GHOST WRITES

Tag: Tv

  • DC Studios’ Missing Piece – And How To Fix It!

    DC Studios’ Missing Piece – And How To Fix It!

    The DCU has started. With the release of “Superman”, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new cinematic DC Universe has finally and properly gotten off the ground (quite literally, Superman flies around – get it?). And as the future of the studio becomes clearer with each passing day – as more of these projects get the greenlight – it’s also quite apparent that one side of the DC universe seems to be largely ignored. Where is the magic? For a slate of films titled “Gods and Monsters” there is shockingly little magic to be found in the upcoming roster, even though it’s a force that bonds the gods and monsters together in a major way. 

    Magic has been a long time fixture in DC comics, spawning fan favorite characters, teams and books. DC’s magical side exploded into popularity under the Vertigo publishing line, putting out some of the most creative, critically acclaimed and successful books the company has ever seen and is to this day one of the most fertile grounds for groundbreaking storytelling. Magic bleeds into almost every facet of the DC universe; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, hell even the Flash, they all deal with magic on a (semi) regular basis. But looking at the slate of projects currently worked on over at WB it seems that a magic focused project isn’t really at the forefront yet. Yes, Magical characters will show up in some of the projects announced to be in production so far, I’m sure of that – Updates on the project have been sparse since its announcement but James Mangold’s Swamp Thing surely deals with magic in some capacity, the Paradise Lost show (which will definitely morph into a Wonder Woman: Historia project by-the-way) has to feature heaps of magic if it wants to be faithful to its source material and Circe already showed magical prowess in Creature Commandos – yet none of those projects put the magicians in the lead. A weird phenomenon given how much excitement there is about these characters. 

    Many magical DC-characters could lend themselves well to a solo big-screen adventure or a big-budget-miniseries on HBO MAX; Constantine is a fan favorite, so is Zatanna, Dr. Fate is already a familiar face for audiences (that is, at least to all twelve people that saw Black Adam), Hell, you could even put them all together in a little team-up and you finally get yourself a nice Justice League Dark project. But while there are many cool and exciting possibilities we could talk about today, there is one DC book that would make for a perfect exploration to this side of DC’s mythos. The highly underrated 1990 miniseries “Books Of Magic”. 

    BOOKS OF MAGIC

    Books of Magic is a 4 issue miniseries created by Neil Gaiman, John Bolton, Charles Vess, Paul Johnson, and Scott Hampton, that introduces Tim Hunter to the DC universe, a young boy destined to become a great and powerful wizard, but whose future is still left uncertain as forces of both good and evil pine for his soul. When evil mystic forces want to corrupt Tim and turn him over to the dark side of magic, a group of mystical detectives, referred to as the Trenchcoat Brigade, come together to guide Tim on a journey that will decide not just his future, but also that of the entire DC universe. The brigade, consisting of Doctor Occult, Mister E, Phantom Stranger and fan favorite John Constantine, take Tim on a journey that has him interact with almost every notable mystic in the DC universe. All of the characters that I mentioned as potential tv-and-movie-leads cross paths with Tim, as well as a bunch of others including The Endless and Madame Xanadu. This, to me, lends itself perfectly to a prestige 5 or 6 episode miniseries for HBO MAX.

    This book is such a good choice for the start of this new universe for one reason; Tim. Tim is a perfect audience surrogate, he is learning all of these crazy new secrets about the world on his journey through the past, present and future, just like the audience is doing. We introduce this world through his eyes and we can organically explain and define what magic is in this universe without it feeling forced or boring. Things never get too big for Tim, so they don’t get too big for audiences either. This is even more fitting when you realize just how well established the DCU already is. There are all these things already going on, so many stories have already happened, and Tim learning about this whole new secret layer to all of that would be an identical position to the audience.

    But the reasons why don’t end there.

