Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Episodes 1 & 2 Explained- MCU Similarities and Doctor Strange

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has released its first two episodes which show MCU’s Peter Parker in an alternate timeline. We follow his journey as he becomes the Spider-Man we know he will be. The art style and plot is quite different and distinct, which sets it apart from the rest. 

However, it is still quite connected to the MCU’s version of Spider-Man played by Tom Holland. How? In this article, we will discuss that and explain the first two episodes of the animated show. 

Episode 1- Recap and MCU Connections

Episode 1, Amazing Fantasy, begins when Aunt May takes Peter to his first day of high school. But before he can enter Midtown High, a portal opens up and an alien symbiote shows up with Doctor Strange following it. The school gets damaged in the scuffle that follows and Peter gets bitten by a spider that also showed up through the portal. 

We fast forward a few months later and see that Peter is operating as Spider-Man with a homemade suit. He is now in Rockford T. Bales High. In the MCU, Tony Stark recruits Peter after seeing a video of Spider-Man stopping a stolen van before it can damage a bus. Here, we see that scene in action. 

Also, instead of Tony Stark, it is Norman Osborn, CEO of Oscorp Industries who comes to recruit him. However, at this point, Norman doesn’t know that he is Spider-Man. Also, these are not the only instances. This scene is perfectly framed like the one in Captain America: Civil War when MCU’s Spider-Man meets Tony Stark. Even the dialogue with Aunt May is the same. 

That’s not all. Peter also finds that there’s a DVD in the dumpster and notices that there’s a car in front of his home, similar to how Tom Holland's Peter did. alt-J's Left Hand Free is also used in the first episode which was used in the Civil War scene too. 

Episode 2- Recap and MCU Connections

Episode 2, The Parker Luck, begins with Norman extending an invitation to Peter to join the Oscorp's internship program. There, he meets Asha (from Wakanda), Jean Foucault, and Amadeus Cho. He gets put in a project where the aim is to create a self-sustaining battery. 

Along the way, Spider-Man has to fight Butane, a pyromaniac who also has advanced technology. When he goes back to Oscorp, Norman calls Peter to his office and shows him the footage of him changing into the Spider-Man costume. Now that he knows that Peter is Spider-Man, Norman will probably step into the mentor role like Tony did in the MCU. 

Why are Ned and MJ not in the show? 

Interestingly, the reason this Earth’s Peter Parker became Spider-Man is because Doctor Strange, a symbiote monster, and a spider stepped out of it. This inciting incident made people transfer to other high schools, which probably is the reason why Ned and MJ aren’t in the show. 

New episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man drop every Wednesday on Disney+.