Marvel Series SPIDER-MAN: FRESHMAN YEAR to Play Out Like a Full Season of Spider-Man WHAT IF?
Last year on Disney+ day, it was announced that the streamer would be moving forward with a Marvel series titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year. We weren’t given any details as to how that story would play out, so we’ve just been speculating since. This past month, it was brought up again at San Diego Comic-Con during the Marvel animation panel, and we have a few details to share.
Gizmodo explains: “Freshman Year takes place before 2016's Captain America: Civil War, but with a noticeable key difference. Rather than coming home to his apartment to see Tony Stark in his home, it’s none other than Norman Osborn who’s chatting up his Aunt May when he walks through the door. And much like how meeting Tony thrust Peter into a spotlight larger than the kid needed, Peter having Norman as his mentor ‘sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe,’ according to Marvel’s streaming head Brad Winterbaum.”
The big hook of the new show is, “What If...Norman Osborn was Peter Parker’s surrogate dad?,” and that puts Pete on a collision course with characters that the MCU hasn’t staked a firm claim on yet. The SDCC footage showed Peter’s allies, from Norman’s son Harry to Amadeus Cho and Nico Minoru.
We don’t quite yet know how Freshman Year fits into the larger scheme of the Multiverse Saga, but I have a feeling we will start hearing more about the series as we edge closer to its premiere in 2024. Are you looking forward to exploring this alternate Peter Parker timeline?