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Marvel's Spider-Man: Freshman Year: 5 Things We Learned From The Comic-Con Panel

Ultimate Spider-Man Marvel
By Ryan Scott

One of the unique things about Tom Holland's version of Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that we didn't see his origin story. When we meet him in "Captain America: Civil War," he has already been Spider-Man for a little bit and is being recruited by Tony Stark for bigger, better things. Well, the upcoming animated series "Spider-Man: Freshman Year" looks to shed some light on the earlier days of this iteration of the character... or does it? We got a glimpse at what the new animated series is going to entail during the Marvel Studios animation panel at San Diego Comic-Con, and here's what we learned.

We're going to see Peter's early days and many suits

Jeff Trammell SDCC Marvel panel Disney / Getty Images

Jeff Trammell, writer and executive producer of the series (seen above), was on hand to deliver all of the juicy details. For one, he showed us some early artwork from the show, and as part of that, we see some alternate costumes for this iteration for Spider-Man. What we come to understand is that he didn't just simply arrive at the blue and red Spidey suit. It was a process of trial and error.

We first see a "homemade" suit that appears to have been thrown together with gym pants, sneakers, goggles, a blue sweatshirt, red undershirt, knee pads, very clunky webshooters, and a red logo on the chest. Parker will also be trying out a "beetle" costume, a dark and brooding suit, a yellow suit, and a classic 60s looking red and blue suit. Rather intriguing is an Oscrop white and blue suit, but we'll get to that in a bit.

There will be lots of villains

Marvel Animation Panel SDCC 2022 Disney / Getty Images

Spider-Man has one of the best rogues galleries in all of comics. And the folks behind "Freshman Year" are making great use of that roster. Here's the handful of the baddies that Peter will be contending with, featuring a mixed bag of A-listers and lesser-known favorites.

The Unicorn, Chameleon, Scorpion, Speed Demon, Tarantula, Rhino, and Doctor Octopus are all on deck to give the webslinger a rough time in the show. What's interesting is that we met Doc Ock in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," so this version of Peter Parker wouldn't have reason to know him yet. Setting that aside for a moment, it should be noted that is a very comics-accurate Doc Ock, and that appears to be a big thing for the show. We've got 1960s-inspired looks taken straight from the pages of the early comics from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

The Osborns are going to be part of the show

Norman Osborn in Spider-Man Marvel Studios

Another gigantic reveal came in the form of a name-drop: Norman Osborn. That's right! One of Peter Parker's most notorious villains will be in the show. However, he's going to be a mentor to Peter Parker. As Trammell put it, what happens when his "greatest enemy becomes his mentor" in this series?

This, again, raises questions about how this all relates to Tom Holland's version of the character. Will it tie into the MCU at all? Unless it's somehow part of all the multiverse shenanigans happening in the MCU, we don't think so. Because Harry Osborn, Norman's son, is going to be in the series as well. We're going to talk about that more in a second, but it's clear this show is going to be bringing a lot to the table, with a lot of classic "Spider-Man" stuff in the mix.

Peter will have new and familiar allies

Spider-Man No Way Home Doctor Strange Marvel Studios

But what about friends and allies? There will be no shortage on that front in the show either! One very interesting element is that "Runaways" team member Nico Minoru will be playing Peter Parker's best friend in this series. No Ned Leeds! At least not yet. We've also got Lonnie Lincoln, Amadeus Cho, and yes, Harry Osborn. 

Cho is an interesting name, as that character goes on to become a version of the Hulk in the world of Marvel Comics. As for Harry? This is a character we haven't met in the MCU at all, raising even more questions.

Two more allies from "No Way Home" will be getting in on the action in the form of the Sorcerer Supreme himself, Doctor Strange, as well as the Man Without Fear, aka Daredevil. What's more, Charlie Cox was confirmed to be reprising his role as Daredevil once again. But in the main MCU, Peter hadn't met these heroes yet, though he did meet Matt Murdock in "No Way Home." So what are they doing in a show about his freshman year? And what about the second season titled "Sophomore Year" that was also announced at the panel? Everything points in one direction.

This appears to be elsewhere in the Marvel multiverse

Harry Osborn Spider-Man Animated Series Marvel

While it wasn't outright said by Trammell, everything we saw at the Marvel Studios animation panel leads us to believe that this show is going to be a tale told elsewhere in the larger Marvel multiverse. This will not be showing us the early years of Tom Holland as we know him from the live-action films. Instead, it appears as though we are going to get two full seasons worth of a "What If...?" style story for Spidey. Buckle up, Spider-Fans!

"Spider-Man: Freshman Year" arrives sometime in 2024 on Disney+.

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