Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Prequel Comic #1: What We Know

December 14, 2024
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Hey there True Believers! While we impatiently await Marvel Animation's Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, coming to Disney+ January 29, Marvel has so graciously decided to satiate us with a prequel comic series (by Christos Gage), of which I've read the first issue! What makes this special is that this is the first glimpse into the world of this new version of Peter Parker! I learned quite a bit from this issue, and there seem to be quite a few differences in the Spider-Man lore we all know. So, let's break it all down.

We open with poor Peter getting tossed off a building by a man I immediately clocked as Man Mountain Marko (I was right, by the way, but I'll get back to that). Pete's in his Mk1 Spidey suit we've seen in promos and on the cover of this very comic. But before he meets his doom, we flash back...

... To Midtown High. Which has been destroyed. (This is probably the result of a battle between Dr. Strange and -maybe- Shathra, as described in the D23 footage.) The comic doesn't tell us because the scene is clearly going to be in the show, we're told as much in an author's note. But in the aftermath, Peter meets Nico Minoru (from the Runaways), gets bitten by a spider, then passes out for a second.

Now here's what caught my attention. Peter doesn't want to go to the ER for money concerns (he's broke, broke in this universe) and because he and May "spent enough time in hospitals". After which May insinuates Ben is already dead (before Peter was bitten!), and that he would be upset if he was the reason Peter couldn't take care of himself.

Not only this, but Peter later confides in Nico that at his old school, before High School (remember, the saw was once called Freshman Year) he came to be known as "the poor kid whose uncle died". So I'm guessing that Uncle Ben wasn't murdered. I think he got sick, was hospitalized for a long time, costing the Parkers a lot of money, then died.

This is obviously a major departure from your standard Peter Parker Spider-Man fare, so I'm quite curious to see how this shakes out in forming his identity as a hero. Moving on, Peter and Nico decide to investigate the explosion at Midtown, which they discover happened after the chaos that brought the spider bite, and deduce it was likely caused by Silvio Manfredi (aka Silvermane), who's been trying to buy up Midtown's land.

I'm not sure if Silvermane's going to carry over to the show, or be dealt with in the comic, but it's good to see him included in some new Spidey media. After that, some cleanup guys show up to get rid of all traces to Manfredi, and end up chasing after Peter. He'd used his Spider-Sense and reflexes earlier to save a cat and catch Nico sneaking up on him, but now he really gets to use his powers.

First of all, I love how Silvermane's guys are like, unabashed mobsters. Like, "shuddup" and "so long, sucker" mobsters. And second, Peter kind of fumbling through the fight but handing it to Silvermane's guys was a good sequence. I can't explain it, but Peter Spider-Manning in civilian clothes is always something I love to see.

After a narrow escape, he and Nico decide to keep quiet about Manfredi as not to endanger their families. Nico has a foster mom because I'm guessing she's already run away (she mentions LA a lot) and the whole 'Mom is a supervillain with the Staff of One' is a lot of baggage to bring into what is ultimately Peter's story.

So Peter decides that if he wants to pursue Silvermane, he's got to be someone else... Spider-Man? Perhaps? The symbolic mask on the floor beneath Pete there seems to indicate so.

Meanwhile at Silvermane Hair Products for Men Inc. (which is a hilariously perfect front for Silvermane's operation) Silvermane is appalled at the idea of a superhero in Queens. He mentions the Avengers stick to, essentially, Avenger-level threats, meaning they exist in this universe already (Peter is shown to be fond of Captain America). Then he mentions that he doesn't want what's happened in Hell's Kitchen to happen on his turf. We know Charlie Cox is back and voicing Daredevil for the show, so not only is his reputation already up and running, but he's become a problem for criminals by this point as well.

Silvermane then tells the man, the size of a mountain, named Marko (told you) that he needs Peter dealt with in a very public "send a message" kind of way. And he orders him to summon The Enforcers. The lasso wielding Montana, the dapper Fancy Dan, and the brutish Ox, for the uninitiated. So I'm pretty excited to see what they're like in this new Spider-Man universe!

That's where the issue ends, and we get a tease for the next issue of Peter in his wrestling outfit reminiscent of the one worn in Amazing Fantasy #15, fighting against presumably Crusher Hogan, but so many things have changed I don't want to assume anything!

Uncle Ben dead before the spider bite. He's best friends with Nico Minouru. He may not be going to Midtown (if Silvermane isn't stopped and they can't rebuild). So much to wrap my head around! Not having context for a lot of this made the story a little jarring, but this isn't strictly a prequel. Christos Gage said on Twitter that they're filling in a time jump that takes place in episode 1 of the show.

As our first little glimpse into this new Spider-Man world, I definitely have a lot of questions and am very curious to see the story they're telling. I'll let you guys know what I find out in issue #2 when it drops, and I can't wait to watch the show when it comes out! Until then, Face Front True Believers, and I'll see you in the Multiverse!

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