Disney Marvel released the trailer for its new animated series titled Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. The new cartoon is set to premiere on Disney Plus January 29 and goes back to the webslinger’s origin and early days but in a modern setting and alternate timeline. In that alternate timeline, Norman Osborn, who will be Peter Parker’s mentor, has been race-swapped along with his son Harry Osborn. As fans criticized the cartoon’s race-swapping of these iconic characters in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, media outlets, such as The Mary Sue, have been quick to label them as “racist.”
When it comes to adaptations, fans are simple to please. Make it good and keep it faithful to the source material. It tends to be a big ask to present fans with a series set in an alternate timeline. It’s even more of an ask when making Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, into Peter Parker’s mentor. Having Spider-Man’s most prominent villain be his mentor is sure to raise eyebrows and is already diverging from the source material. So why wouldn’t fans be upset if they changed Osborn’s race as well?
Of course, by woke standards, it isn’t racist when swapping out white characters for people of color. But, by the Left’s same standard, it would be racist if minority characters are swapped for white people. It’s a hypocritical position when the correct opinion is that race-swapping characters is just wrong no matter who does it. Not only was Norman and Harry Osborn race-swapped, but this change makes it another example of redheads/gingers being erased in typical Hollywood fashion.
Sure, the Osborns aren’t full redheads, but they are close enough to technically be considered redheads. Though it is not surprising that The Mary Sue article goes on to dismiss the fact that redheaded characters tend to be race-swapped, aka ginger-swapped, the most, stating that such claims are “one hundred percent made up.” Which is ironic for them to say considering that their example of “white outrage” over race-swapping immediately pointed to Halle Bailey playing the role of Ariel, who is a redheaded character. Viewers also witness this in the Tom Holland Spider-Man films with MJ, another redhead, being race-swapped for actress Zendaya (who is far more attractive than Kirsten Dunst), though it was finally revealed that MJ stood for Michelle Jones rather than Mary Jane. If Disney Marvel had done a similar thing for the Osborns, changing their names and making it clear that are not the same prime universe characters, the reception might have been better.
The tactic of labelling fans as racist and sexist when criticizing the countless race and gender-swapping examples of characters is a tired tactic that is no longer effective in silencing fans. The DEI shield is starting to shatter and outlets like The Mary Sue, which derives its success from clickbait headlines, is starting to lose its draw.
When it comes to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man cartoon, it isn’t just race-swapping Green Goblin and Harry Osborn, which is an issue that occurs in woke properties, there are other issues. Harry looks androgynous, Peter Parker’s skin color looks like he decided to get a tan rather than the more pasty skin tone in the comics, live-streaming bullies is stupid to see, Spider-Man wearing fingerless gloves makes it easier for law enforcement and villains to figure out his identity, the use of cursing for what is presumed to be a kid’s show is not a good look, and the cartoon’s underwhelming animation seems to copy the style of the early comics.
Frankly, it’s surprising that woke activists aren’t offended that a villain was race-swapped to be a black man. Guess they think the Black Goblin is cool enough.
Yet, it is tiresome to see the fandom of all these great franchises being demonized for criticizing changes that no one wants. If Disney Marvel wanted a black man to be Peter Parker’s mentor, there are plenty of characters in Marvel’s roster that could have fit the role such as Robbie Robertson, Hobie Brown (Prowler), or a brand new character. Such a move would have been far more acceptable than race-swapped Norman Osborn. In fact, what does making Norman Osborn black do for the character? What is the purpose of this change? Does he still come from New Haven, Connecticut and a wealthy family? What does his new skin color change?
Why is Norman Osborn black?
In a show set in an alternate timeline, race-swapping fan favorite characters rather than using an already established character from a minority or creating a new character is just lazy writing for those faux social credits and a now-ineffective shield from criticism. For a “modern audience” that never seems to show up and support these projects. Calling real fans “racist” or accusing them of “racism” is also the oldest play in the woke agenda handbook. Everyone is sick of it and are no longer afraid to say it out loud.
It’s also not a good look when Disney Marvel turns off the comments for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man trailer. Not a friendly thing to do, Disney!
Follow-up:
Robbie Robertson Should Have Been Peter Parker’s Mentor in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Author’s Note:
Support this site by donating via Paypal or even checking out our merchandise on RedBubble where you can find designs that cater to writers and readers. Money donated and raised goes into paying for this website and equipment.
Interested in posting this article, or another article, on your website? Check out our prices to make that happen – https://tinyurl.com/mrxa56pp
Check out our Non-BUYnary txt design!
[…] [ January 2, 2025 ] Spider-Man Fans Already Being Labelled as “Racist” for Criticizing Norma… […]