    Paired up with Tim is the aforementioned Trenchcoat Brigade, a collection of characters who lend themselves well to the story we want to tell here. One of them, John Constantine, is a fan favorite character that can pull in a large number of viewers, making this a good creative idea as well as a business strategy – and while the other three are admittedly much more niche, that has never been a problem for Gunn’s productions. If anything Gunn thrives using these characters, I’m sure a realized version of this idea would see these three characters slightly tweaked and morphed into perfect versions for this type of story at the hands of Gunn, Safran and whoever else they’d bring in to produce this story (Ideally that person would be me, they should bring in me, I will send you my phone number, James).

    The original book sees Tim pair up with a new member of the brigade every issue, creating four distinct adventures over the course of four issues that explore the past, present and future of the DC universe as well as several adjacent realms. While this four part structure works perfectly for the original comic book, adapting it to a HBO-like-format would require an extra episode or two, Fleshing out the world, characters and mostly Tim with more detail compared to the original mini-series – Luckily for you, I also know just how to do that. Bring in Zatanna.

    Those of you who happen to have read the original 4 issue run know that the second issue takes place in the present day – as Constantine takes Tim through the modern-day DC universe and has him interact with this large cast of familiar faces. Among that cast of characters is Zatanna, who second only to Constantine himself, is probably the most well known magic user DC has in their roster. In the book, right after meeting up with her, Constantine is suddenly called away to go do something else, leaving Tim behind in Zatanna’s home. The two characters then have their own little adventure which, while I think it works very well in the book, needs to be remodeled for an adaptation like this. This is the part of the book where the show needs to kind of diverge from its source material and make Zatanna and Tim’s journey an entire episode in-and-of-itself – compared to the last pages of a different story. This could be ideal for a few reasons: Zatanna is a big deal in the comics, she’s a lot of fun and people are very aware of her already – even if she’s never been featured in a live action film adaptation. Giving her this little moment in the spotlight would make fans very happy, plus it would give us a different angle to approach the whole Tim mentorship with. Zatanna isn’t like any of the other members of the trenchcoat brigade, she would bring a unique maturity and kindness to TIm’s journey that I feel could mean a lot for him and dictate which side of the coin the young boy ends up choosing. She, because of her heritage and who her father was, has also been thrust into the world without really having a say in it, which is a great point to explore between the two. Also, Most of those big players in DC’s magic world, those who we will want to see more of in the DCU going forward (Like Deadman, who’s already been teased by Gunn on Instagram) appear in that second issue, so giving that part of the book a little bit more time to breathe could benefit audiences greatly. This is what we want from an interconnected universe like this, getting to know this wide tapestry of characters bit by bit. Plus, and let’s be honest here, Constantine will be the main draw of the show, no matter how good every other aspect is, audiences will be drawn to him first, by splitting his story up into multiple parts and injecting Zatanna in between those, fans will get to see a lot more of this fan favorite character.

    There is material for an additional sixth episode as well to be found in the last issue of the book. While I would in no way shape or form suggest that the ending to the original miniseries isn’t great, it’s one of the most unique and engaging endings of the Vertigo era, it might lack a little bit of flashiness for a big budget TV show. I don’t want to spoil what happens in the fourth issue (read Books of Magic if you haven’t) so this next bit might sound a little vague, but you could extend the material from the fourth issue into two episodes. Tim and Mister E travel through the future by foot until they arrive at the end of everything, the death of the universe and the death of Destiny. This climactic issue is filled with wild visuals and manages to surprise the reading audience by revealing a major twist right near the finish line. Using this twist to split this last issue in half would give this part of the story – one overflowing with lore, visuals and action –  some much needed breathing room and help audiences stomach the insanity that is present in the final stretch of Tim’s journey.

