#CouchWorthy: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Canon Is The Shot Heard Round The World: Brad Winderbaum is the head of Streaming, TV and Animation at Marvel Studios.

He recently was interviewed at Phase Hero about being an executive producer on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man:

As I listened to his comments, I grew concerned.

It seems Brad is saying continuity is “a hard place to develop from?” He’s flat out wrong: I dunno how else to say it, you know?

Eliminating continuity is how we ended up with Miles Morales and Wonder Woman’s messy origins and lots more comic book messes.

Brad’s point of the Spider-Man rights issue is valid. I know it’s hard. Sony acquired the Spider-Man film and television rights in 1998 when Marvel fell on hard times. The terms governing the use of the character are set out in a 71-page license agreement executive summary which was released in a 2014 hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). Pretty interesting read if you have the time. I’m always curious how IP is managed, you know?

However…when he says “we would have had to put so many limiters on our story to get it to lock into cannon…” yo son!! That’s entirely the beautiful value of continuity.

Continuity is the bouncer at the door for ignorant fans and shortcutting creators. It’s designed to keep foolish people out. Continuity is the total opposite of a “Friendly Neighborhood.” You and your ignorance ain’t welcome here.

Continuity is endlessly inspiring because it rewards The Work.
All nerd consumption is work.

Everything’s been around for decades and exists across multiple platforms: from movies to McDonald’s Happy Meal toys. It’s a lot of work.

So this is a standalone Spider-Man story set in an alternative timeline. (Originally Disney+ announced the series as Spider-Man: Freshman Year so the plan was always high school Peter Parker. Sorry, Uncle Ben.).

However, it is not canon which means its popularity will generate a confused discourse brimming with ignorance. In 2025…let’s stop giving stupid people a seat at the table.

(Matt Murdock / Daredevil is voiced by Charlie Cox…so if it’s not canon why is the canon voice speaking for the non-canon Daredevil?!)

I’m nervous about the impact on Spider-Man and future live action iterations of the beloved Marvel icon. Despite all of my accurate misgivings and valid issues…here we are. 

#SetTheVCR: for the first 2 episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on January 29, 2025:

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Sammy Verdict: I miss Spider-Man: Classic ill Aunt May, taking Spider-Man is a menace photos for the Bugle…those Marvel comics were and are Amazing. I’d be Spectacular if Peter Parker got back on track but this is just another complicated web. I’ll watch a bit but I’m far from sold.

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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.