Marvel’s new Spider-Man animated series on Disney+, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, offers a new interpretation of the superhero. Stylistically, it is an ode to comic books’ style of drawing. It also paints an accurate depiction of New York City, notably Queens, a borough that is often considered to be one of the most diverse places in the world.

Yet Hudson Thames, who voices Peter Parker/Spider-Man, appears to have had his own reservations prior to being officially cast.

“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,” he said in an interview with Collider. “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.”

Thames did not offer additional context surrounding his comment nor his reasoning for using the word “woke.” Did he state it in a derogatory way that echoes the familiar pushback against increased diversity and representation in film? Or did he mean it as a way to express his own reservations about a potential performative (and unsubstantial) portrayal of women and minorities by Disney?

What is certain is that his comments were unwelcomed by some fans, who questioned the relevance of the actor’s words in the first place. In fact, Thames stars in the show alongside Colman Domingo, who is voicing Norman Osborn and who was the target of racist backlash online. A Reddit thread titled “Norman Osborn is Black!?!? Why is everything so woke?!” decries Disney’s choice to have cast a Black actor in the role.

Osborn isn’t inherently a white character in the comic books. He even wore waves in some storylines, according to Collider. Trammell noted that he wanted to introduce a new version of the character. This aligns with Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man being one of the many already existing adaptations of the namesake character.

“I wanted to introduce a Norman Osborn that felt very much like the Norman we know, but also very different. Because I think every single Spider-Man fan is going to come to this show and go, ‘Oh, there’s Norman Osborn. That’s bad news,’” Trammell told GamesRadar+. “But as the show is going on and you get to know this Norman, there is a part of you that’s like, ‘Well, is he like the Norman that I think he’s going to be, or is he different? Am I pre-judging him because of all this history with the character?’”

People have come out on social media to criticize Thames’ remarks, while also noting that diverse creators involved in the project should be celebrated.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man isn’t the only project that was met with some form of resistance under the pretext that it may be too “woke.” Wicked, The Little Mermaid, Barbie, House of the Dragon, Snow White, The Acolyte, Agatha All Along, She-Hulk — the list goes on.

The term “woke” originates from African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and was historically used to signify an awareness of racial and social injustices. It used during the civil rights movement, and Black people have often used to “stay woke” to mean be aware of one’s surroundings.

But in the recent decade or so, the word has been co-opted.

“Today, ‘woke’ is mostly used by the right to signify the presence of Black people (or women) where they didn’t expect them to be,” columnist Damon Young wrote in a 2022 op-ed published in The Washington Post.

The Merriam Webster lists two main definitions of the word. It defines “woke” as being “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).” In a second (and more recent) definition, it refers to the act of being “politically liberal or progressive (as in matters of racial and social justice) especially in a way that is considered unreasonable or extreme.”

The word, which was initially used to describe progressive efforts toward inclusion and representation, has turned into a derogatory term championed by the far-right. In recent years, “woke” became a mainstay buzzword among Republican politicians like Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump.

DeSantis even included the word into the 2022 “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” a law that prohibits schools from teaching students about racism and sexism. At a Jan. 25 rally, President Trump boasted that he “got rid of the woke crap” in reference to his reversal of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies within the federal government.

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