Plot: Ben Reilly, a seasoned, down on his luck private investigator in the 1930s New York, is forced to grapple with his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero.
Season 1 of Spider-Noir was So Good.
Pros: The way I can choose to watch it in either Black & White or Colour does magnify my enjoyment of this show. I like the setting of 1950s New York. Nicolas Cage is great as Ben Reilly. I find the tone quite unique to this series. The love drama involving Cat Hardy, Flint Marko & Ben himself. I like what they did with Robertson, Silvermane, Megawatt, Sandman and Tombstone. IT had a good mix of comedy & drama & I’m happy how they made this spider-man spin-off worked this well.
Cons: There’s certain effects when I was flicking between the two didn’t standout as well. The pacing was a bit slow at the beginning. I find Brendan Gleeson pretty weak as Silvermane & I wasn’t a fan of the 1950s dialogue.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Developed by Oren Uziel
Showrunners: Oren Uziel, Steve Lightfoot
Based on Marvel Comics
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston & Brendan Gleeson.
Composers: Kris Bowers, Michael Dean Parsons
Executive producers: Harry Bradbeer, Oren Uziel, Steve Lightfoot, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, Aditya Sood, Dan Shear, Nicolas Cage, Pavlina Hatoupis
Production location: Los Angeles
Cinematographer: Darran Tiernan
Editors: Tirsa Hackshaw, Eric Kissack, Jennifer Barbot
Production companies: Sony Pictures Television, Lord Miller Productions, Pascal Pictures, Amazon MGM Studios
Network: MGM+, Prime Video
Casts & Characters:
Main
- Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly / The Spider:
An older, grizzled version of Spider-Man who is a down on his luck private investigator and superhero from an alternate world based on 1930s New York City, who gained his superpowers when serving as SergeantPeter Parker in World War I, he was bitten by Man-Spider while liberating soldiers from a German experimentation POW camp, changing his name to Ben Reilly after the war ended. He returns to being the Spider after stepping away from the role five years prior because of his fiancée’s murder. - Lamorne Morris as Joe “Robbie” Robertson:
Ben’s friend and a hard-working freelance journalist who pursues riskier stories to garner attention and progress his career. Uziel said Robbie is optimistic and “thinks he’s lucky, and it’s all going to work out” with his investigations, compared to Ben who is the opposite and a cynic. - Li Jun Li as Felicia “Cat” Hardy:
A femme fatale nightclub singer and Ben’s and Flint’s love interest, who plots to kill Silvermane. Cat’s character was inspired by actresses Anna May Wong, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, and Kim Basinger. - Karen Rodriguez as Janet Ruiz:
Ben’s secretary and fellow investigator. Uziel likened Janet to Effie Perine from the film The Maltese Falcon (1941), a character “that can be helpful, that the P.I. can lean on, that can be hard on him, but loves him”. - Abraham Popoola as Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone: Flint’s friend and a henchman of Silvermane, who is slowly being killed by his own superpowers.
- Jack Huston as Flint Marko / Sandman: Cat’s bodyguard and lover, who is slowly being killed by his own sand-based superpowers.
- Brendan Gleeson as Finbar “Finn” Byrne / Silvermane: An Irish mob boss with connections to Ben’s past who has been the target of multiple assassination attempts. Gleeson described the character as a philosopher with “a drone-eye view” who is equally dangerous.
Recurring
- Amanda Schull as Ruby J. Williams: Ben’s deceased fiancée who was killed by a criminal Ben caught, prompting him to retire the Spider identity
- Lukas Haas as Winston: Silvermane’s right-hand man
- Cary Christopher as Frankie: A young newsboy Ben and Janet take care of that also helps in their cases
- Michael Kostroff as Alfred Morris: The incumbent mayor of New York City running for reelection
- Scott MacArthur as Perry: One of Silvermane’s henchmen
- Joe Massingill as Pudge: One of Silvermane’s henchmen
- Richard Robichaux as Howard Walters: The editor of the Daily Bugle
- Andrew Lewis Caldwell as Dirk Leyden / Megawatt: A criminal with the ability to absorb and release electricity
- Amy Aquino as Dr. Alethea Faber: A doctor trying to find a cure for the metahumans
- Andrew Robinson as Ogden Faber: Dr. Faber’s secretary, later revealed to be her son who rapidly aged from the experiments that created the other superpowered. Kai Caster portrays a young Ogden.
- Jack Mikesell as James “Jimmy” Addison: A criminal with pyrokinesis
- Cameron Britton as Patrick Donegal: A PI who briefly met Ben
- Whitney Rice as Vera Addison: Jimmy’s widow who used his money for her lavish lifestyle
I highly recommend watching this first season only on Prime Video.
Rating: 9 out of 10 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident TV reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe