A spin-off series from the massively successful Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Noir character is actually quite an inventive and refreshing move from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios. By turning it into a live-action series set in an alternate universe of 1930s Depression-era New York, showrunner Oren Uziel manages to juggle the tonal issues of presenting a superhero show in the noir genre – or is it a noir show with superhuman characters? Finding the productive tension between these two storytelling modes creates an entertaining spectacle, with Nicolas Cage at the center grounding it altogether.
The show follows Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage) several years after his exploits as the superhero The Spider. Following tragic events involving the loss of someone very close to him, Reilly has given up his superhero activities and resumed his life as a struggling private detective. Without The Spider, New York is overrun by crime, with the mob boss Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson) at the top of the underworld food chain. However, a new case involving other individuals with superpowers leads Reilly right into Silvermane’s crosshairs. Over the first three episodes, the show pushes Reilly to question his decision and wonder whether he should take on the mantle of The Spider once again.
Consisting of eight episodes, I’ve only seen the first three, and most of these episodes are filled with intricate world-building. These early episodes allow us to get into the show’s tone and genre, smoothly easing us into its marriage of noir with that of the comic book superhero genre. Reilly is not alone in this world. He has a friend who knows about his dual life, the journalist Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris), and his a crafty, competent secretary Janet (Karen Rodriguez).
The world, straight out of the noir genre, is a bleak, broken society hidden underneath the glitz and glamour of New York’s upper class, who make it the clientele of Reilly and the cause of all the misery. It’s underhanded and dirty, but only as much as it can be in a show that styles itself like an old Humphrey Bogart film and a family-friendly superhero adventure. The extraordinary comes in brief spurts but with huge impact across these first three episodes, showing great restraint and preventing one side from overpowering the other. Uziel is doing a great job of balancing Spider-Noir’s dual personalities without dismantling the show’s overall feel of it.
The existential dread that is evident in many noir films is front and center here. Reilly is a man who has been beaten by life, and he is deeply in opposition of going head on back into the realm of the superhero. This dilemma feels so current and relatable, posing the question of whether it matters to be good in a world that is so infested by people breaking the law; especially when those people seem to be winning at life. The exhaustion and frustration hang heavy in the first three episodes – yet the show still manages to be light and entertaining – making the entire experience feel refreshing and new.
And this is handled magnificently by Nicolas Cage, who seems to straddle the show’s multi-faceted personalities. He knows exactly how to embody this character and how to fit it into the new tonal frequency of the show. Everyone seems to take their cues from him, and the world just feels like it’s right. The other standout is Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy, a night club singer who has ties to Silvermane and becomes one of Ben Reilly’s clients when she asks him to find her missing bodyguard, a man who also has superpowers. Li and Cage’s characters are always engaged in a verbal joust, dropping sentences and phrases that mean multiple things but delivered in a way that echoes the films of the ’30s and ’40s. It’s snappy, loaded, and highly enjoyable to watch.
Spider-Noir is truly different and refreshing, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. The show is offered in two variants – “Authentic Black & White” and “True Hue,” (a colored version that is highly oversaturated to resemble a comic book from that era) – and the viewer can watch the series in either format. Personally, I prefer the black and white version, as it feels far more true to the classic traditions of the noir genre.
My Rating: 4 Stars
Ready to step into the shadows of 1930s New York? Spider-Noir proves that there is still plenty of invention left in the superhero genre when placed in the right hands, reminding us that sometimes, with no power comes no responsibility. Catch the premiere on May 27 on Prime Video in True-Hue Full Color and Authentic Black & White. See Nicolas Cage at his absolute best!
