We’re now only a few weeks away from the debut of Spider-Noir, a brand new Marvel series releasing globally on Prime Video. Today we’re looking back at the origins of the Spider-Man Noir character as well as his subsequent appearances throughout the Spider-verse since.
Spider-Noir will premiere worldwide on May 27, 202 as a binge release, in more than 240 countries and territories. For a special and unique viewing experience, Spider-Noir will be available to stream two ways, in “Authentic Black & White” and “True-Hue Full Color” for audiences to choose their own adventure to watch.
Marvel Noir Comics
Spider-Man Noir made his debut all the way back in 2009 and was a stark departure from the bright, modern day world of the main Marvel 616 universe. Written by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky with deep, shadow-drenched art by Carmine Di Giandomenico, this universe was given the number caveat 90214 and set in 1932 during the Great Depression. In this timeline, Peter Parker works for Ben Urich at the Daily Bugle. He visits a warehouse of stolen antiques and accidently breaks a Spider Idol open, causing the spider lurking inside to bite him. This connects him to a Spider-god who bestows to him his spider powers as he soon awakens from a giant cocoon.
This timeline also reinvents Uncle Ben who after serving as a pilot in World War One was then murdered by criminals working for Norman Osborne also known for his crime lord name ‘the Goblin’.
Shifting from his usual advice to Peter however, this version instead opts for a more harsher truth.
“If those in power can’t be trusted, it’s the responsibility of the people to remove them”
Uncle Ben (Universe 90214)
Echoing his counterparts however, Peter soon puts on a mask and goes to confront Norman Osborn but is shocked to discover his boss Ben Urich with him. The Urich has been blackmailing Osborn with his information on the mob boss’s activities in exchange for feeding his drug habit. Inspired by Peter’s determination to fight the Goblin no matter what, Urich tries to expose Osborn’s crimes but is murdered for his efforts. Meanwhile, Peter creates a costume using elements of Uncle Ben’s World War I-era airman uniform, becoming this universes version of “the Spider-Man.” Urich’s former lover Felicia Hardy, owner of the Black Cat club, aids Peter’s war on Osborn’s criminal syndicate, keen to take down her lovers killers.
Soon Peter finds himself fighting the Noir versions of Vulture, Kraven the Hunter and the Goblin himself.
A chance encounter with Aunt May however forces his change in perspective from killing his foes to forcing them to face justice. But with Roosevelt now President and Hitlers rise to power across Europe, Spider-Man Noir continues to protect the city of New York.
The next story in the Spider-Man Noir line takes some darker turns, as a masked villain known as Crime Master is taking over the dark corners of New York City. Now paired with Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, the duo look into a scientist called Otto Octavius and his assistant Curt Connors. The pair are experimenting on mind control for the US Government during WWII. Flint Marko also makes an appearance, working for the scientific duo and helps deliver a batch of new people to experiment on.
It’s soon revealed that the scientists are actually working for the group Friends of New Germany.
Spider-Man’s involvement however leads to the Crime Master disfiguring Felicia Hardy after he discovers her involvement with Spider-Man. Racing against time, Spider-Man soon discovers the people Otto and Curt are working on are people of colour and one is his friend Robbie who has now undergone surgery making him lose free will and memory.
After a few classes, Crime Master is killed and Otto Octavius is arrested by the FBI but a month later, the government decides to deport Octavius rather than put him on trial publicly at the risk he would spill government secrets. The scientist arrives in Germany only to be humiliated when he realizes the Nazis believe his congenital disability makes him inferior and his work useless. As time passes, Felicia recovers from her injuries, but wears a mask to cover her scars.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (video game)
Jumping formats into video games, a version of Spider-Man Noir rocked up in the much loved game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.
Voiced for the first time by the talented Christopher Daniel Barnes who voiced Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 1994 classic series. The game utilised a plethora of previous voice actors of Spider-Man to bring their various versions to life, as we also had Neil Patrick Harris, Dan Gilvezan and Josh Keaton who each voiced Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 2003 Series, the 1981 series and the 2008 series of Spider-Man cartoons respectively.
