Spider-Man Noir started off as part of Marvel’s Noir line of comics, which reimagined Marvel characters in film noir-inspired settings during the 1930s. Some of those books were stronger than others, but the one that truly stood out was Spider-Man Noir. Created by writers David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky, with artwork by Carmine Di Giandomenico and costume design by Marko Djurdjević, the series presented a reimagined Peter Parker emerging in New York during the Great Depression.
The series was a hit and eventually received a sequel. Over time, the character crossed paths with other Spider-Men across the multiverse and later appeared in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series.
Then came Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, where Spider-Man Noir was voiced by Nicolas Cage. That appearance only helped increase the character’s popularity.
Now we’re getting a live-action series, Spider-Noir, with Cage stepping into the role once again. In this version, Cage plays Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck hard-boiled detective. (Fans will recognize the name Ben Reilly as Peter Parker’s clone from the comics.) He used to protect New York City as the masked vigilante known simply as The Spider. After a personal tragedy, Reilly abandoned the identity, refuses to use his powers, and now works as a struggling private detective. The series picks up five years after he quit being The Spider, as he tries to simply make a living. Of course, life is never that simple, and he slowly finds himself being dragged back into that world.
Nicolas Cage is excellent in the role. At times, he leans a little too heavily into the hard-boiled detective dialogue — almost to the point of sounding like an exaggerated Edward G. Robinson impersonation — but it never becomes unbearable. Overall, Cage does a fantastic job bringing this version of the character to life.
Lamorne Morris plays Robbie Robertson, a newspaperman who knows Reilly was once The Spider and constantly pushes him to put the mask back on. Morris and Cage have great chemistry together and play off one another extremely well.
Karen Rodriguez plays Reilly’s secretary, Janet, and honestly steals every scene she’s in. I loved the way she constantly tries to keep Reilly grounded and in line.
Brendan Gleeson plays Silvermane, the local crime boss. Gleeson has always been an impressive actor, and when he wants to play intimidating and menacing, few do it better. He comes across as genuinely dangerous here.
Finally, there’s Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy, a nightclub singer with ties to the criminal underworld — a true femme fatale.
I also have to say that for a television series, the production values are incredibly impressive. The visuals and special effects are top-notch and genuinely cinematic in quality.
The script is also very well written. The writers completely capture the feel and dialogue of classic noir storytelling. It really does feel like a hard-boiled detective story pulled straight from that era.
I also found it interesting that the series can be viewed in either black-and-white or colorized versions. Personally, I much preferred the black-and-white presentation since it fits the noir atmosphere far better. That said, it never truly looks like something that was originally shot in black and white. Instead, it feels more like the series was filmed in color and then had the color stripped out afterward. Oddly enough, the colorized version gave me flashbacks to when Ted Turner colorized classic black-and-white films years ago. It’s an interesting experiment, but the black-and-white version definitely feels like the way this series was meant to be experienced.
Unfortunately, outside the quality of the show itself, there’s another issue surrounding the production that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Marvel, Sony, and Amazon MGM did not properly recognize the comic creators responsible for creating this version of the character. That’s a major problem in my book.
Once again, the people who came up with the original concept seem to be getting overlooked, and honestly, I’m tired of seeing creators treated this way.
That’s what makes this so frustrating. Spider-Noir is genuinely good. The performances are strong, the atmosphere is fantastic, and the series perfectly captures the feel of classic noir storytelling. But knowing the creators behind this version of the character were not properly recognized makes it difficult for me to recommend in good conscience.
As good as the show itself may be, it’s difficult for me to fully recommend it when the creators behind the original comic concept are not being properly acknowledged. Whether the decision came from Marvel, Sony, Amazon MGM, or the creative team itself, this production should have done far more to recognize the creators behind Spider-Man Noir.
As the series creator and one of the key creative voices behind the show, Oren Uziel should have done more to publicly acknowledge the comic creators responsible for Spider-Man Noir and give credit where credit is due.
Spider-Noir premieres on Prime Video with all eight episodes on May 27, 2026.
Dan Kleiner 
Anthony Andujar Jr.