    If you’re curious about the book and want to delve deeper into it, I highly recommend checking it out. Though I must also address that, while the book is great and a LOT of writers and artists have left their fingerprint on it, it is a Neil Gaiman book – and that could be an issue for some people. I know it was a weird moment to be writing this article (I’d completed work on it several weeks before the Gaiman allegations came out but was waiting on a good moment to share this when that article was released about him), I just hope the book can still get its moment in the sun for those who worked on it that aren’t literal monsters. So fuck Neil Gaiman!

    Do you have any future DCU projects you’d like to see? Put them in the comments because I’d love to hear it. And would you be interested to see more magic in the DCU? Make sure to follow Ghost-Writes for more articles about DC studios, DC comics and a whole lot more geeky topics!

  • What To Read: Daredevil: Born Again

    What To Read: Daredevil: Born Again

    We live in a day and age filled with comic book adaptations. Movies starring our favorite superheroes, villains, anti-heroes and pulpy characters seem to pop up every month, tv shows adapting cult classic independent books are released so fast you can barely keep up with it and every now and again they even try to adapt the books we love for the stage (to middling success). Yet the stories that inspire these films and shows often get overlooked. The books that breathe life and color into these – often inferior – adaptations are sometimes completely ignored when a major studio gets their claws into them, a trend that frustrates me endlessly. That’s why I’m starting this series, where we look at upcoming comic book adaptations and discuss the books that inspired them, so you know what to pick up next time you’re in your local comic book shop.

    Today we will be looking at Marvel Studios’ latest straight-to-streaming series “Daredevil: Born Again”, a continuation of the original Netflix show that released in 2015. With the episodes that have released so far we know a little of what to expect, but for those who want to know more, this list is for you. 

    Spoilers for the first 3 episodes of “Daredevil Born Again” from here on out!

    Daredevil by Charles Soule

    If you want to be prepared for “Born Again”, you need to start here. Charles Soule’s time on the Daredevil title is without a doubt the foundation on which this new season is built, not only introducing you to new-comers like Muse, but it’s also the book that kick-started Wilson Fisk’s reign over New York City, a storyline which will slowly make its way into the MCU in Born Again.

    Charles Soule’s run is quite wonderful; After Mark Waid’s took Matt into a lighter and more colorful direction in his critically lauded run on the character, Soule proceeds to rip Matt back into darkness, into the shadows of Hell’s Kitchen all the while sporting an amazing black suit and a gritty new personality. Especially that last part seems to have inspired “Born Again” at least a little, as we know Matt is going to go through some rough shit at the start of the season, dictating his personality for the entire rest of the show. 

    But it’s not just Matt’s MCU path laid out by Soule’s time on the book, it seems like Wilson Fisk might just be inspired by Soule as well. Soule took Fisk and his dirty operations out from the city’s seedy underbelly and brought him to new levels of power by making The Kingpin of New York City its newest mayor. We obviously saw Fisk becoming the Mayor of New York in the show’s first episode and I’m excited to see how the show tackles his new rise to power. One of my favorite moments from Soule’s time on the book (that I will refrain from spoiling) happens after he’s appointed as New York’s mayor so I truly hope the MCU will do this storyline justice.

    The most obvious hint towards a possible Soule adaptation though is Muse’s inclusion in the show. The artistic serial killer introduced by Soule and Ron Garney is making his on-screen debut in the new show, setting the stage for what I can only assume to be some gore-y mayhem.

    Soule’s time on the character is a wonderful return to tone, perfect for anyone who loves the Netflix Daredevil series and wants more of that gritty feel. Soule brings a unique flavor to the book with his background as a real lawyer, perfectly balancing the work of Matt and the work of Daredevil into an exciting saga filled with amazing art by a stellar line-up of artists.

    Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky

    Unlike most of these lists I write, this is mostly a pretty chronological list of books I’m recommending. After Soule quit his time on the Daredevil title came Zdarsky, taking over the saga of Matt Murdock and running with it in a new yet familiar direction. Zdarsky’s Matt is still gritty, still that catholic boy grown up wracked with guilt and anger, but he’s also just sort of beaten down. He’s tired, hurt and broken. All of which catches up to him in a major way when he faces a gang of low-tier street thugs and makes a mistake he can’t turn back. Trailers for Born Again have suggested that Matt will make a similar mistake early on in the show which is where the similarities between these two takes on the character start. 

