r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers

Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), a private investigator in 1930s New York, must face his past as a superhero called "The Spider" in the live-action series based on the Marvel comic "Spider-Man Noir".

Releasing May 27 on Prime Video (and May 25 on MGM+)

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Metacritic: 77 / 100

Some Reviews:

Empire Magazine - Alex Godfrey - 5 / 5

>It’s a miracle that all of this works so well together. And it is full of surprises: one later episode, outstandingly titled ‘Nightmare On A Gurney’, serves up hallucinatory, Buñuelian stuff, going psychologically and biologically deeper than any other Spider-Man outing has. It just gets better and better, with a rug-pulling season finale that delivers on every level, with Nicolas Cage in the middle of it all, fulfilling a lifelong dream he possibly didn’t know he had, with every pore of his body, every restless, fizzy atom of his being.

DiscussingFilm - Ernesto Valenzuela - 4.5 / 5

>Throughout all eight episodes of this first season, Spider-Noir somehow manages to tell both a quintessential Spider-Man story and a thrilling detective mystery. Although this is Nicolas Cage’s first full-length television series, the veteran actor does a phenomenal job carrying the season with his trademark strangeness in a comic-book show that is refreshingly fun.

Slash Film - Bill Bria - 9 / 10

>One of the pleasures of the series is to see the familiar — namely famous Spider-Man characters — adapted into new guises, providing new and enticing dimensions to folks like the Sandman, the Black Cat, and Spidey himself. "Spider-Noir" is one of the most exciting and creatively fertile superhero works to be released in the last couple years, and while it may be a bit batty, I think it's the bee's knees.

RogerEbert - Richard Roeper - 3 / 4

>The various and intertwining plot lines in “Spider-Noir” aren’t as gripping and visceral as, say, the recent “The Penguin” series. Much of my enjoyment stems from the consistent nods to the films of the period, from the music choices, e.g., “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” to the atmospheric cinematography, to tributes to films such as the pre-code “Below the Sea” (1933) starring Ralph Bellamy and Fay Wray, to the James Cagney vehicle “Great Guy” (1936). Ben knows the dialogue to the latter film by heart, and he’s such a movie buff that he references Tod Browning’s audacious and provocative 1932 film “Freaks.” He’s also a bit…strange, due to the traumas of his past and the recurring Spidey-sense migraines—and who better than Cage to hit those notes? Cage never makes a safe choice—at one point doing an Edward G. Robinson impersonation, because why not? Whether in Authentic Black and White or True Hue Full Color, “Spider-Man” has earned a unique place in this particular universe.

The Daily Beast - Nick Schager - 85 / 100

>The polar opposite of Disney+’s just-released The Punisher: One Last Kill, Spider-Noir has the sort of high-flying fizziness that defined Raimi’s live-action blockbusters and Lord and Miller’s acclaimed animated hits, even as it carves out its own eccentric identity. It’s as impressive as any recent comic-book endeavor, and proof that the multiverse—a concept largely shunned by audiences—still has some rejuvenating potential, at least in the right creative hands.

IGN - Jim Vejvoda - 8 / 10

>Spider-Noir is a highly entertaining swing through a vividly reimagined corner of the Spider-Verse, one where private dicks and femme fatales overlap with science fiction and body horror. It’s a sharp, often funny binge-show anchored by Nicolas Cage’s go-for-broke performance as Ben Reilly, aka The Spider. There aren’t any save-the-world stakes, but there are deeply personal ones that keep the story grounded in its charming array of archetypal film noir characters.

IndieWire - Ben Travers - 'B+'

>Together, Cage and “Spider-Noir” are a perfect pair. His star power helps draw viewers into an increasingly strange story, and the increasingly strange story draws out the power of his go-for-broke charms. That the series houses its mad science experiments and cartoonish fight scenes in familiar packaging goes a long way toward keeping it accessible, but the charming eccentricities and their astute implementation add up to a Spider-story worth investing in — bring on the strange.

Consequence - Liz Shannon Miller - 'B+'

>No matter how you choose to watch it, Spider-Noir hews closely to the familiar tropes of the detective tale, but it never feels like parody. It just feels like the answer to the question “What if someone made a 1930s noir about a P.I. with spider powers?” I cannot express how much pleasure I take in typing those words. It still makes no sense that this show exists. But it’s wonderful that it does.

GamesRadar - Lauren Milici - 3.5 / 5

>If you want something to hit differently, Nicolas Cage is definitely the man for the job. One of the highlights of the entire series is Ben's chemistry with Janet, who I loved more than anyone else and was genuinely delighted every time we cut to a scene of her sitting behind the front desk at Ben's office. I would happily watch a spin-off about Janet and her own wacky detective adventures. Should a second season be greenlit, I hope we get something much, much bigger (and, if we're going by the Spider-Man Noir comics, I would really like to see 1933s Depression-era Norman Osborn enter into the mix somehow). But between Spider-Noir and Wonder Man, I hope this is a sign that superhero TV is moving into a different direction, ushering in a new formula-less era. Then again, I would also watch Nicolas Cage read aloud from an old phonebook for eight 45-minute-long episodes – even in black and white.

Next Best Picture - Giovanni Lago - 7 / 10

>Even so, “Spider-Noir” remains an impressively successful debut season that only further confirms how enjoyable it is to watch Nicolas Cage completely unleash himself as a bent-out-of-shape private investigator wandering through a smoky, crime-ridden city. The series may stumble occasionally beneath the weight of its genre worship and uneven plotting. Still, when Cage is fully locked in, trench coat flowing and voice growling through another hard-boiled monologue, it’s difficult not to wish this strange, stylish experiment could continue for years to come.

Variety - Aramide Tinubu

>Though the series has a solid cast and some sparkling depictions of a bygone era, “Spider-Noir” is all style and very little substance. At a time when audiences are already fatigued by the continual depictions of metahuman supers who wrestle with whether to remain anonymous or use their powers for good, this story is hardly unique. Also amid the saturation of P.I. dramas on TV, including “R.J. Decker,” “Tracker” and “Poker Face,” “Spider-Noir” is easily lost in the shuffle. If viewers are to be subjected to yet another version of the wall crawler, it will need to be captivating and deeply emotional, which is why the Holland-led “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is so highly anticipated. Anything less is just monotonous.

The Hollywood Reporter - Daniel Feinberg

>The odd and outlandish performances in Spider-Noir offer a reminder that this is a comic book series and it ought to be fun. Periodically, Spider-Noir is, indeed, a hoot. It’s too bad you have to wade through so much nondescript storytelling to get there.