Symbie the Symbiote to Join "Spidey and His Amazing Friends"

A new friendly neighbor is swinging into the preschool hit, along with a massive renewal and a centennial celebration.

According to The Wrap, the Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends universe is expanding its roster with a shapeshifting surprise.

What’s Happening:

  • The show is introducing its own preschool-friendly version of Venom, named Symbie.
  • Described as "a little scamp" and a shapeshifter who likes to cause trouble, Symbie will debut in an upcoming episode, offering a much softer take on the iconic character.
  • This January marks the release of the show's 100th episode on Disney Jr. and Disney+, a major milestone for the series.
  • Disney has preemptively renewed the series for a Season 6 to air in 2027, making it the first Disney Jr. series ever to run for six seasons.
  • The series has clocked over 1 billion hours streamed on Disney+ and nearly 3 billion views on YouTube.
  • It remains a Top 3 streaming series for kids 2-5 in 2025, trailing only Bluey and Paw Patrol.
  • Following the success of Dino-Webs and Water-Webs, the next themed arc will be Rescue Webs, mashing up Spider-Man with fire trucks and helicopters.

What They're Saying:

  • Harrison Wilcox, Executive Producer: “It is a lot of fun to take characters that you spent your whole life enjoying and find a way to fit them into this preschool-friendly world,” Wilcox said. “I give a lot of credit to Bart Jennett, our head writer and our producer, who once we decide what the new villain is going to be in the new theme of the show, is key in figuring out what are the differences here and personality and power set, and how do we still tell preschool-friendly stories from a comprehension perspective?”

A Master Plan for Mini-Marvel

  • Beyond the new character additions, the show's strategy is deeply integrated with the wider Marvel world:
  • Executive Producer Harrison Wilcox confirms a "master plan" exists to ensure the preschool show never conflicts with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, despite being a separate entity.
  • The show's success is attributed to its "Spider-People" trio: Peter (the futurist), Gwen (the detective/musician), and Miles (the artist) which allow kids to identify with different personalities.
  • The creative team, led by Harrison Wilcox and Bart Jennett, focuses on retaining the "heart" of villains like Green Goblin and Electro while stripping away the actual menace.
  • For instance, Electro's evil plot might simply involve playing an electric guitar too loudly in the park.

About the Symbiote Suit:

  • In the mainstream comics, the Symbiote first appeared in 1984 during the Secret Wars event as a black costume that enhanced Spider-Man's abilities but negatively influenced his behavior.
  • Peter Parker famously rejected the suit in a church bell tower after realizing it was a living alien parasite trying to permanently bond with him.
  • The rejected alien found Eddie Brock, a disgraced journalist who hated Spider-Man. Their shared hatred bonded them into the monstrous anti-hero known as Venom.
  • The symbiote eventually spawned an offspring known as Carnage, a red symbiote that bonded with serial killer Cletus Kasady, leading to one of the darkest storylines in 90s Spider-Man history.
  • Over the decades, Venom has evolved from a villain to a "Lethal Protector," often acting as an anti-hero rather than a straight villain.
  • For a look at the Symbiote's more "mature" history, you can stream the 90s Spider-Man: The Animated Series on Disney+.

More Kids Marvel News:

Daniel Kaplan
Daniel loves theme parks — specifically how the narrative of theme park attractions differs from film or books — and loves debating what constitutes a "good" theme park attraction story.
View all articles by Daniel Kaplan