Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Peter Parker is a fifteen-year-old freshman starting high school. On his first day a portal opens during a fight between Doctor Strange and a symbiote creature. Peter rescues a classmate named Nico Minoru from danger and gets bitten by a spider that gives him powers. Months later he secretly fights crime as Spider-Man while living with his aunt May. He switches to a regular high school called Rockford T. Bales with Nico as his best friend. He has a childhood crush on Pearl Pangan, who dates football captain Lonnie Lincoln. Peter saves Harry Osborn from thugs and earns a special internship at Oscorp. Norman Osborn learns his secret and offers to mentor him as Spider-Man instead of Tony Stark.

Peter balances school, secret hero work, friendships, and battles against street criminals, tech thieves, and gang members. Lonnie gets drawn into a local gang to protect his younger brother and later gains powers. Nico and Harry each discover Peter’s identity at different times and react in their own ways. Norman pushes Peter to stop holding back in fights while running his own hidden plans at Oscorp. The series mixes light teen drama, action sequences, and Peter learning responsibility in a modern New York setting.

The show places several characters of different races and backgrounds in important roles. Norman Osborn and his son Harry are portrayed by black actors. Peter’s closest friend Nico is Asian and bisexual. A scientist named Carla Connors works with Peter at the internship. His crush Pearl is Asian. Other interns include characters from varied backgrounds. A side story shows Lonnie facing racial profiling by police and strangers as part of his struggles. These casting and character choices are easy for viewers to notice and have drawn public discussion.