    While Soule started Fisk’s reign over New York as Mayor, Zdarsky is the one who fledges it out into the same territory I expect from the MCU. While this might not be super important yet, I can’t imagine this stuff won’t be touched upon later in the show. Maybe that’s in the show’s next season set to release next year or it could be touched upon in other shows / movies as the street-level saga of the MCU starts to take shape. 

    Zdarsky’s time on the character spans multiple books making it a little bit more difficult to read the entire thing in one go. Essentially, this story is split up over 3 parts; starting with Daredevil (2019) issue #1 which ends and leads into “Devil’s Reign” – the 7 issue event with plethora of tie-in issues that connect to it- and finally ending with 2022’s Daredevil run. Those first two parts are most important for those who wanna get ready for “Born Again” and the future of the MCU. Many of these similar lists will tell you to skip that last part of Zdarsky’s saga as its magical “Hand” focused story might put off those looking for a gritty crime drama, but personally I have to disagree. If you wanna experience Zdarsky’s voice for Matt to its fullest, you need that last stretch to fully make it all make sense, it brings the entire thing together and wraps up one of the most satisfying runs the character has ever had. 

    The show also includes a bunch of minor characters from Zdarsky’s run; We know we’ll see Cole North in the show, a rough and tough cop who comes after Daredevil in Zdarsky’s run but quickly learns the importance of his role as the Devil Of Hell’s Kitchen. The show’s version of Bullseye seems inspired by Zdarsky’s run as well, with Poindexter donning a suit inspired by Checchetto’s design and newly introduced character Daniel Blake reminds me a lot of Zdarsky creation Butch Farris.

    Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis

    Now we skip back in time to the early 2000s, way before either Zdarsky or Soule took over on the Daredevil title, before the character had appeared on Netflix and even before Ben Affleck donned the red leather on the big screen. Before all of that we had Brian Michael Bendis’ phenomenal run on the character. 

    The Bendis era is amazing. It’s Bendis at his best as he effortlessly seemed to create a narrative that spanned 50+ issues without ever taking a breather or having a fill-in issue to pad for time. He draws in from all corners of the Marvel Universe – which he seemed to be running during the early 2000s – to create his own little cohesive street-level world within this larger universe of capes and tights.

    The only reason this series isn’t higher on this list is because I just don’t see that much of it factoring in during the MCU’s“Born Again”. Some of Bendis’ storylines might be adapted later on (though I expect that to be more-so a season 3 or 4 story than a season 2 plot) but for now not all of his 50+ issues are exactly important if you want to immerse yourself in the world of the MCU show. What is important to read though is the White Tiger arc, a storyline the show has taken major inspiration from in episode 2 and 3. Sure, there are some differences the show has made that fans might not be entirely agreeing with, but if you want a glimpse at the story of Hector Ayala in the comics, this is the book to pick up.

    Nobody does the grit, the angst and the violence of Daredevil better than Bendis, leaving his mark on the character forever, infusing any adaptation off the character with that little extra something that makes Daredevil stand out from the rest of the Marvel universe. 

    Honorable Mentions

    Since the Man Without Fear has such an incredible track record in comics, with an unrivaled amount of classic and critically acclaimed runs under his name, I think it best if I give you all a little run down off other amazing Daredevil stories you should check out, even if they might not tie in with the new show’s story as much as the previous entries have. 

    Obviously the show takes its title from the seminal “Born Again” arc by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, which might be one of Daredevil’s greatest and most classic stories ever told. Yet the show and the book truly don’t bear any resemblance to each other, with the story instead being the main inspiration for the Netflix show’s third season. Still, picking up “Born Again” cannot do you any harm, it is a truly astounding read and I dare you not to fall in love with Miller and Mazzuccchelli’s work instantly. 

