Tag: your friendly neighborhood spider-man

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: “The Parker Luck” Review

Published on by SeasonLeave a comment

Season’s Thoughts

Two episodes in one day? Did I win the lottery? Disney decided to give us big bucks this week. Joking aside, “The Parker Luck” kept the momentum of “Amazing Fantasy” and catapulted the story forward.

There was a recap at the beginning of “The Parker Luck,” which I normally wouldn’t mind if I knew the episodes were aired one week after the other. “The Parker Luck” and “Amazing Fantasy” dropped on the same day, so the recap felt unnecessary. It also needlessly padded the runtime (which is three minutes shorter than “Amazing Fantasy”) with this addition. That said, I’m digging the intro. I refuse to skip that intro.

Since he was introduced at the end of Episode 1, I’ll name drop him here. I’m loving the arc of Norman Osborn approaching Peter to offer him an internship, followed by another turn at the end of the episode. Once again, they wasted no time in propelling the story forward. However, I wasn’t a fan of Peter making plans with Nico then not showing up because of his other obligations. It’s overdone and trope-y. This is a kids’ show, so I won’t nitpick too much, but that trope gets old real fast.

I’m expecting to see Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin within the next few episodes, if not Episode 3 next week. We may see the counterparts of other characters during that time, too.

Skye’s Take

While the pilot episode proved to be a solid opening, this second episode got more mixed feelings out of me. “The Parker Luck” does have good things in it, but it left me asking “What’s the goal of this show?”

Since the episode ended with one of the main characters discovering Peter’s identity, I’m not sure where else this show can go from here. Sure, Spider-Man: No Way Home also dealt with Peter living with his identity going public, but at least that Spider-Man had been established for some time. Once again, I’m still not sure if I like this Spider-Man yet. It seems to me that the show is throwing a lot of major plot developments in the first few episodes to encourage viewers to keep watching. Given the show is still in its infancy, it’s moving way too fast.

However, I still feel satisfied with the relationship between Peter and his friends. Despite my other complaints, I enjoy seeing Peter hang out with Nico and Lonnie. This is also why it was so frustrating when he didn’t make it to the party in the episode. Believe it or not, this Spider-Man show is hooking me with its Peter Parker content more than its Spider-Man content. There were a few characters that appeared in the episode which are clearly being set up for future episodes. Dr. Connors and, of course, Norman Osborn who’re soon to be The Lizard and The Green Goblin respectively, but there’re undoubtedly more to come. As a Spider-Man fan, I can’t deny that there’s a novel feeling to seeing these characters appear knowing what they’ll eventually become.

Despite some reservations, I’m excited for this show and look forward to more surprises.

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to dive deeper into Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, here’s a link to the Secrets (Easter Eggs) page for the first two episodes.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: “Amazing Fantasy” Review

Published on by SeasonLeave a comment

Season’s Thoughts

Whoa! Spider-Man got aged down again in his new show on Disney+. Not going to lie, the thirty-one minute runtime intimidated me at first. Despite this, the episode didn’t feel like a thirty-one minute long pilot. Grab your web shooters and let’s swing through Episode 1 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

First impression: the art style. This was jarring for me when I looked at promotional materials for the show. I don’t dislike it, but it does take some getting used to. There were a few scenes at the beginning of the show depicting Peter getting ready through animated comic book panels, which was cute. I hope they do more of this in future episodes.

In the opening paragraph, I mentioned the runtime. I anticipated the spider bite scene to be at the end of the episode, but they wasted no time getting into it. The opening sequence of Peter getting ready/being late on his first day of school dragged a bit. He spent a lot of time telling Aunt May how much he appreciated her, which was heartwarming, but I don’t think it warranted two separate scenes within the first ten minutes. There were several characters who got introduced right off the bat, some of whom will likely become villains later on down the line. I won’t name drop, but there is a major Spider-Man villain who gets introduced at the end of “Amazing Fantasy.”

One last thing before I let Skye take the wheel—toward the end of “Amazing Fantasy,” real-world problems were showcased. The most notable examples are Lonnie getting followed by a cop on his walk home and someone who stole cash after losing their job. I won’t hang on this for long, I appreciated the inclusion of these moments. It makes the show more grounded.

Skye’s Take

Thank you for the stirring introduction, Season. I must say, after watching the first episode of this new Spider-Man series, I was pleasantly entertained. For the most part, it seemed to combine both old and new concepts we’ve seen in Spider-Man stories before. In the process, it created a world that looks familiar yet still feels fresh.

Regarding Season’s comment on the animation, I thought it was good with some noticeable imperfections. Overall, it’s pleasing to the eye, but it isn’t as good as Into or Across the Spider Verse. Part of me wonders if the animators were attempting to imitate that style by blending hand-drawn and CG animation similar to what those films did.

