It is appropriate, arriving on the heels of the just-concluded third and for now, final season of What If? For another, this series does have many familiar traits of Marvel Cinematic Universe Spidey but it's set in an alternate reality. One where you may ask, for example, What If a certain arch-nemesis of Peter's from the comics mentored him instead of Tony Stark?
Or What If it wasn't a radioactive spider that gave Peter his powers, but a spoiler deleted? So, there's a lot here that is oh-so-familiar but yet decidedly different. OK, there is the inevitable gender- and race-swapping of key characters but you know what? I really don't mind all that, as long as the story is good. Playing out over 10 episodes, this debut season of YFNSM follows Peter from the time he gets his powers through his rocky relationships with his classmates; and through the abovementioned mentorship, which may see him in over his head not just in terms of heroics, but balancing school and work Expect the usual encounters with street punks, more organised criminal gangs, the inevitable supervillains, an extradimensional threat or several, and a bucket load of "guest stars" from a certain Master of the Mystic Arts to a Man Without Fear voiced by, in the worst kept secret of them all, Charlie Cox ahead of his return in Daredevil: Born Again in just over a month.
Of course, it wouldn't be Spider-Man without a school crush, and newfound friends you know Peter will let down inevitably, although the customary Parker bad luck is not as high-profile here as in the comics and the non-MCU Spidey flicks. Here, the underlying tone is about Peter's reluctance to commit to his abilities, and how consciously holding back could endanger not just the people around him, but his own life.
Ghost Spider! It's all told in a vibrant, simultaneously retro yet "modernist" visual style complete with an array of those beloved comic-book corner boxes in the opening credits that owes a fair bit to Sony's Spider-Verse epics. All that, backed by familiar tunes from Spidey and MCU's history, funked up with beats beloved by A solid debut season two more are reportedly in development for YFNSM , one that gives the young Peter Parker enough room to grow into his alter-ego without cutting corners or sacrificing milestones in his various relationships.
It ends with a ton of foreshadowing for upcoming seasons, but until those arrive, there is a lot of detail in this opening year's worth of tales hat should make the occasional rewatch worthwhile. Swing away, Webhead! Billed as RM9. Billed as RM Already a subscriber?
