I consider myself a bit of a Nicolas Cage afficianado, so if you would have told me that Spider-Noir was his first lead television role, I would have never believed you. Turns out it’s true, though!
I suppose you could consider this a no-brainer since he voiced Spider-Noir in the animated Into the Spider-verse films, but really they could have cast anyone. But, given that they leaned into the world of the 1930s, he was kind of perfect for the role. Evidently in this time period, he his the only superhero. The people of New York loved him, but when he lost the love of his life at the hands of a vidictive villain, he decided to hang up his goggles and live in annonymity as a private detective, Ben Riley, instead.
What tests his resolve is a new case that gets him entangled with both the city’s toughest gangster and his past. He and another PI are both hired to find a man who ends up catching himself on fire and winds up dead. Only, when Ben goes to look at the autopsyed body, there are no burns at all. It’s after this that he learns that Silvermane was the man looking for this vagrant. He’s trying to buy out the new mayor before the next election and some people are looking to make sure he no longer has any say in the city’s politics. Solid move.
Ben tries to keep his distance, but a local club singer, Cat Hardy, hires him to find her bodyguard, Flint, who’s also one of Silvermane’s henchmen. Ben is a bit conflicted since Flint tried to kill him the night before after he turned to sand, but curiosity gets the better of him and he agrees to help Cat. She’s in deeper than he thought though, as she basically owes Silvermane her life for her success. In an effort to find Flint, a local reporter, Robbie Robertson, and Ben’s friend, stumbles upon another man, Lonnie, who’s skin can turn to stone.
These findings are finally putting Robbie back in a good place at the Daily Planet, but it just raises more and more questions for Ben. When the pair finally make some headway and learn they need to go consult a doctor who is the common link between all of these men, they learn the doctor is quite cunning and maybe a little nuts. Some memories from Ben’s past resurface and reveal that he was in combat with many of these men who were taken as POW by the Germans and experimented on, intending to make them human weapons.
I won’t say more for fear of spoling too much of the show, but that whole part was really interesting and maybe a little grotesque. All in all, this series was a little silly, intentionally so, and really well made. I chose to watch the black and white version, but the series can also be viewed in full color. As far as I know, there is no difference to the meat of the show between the options. This had enough core Spider-man stuff in it that I followed along well, but if I try to think of this as part of the multiverse that exists for marvel comics, well then I’m lost. But, for me this is just another take on the superhero, and an entertaining one to boot. Check it out if you’re looking for a unique entry!