Released in late 2010, Shattered Dimensions focuses on 4 Spider-Man variants, working together to save their respective universes after Mysterio (from the Amazing universe) obtains an ancient artifact known as the Tablet of Order and Chaos. Madame Web ends up recruiting the Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man Noir to restore the balance between their universes. Each universe utilised a different gaming style from each other with Spider-Man Noir taking on a more stealth approach compared to the other three.
Spider-Man Noir finds himself fighting against various Noir versions of notorious villains including a version of Hammerhead who using his fragment, is trying to overthrow his boss Norman ‘the Goblin’ Osborne and to take over as the new ruler of NYC’s criminal underworld as well as pursuing the Vulture, Osborn’s right-hand man and his Uncle Ben’s killer (in this timeline), which his fragment has granted him teleportation powers. Finally taking on Norman Osborne himself who uses his fragment to turn into a goblin monster himself, fully embracing his criminal title.
Eventually Spider-Man Noir works with the three other Spider-Men and restores order to their universes again before returning home.
It’s also worth noting that the DS version of the game had Noir going up against Boomerang and Calypso.
Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series)
A version of Spider-Man Noir appeared in 2014 in the 3rd season of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series. Voiced by Milo Ventimiglia, the Ultimate Spider-Man travels to this Noir universe where he helps this version of Spider-Man Noir fight the Ultimate Green Goblin while also renew his friendship with Mary Jane. This version assumes a similar origins to his comic counterpart, but this is an older Peter Parker than the Ultimate version. He then joins the Ultimate Spider-Man and the other multi-universe Spiders in helping defeat the Ultimate Green Goblin.
Spider-Man Noir returns in the 4th and final season when the Ultimate Spider-Man and Miles Morales (going by Kid Arachnid) search for a shattered item called the Siege Perilous with parts hidden across multiple universes. While Noir remembers their previous encounter, he is showing his grittier side by standing by as two gangs, led by Hammerhead and the Noir version of Hulk known as Mr. Fixit take fight each other to the death. He joins the other two though when he realises that the fragment is in Hammerheads gun and is the cause of their universes crashing together. They get the fragment off Hammerhead but in turn end up creating the Noir version of Mr Negative who thanks to the fragment can turn people to stone. Long story short, Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Spider-Man Noir and Mr. Fixit prevent him from destroying the Noir city and take the shard before using it to turn everyone back to normal and invertedly give colour to the Noir universe in the process. This was the last time we saw this version of Spider-Man Noir.
Spider-Verse (comic event)
The Spider-Verse crossover stories significantly expanded the story and involvement of Spider-Man Noir, transitioning him from a solitary vigilante we first met in 2009 into a vital soldier in a multiverse war.
By 1939, Peter’s world had matured alongside him; he was no longer just a grieving man but a seasoned hero balancing his university life with the rising tide of global conflict. His involvement began in earnest when he was targeted by a more grounded, illusionist version of Mysterio sent by the Noir version of Wilson Fisk. This skirmish served as the prelude to his recruitment by the Superior Spider-Man (Doc Ock in 616 Spider-Mans body), pulling him out of the gritty streets of New York and into a desperate fight for survival against the Inheritors, a family of psychic vampires who were running amok across the multiverse, feeding on Spider-Totems and killing them in the process.
Following the resolution of that war and the reality-shattering events of Secret Wars, Noir became a founding member of the ‘Web Warriors’. This team took on the heavy responsibility of policing the multiverse, specifically protecting dimensions that had lost their own Spider-heroes by the Inheritors. During this tenure, Noir dealt with the existential threat of his own reality unravelling. The very technology the Web Warriors used to traverse dimensions began to fray the “Web of Life and Destiny,” causing time anomalies on Earth-90214. Through his partnership with allies like the reformed Octavia Otto, Noir helped stabilize these cosmic threads, proving his worth as a strategist and teammate beyond his usual solo detective work.
However, the character’s journey took a tragic turn during the 2018 comic event known as Spider-Geddon.
