written by Jeff Trammell and various
directed by various
Full disclosure: the last long-form Spider-Man adaptation that I truly enjoyed before watching this series was the 2018 Playstation 4 game. When Marvel Studios announced a new Spider-Man television series, I wasn't terribly optimistic about its quality as I hadn't been a fan of the studio's only other animated series, namely What If-? In fact, I managed to ignore the series for several months, even as positive reviews started to trickle in. At one, point, however, the positivity was too conspicuous to ignore, and so I finally dived in, and boy, am I glad I did.
In ten episodes, showrunner Jeff Trammell and his team of directors and writers have managed something that was, while not quite impossible, virtually unthinkable: they managed to actually put a fresh spin on one of the most known properties in pop culture.
So just to get through the obligatory and obvious questions, yes, the show does present us with the origin of Peter Parker. He still lives with his Aunt May, but unlike the Peter Parker we have long known; his Uncle Ben has already died long before he gets bitten by a genetically-altered spider. One thing that doesn't change, however, is how the spider-bite basically turns Peter's life upside-down, in every sense of those words.
Even long time Spider-Man fans will find something to love about this show, which truly honors the characters legacy. Yes, there's a lot that's been done differently here, from his relationship with Norman Osborn to the impact of Uncle Ben's death on Peter's and May's lives, to the changes in Peter's supporting cast, which now includes disparate, previously unrelated characters like superheroes from other titles like Nico Minoru (Sister Grimm) and Pearl Pangan (Wave), but considering how many times we have seen this character done before, I get that it was important to think out of the box. There was a rumor that this show was supposed to actually tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and take place between the time that Peter Parker gets his powers and the time Tony Stark recruits him to fight Captain America, but I am glad they ultimately went in another direction because the last thing this show would have needed was to be shackled to MCU continuity like that. Reference is made to things that happened in the actual MCU, like the Sokovia Accords, but this show is clearly not tethered to the MCU in any meaningful way, which opens up so many possibilities.
Showrunner Trammel and his writers toe a very fine line between introducing fresh elements into Spider-Man's origin story and keeping the overall narrative true to the spirit of the character. Without spoiling anything, I will say that they do not always get the balance just right, but on the whole, they still make it through the ten episode first season having delivered a very respectable iteration of everyone's favorite webslinger.
The voice cast assembled is top-tier, with standout performances from Hudson Thames as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Grace Song as Nico Minoru, Kari Wahlgren as Aunt May, Zeno Robinson as Harry Osborn and Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn. Voice casting was crucial here because even though this is an animated series, the actors' conviction really is a huge part of making this new iteration of a 60 year old property feel fresh, and all of them deliver.
I also loved the character designs and overall incredible animation, which, unfortunately, is not necessarily guaranteed in a Marvel show. I liked Leonardo Romero's character designs, with the possible exception of Aunt May, whom I feel should have been modeled more after her clear MCU inspiration Marisa Tomei, especially given that not only does Peter resemble Tom Holland, but Wahlgren clearly patterns her vocal after her MCU counterpart. Still, that is a minor quibble considering how consistently good the art and animation of this show are. Even though this isn't a hand-drawn show like X-Men '97 from last year, the hand-drawn designs of Romero, who gets a helping hand from Paolo Rivera and Chris Samnee, flow fluidly on the screen thanks to some sterling animation work by Japanese outfit Polygon, Inc. I have long wanted to see a Spider-Man anime, to be honest, but if this is the closest I'll ever get to that, it will definitely do.
The show does have its flaws, and some character beats do not quite makes sense, but overall, this story really did manage a fresh and interesting take on a character that most of the world knows only too well by now, and I, for one, and am really excited to see what they can bring for season 2.
8.5/10