Despite that, this show proved to me that it was on the right track. The action was energetic and well-paced. We were introduced to a bunch of characters, but each of them seems likable with room to grow. Even the voice acting was pretty solid. There were some notable exceptions with some of the extraneous characters, but what can you do? If I were to harp on anything: the jokes aren’t that funny. The jokes got no more than a chuckle out of me, but comedy is subjective.

I’ll piggyback off another of Season’s comments. While I’m not opposed to including a moment like Lonnie getting racially profiled in a kid’s show, the moment comes out of nowhere. Suddenly, we’re supposed to feel bad for a character we barely know, and it comes across as Disney just trying to earn brownie points with minorities. Disney has a history of pandering to minorities on-screen, while behind closed doors, it’s a different story. If this story beat returns, I may have different thoughts.

Ultimately, this was a good start to a (potentially) good series.

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to dive deeper into Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, here’s a link to the Secrets (Easter Eggs) page for the first two episodes.

MCU 2025 Preview

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) 2025 Preview

Published on by Kyra1 Comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We covered the DCU earlier this month because we didn’t know when Harley Quinn Season 5 would be released. Who knows? Perhaps I finally broke down and purchased Max and I’m binge-watching DC Comics movies and television shows right now. But we know that the MCU’s 2025 will kick off in a couple of days. We’re getting our preview of the upcoming year’s MCU movies and television shows in the nick of time.

Marvel didn’t release too many projects in 2024, but the ones it did release were well received. Echo, the X-Men ’97 cartoon series, Deadpool and Wolverine, Agatha All Along, and What If? Season 3 were at least fun. You can let us know which one of these 2024 MCU projects was your favorite. 2024 was a good year for Marvel, a recovery year of sorts. 2025 has a much larger slate of projects. Almost double last year’s projects. Looks like I’ll be busy. Real busy.

This will be a big year for Marvel and not only because the MCU has nine projects that will be released in 2025. The fate of the MCU’s future rests in the hands of two specific projects: Daredevil: Born Again and Fantastic Four. Like Superman: Legacy for the DCU, these two projects must succeed. We’ll get to both projects soon enough, but let’s discuss each project in release date order.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (On Disney+ Starting January 29, 2025)

I’ll be honest. I don’t care for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s animation, but I’m glad the showrunners are going in a different artistic direction. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man doesn’t copy the Spider-Verse’s homework. It also doesn’t mimic the art style of the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon, even though X-Men ’97 was a triumph; that would’ve been an easy path to take. Nope. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man forges its own path, and that deserves respect.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will focus on Spidey’s origin story and early days as a crimefighter. I’m not a huge fan of retelling Spider-Man’s origin story—most people know Spidey’s origin by this point—but this should only take up an episode. I’m more forgiving of this with a series. Charlie Cox voicing Daredevil is my big highlight in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. We don’t know if the new Marvel Animated Multiverse will tie into the greater MCU, but anything to link these two properties together is fantastic. Cox’s appearance as Daredevil could also raise interest in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again.

Captain America: Brave New World (In Theaters February 14, 2025)

Some may say that Captain America: Brave New World is the third Marvel project that must succeed this year. I can see their perspective; Captain America films grounded the first few phases of the MCU. Respectfully, I disagree.

The MCU is pivoting to other characters—too many characters, in my opinion—and the new Captain America is one of several potential “anchor characters,” if you will. There are plenty of other Marvel projects this year. Captain America: Brave New World is the first of three films and the second of nine—that’s NINE—Marvel projects for 2025.

Plenty of issues have plagued Captain America: Brave New World. Test audiences have seen the film and disliked it. Reportedly, these audiences believed Brave New World was too boring. That’s not good. After the test screenings, reshoot after reshoot occurred. That doesn’t mean that the final movie will stink. Not all reshot movies end up like the original Suicide Squad. I’m still trying to block out that one.

Captain America movies don’t have the same cache they did with the first three Marvel phases. The big threat of the Multiverse Saga may be Doctor Doom, and he’s a Fantastic Four villain. And this Captain America film isn’t a huge crossover film—that we know of yet—or a glorified Avengers film like Civil War. I’ll let them cook with the new Cap.

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross as President of the United States is an interesting choice. Thunderbolt Ross would fit better with the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie. Ross is a member of the Thunderbolts in the comics. Harrison Ford’s Ross may make an appearance in that film, too. Tim Blake Nelson reprises his role as The Leader over a decade and a half after The Incredible Hulk (2008). Liv Tyler returns as Bruce Banner’s love interest Betty Ross after the same hiatus. It might be best Hulk doesn’t show up in the one; he may have some explaining to do after his romance with Natasha Romanov. Is that canon?