    Since I put Bendis’ run on here I do also feel like checking out Brubaker’s follow up run is a good idea. Not only do the two stories directly lead into each other, but the book also features the death of Foggy Nelson, a major plot point in the MCU show as we’ve come to learn. If the rest off the book is adapted into the show as well remains to be seen, but no matter what the book is still very solid and the perfect supplement to Bendis’ time on the title. 

    One of the show’s newest additions to the Daredevil world is that of Kristen McDuffie, whom Matt decides to set up a law-firm with in the show after Foggy’s supposed passing. Kirsten is heavily featured in Mark Waid’s run on Daredevil which – and I understand I am repeating myself here, but Daredevil just has this many hits under his belt – is another modern day classic run on the character. 

    There are many more incredible Daredevil titles for you to revel in, and I certainly hope you do check out more once you’ve gotten through this list, but for now these are all the books I think you’ll want to read as you dive in Matt’s return to the small screen. Are there any titles you think I’ve missed? And how are you liking the MCU show so far? Let me know in the comments or on my socials and be sure to follow us as to not miss any Daredevil coverage (and believe me, there is more on the way)

  • Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – What’s Next?

    Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – What’s Next?

    The two episode finale of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” left us with many exciting cliffhangers and set-ups for next season, some obvious and others less-so. Where do we think these storylines could lead to and can we uncover more hidden storylines if we look to the comics for leads? Let’s talk about it.

    Before we can really start I do have to say that I won’t be discussing the obvious; Yes, Norman will become Green Goblin. Yes, Lonnie will turn into a more comic accurate Tombstone. Yeah, I also saw the symbiote and Yes, Doc Ock will get his tentacles. Sure, those things are exciting but they’re not super fun to talk about compared to the outlandish theories I have cooked up, hence I’m not touching on them.

    Spoiler warning for Season 1 of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”

    Taskmaster

    Last year, way before the show came out, even before we got any official trailers or promo material, I wrote a speculative article on the series trying to piece together what we could expect from its first season. One of my more outlandish theories from that article was a surprise appearance from none-other than Taskmaster, one of Marvel’s most iconic bad guys and a fan favorite for many. Now we obviously didn’t see Taskmaster in the show’s first season but the ending of episode 10 weirdly enough made me more certain we’ll see the skull-faced bad guy in the second season. 

    See Taskmaster is connected to one of the show’s minor characters; Jeanne Foucault, who we see teaming up with Daredevil at the end of season 1. Jeanne, going by Finesse in the comics, is a gifted Polymath, being able to copy anyone’s fighting abilities in an instance. Obviously these powers are very similar to that of Taskmaster, often implying that he’s Jeanne’s biological father in the comics. Now obviously her inclusion does not have to mean Taskmaster will show up next season, but the fact that the show opted for Jeanne instead of someone like Blindspot, who’s an actual Daredevil sidekick in the comics, leads me to believe Taskmaster has at the very least been discussed by the show’s creative team. 

    Imagine how cool a team-up episode would be where Daredevil, Finesse and Peter have to face Taskmaster? Tell me you don’t wanna see that!

    The Future of W.E.B.

    One of the final scenes in season 1’s finale ended with Harry Osborn establishing W.E.B, a tech company set up to help young scientific minds fund their brilliant ideas. We see a list of potential names to join the organization including Ned Leeds; a classic member of Spider-Man’s supporting cast with a headache-inducing amount of lore and retcons to his name – including being the Hobgoblin, and Max Dillon; better known as classic Spider-Man bad guy Electro. Also included are a bunch of the show’s crew members and a wide-array of minor characters from the comics. While those latter additions to the list are far from household names, there is a shared link between some of them; G.I.R.L.

