It’s the year of Spider-Man. Not only is Spider-Man returning to the big screen in Marvel Studios' “Spider-Man Brand New Day,” but another version of the famous superhero is arriving in a brand new way on the small screen in “Spider-Noir.”
Set in the 1930s, “Spider-Noir” dives into a gritty New York City during the time of the Great Depression with Private Investigator Benjamin Reilly living a double life as Spider-Man. Played by Nicholas Cage, this live-action show gives fans a taste of what a world full of superheroes and villains would look like nearly 100 years ago.
Along with it being the live-action debut of the Spider-Man Noir character, this show will also feature versions of many classic Spider-Man villains, such as Sandman, Tombstone, Silvermane and even Electro, known in this universe as Megawatt. From trailer footage, viewers can see that this show will explore both sides of Ben Reilly as the private investigator and the hero, all while navigating his own personal problems and changes with his abilities.
The Spider-Man Noir character and universe were first introduced in 2008 in “Spider-Man Noir #1,” written by David Hine, and quickly became a fan favorite version of Spider-Man. Later in 2010, he appeared in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, a fan-favorite video game made by Activision. Then eight years later, he appeared in the animated film, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” also played by Nicholas Cage. Despite voicing him and then playing him in live-action, Cage plays two different versions of the character. Fans have been eagerly awaiting Spider-Man Noir’s debut.
“At first, I wasn’t excited at all for this show because of some other Spider-Man projects Sony has released,” senior Mainor Martinez Castillo said. “But then after seeing the trailer, it looked like they actually put passion into it because it looks really good. So now I’m really excited.”
In all of his appearances in comics, film and video games, Spider-Man Noir is Peter Parker, but in this version, his name is Benjamin Reilly, which creates a whole new, never-before-seen story for viewers to enjoy. In the comics, the character known as Benjamin Reilly was a clone of Peter Parker created by The Jackal, making this version of Reilly completely different from his comic counterpart.
All eight episodes of “Spider-Noir” will be released on May 27 on Prime Video with a unique twist. For this show, viewers will have the option to watch it in either black and white to maintain the noir vibe or in full color. This iteration of Spider-Man is unlike anything we’ve seen before on screen, and it will allow fans to witness a brand new Spider-Man story set in a dark 1930s New York City.