Actor Hudson Thames, star of Marvel’s animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (YFNSM) series, has sparked controversy online over comments discussing how he felt about the show after reading the script.
When asked about the Disney+ series, Thames—who voiced Peter Parker/Spider-Man three years ago in Marvel’s What If…?—told Collider, “I thought it was awesome. I mean, my biggest fear was that it was gonna be annoying and woke, and it wasn’t, and I was like, ‘Yes, this is great, it’s so well written,’ like it feels real. I’m the oldest of five boys, so I feel like I kind of know what’s happening in their lives and in high school, and it felt like it was doing that justice.”
As Collider was correct to point out, “woke” is a dog whistle term common among MAGA followers critical of anything that prioritizes representation of underrepresented communities, and many were surprised to read Thames’ statement.
Thames’ comments are especially notable because Neighborhood Spider-Man comes on the heels of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse, two animated Spider-Man feature films lauded for representation, particularly around the Miles Morales character.
Notably, actor Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), who is Black, will voice the character Norman Osborn in Thames’ series. Colman has already faced “anti-woke” racist backlash over playing a villain who is normally white in the comics the show is based on. The timing of Thames’ comments—after Trump’s reelection—was noticed on social media.
Others pointed out that Thames’ apparent anti-woke stance was at odds with Spider-Man creator Stan Lee’s own words. One X user wrote, “Stan Lee literally said ‘Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today,’ and Hudson Thames is out here saying he was worried about Spider-Man being too ‘woke’… What dips***”
Everything may change after the show’s premiere. According to one comment on X, ” … [W]hat he said doesn’t make any sense. I watched YFNSM last week, and this site will soon be flooded with idiots calling the show woke.”
Regardless of what Thames said, YFNSM has a hard road ahead, as Disney Marvel content has recently struggled to find an audience. Thames has not yet responded to the backlash. The first two episodes of YFNSM are now available on Disney+.
Published: Jan 29, 2025 12:24 PM UTC