Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episodes 1 & 2The first two episodes ofYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manhave been released, revealing a new alternate timeline for the MCU’s Peter Parker and his journey to become the iconic Webslinger. A new animated series on Disney+, this exciting show is quite unique, both in its art style and its plot as Peter Parker embarks on a new kind of origin that is both distinct yet very closely tied to the MCU’s Spider-Man played by Tom Holland. This is incredibly evident by the ending of the premiere’s second episode, as Peter starts making a name for himself as a new vigilante in New York.
In the main live-action MCU, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker attends Midtown High with his best friends Ned Leeds and MJ. Beginning his superhero career in earnest afterSpider-Man is recruited by Tony Stark inCaptain America: Civil War, the Spider-Man trilogy of movies is one of the MCU’s best. However,Your Friendly Neighborhoodoffers an alternate origin for Spider-Man, deviating from what’s been seen before in some very intriguing ways.To that end, here’s our full breakdown ofYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manepisodes 1 & 2 and the major twist ending explained.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Episodes 1 & 2 Ending Explained
Mirroring Peter Parker’s MCU Debut in Captain America: Civil War
At the end ofYour Friendly NeighborhoodSpider-Manepisode 1, the final scenes are completely framed to perfectly mirrorSpider-Man’s MCU debut inCaptain America: Civil War. Not only is the dialogue with Aunt May the same before the Norman reveal instead of Tony Stark, but Peter also finds a DVD player in a dumpster and takes notice of the crazy car out front of his building, just like Tom Holland’s Peter Parker did. Likewise, the ending of the first episode even features alt-J’s “Left Hand Free” playing, the exact same song used in theCivil Warscene.
As such, the ending ofYour Friendly NeighborhoodSpider-Manepisode 2 with the security footage confirms what Norman likely already suspected.Now having evidence that Peter Parker is the hero who saved his son, it stands to reason that Norman will offer to become Spider-Man’s mentor going forward in this new series. As such,Norman is effectively set to become the place of Iron Man in this alternate MCU timeline, though it will be interesting to see what Peter’s initial reaction will be now that his secret has been exposed for the first time.
Why This Spider-Man’s Life Is So Different Compared To Tom Holland’s Peter Parker
Doctor Strange Seems To Be Involved
The destruction of Midtown High thanks to Doctor Strange and the symbiote monster seems to be the inciting incident resulting in this new branch timeline, one where Midtown’s students are all split up and sent to other schools.This explains the absence of characters like Ned and MJinYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manwho were presumably transferred elsewhere.
However, what makes the Doctor Strange encounter so interesting is the Master of the Mystic Arts' comment that they weren’t supposed to be there, suggesting that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Peter Parker’s new origins. This is especially true considering that the spider that bit him and gave Peter his powers came from the same portal as well.To that end, it’s going to be fascinating to learn more about Spider-Man’s new timeline as this new series continues, and how he’ll gradually evolve into a full-fledged hero given his new circumstances.
