Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 1 and 2 recap: How did Norman know about Peter's secret?

Norman Osborn in the closing moments of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Episode 2 | Image Source: Marvel Entertainment
Norman Osborn in the closing moments of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Episode 2 | Image Source: Marvel Entertainment

SPOILER ALERT: THIS ARTICLE IS FILLED WITH Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man SPOILERS! IT IS SUGGESTED TO SHOW FIRST IF YOU DON'T WANT IT TO BE SPOILED

The first two episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are available to stream on Disney+. The latest animated series featuring the beloved Marvel character Spider-Man draws inspiration from Spiderman comics, old animated shows, and even movies.

The series theme "Neighbor Like Me" is mixed with the introduction song of the iconic 1967 animated series Spider-Man. However, this is not the only shout-out to the wall-crawler's legacy in the show.

One of the biggest plot points revealed in the trailer was Norman Osborn being aware that Peter is Spider-Man. He learns of Peter's double life in the second episode as he unearths security footage of Peter changing into his costume on the stairs.


How did Norman Osborn learn Spider-Man's secret identity?

Norman Osborn is introduced in the concluding minutes of the first episode "Amazing Fantasy". Before he is in focus, we see Peter with a DVD player in his hand coming out of the lift, walking into the lobby of a building with some people, and unlocking the door.

He addresses Aunt May, and then we see Osborn introducing himself. This scene adapts Peter's introduction from 2016's Captain America: Civil War. The song Left Hand Free by Alt-J plays in this scene, just like in that movie. The scene then goes on to play a bit differently as Norman offers Peter an internship and instructs him to visit his office the next day.

The next day, Peter starts his internship and asks security and Doctor Bentley Wittman about the location of Norman's office, but no one believes him. It is not until the concluding moments of the second episode "The Parker Luck" that he is called to Osborn's office. Inside the office, Norman shows Peter the security footage that recorded Peter changing into the Spider-Man costume.

This sets up the mentor-mentee dynamic that was hinted at in the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man trailer. But now that we know that Norman was aware of Peter's secret, it leaves one wondering if he could be manipulating Peter as there have been some hints about Norman Osborne's shady secrets.

However, that's not the only change the show makes to the wall-crawler's history.


Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man explained:

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man made a major change to Spidey's lore. In the popular story, Uncle Ben is killed after Peter is bitten by the radioactive spider. However, in this show, Peter is bitten by the spider after Benjamin Parker's death. It is also worth noting that the radioactive Spider is from an alternate dimension/earth, making this Peter's origin strikingly similar to Miles' origin in the Spider-Verse movies.

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The spider that bites Peter in this show is from a different universe. It swings into this universe through Doctor Strange's Portal when the sorcerer fights a symbiote monster in the first episode.


Important Marvel characters are also introduced in the two episodes:

Other than Doctor Strange, Aunt May, Iron Man, and Norman Osborn, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man also introduces numerous other Marvel characters. Some of these different characters are:

  1. Peter's best friend Nico Minoru, is a magic user and member of the Runaways in the comics.
  2. Pearl Pangan, who is Peter's crush in the show is the superhero Wave
  3. Lonnie Lincoln, Pearl's boyfriend is the supervillain Tombstone in the comics
  4. Asha, Peter's colleague at Oscorp is a brilliant scientist from Wakanda in the source material
  5. Amadeus Cho, another co-worker is a Hulk referred to as Brawn
  6. Jean Focault, the vigilante Finesse, who can master skills quickly
  7. Doctor Bentley Wittman, The Wizard is a supervillain and found of the Frightful Four
  8. Doctor Carla Connors, the show's version of Dr. Curtis Connors/The Lizard
  9. Butane, a human in the show, but belongs to a race called Warpies in the Marvel comics

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is currently streaming on Disney+. It follows a unique release strategy through which episodes, 3,4, and 5 stream on February 5, 2025, episodes 6,7, and 8 will be released on February 12, 2025, and 9 and 10 will be available on Disney+ on February 19, 2025.

Edited by Shimona Sharma
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