The Leader and Ross are usually Hulk villains, so there’s another connection with Hulk. Throw in Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder (the leader of the Serpent Society) and Shira Haas as a former Black Widow and high-ranking US government official Ruth Bat-Seraph (who is also the mutant Sabra in the comics), and there are plenty of directions Captain America: Brave New World could go. And that’s where the movie may have lost test audiences; there may be too much going on at once. But I trust the team trimmed down the final project to a point where Captain America: Brave New World will be good. It could even be a sleeper hit. Let ‘em cook.

Daredevil: Born Again (On Disney+ Starting March 4, 2025)

In my opinion, Daredevil: Born Again must succeed. The Netflix Daredevil series has a built-in audience. Several fans claim it to be the best Marvel television show, and Daredevil: Born Again brings back most of the original cast. They brought in the showrunner Dario Scardapane from the original Daredevil spin-off series The Punisher to head the Born Again project. And the series title “Born Again” references a classic Daredevil comic book story arc of the 1980s that the third season of the Daredevil Netflix MCU television series loosely adapted. Daredevil: Born Again is also the first Disney+ Marvel television show that uses their new method of producing shows (a leaner and more focused production plan). Yeah. Daredevil: Born Again has a lot to live up to and sets the tone for future Marvel shows. It must be good.

But many of those elements I mentioned above are also reasons why Daredevil: Born Again has an advantage. Returning more than 75% of the original Daredevil cast is a boon. Bringing in a showrunner with Marvel Netflix experience is another feather in Daredevil: Born Again’s cap. And I’ve heard that we’ll see more of the courtroom in this series. That makes sense as Matt Murdock (Daredevil) and Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) barrel toward an inevitable showdown both legally and on the street. I can’t wait.

Thunderbolts* (In Theaters May 2, 2025)

Thunderbolts* doesn’t have the same colorful cast as the comic book team of the same name. Even Winter Soldier’s variant of the team had its Moonstone and MACH-X and Kobik, who is a Cosmic Cube (the MCU renamed the Cosmic Cube to the Tesseract) shard in human form. What? The asterisk may make sense. This may not be the first iteration of the Thunderbolts. There have been numerous variants in the comics. Interestingly, Bucky’s Thunderbolts take place between Thunderbolt Ross’s and Mayor Wilson (Kingpin) Fisk’s iterations. Given the previous two projects on this list, is that a coincidence?

Wild speculation aside, the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts* are a combination of super soldiers and assassins. These characters are mostly cast-offs.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each of them:

Yelena Belova (from Black Widow and Natasha’s sister and a Black Widow herself) needed another vehicle; Florence Pugh is too electric as the character.

David Harbour’s Red Guardian (Black Widow) is funny.

Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster (Black Widow) will no longer be under her father Dreykov’s control, so she’s a blank slate. I wonder what the writers/director will do with her.

Sebastian Stan is good as Bucky/Winter Soldier.

Wyatt Russell’s John Walker/U.S. Agent (from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) lives a disgraced life as the man who tarnished Captain America’s name; that has some depth.

And Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost was the best thing from Ant-Man and the Wasp; I’m glad she’s getting more to do in Thunderbolts*.

Phew! That’s a large cast. And it still ends up as a list of B-list heroes.

Still, Thunderbolts* could deliver more than just a superhero movie. Pugh’s Yelena (through a voice-over) in the second trailer shares that there’s something wrong with her, an emptiness. She’s just drifting. She doesn’t have purpose, so she throws herself into her work. This may be the most human and relatable a superhero has sounded in years.

And then I saw that the director was Jake Schreier and one of the writers was Lee Sung Jin; both worked on the Netflix series Beef, and that makes sense. Thunderbolts* may have the least pressure of any of the three Marvel movies. It can also be a surprise hit.

The premise: The Thunderbolts run into Bob at a secret facility. Turns out this “Bob” is Sentry. I won’t spoil it here, but Sentry can be a lot of fun, especially with the prospect of him entering the MCU. And he should be more than what a team of super soldiers and assassins can handle. Me thinks someone will die.

Ironheart (On Disney+ Starting June 4, 2025)

Dominique Thorne reprises her role as Riri Williams/Ironheart from the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Ironheart has been on the schedule and then off the schedule and for a time, folks thought the idea had been scrapped. Nope. Marvel returned to Ironheart after the writers’ strike. From what I’ve heard, the series got reworked.

I don’t know much about Ironheart as I was writing this post. Many of the actors assigned to the project have undisclosed roles and given the premise, I can see why. Following the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Williams returns home to Chicago where she becomes entangled with the enigmatic Parker Robbins/The Hood, discovering secrets that pit technology against magic. The Hood, which is short for neighborhood (he doesn’t wear a hood, but I think he should), has often been linked to one of two mystical beings: Loki and Dormammu. He also controls a massive Crime Syndicate. Confirmed actors with unconfirmed roles (like Shakira Berrera, Paul Calderon, Cree Summer, and Sacha Baron Cohen to name a few) could play any number of colorful characters. I’d love to see Cohen portray Armadillo. Armadillo is a guy dressed in a massive Armadillo costume. Think of the LOLs.

