Spider-Noir is streaming in full now, but does Nicolas Cage’s Ben Reilly become The Spider again? Find out below.
The show is based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man Noir and follows Reilly, an aging private investigator and superhero in 1930s New York who grapples with his past in the aftermath of a personal tragedy.
It is set within the world of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, with Cage reprising his role from the 2018 film, and all eight episodes of the show are streaming now on MGM+ in the US and on Amazon Prime Video internationally.
It was developed by Oren Uziel, previously known for 22 Jump Street and The Cloverfield Paradox, and it also starred Brendan Gleeson, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Poppola and Jack Huston.
Watch the trailer here:
NME gave the show a three-star review, noting: “In the end, Spider-Noir may face an uphill battle for ratings – how much crossover do the modern Marvel blockbuster and pre-war crime fiction fandoms have? – but there’s a lot of fun to be had here. Much more than with any other recent Spider-Man spin-off, that’s for sure.”
The ending of Spider-Noir explained: does Ben become The Spider again?
Throughout the season, Cage’s Ben Reilly was resisting re-embracing his superhero alter ego, choosing to run from his past following the death of his girlfriend.
At the start of the finale, Brendan Gleeson’s Silvermane and his gang have captured him and his secret identity is on the verge of being exposed. Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li) reveals that she had betrayed Silvermane, however, while Robbie Robbertson (Lamorne Morris) disguises himself as The Spider to protect Ben.
Cat kills Silvermane as his mob empire collapses, while Ben faces off with the superpowered Dirk Leyden, in his persona of Megawatt, eventually throwing him into the path of an oncoming train and killing him.
Ben finally has access to the last dose of the antidote, which could let him escape the burden of The Spider for good, but instead he gives it to Flint Marko, saving him and allowing him to be with Cat.
By giving up his own chance at freedom, Ben accepts the responsibility that he had previously been resisting, and embraces his role and destiny as The Spider.