Amazon's 'Spider-Noir' Series – A Darkly Funny Comic Delight

 

In case you didn't know it, the Nicolas Cage led series Spider-Noir on Amazon Prime is just what you need – that is if your a fan of Cage's work (which I most definitely am) and of the era of the 1940s-1950s world of film noir classics like White Heat and The Lady from Shanghai. Both of these films get referenced in scenes in the series, which I appreciate because it shows an awareness of their influence on culture and film overall.

Spider-Noir is based on the comic book series Spider-Man Noir (2008-2018) created by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky, giving the story a 1930s Great Depression setting. In this universe Peter Parker works for newspaper reporter Ben Urich, and he gets his powers by being bitten by an ancient spider god. 

Spider-Noir was developed by Oren Uziel for Prime, making The Spider an aging superhero named Ben Reilly. Uziel and fellow showrunner Steve Lightfoot were able to secure screen legend Nicolas Cage as the lead actor, and this is the first time Cage has played a lead role in a television series.  

World Weary Anti-Hero

Cage plays Ben Reilly – a down and almost out private detective that would have found himself right at home in Humphrey Bogart's films. Reilly is more like a mixture of Sam Spade and Groucho Marx – his comic timing is awesome and yet Cage adds dramatic gravitas that gives substance to the proceedings. 

Ben is always supported by Janet 

Ben is truly a mess, but he is eeking out a living. Supported by his loyal and loving secretary Janet Ruiz (played by a terrific Karen Rodriguez), Ben tries to do the right thing even though the dangerous world of this alternate New York 1930s universe is making that very difficult. 

Robbie helps Ben with his cases

Ben once was The Spider – New York City's only superhero – who kept crime down and cops honest. Since Ben put away the costume, the gangs and crime have gotten out of control, and many of the cops – including Police Chief McNamara (Randy Olgesby) – are in the pocket of the local gang kingpin. His reporter friend Robbie Robertson (a hilarious Lamorne Morris) keeps encouraging him to get back to web slinging, but Ben is reluctant after he lost the love of his life Ruby (Amanda Schull) for which he blames his Spider persona. 

Ben Gets Some Work 

An older chubby man named Carmedy (Brian Howe) hires Ben because he suspects his younger wife of infidelity. Ben sees her picture and questions why the beautiful young woman would be married to the man. He is also hired by a secretive man named Winston (Lukas Haas) to find a man named Jimmy Addison (Jack Mikesell) who is a known criminal. Ben takes the cases because he hasn't had one in a while, and Janet hasn't been paid and has a hungry husband back home. 

Addison displays his powers

At the Redcliff Hotel, Ben spies on the wife who seems to be having an affair with the city's Mayor Morris (Michael Kostroff), but he gets entangled with another P.I. named Donegal (Cameron Britton) who is also looking for Addison. As they both chase the target, Addison displays an ability to set himself on fire, but Donegal shoots and kills him before he can inflict any damage. 

The Femme Fatale 

Femme fatale Cat Hardy

As Bogey would know intimately what to do, Ben seems oblivious to the fact that a beautiful woman wanting to pay him for a job usually means trouble. Into Ben's office walks a gorgeous woman named Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li). Cat wants Ben to find her missing boyfriend Flint Marko (Jack Huston).  Ben recognizes her as the "wife" that he was following at the Redcliff who had been in the room with the mayor the night before. 

Kingpin gangster Silvermane

Ben takes the case because she gives him a large retainer, but he is leery of her and then learns that she is a nightclub singer at the Alcove, a place run by the city's biggest gangster Silverman (enthusiastically played by the always excellent Brendan Gleeson). 

How He Became The Spider

In a flashback we see Ben as an officer in World War I leading a group of soldiers to liberate a POW camp. After an intense battle, Ben and others find a ward where German scientists were conducting experiments on the American prisoners.

Ben and the other soldiers are shocked by the horrors of what they discover in the ward. Ben tries to help one patient who he realizes is mutating into a spider. Before he can do anything, the creature bites Ben in the arm. This is how he gains his spider powers, but unlike others like Marko (who becomes Sandman), he is not adversely affected in other ways. 

Other Victims of German Experiments

Sandman and Tombstone 

Ben learns that Addison, Marko, Lonnie Lincoln (Abraham Popoola) who becomes the super strong Tombstone, and Dirk Leyden (Andrew Lewis Caldwell) who can generate electricity as Megawatt, were all victims in the German experiments and liberated from the camp. 

All of them were treated at a clinic by a Dr. Faber (Amy Aquino), and he decides to get into her office to investigate her files. He believes she is somehow connected to the mutations because only the vets who visited her have been adversely affected. 

The rest of the way is spoiler territory, but I will say that Ben does put on The Spider costume again to try to battle the gangsters and the mutated veterans who are now working for them.

Overall Experience

Great credit has to be given to Uziel and Lightfoot for crafting a visually beautiful look at 1930s New York. The number of period automobiles and other vehicles, the rainswept streets, the gritty alleys, and the old subway cars help create the essence of the time and place. 

Megawatt battles The Spider

Though the story is about our superhero and supervillains that he fights, gang kingpin Silverman and his crew of dirty rotten mobsters are also a factor. All of the characters are wonderfully realized, and there is an atmosphere of the slick, dark, and tenuous world that rings true.

In this world, cigarette smoke is clouding the rooms, and no matter where anyone goes someone is pouring whiskey into a glass. Sunlight creeps through Venetian blinds and shadows darken corners where danger lurks. Seduction, betrayal, and moral ambiguity abound, and the idea of love seems something that is in short supply.

Ben

Ben drowning his sorrows

Of course, all of this would not work if not for Cage's amazing performance as Ben/The Spider. He has enough ticks to populate a rose garden, and he is always grabbing a whiskey bottle and lighting up a smoke. He plays Ben like the classic film noir hero – cynical, tired, and almost about to give up – yet he keeps finding a reason to go on and make a difference in this bleak world because no else can. 

The Verdict

Spider-Noir is an excellent experience – for eight incredible episodes you will feel like you've been submerged in the film noir world. When I watched the last few minutes of the last episode, I was sorry that the show was over, but look for a subtle hint that there seems like that there is more Reilly and Ruiz to come.

I give Spider-Noir 4.5 stars out of 5 stars!

Fun Fact: Amazon gives you a choice to watch the series in either Authentic Black and White or True-Hue Full Color. After watching the first episode in color, I switched to black and white, and it did feel more authentic – like I was watching the old great film noir movies like Double Indemnity or The Maltese Falcon. I highly suggest that you do the same. 

Please check out the trailer for Spider-Noir.