The special effects for Ironheart intrigue me, too. For those of you who think the MCU’s painted-on CGI armor was getting stale, Ironheart’s armor may be what the doctor ordered. Riri doesn’t have the resources Tony Stark has. Most of her armor looks more lived-in and low-tech. Ironheart’s use of more practical effects, its premise, and its varied cast pique my interest.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (In Theaters July 25, 2025)

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is another big one. This film must succeed. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at what Marvel has done with this movie. Most—if not all—of the main cast have won Academy Awards or Emmys or Golden Globes or have been nominated for one. The main antagonist for the upcoming Avengers movie, Doctor Doom, is the archenemy of the Fantastic Four; there should be a Robert Downey Jr. post-credit scene as Doom, so that’s another Academy Award-nominated actor in the cast. Marvel brought in Matt Shakman, the showrunner of WandaVision, one of the MCU’s better projects of the last phase, to direct. And The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the first film and the beginning of the MCU’s Phase Six. Marvel knows a lot is riding on this movie.

All that said, I don’t know too much about the film at the time of writing this post. Marvel’s playing this one close to the vest, and I don’t blame them. What I do know is that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic Earth, and the Fantastic Four will go up against Galactus and the Silver Surfer. I also sense a little montage as we may get vignettes of the Fantastic Four’s previous exploits. This will be a Fantastic Four that has had many adventures. I prefer that to the Fantastic Four’s origin story. Again.

I don’t know what more there is to say except I hope this Fantastic Four movie lives up to the name. We haven’t had a “fantastic” Fantastic Four movie. When the idea of Marvel making a Fantastic Four movie was still theoretical, folks kept saying to wait until Marvel made its own Fantastic Four movie. Well. That time is now.

Eyes of Wakanda (On Disney+ Starting August 6, 2025)

Eyes of Wakanda is another Marvel project that I didn’t know too much about at the time of writing this post. Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler will direct this animated television miniseries. That’s a great start. Many cast members from the Black Panther film franchise will reprise their roles as voice actors. This show sounds phenomenal.

Initially, the series was supposed to have eight episodes, but it got pared down to four. This could be another sign of the MCU tightening its releases. And Eyes of Wakanda will explore the various people who have donned the Black Panther mantle. There’s even an Iron Fist sighting. Hopefully, we’ll get a better interpretation of the character.

I’ve seen Eyes of Wakanda’s sizzle reel several times. It looks fabulous. I imagine we won’t get much more than this reel for some months. There’s a chance Marvel intends to see how well-received Eyes of Wakanda will be. That’s part of why I watched the sizzle reel several times. If you like what Eyes of Wakanda offers, watch it several times. Perhaps we’ll get the other four episodes.

Marvel Zombies (On Disney+ Starting October 3, 2025)

Marvel Zombies functions as a sequel to the What If? animated series of sorts. I didn’t know there was enough story for Marvel Zombies to have its own series, so I always thought a couple of episodes of What If? made sense for that story. Marvel Zombies will release in October 2025, just in time for Spooky Season.

Disney/Marvel has been good about releasing a horror-adjacent project in October most years. Werewolf by Night was released in October 2022 and Agatha All Along hit Disney+ in October 2024. I’ll probably give Marvel Zombies a watch.

Wonder Man (On Disney+ Starting December 2025)

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II portrays Simon Williams in Wonder Man. Like so much of Marvel’s later slate of 2025 releases, I don’t know much about Wonder Man. Williams auditions for the lead role in a superhero television series—most likely named Wonder Man—but I don’t know if Simon Williams already has powers or if he’s faking that he has superpowers. Either way, Wonder Man should be hilarious.

Andrew Guest show runs Wonder Man, and he’s written some of the greatest Community episodes (“Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” and “A Fistful of Paintballs,” to name a couple). Wonder Man is in great hands. And the character Simon Williams has done a lot of things in the Marvel Universe. He’s even been an actor for more than one stint in the comics, so this premise works for the character. Wonder Man is also Vision’s brain brother. Wasn’t VisionQuest releasing soon, too? There might be a reason Marvel wants to introduce Simon Williams.

Wonder Man’s supporting cast includes Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, the man who pretended he was the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Slattery will serve as Williams’ acting coach. That should be good. Demetrius Grosse will portray Simon’s brother Eric, who becomes Grim Reaper, Wonder Man’s archnemesis and persistent thorn in the side of the Avengers. So, there may be more going on in Wonder Man than a goofy comedy. But I wouldn’t mind a goofy comedy.

That’s all I have for now. Let us know which Marvel Cinematic Universe has you the most excited this year. See you soon. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.