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Spider-Man fans were in for a treat with this year's San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). On top of all the juicy glimpses of Marvel's cinematic future, Spider-Man: Freshman Year is slated for release in 2024.
Fans have been asking for more Peter Parker content since his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War. That was difficult for Marvel to deliver because the character was being shared with Sony. However, it doesn't seem to be a problem anymore.
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Freshman Year dives into Peter Parker's life before Civil War and the events that led to him becoming Spider-Man in the MCU. However, there are a few questions that follow the details about this Disney+ series. The first question being: Is Freshman Year canon? If so, that adds a slew of new questions.
How can Spider-Man: Freshman year be canon if so many details say otherwise?
The first disappointing detail about the upcoming series is that Tom Holland will not be reprising his role as Peter Parker. Somebody else will have the pleasure of voicing Spider-Man. This isn't definitive proof that it's not within MCU continuity, but it does lack connectivity.
The series did manage to get Charlie Cox to return as Daredevil, who will play a role in the wall-crawler's origin. Despite not meeting Matt Murdock until No Way Home, this can still work out if Daredevil's identity is never revealed to Peter. In fact, that adds some weight to the show, making secret identities important again, which is something the MCU has shied away from.
The official press release for Freshman Year claims that the series will be a part of MCU.
"The animated series follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, starting with his freshman year of high school of course. Peter’s journey in the series will be unlike we've ever seen."
The statement above is marketing the upcoming series as an MCU origin for Spider-Man, but the creative team behind the series needs to be careful with a statement like that. Especially when all the new details about the show are pointing to a different story.
That statement tells the audience that they're going to learn what Peter's life was like before Tony Stark showed up on his doorstep; before he caught Captain America's shield on that German runway. It tells fans that they might finally see Uncle Ben's death in the MCU.
Sadly, "MCU" to the Marvel Studios team means something completely different from what it means to fans. When fans think of the MCU, they're thinking of the same reality/universe/dimension that Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame took place within. Otherwise known as MCU-616, since the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
It's fine if Freshman Year takes place on another MCU Earth than 616-Earth, but be honest about it. Be clear that this is setting up the origin for a different universe's Spider-Man and not the Tom Holland one.
More confusion comes into play when other supporting characters in the show are revealed. Some of these characters Peter didn't meet until well into his career as the web-slinger.
Peter didn't meet Norman Osborn or Doctor Octopus until No Way Home. And even those characters weren't from the MCU. Now it's being reported that Norman will be Peter's mentor while his son, Harry, will be Peter's friend. These are two characters that don't exist in the MCU, according to Norman Osborn himself.
Doctor Strange will also play a significant role in Freshman Year, who wasn't a sorcerer around the time that Peter got his powers. This could be explained away as Doctor Strange looking back in time at the events that led to Peter becoming Spider-Man, but it's doubtful.
Fans should prepare themselves with the harsh reality that this is not Tom Holland's Peter Parker they will be seeing. This is most likely a Peter from another universe that's more comic-accurate than the MCU's.
Freshman Year can still be enjoyable and an excellent addition to Disney+, but it shouldn’t be billed as MCU's Peter Parker. It leads to confusion and disappointment.
