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Spider-Noir -- a review

Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse (2018) was a fantastic superhero film that just happened to be an animated feature. Starring Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as Spider-Man, the film dealt with the multi-verse—which is a scientific theory that states there are a multitude of universes out there, each existing on its own plane of reality. This idea isn’t new to comics; I’ve read countless stories about superheroes dealing with denizens from other universes—and it’s also an idea that’s been used often in science fiction, like the In A Mirror Darkly episode of the original Star Trek. Recently, the MCU has used this theory in the last ten or so of its films. Into the Spider-Verse has Morales dealing with several different Spider-Men, and Spider-Women, from alternate Earths—one of whom is Spider-Man Noir, voiced by Nicolas Cage.

The Spider (as he’s known in the TV series) is the Spider-Man from a 1930s era New York City. He’s a private eye named Ben Reilly (played on screen by Cage in his live-action TV series debut), a veteran of the Great War who got bitten by a mutated human who was part spider while rescuing his fellow soldiers from a German secret lab. The bite gave Ben the powers of an arachnid, which he uses to fight crime on the streets of NYC as The Spider, a black suit-clad avenger complete with a fedora. When the TV series Spider Noir begins, Ben has been a retired superhero for the last five years, quitting his crime fighting alter ego because he lost his fiancee to an enemy who killed her to get back at him. But when the mansion of mob boss Silvermane (the always good Brendan Gleeson) gets torched by a mutant with pyrokinesis, Ben is soon called back to Spider business.

Out of all of the alternate Spider-Man characters to make a TV series from, Nic Cage’s The Spider was the perfect choice. Well-written, well-acted, and armed with an extremely creative production design that’s pure eye candy, Spider Noir is a great deal of fun. I wound up watching the entire eight episodes (forty five-to fifty minutes each) rapid-fire over two days, and enjoyed it so much that I’m looking forward to seeing it again very soon. Amazon offers the series in both color and black and white. I watched the color version, which is visually stunning in its vivid and lively splashes of color. Now I’m looking forward to seeing the black & white version to see how that looks. But even if there was only one choice to watch, I’d still be eager to re-watch Spider Noir again because it’s so good.

Cage is perfectly cast here, with the series expertly riding a fine line between comic book goofiness (like when Ben bursts into these wonderfully wacky “spidering out” moments, where his “spider side” threatens to take him over) and intense action and drama. Cage can easily handle the shifts in tone. Lamorne Morris is also superb as a younger Robbie Robertson. Li Jun Li also appears as Cat Hardy, a lounge singer, and Jack Huston is very good as Flint Marko, AKA the Sandman. Andrew Caldwell is appropriately shocking, and menacing, as an early version of Electro. While the first season is extremely entertaining on its own, by the end it's clear that a sturdy foundation has been laid to create an even broader canvas for the second season. I hope there is a second season of Spider-Noir, because this series captures the fun vibe of reading a superhero comic from the 1930s/1940s in the best way possible. --SF

Spider-Noir is only available on Amazon Prime right now.

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