Spider-Geddon (Comic Event)
In 1940, while investigating Nazi weapon deals alongside the White Widow (a masked Felicia Hardy last seen in the original Noir line) Noir was once again called to the multiversal front lines. In a desperate attempt to stop the resurrection of the Inheritors, he confronted the powerhouse Morlun. Understanding the scale of the threat, Noir attempted a suicide mission, detonating a grenade at point-blank range to destroy him. The gamble failed and Morlun survived the blast to then proceed to drain the last of Noir’s life force. This noble, albeit brutal, sacrifice left a void in his home dimension, leading to a somber epilogue where Spider-Gwen travelled to the Noir universe to provide closure to a grieving Aunt May, Mary Jane, and Felicia Hardy.
Into The Spider-Verse (Film)
It could be argued that the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse propelled Spider-Man Noir into the global cultural zeitgeist. This version of the character served as the casual audience’s first introduction to the concept of a “hardboiled” wall-crawler, largely defined by Nicolas Cage’s iconic voice performance. Cage channelled the gravelly, staccato delivery of 1940s Hollywood legends like Humphrey Bogart, blending that classic “noir” intensity with a surreal, dry sense of humour.
In the film, Noir is depicted as a monochromatic visitor from 1933 who finds the colorful world of Miles Morales’ Brooklyn both baffling and fascinating. One of his most memorable character quirks is his obsession with a Rubik’s Cube—a puzzle he cannot solve simply because he doesn’t understand the concept of “colors.” Despite the comedic beats, the film remains faithful to his violent roots; he is introduced as a private eye who “likes to drink egg creams and fight Nazis. A lot.” This version effectively distilled the complex, sometimes overly dark comic history into a charismatic archetype: the world-weary detective with a hidden heart of gold.
The film’s massive success fundamentally shifted the character’s trajectory in other media. The audience’s response to Cage’s “Bogart-meets-Spider-Man” persona was so overwhelmingly positive that it influenced the tone of subsequent comic runs, such as the 2020 Spider-Man Noir series, which I go into next and help adopt his movie-inspired dialect and “P.I.” profession.
Spider-Man Noir (2020 Comic Book Line)
Death, it turns out, was merely a temporary setback for Earth-90214’s web-slinger. Following his sacrifice during the events of Spider-Geddon, Peter was resurrected in a silken cocoon on his home world, spurred back to life by a vision of the Spider-God claiming his service was far from over. This revived version of Peter Parker emerged with a slightly altered persona; he was more introspective and possessed a sharper, more glib wit that echoed the staccato delivery of his cinematic counterpart. No longer just a street-level vigilante, Peter leaned fully into the aesthetic of his era by opening a private investigation firm. A subsequent team-up with a dimension-hopping Miles Morales forced Peter to reclaim his power source—the Spider-God’s idol—from Nazi clutches. Though Miles warned that removing the idol from his world would make his next death final, Noir accepted the risk with a weary pragmatism, noting that he neither wanted nor deserved the “special treatment” of immortality.
A month after his return, the streets of New York began to realize that the Spider-Man had returned. Reconciling with Aunt May and Mary Jane, Peter found a renewed sense of purpose, guided by May’s advice to act with more honour than his darker instincts usually allowed. This new chapter, titled Twilight in Babylon, saw Peter operating as a legitimate private eye with the reluctant assistance of the Noir version of J. Jonah Jameson. The investigation into the murder of a waitress named Holly Babson spiralled into a global trek that traded the rainy alleys of New York for the high-stakes intrigue of Europe and the Middle East. Traveling alongside Holly’s sister, Huma Bergmann, Peter found himself entangled in a race against the Nazis and a modernized, electrified version of his old foe, Electro.
The journey reached its climax in the ancient ruins of Babylon, where the pulp-adventure tone shifted into the realm of cosmic horror. Huma revealed herself to be the goddess Inanna, a traitor who had used Peter to secure the M’Kraan crystal and a mystical cicada gemstone to bridge the gap to the Underworld. Amidst a battlefield of resurrected enemies, Peter was aided by another divine entity—the Spider-God Ereshkigal, who had been masquerading as the murdered Holly Babson all along. By shattering the mystical artifacts, Peter managed to close the portal and defeat Inanna, successfully thwarting a supernatural Nazi uprising. He returned to New York a hero in secret, content to let the headlines attribute the victory to others while he resumed his watchful vigil over a city teetering on the edge of a world war.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
For the follow up to the hugely successful Into The Spider-Verse, we actually did not see Spider-Man Noir until right at the very end. Being one of the handful of rebel Spider-People teaming up with Gwen to save Miles, proving his loyalty to the original team.
