Spider-Man Noir and Why We Love Him!
Created by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Marko Djurdjevic in 2009, Spider-Man Noir is the gloomy alternate version of our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. First appearing in his own self-titled miniseries, the Black Spider has garnered popularity quickly and became one of Marvel’s most-liked Spider-Men- so much so that in 2018 –not even a decade after his creation– Spider-Man Noir has made his first appearance on the big screen in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse!
If you’re somehow not on the “Noir train” yet, and you want to discover why The Spider-Man –as he called himself– is so popular, here are 15 Reasons Why Everyone Loves Spider-Man Noir.
1. Spider-Man Noir is voiced by esteemed actor Nicolas Cage!
When the time came to pick the voice of Spider-Man Noir for Into the Spider-Verse, Marvel had to find the perfect actor for the role. Someone who could convey The Spider in Black’s moodiness, and at the same breath, manage to knock out clever one-liners one after the next. Enter popular actor, Nicolas Cage, who by that point was already well-familiar with the comic book world!
Most notably, Cage starred as Ghost Rider in the two movies that came out in the late 2000s and early 2010s, played Superman in the unmade movie, Superman Lives, and is one of the owners of Action Comics #1. Taking inspiration from the likes of Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney, it’s needless to say that Nicolas Cage was a perfect match for the role.
2. Spider-Man Noir is the answer to the question: “What if Spider-Man’s world was a little darker and more serious like Gotham City?”
Have you ever wondered how Spider-Man would look and act like if he was living in the crime-filled, gloomy Gotham City instead of Queens? No? Well frankly, neither have us! But after Spider-Man Noir was first introduced to the world and quickly became a huge success, the similarities between Spider-Man Noir’s darker characteristics and Batman’s were too obvious to ignore. Nonetheless, Spider-Man Noir’s reality is set during an incredibly difficult time- the Great Depression, which makes the character and the world around it a little more unique and interesting.
3. Spider-Man Noir fought Nazi Germany even before the United States entered World War II!
A badass and on the right side of history? After (SPOILER ALERT) avenging his uncle’s and his mentor’s deaths at the hands of New York City crime lord, Norman Osborn, Spider-Man Noir had continued fighting crime endlessly, even if it took place overseas! In fact, Spider-Man Noir opposed the forces of Nazi Germany and fought them, a lot earlier than the US ever step foot on German soil.
4. Spider-Man Noir likes Rubik’s Cubes!
In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man Noir’s reality is entirely grayscale, so when he enters a new, colorful reality for the first time and comes across a strange toy called a Rubik’s cube, Spider-Man Noir quickly develops a deep liking to it- so much so that when Spider-Man Noir goes back to his old reality, he brings back the cube with him!
5. Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Man’s back-and-forths are comedic gold!
Due to them being complete opposites of each other, whenever Spider-Man Noir’s and Spider-Man’s paths cross, their dialogue is always incredibly interesting and entertaining. Take for example Episode 10 in season 3 of the TV show, Ultimate Spider-Man, where Spider-Man and Spider-Man Noir meet for the first time and have to team up to stop the Green Goblin who’s been traveling across the multiverse to collect Spider-Men DNA. Their dialogue bounces perfectly off of one another’s and both their punch lines are funny and tasteful!
6. Spider-Man Noir carries a revolver!
In the comics, Spider-Man Noir was one of the only few Spider-Men to ever carry a weapon, let alone a Colt .45! Later, Spider-Man Noir decides to stop using guns, much like a previously-mentioned character who stopped using guns and first appeared in comics around the 1930s. Can anyone guess who it is?
7. Spider-Man Noir is part of the Web Warriors!
In Ultimate Spider-Man Season 3, when Goblin travels the multiverse to collect the DNA of other Spider-Men to become the Spider-Goblin, Spider-Man Noir and the other web crawlers inevitably team up and become the team known as Web Warriors. The name and the idea were so liked by Marvel that a few months later, Marvel released a Web Warriors comic book series which ended after 11 issues!
8. Spider-Man Noir was bitten by a mystical spider!
Unlike many Spider-Men before him, the way Spider-Man Noir got his powers is quite different. In Spider-Man Noir Vol. 1, Peter enters a warehouse full of stolen artifacts. There, one artifact containing a horde of spiders breaks open and one of the mystical spiders bites Peter, transforming him into the brooding superhero we know today!
9. Spider-Man Noir shoots organic webs out of his hands!
After getting bit by a magical spider, Spider-Man Noir dreams of a spider-god who claims to give him great power! When Peter Parker wakes up to find himself inside a black web cocoon, he realizes the god was telling the truth and gave him the power of organic webbing, one of the only Spider-Men to ever possess such a power.
10. Spider-Man Noir’s costume is modeled after Uncle Ben’s WWI suit!
When it finally came time for Peter Parker to design his official costume, Peter created it by borrowing elements from Uncle Ben’s airman uniform from the World War I era, paying respect to his deceased and loved uncle.
11. Spider-Man Noir wears a fedora!
After the chaotic comics event known as Spider-Geddon, Marvel has decided to give Spider-Man Noir a more traditional look, giving him a fedora hat to make him look more like a character out of a Film Noir story, which is one of my personal reasons for liking this character so much!
12. Spider-Man’s MCU version took inspiration from Spider-Man Noir’s design!
In the movie Spider-Man: Far From Home, before fighting what seemed to be a Fire Elemental, MCU’s Peter Parker wears a suit given to him by Nick Fury. It doesn’t take a genius to see how the suit which later gave Spider-Man the name Night Monkey was heavily inspired by Spider-Man Noir’s all-black design.
13. Spider-Man Noir fought an evil goddess and won!
While traveling to Babylon to investigate the mysterious murder of a waitress, Spider-Man Noir gets betrayed by a museum curator who accompanied him on his journey. The museum curator reveals herself as the goddess, Inanna, and opens a portal to the Underworld, bringing back to life a few dead enemies of Peter Parker to fight him! Eventually, with the help of the spider-god, Ereshkigal, Spider-Man Noir manages to defeat the goddess and her undead subjects to save the day once again!
14. Noir’s Uncle Ben and Aunt May were fierce social activists!
Who says badassery doesn’t run in the family? Before Peter Parker ever became The Spider-Man in 1932, Uncle Ben and Aunt May were fighting for the little guy ever since Uncle Ben came back from World War I! When Peter Parker was just a teenager, he was greatly inspired by their tenacity, and he learned a very important lesson about life. What is that lesson you ask? Find out in the next reason!
15. Spider-Man Noir’s code of conduct is totally different!
“With great power comes great responsibility”! Who doesn’t know and love the famous Spider-Man’s code of conduct which was told to him by his Uncle Ben? In this reality, Spider-Man Noir’s code was also a fruit of Uncle Ben’s teachings, though this time, it was completely different and (if you ask me) way cooler! Being the badass social activist that he was, Uncle Ben taught Spider-Man Noir early on that “If those in power can’t be trusted, it’s the responsibility of the people to remove them”!
Why do you like Spider-Man Noir? Let us know in the comments below!
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