    No, that doesn’t mean they’re all girls, it’s actually an acronym for the “Geniuses In Action Research Lab”, another enterprise focused on honing the skills of young scientific minds (though this one only focused on female members). This group is founded by Nadia Van Dyne, daughter of Hank Pym and known as the Unstoppable Wasp in the comics. I’d love to see Spidey team-up with another bug-themed do-gooder and the inclusion of Nadia would be another fun way for the show to differentiate itself from the sacred MCU timeline. I’d also enjoy seeing the W.E.B team face off against the G.I.R.L group as the two strive for scientific dominance. 

    Fallout of War

    Now what you might forget as a viewer is that “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” is basically a “What If…” episode expanded into an entire show. It might be a bit of an unconventional one but the show does explore what would’ve happened to Peter’s life had he not joined team Iron Man during the events of Civil War. While the show never addresses the Sokovia accords and subsequent fallout of the new superhero laws in detail, Civil War is alluded to on several occasions, so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if the show delves much deeper into this “What If…” in subsequent seasons. 

    The inclusion of General Ross and Iron Man are my main reason for thinking we might be getting more down the line. Not only is their appearance in the show a sort of random addition, as neither character really interacts with Peter’s story at all, mainly being used as a tool by Norman, but the show also reiterates their importance in the season’s finale. Norman specifically mentions both characters in his speech to Octavius in jail as if the writers really wanted you to remember their inclusion in the show. 

    We also saw the actual Accords in the show’s final episodes and Cap makes a very minor appearance in the hallways of Oscorp, posing for a picture with Norman that’s hung on the wall for all of his visitors to see. To me it’s clear that the show keeps reminding the viewer that the superhero Civil War happened so people keep it in the back of their minds once season 2 or 3 continues developing the scenario. 

    The “YFNSM” prequel comic that Marvel has been publishing also established that this version of Peter is a bigger fan of Cap than he is off Tony, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the show decides to retroactively make Pete a member of Team Cap, especially since the webhead is definitely in conflict with the Sokovia Accords as a masked vigilante. I’d love to see what Peter would do once Cap is the first Avenger he meets instead of Tony and if he would join him in a fight against Iron Man.

    Future Villains

    Now the show has set up a whole heap of exciting new adversaries for Spidey to face next season with the obvious inclusions being more Doc Ock, Green Goblin and a Venom of sorts, but the show planted many more seeds for the future of Peter’s rogues.

    The show gives us a bunch of future bad guy material in episode 4 and 5 by establishing a crew of criminals looking to buy some of Octavius’ gear before being apprehended by the cops. These characters obviously included The Unicorn, who I don’t expect to see much more of, but it also included characters like Mikhail Sytsevich; father of the original Rhino in the comics. While this could mean his son Aleksei vows to take revenge on Spider-Man for putting his father away in prison, he does also sport a very bulky body himself, perfect for a Rhino suit in the future? Someone on the crew who does get their comic accurate costume already is Dmitri, better known as the Chameleon, the groups getaway driver. He dons his iconic white mask later on in the season while helping the 110th find Octavius’ gear. 

    While the 110th is obviously led by an increasingly scary Lonnie Lincoln now, the group does also include another well known Marvel bad guy; Bulldozer. Bulldozer is normally a part of the Wrecking Crew (who we saw in She-Hulk previously) alongside Wrecker, Piledriver and Thunderball. If we’ll see those three pop up in the 110th later on as well remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Lonnie goes to look for more super-powered allies after discovering what Ocatvius’ gas did to him.

