On Feb. 12, Amazon Prime released the first trailer for “Spider-Noir,” starring Nicolas Cage in the title role.
Two separate versions of the trailer were released, an “Authentic Black & White” version and a “True-Hue” version. Similarly, the show itself is releasing in both black-and-white and full-color versions.
Cage first appeared as Spider-Noir in the Academy Award-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Noir and multiple other spider variants, such as Penny Parker and Spider-Ham, were stuck in an alternate universe where the film's main character, Miles Morales, lives. Despite Cage playing both versions of the character, some fans believe they are meant to be different characters.
It may be important to note that this version of Spider-Noir is not meant to be a Peter Parker variant. In the trailer, he is referred to as Ben, and fans have noticed that the sign for the detective’s office reads, “B. Reilly Private Investigator.”
In Marvel Comics, Ben Reilly is typically a clone of Peter Parker. Reilly was created by a villain with the intention of tormenting Parker. After 5 years of self-isolation, Reilly comes back to New York and makes amends with Parker, fighting alongside him as the Scarlet Spider.
The trailer opens to a conversation between Ben Reilly and Cat Hardy. Played by Li Jun Li, Cat is a 1930s reimagining of Felicia Hardy, also known as the Black Cat. In their conversation, Hardy asks Reilly to start from the beginning.
The trailer then shows a shot of Reilly seemingly at a field hospital bed, implying a change to the origin story. It seems Reilly is going to be a World War veteran and will possibly be dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
This differs from Spider-Noir’s comic origins, which are more mystical and involve getting bitten by a poisonous, not radioactive spider. There are further hints that Spider-Noir is possibly getting his powers while in the war, as he is seen looking at a spider in a glass jar while in uniform.
There is then a sequence of what appears to be Reilly having hallucinations, possibly while he is first receiving his powers. Audiences are shown a blurry hallway, a woman slowly turning around reminiscent of the troupe of “dead wife footage,” the previously mentioned shot of the spider in a glass jar and finally an overhead shot of what looks to be Reilly walking through an alley. As all of this is happening, Reilly can be heard talking in the background.
“Ticks, Thoughts, Impulses, I managed to suppress them. Most of the time,” Reilly said.
Reilly is then shown to be in a conversation with Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris). In Marvel comics, Robertson typically works with Parker at The Daily Bugle as managing editor and in some stories as editor-in-chief. It appears in Spider-Noir that he will, in contrast, be a young, idealistic journalist who is just starting his career. Reilly and Robertson's characters will likely play against each other in an optimistic versus pessimistic way.
Audiences then see a first look at Reilly’s spider sense, followed by another round of hallucinations, this time much faster. One shows a man holding a needle, furthering the prediction that Reilly will get his powers due to an incident while at war. Another shows the foot of what appears to be a dead body with a tag that says “Addison, James” on the big toe. Finally, there is an image of a man whose face looks half spider, half human and appears to have eight legs.
Audiences then get their first look at Reilly’s secretary, Janet (Karen Rodriguez). Following this, some of the more comedic parts of the show get to be shown off when, in response to Janet wanting to know what happened to Reilly, he responds with, “I beat up some guys in a bar, and then I got plastered.”
What follows is a mix of superhero action shots and noir-influenced shots set to tense music. The more shots there are, the more the trailer starts to speed up. Finally stopping and ending on a shot of Spider-Noir swinging through the city.
Spider-Noir’s first appearance was in 2008 in “Spider-Man Noir (2008) #1.” This was part of Marvel's Noir universe that ran from 2008 to 2010.
Spider-Noir officially premieres on Amazon Prime both in "Authentic Black & White” and in “True-Hue” May 27.