It goes without saying that when we eventually get the major finale Beyond The Spider-verse, that Spider-Man Noir will be on the front lines with the others to save the multiverse.
Spider-Man Noir (2025) (Comic Book Line)
So in 2025, to build up hype for the upcoming Prime series, Marvel dropped a new miniseries for Noir titled, Spider-Man Noir: The Gwen Stacy Affair.
Penned by Erik Larsen, it took the character in a controversial, high-stakes direction that directly serves as a loose narrative bridge to the 2026 live-action series. In this gritty reimagining, the story leans heavily into the tropes of the “femme fatale” detective novel. After a fallout with Felicia Hardy, Peter is approached by Gwen Stacy, a “dame” who hires the web-slinging private eye to solve the murder of her father, George Stacy.
The tension of the story is built on a dark irony which is that Peter knows exactly who killed George Stacy, because he did. In this universe, George Stacy wasn’t the noble police captain we know, but a corrupt enforcer for the Scorpion Gang. Peter, operating as the Spider-Man, executed him in his war on crime. The psychological weight of this secret creates a toxic dynamic between Peter and Gwen, leading to a even more complications between his feelings for Gwen and his work as the Spider-Man. The focus being on the complication of Peter’s moral standing and ultimately distracting him from a brewing conspiracy.
The climax of this mini series introduces a twist to the classic Noir story of Spider-Man and is designed to align the comics with the upcoming Amazon show Spider-Noir.
Spider-Noir 2026 (TV Series)
This brings us to why this article exists in the first place! Prime’s upcoming series titled Spider-Noir. The live-action culmination of the character’s seventeen-year journey arrives with the premiere of Spider-Noir on Prime Video on May 27.
This eight-episode series represents a bold evolution of the Noir mythos, moving away from the Peter Parker identity to focus on Ben Reilly, portrayed by Nicolas Cage in his first-ever lead television role. In this universe, Reilly is an aging, grizzled private investigator in 1930s New York who has long since hung up his mask following a career-defining tragedy. In this universe he not called Spider-Man, but simply “The Spider,” .
The series is positioned as a hardboiled detective drama rather than a traditional superhero spectacle. Showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot have leaned into the “Chinatown” vibes of the era, presenting a protagonist who is jaded, cynical, and not above a drunken brawl. To emphasize this stylistic choice, the show offers a unique viewing experience: fans can choose to watch the entire series in a classic black-and-white “Noir” mode or a full-color version dubbed “True Hue.” This aesthetic flexibility honours both the character’s comic book origins and the “monochrome-in-a-color-world” gag that made Cage’s animated version so beloved in the Spider-Verse films.
From my sit down of the first few episodes, I have to push the Black and White “Noir” version of the show as it really brings the world together as this unique space.
Set against a backdrop of corruption and rising global tension, the plot follows Reilly as he is pulled into an exceptional case involving the murder of Edward Addison. This investigation pits him against a formidable gallery of reimagined foes, most notably Brendan Gleeson’s Silvermane, a dangerous mob boss a “drone-eye view” of the city’s underworld. The rest of the cast includes Lamorne Morris as an optimistic Robbie Robertson and Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy, a femme fatale lounge singer. With Jack Huston appearing as a mob bodyguard named Flint Marko and Joe Massingill as a grounded version of Electro, the series promises a dense, atmospheric exploration of a world where the line between hero and vigilante is as blurred as the shadows of New York’s alleyways.
That’s it! That is all the history of the legendary Spider-Man Noir, from his debut 2009, his multiple crossovers with other Spider-Men and Women all the way until 2026 when he gets his own show.
We will be covering all 8 episodes of Spider-Noir when it drops on Prime worldwide on the 27th May 2026.
