SPIDER-NOIR Review: Grieving Superhero in an Alternate Universe Spins a New Tale

Dresses like Humphrey Bogart, sounds like Edward G. Robinson.

Spider-Noir
All eight episodes are now streaming on MGM+ and Prime Video. I've seen all eight episodes.

Nicolas Cage, reprising his supporting role as Spider-Man Noir in the multiverse-spanning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), plays a world-weary Ben Reilly, private investigator, in New York City in the early 1930s, as the Great Depression takes hold in the alternate universe where the series unfolds.

We know it's an alternate universe because Lamorne Morris (New Girl) portrays Ben' best friend, Joe "Robbie" Robertson, a Black freelance journalist who draws stares when he enters an all-white newsroom, yet otherwise faces no racial discrimination. We know it's an alternate universe because Li Jun Li (Wu Assassins, Sinners) plays Felicia "Cat" Hardy, an Asian nightclub singer who faces no racial discrimination. We know it's an alternate universe because Karen Rodriguez co-stars as Janet Ruiz, the Latina office assistant for Ben, who faces no racial discrimination.

We know it's an alternate universe between the series is shot in "authentic" black and white, unless you want to watch it in "True-Hue Full Color," which looks like classic movies that were originally shot and composed in black and white and then "colorized," perhaps in the hope of drawing more casual viewers who don't like watching anything in black and white. (The fools! See comparison trailers below.)

We know it's an alternate universe because Nicolas Cage channels Humphey Bogart's appearance and Edward G. Robinson's voice. Ben Reilly is reluctant to take action, preferring to slump his shoulders, sometimes wisecracking with a cynical sneer.

The series opens with an explanation for his demeanor. Five years have passed since Ben Reilly, fka The Spider, a masked crime fighter with unique abilities, suffered the loss of his beloved wife Ruby. Devastated, The Spider retired and became Ben Reilly, struggling P.I. His assistant Janet complains about not being paid, and the office looks threadbare. Ben's best friend Robbie, who got to know him as The Spider from his days at The Daily Bugle (newspaper), remains supportive, even as he scrounges for a living since he was laid off from the paper.

Created by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky, Spider-Man Noir was part of the Marvel Noir universe that was first published in 2009. Oren Uziel (the fan film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, 2010; The Lost City, 2022) developed the series, diverting from the character's comic book series to give Ben Reilly an entirely new origin story.

As a modern-day noir, the series borrows freely from modern-day interpretations of classic tropes. The diverse casting is welcome, and works extremely well in the teaming of Nicolas Cage with Lamorne Morris; the former can be as weird and wacky as he wants -- he often seems to be improvising -- while the latter supplies the down-to-earth grounding that feels authentic to longtime friends, where one may be flighty and the other is stable.

On the villainous side of things, Brendan Gleeson is a splendid, menacing mob boss, known as Silvermane. He has two super-powered "freaks" on his payroll: Sandman (Jack Huston) and Tombstone (Abraham Popoola); both actors effectively convey their tortured, twisted souls. A third "freak" shows up later: Megawatt (Andew Lewis Caldwell), who is nothing but evil.

Seeing all the usual superhero action in black and white certainly enhances the show. Combined with the friendly dynamic between Nicolas Cage and Lamorne Morris, I was hooked from its first episode. I watched the second episode in color, which was far less impressive; the colors did not pop, so the emphasis returned to the dialogue, characters, and action, which were entirely routine.

Returning to black and white with the third episode, I was hooked again, and watched the rest of the show in one go. The novelty is definitely a selling point, but I became more fascinated by watching how extreme Cage and showrunners (Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot) and directors (Harry Bradbeer, Nzingha Stewart, Alethea Jones, and Greg Yaitanes) would allow his performance to go.

The answer is: quite a lot! That's part of the silly fun of the series, which makes it an eye-catching addition to the Spider-Man screen canon.

Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.