The Spider within the Man

When Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse arrived on the scene, everyone praised it for its animation, its story, and its characters. One of the standout characters from that film was Spider-man Noir, a tough-talking, black-and-white gumshoe voiced with aplomb by Nicolas Cage. The actor, long known for playing weird and strange characters, brought that same energy to Spider-man Noir, and the resulting performance had just the right fun, and funny, edge to it, making everyone fall in love with the character.

Naturally, as soon as the film was out, Sony was already talking about making some kind of spin-off based around Spider-man Noir. Whether a film or a television series, it was clear they saw potential in the character; they just had to find the right vehicle for him, the right story at the right time. Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse came out in 2018, but it took eight years for the Spider-man Noir project to come to fruition… and curiously it’s not even the same version of the character, although Nick Cage is still playing the man at the center of it all.

Developed by Sony and released on Amazon Prime, the resulting Spider-Noir is an eight episode season focusing on Cage’s dual identities as both Ben Reilly, down-on-his-luck gumshoe, and the Spider, his web-slinging alter ego who, at one point, was the defender of New York City. Making it a different version of the character was a creative decision made by showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot as they felt it would give them more freedom to explore the character without the constraints of any pre-existing continuity. And the resulting show is pretty damn solid, so they might have had a point there.

Reilly (Cage) is a detective who is on the verge of going completely bankrupt. Lacking clients, and out of options, Reilly takes whatever job comes his way, so long as it’s not too unseemly. Hired by a man named Winston, Reilly is supposed to find a man named Jimmy Addison, but when he catches up to the guy he finds Addison squaring off with another PI, Donegal, as Addison then does something extraordinary: he sets himself on fire. Unfortunately he then accidentally explodes himself via a bunch of flammable chemicals nearby, but Reilly is still intrigued. There are other people with powers in NYC and not just Reilly’s retired Spider.

As we learn, Reilly gave up being the Spider years early when he wasn’t able to save his fiance, Ruby. She died, drowning in an accident staged by one of the Spider’s many foes, and her death destroyed Reilly. He gave up the mask and has been a hollow shell of a man ever since. But the Addison case might just be what Reilly needs to shake off his black-and-white blues. That’s because this case is just the first step in a larger connected series of cases, all relating back to one of Reilly’s worst foes, Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), the criminal kingpin that rules over NYC’s underworld. And if Silverman is interested in people with powers, there can be no doubt that he has very intentions for what they can do.

It should come as no surprise but, at its core, Spider-Noir is a detective noir story. The Addison case leads to Reilly getting a second case from a dame he meets along the way, Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li). She needs him to find her missing lover, Flint Marko (Jack Huston). His case then leads to the next case along the chain, all relating up the line to Silvermane. It’s a detective story through and through, with Reilly solving puzzles and making connections as he works his way up the chain to the big solution of the big case that links it all together. It’s very well put together, and keeps you following along with the mysteries at every twist and turn.

Of course, it’s also a superhero story, so while Reilly’s Spider has hung up his mask, you can bet that it won’t stay hung up for long. There’s plenty of superhero action to be had, with the Spider swinging through the city, battling the likes of the Sandman (Huston), Tombstone (Abraham Popoola), and Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell) along the way. The show does a good job balancing the superheroics against the detective mystery, weaving back and forth between the two sides quite well.

What I think really works in the show’s favor, though, is just how much it commits to being a detective noir story. The series feels like it could have been made back in the 1930s, with a purposeful attempt at costuming, set design, and effects that all feel fairly true to the era. This might be a modern adaptation of SpidermanSure, DC Comics has Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, but among the most popular superheroes stands a guy from Marvel Comics, a younger hero dressed in red and blue who shoots webs and sticks to walls. Introduced in the 1960s, Spider-Man has been a constant presence in comics and more, featured in movies regularly since his big screen debut in 2002., but at every turn the series tries to make itself feel grounded in the 1930s milieu. It doesn’t just want to be set in the 1930s for its story; it wants to be set in that version of Hollywood productions, from the way people dress and talk and act, to the music that’s played, and how every wide shot of the city feels like it was made with miniatures. It’s fantastic.

Of course we also can’t ignore the man at the center of it all: Nick Cage. The actor fully commits to Reilly, making him just as weird and strange as you’d expect a Nick Cage character to be. In this case, Cage played Reilly (in his own words) as if he were seventy percent Humphrey Bogart, thirty percent Bugs Bunny. He approached his role not as if he was playing a man with spider powers but as if he were a spider living in human skin. He’s strange and weird and, at times, over the top, but he’s also a delight to watch in every scene he’s in. Cage commits and both makes the series weirder while also grounding it perfectly.

Not that the rest of the cast is bad. Lamorne Morris plays Joe "Robbie" Robertson, a journalist and Reilly’s best friend. He’s the only guy that knows Reilly is the Spider, and Morris gives their friendship needed heart, adding warmth to their interactions and helping to make Cage’s Reilly feel more human. Similarly Karen Rodriguez plays Janet Ruiz, Reilly’s secretary and a solid investigator in her own right. She, too, cares for Reilly, and their interactions help to make Cage’s character feel more real while she gets to be both sassy and sincere in equal measure. And there’s Li’s Cat Hardy, the smouldering femme fatale that has to be in a story like that, but Li makes her more than just “the skirt”, giving her complex emotions beyond her obvious intentions.

Really, all around Spider-Noir knows what kind of series it wants to be and it does it so well. I watched the black-and-white version for my review and, frankly, I feel like that was the perfect way to get into the spirit of the show and see it as needed. There is the “True Hue”, color version but, this is a noir. You need to watch it in black-and-white so you can feel just how perfectly designed every moment of the series is. And it is so well done as a noir, as a superhero show, and as a Spider-man tale from another universe.

Spider-Noir knocks it out of the park, there’s no doubt. It’s a solid bit of Spider-man storytelling, masterfully done by the creative team behind it all. All we need now is more time in this universe because, quite frankly, eight episodes is not enough. Hopefully Amazon renews it for a second season because this show is too good to stop with one solid season. Cage’s weirdo Spider needs to come back for more 1930s adventures. I’m hooked.