    One of the show’s final teasers and one that puzzled me the most was that of Nico Minoru, as she used her previously hidden magical abilities to conjure up a spell. Now it wasn’t entirely clear to me what her spell was going to do but it obviously has something to do with her mother. Nico has sort of mystified me in this show, her inclusion is fun and I get that the series wanted to differentiate Peter’s supporting cast from other adaptations, but putting in the biggest member of one of Marvel’s most interesting titles, a character with such a well-established back story and identity, seems on purpose. While we don’t know what happened to Nico’s parents, we do know her story is much different from her comic book counterpart, yet I wouldn’t be surprised if the show manages to align the two versions a little more in subsequent seasons. For those who don’t know, the original Runaways story establishes Nico’s parents as villains working for an evil cult-like organization called the Cabal. I’m guessing “YFNSM” ‘s version of Nico’s mom is lost somewhere in a magical realm and Nico is desperately trying to get her back, but once she manages to do so, her mom will have turned in some way, either voluntarily or possessed by something on the other side (Mephisto?? We did see a hint of him in her Tarot deck…). 

    Whatever or whoever will appear in the shows upcoming seasons remain to be seen (though we did get an exciting Gwen Stacy reveal on Twitter today), but if the response to season 1 is any indication, fans will love whatever happens!

    There were many more exciting reveals in “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” and I’d love to hear what you are most excited to see happen next! And what did you think of the show’s first season. Did you love it? Hate it? Let me know! Be sure to follow along as I can promise the Wall-Crawler will be discussed much more in the future!

  • What To Read: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

    What To Read: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

    We live in a day and age filled with comic book adaptations. Movies starring our favorite superheroes, villains, anti-heroes and pulpy characters seem to pop up every month, tv shows adapting cult classic independent books are released so fast you can barely keep up with it and every now and again they even try to adapt the books we love for the stage (to middling success). Yet the stories that inspire these films and shows often get overlooked. The books that breathe life and color into these – often inferior – adaptations are sometimes completely ignored when a major studio gets their claws into them, a trend that frustrates me endlessly. That’s why I’m starting this series, where we look at upcoming comic book adaptations and discuss the books that inspired them, so you know what to pick up next time you’re in your local comic book shop.

    Today we’ll be looking at Marvel Studios’ upcoming Spider-Man show: “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”, the first ever animated Spidey show set to release under the MCU banner. The show sports a vibrant color scheme and a classic Spidey narrative wrapped up in a modern coating. The show’s aesthetic is clearly inspired by the first books on our list.

    Amazing Spider-Man by Ditko and Lee

    Yeah. This one feels sort of obvious. But it’s here for more than just that. Yes, of course every single adaptation of Spider-Man will harken back to the original stories shaped by Ditko and Lee. It’s an inevitability. But these original works are also the only comics that have been explicitly stated as a major influence on the show’s look by Showrunner Jeff Trammell. And that influence is not subtle. The bright look of the show and its vibrant classic character design are a clear indication that – at least in parts – this show will harken back to the 60s roots of the character. 

    Multiple episode titles of the first season refer to this era of Spidey comics, with both the pilot and the finale being named after seminal moments of Ditko’s time in the book. The Pilot titled “Amazing Fantasy” refers to Peter’s first appearance in “Amazing Fantasy #15” while “If This Be My Destiny…” refers to the iconic storyline of the same name which has been loosely recreated by Marvel Studios before in “Homecoming”.

    It’s always good to brush up on the origins of these classic characters, both the good ones and the bad ones, and “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” is no exception. Doc Ock, Chameleon, Scorpion, Stephen Strange – they all harken back to that Silver Age of comic books – which funnily enough happens to be the golden age of Marvel if we’re being completely honest. We’ve seen many different books tell Peter’s origin as Spidey, and even more showing us the early days of his crime-fighting career, but none are as classic as Ditko and Lee’s time on the book.

    Yet, Lee and Ditko’s work can be tough to get through, it’s wordy. Very wordy. A trademark of the Golden age and Silver Age that has made it quite impenetrable for some modern audiences. I suggest reading this era one book at a time. Check out the characters you most like, read an issue at a time, take your time with them. These are stunning books, rich and fun, they are the groundwork on which all of this is built, all of these stories we love so much, don’t let some text get in the way of experiencing that. 

