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Even if you’ve never read a Spider-Man comic, you probably know the eighth page of Amazing Spider-Man #50. That splash page features a trash can in the foreground with the Spider-Man costume stuffed on top. In the background, Peter Parker sulks away in his civilian clothes. The page, recreated in all manner of media, including 2004’s Spider-Man 2, pays off the promise of the story’s title: “Spider-Man, no more!”
The new series Spider-Noir takes place in a different universe than that of Amazing Spider-Man #50, a 1930s New York populated by gangsters and super-people. And instead of Peter Parker, the show is about Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), a man who once fought crime as a web-slinger called the Spider. But as the final trailer for Spider-Noir makes clear, Ben Reilly crumbles under the weight of great power and great responsibility, just like every other Spider-Man in every other reality.
In the trailer, we learn that Ben used to be the wall-crawling hero. But for reasons not yet clear, Ben set his costume aside and has been making a living as a private detective. But when the gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson) starts gaining strength via his super-powered henchmen, Ben feels the call to become the Spider once again.
Whether Ben Reilly or Peter Parker, whether in comics or films, whether in animation or live action, every Spider-Person entertains the thought of chucking it all into the garbage and living their lives. The tension is implied in the most famous line from the Spider-Man franchise, with great power comes great responsibility.
Certainly, other superheroes existed before Spidey made his debut in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15. And most of those heroes have greater powers than the ability to do whatever a spider can. Superman, Batman, even the members of the Fantastic Four, who inaugurated the Marvel Universe a year before Spider-Man’s debut, outmatch Peter Parker. And yet Pete spends more time worrying about the cost of his powers than all of those heroes combined.
Why? Because that’s the central appeal of Spider-Man. He’s a regular guy who was minding his own business when he had power thrust upon him. And now, he can’t help but do the right thing.
Spider-Noir takes that premise and gives it a hard-boiled twist. Cage bases his performance of Reilly on Humphrey Bogart, and with good reason. Like Bogey’s greatest characters—Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, and Rick Blaine—a tragedy from the past has driven him to become cynical and selfish. Even though they didn’t have to deal with people who could shoot lightening or turn into sand, Bogey’s characters, like Spider-Man, want nothing more than to just take care of themselves.
But, of course, Spidey can never give up for long, and he always finds his way back to being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Will Ben Reilly be able to do the same? Or is the world of Spider-Noir too bleak for even this wall-crawler? We’ll find out soon.
Spider-Noir streams May 25, 2026, on MGM+ and May 27, 2026, on Prime Video.
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