Marvel Just Introduced MCU Variants of Daredevil & Iron Man

Marvel Studios has officially introduced us to new variants of Daredevil and Iron Man so far in the animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. The show takes place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but in an alternate reality from the main series, with some significant differences. We met a pretty familiar version of Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, voiced by Charlie Cox. However, this version of Iron Man is voiced by Mick Wingert, and has a very different relationship with Peter Parker than their Earth-616 counterparts have. Read on for a bit about these cameos and what they might mean for the multiverse, but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man takes us to an interesting reality where superheroes are already very established in New York City when Peter Parker gets his powers, much like the main MCU story. However, this Peter doesn’t get the attention of Tony Stark, but instead Norman Osborn, who becomes a mentor to him. Previews and interviews told us this before going in, so it was a surprise to see Tony turn up in this week’s episode, “Tangled Web.”

Like Earth-616, this universe has Avengers who were asked to sign the Sokovia Accords by Thaddeus Ross. However, the villain giving them all trouble here is Otto Octavius, who has been eluding capture for several episodes now. In Episode 6, “Duel with the Devil,” we first meet Ross at a charity event with Norman. At the same time, we meet Daredevil, whom Spider-Man catches breaking into Oscorp.

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Daredevil tries to convince Spider-Man that Norman is hiding something sinister. The two have a brief fight that ends with Peter knocked out. Norman claims that Daredevil was working for Octavius to steal more Oscorp tech for criminals. This may not be the last we see of Murdock.

Ross showed up again this week when Norman was finally able to tip him off about Otto’s location. Ross called in his Avengers connections, and Iron Man was on the scene quickly to help arrest Doc Oc. This cameo may be all we get from Tony, but with two episodes to go, who knows.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has gone out of its way to differentiate itself from the main MCU story while still retaining some interesting touchstones for fans to cling to. It’s a good reminder that Peter doesn’t need to live in Tony’s shadow, and it seems likely that the writers will try to stick to that decision going forward. Daredevil, on the other hand, seems like a great person for Peter to know as he continues this street-level adventure.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is streaming now on Disney+. The final two episodes premiere on Wednesday, February 19th.