    Untold Tales Of Spider-Man

    “Untold Tales Of Spider-Man” is on this list for similar reasons as our previous entry. It’s a good classic Spider-Man book chronicling Peter’s early days as the webbed wonder. Written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by Patrick Olliffe, Untold Tales sets out to fill in the moments between Lee and Ditko’s original stories, making it great supplementary reading material next to our previous entry.

    This is one of my personal favorite Spider-Man books, as it nails every beat a good classic Spidey story needs to hit. It has the big spectacular action beats as he fights classic villains like Vulture and Green Goblin, but it also focuses on the smaller scale day-to-day criminals, perfectly balancing a roster of A-tier evildoers and C-listers who might not always get the time of day they deserve. Having seen the roster of bad guys we’ll be getting in “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” it seems the creators of the show share a similar love for the C-listers, as we’ll be getting appearances from The Unicorn, Speed Demon and White-Rabbit to name but a few names, while also featuring classic villains like Doc Ock and Norman Osborn.

    Identity Crisis

    Back in 2022, Marvel Studios’ animation department had their big Comic-Con panel in which they revealed a ton of exciting stuff, among them was a whole bunch of cool tidbits about “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” (still titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year back then). Among those exciting pieces was one of Leo Romero’s amazing line-up shots featuring a bunch of different suits the webhead would be wearing in season 1, including 3 suits heavily featured in the “Identity Crisis” storyline.

    “Identity Crisis” – written by a group of writers including J.M. DeMatteis and Howard Mackie, with art by artists like John Romita Jr and Joe Bennett- follows Pete as he’s figuring out how to deal with one of Osborn’s more nefarious’ attacks. He’s been able to completely sully the Spider-Man name by framing him for murder, meaning Peter has to find some new alter-ego’s while trying to clear his name. Instead of going for the usual black suit or just laying low for a bit, Peter decides to create 4 distinct new super-hero personalities, all with their own distinct function, to fill the spider-sized hole in his life.

    From the show’s episode titles we can safely assume it’s third episode, titled “Secret Identity Crisis” will somehow focus on the “Identity Crisis” storyline, but in what shape or form that will manifest remains to be seen.

    Honorable Mentions

    There are a few more titles that I see as potential influences on the show, but I’m guessing they might not be as important as others on this list or even be bad guesses on my part which is why I’m putting them in their own little category.

    Based on the show’s premise as an early days Spider-Man story I’d feel it’s always a safe bet to read 2015’s “Spidey” run by Robbie Thompson and a rotating team of artists including Nate Stockman and Nick Bradshaw. That 12 issue run focused on a more modern-day retelling of the first adventures of Peter as Spider-Man and explored not just his own world of villains and supporting characters but also introduced the webhead to many different corners of the Marvel Universe as he teamed up with heroes like Iron Man and Black Panther. I’m sure the two versions of Pete’s early days will be similar in tone, making it a fun little read while you wait on more episodes to release each week.

    We know Pete will meet other heroes of the Marvel Universe in this new show as well. We’ll see Daredevil, Doctor Strange and Iron Man in the show to name but a few names and his supporting cast is filled with familiar faces like Amadeus Cho and Nico Minoru. I wonder if this means we can expect the show to pull from Pete’s time leading Marvel’s “Team-Up” books from the 70’s to mid 80’s. For a more modern take on this concept, check out “Avenging Spider-Man” from 2012, which saw Pete team-up with a bunch of characters from all sides of the Marvel Universe.

    In the episode titles we can also find references to the “Big Time” initiative of 2009, which jump started a new day and age for Slott’s time on the Amazing Spider-Man title. I don’t expect there to be any real influence in “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” that can be traced back to “Big Time” but the inclusion is certainly suspicious.


    Are you excited for “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”? And If so, will you be checking out any of these aforementioned books in preparation? Let us know in the comments! And give us a follow if you’d like to read more of my thoughts on Marvel Studios’ latest attempt at reinventing Spider-Man.