man is interesting as well as unique. It causes a bootstrap paradox, a loop in time travel where Event A causes Event B, Event B causes C and Event C causes Event A. This is also symbolic of how anyone can be a hero and shape their identity.
After the fiasco at Oscorp, Parker resigns his position as an intern and talks to Strange, who tells the wall-crawler that he’s ready for whatever life throws at him.
The talk with Strange has a surprise cameo from Uatu the Watcher, a pivotal figure and cosmic entity in the Marvel universe as the observer of important and crucial moments that occur. He only watches and never interferes as that would betray his purpose.
So much is thrown at the audience in the final moments of the episode, including Osborn finding a piece of the alien goo which might hint at an appearance by Venom. Lincoln’s skin flakes to white foreshadowing his transformation, Minoru showcases her powers by contacting her mother with witchcraft, Octavius devises robotic tentacles and the astonishing reveal of Richard Parker, Peter’s father, being alive. Richard’s reveal is important because it’s assumed that Peter never knew his birth parents and it’s rare to see even one of them. Peter can finally discover the family members he never knew.
These issues will be explored in a future season or seasons, leaving the audience of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” wanting more and excited with the possibilities of what happens next. The series has a bright future ahead. The next season is speculated to be released in 2026 on Disney+.