Every Major Change ‘Spider-Noir’ Makes From Marvel Comics (original) (raw)

Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly in 'Spider-Noir'

Image via Prime Video

Published Jun 6, 2026, 6:08 PM EDT

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Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Spider-Noir and Spider-Man Noir (2008).Spider-Noir is the newest Spider-Man-based project—**one of three in 2026**—and people are actually pretty pleased with it. For quite a bit, people have been saying Sony should be investing more in the alternate versions of Spider-Man for projects, rather than making stories about his villains, which is exactly what Spider-Noir accomplishes.

However, what a lot of fans of the show don't know is the fact that Spider-Noir is actually completely different from the Spider-Man Noir comic books. Some have even gone as far as to say that Disney and Sony have effectively "ruined" the character, and while that's a very extreme reaction, it's proof of the fact that there are some major changes in modern media—in this case, _Spider-Noir_—for the Noir iteration of the hero.

Spider-Man Noir Is a Murderer

Nicolas Cage in Spider-Noir

Image via Prime Video

Fans of the show can see that the Spider-Noir version of the Web-Slinger is actually way more in line with traditional Spider-Man when it comes to his moral compass. He only really commits one murder in the show, and that's ultimately to save Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li) and Flint Marko (Jack Huston). However, in the comics, Spider-Man Noir is a pretty seasoned killer.

This isn't to say that he is like The Punisher in any way, but, in the comics, he certainly has far fewer qualms about taking lives.While there does come a moment with Aunt May that causes him to put his gun away for good, for everything before that, Spider-Man Noir has little issues taking someone down, permanently.

He's a Journalist and a Photographer

Spider-Man Noir lurking in the shadows.

Image via Marvel Comics

While he may be a private eye in the Prime Video series, in the source material his occupation is far closer to traditional Spider-Man's. He is a journalist/photographer, so it maintains Peter's usual photo-taking job from the main 616 universe. So, while it keeps him in-tune with the crime of 1932 New York City.

While it's different, it's arguable that the private eye direction of the character in Spider-Noir is far more fitting for this version of the Wall-Crawler, as it connects him more to the criminal underworld, and makes him more of a detective type. It's proof that just because something is changed from the comics, that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.

His Comics Costume Is Grittier

Nicolas Cage in Spider-Noir

Image via Prime Video

Anyone who has seen the comics, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Spider-Noir will see that the costumes of each are drastically different. Ever since the 2018 animated hit, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he's taken on a far more detective-looking suit, which suits him quite well, given the new direction for the character.

In the books, though, he's got a much different, grittier-looking costume. Void of a slick fedora, Earth-90214's Spider-Man looks a lot more like a Batman-type of character than anything.While this fits the far darker tone of the comics, there's no doubt that the newer vibe for the hero feels far more unique in comparison to other universes of the webhead.

No J. Jonah Jameson

J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson in 'Spider-Man' (2002)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Despite him being a private eye and part of the news cycle, thanks also to his pal Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris), there's a total absence of J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Noir. In the comic books, Jameson is a prominent figure as the Daily Bugle's editor. He's actually crucial to the plot of the Goblin and Chameleon storylines, making him a mainstay of the Spider-Man Noir (2008) series.

While Robbie is in the series and is a reporter (kind of taking the occupation that Peter originally had in Spider-Man Noir (2008)), there's still no Jameson in the plot of Spider-Noir. While the story of the Prime Video series most likely doesn't have a ton of room for another reporter-esque character, the missing spot of Jameson is definitely felt by fans of the source material.

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AA living energy I must be worthy of — it is not mine to control. BSomething vast and mysterious I'm only beginning to understand. CNeither light nor dark — just a current I choose to ride. DPower. Pure and simple. The strong take it; the weak don't.

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ADedicated but humble. There is always more to learn from my masters. BRigorous and patient. Mastery is earned through years of discipline. CEclectic — I draw from every tradition, not just one. DRelentless and brutal. Pain accelerates growth. Rest is weakness.

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A defeated enemy lies at your feet, powerless. You: Mercy — or its absence — is the truest test of alignment.

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Disciplined, compassionate, and deeply attuned to the living Force, you have walked the path long enough to understand its demands — and accept them. You lead not through authority alone, but through example. You have felt the pull of the dark side and chosen otherwise, every time. That is not certainty. That is courage.

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You have looked at the Jedi Code and the Sith Code and found both of them incomplete. You walk the line not out of indecision but out of conviction — you genuinely believe both extremes miss something essential. The Jedi don't fully trust you. The Sith think you're wasting your potential. They're both partially right. But so are you.

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Robbie Is Ben Urich (Sort Of)

Lamorne Morris smiling with a cigarette in Spider-Noir

Image via Prime Video

In the Spider-Man Noir (2008) comic line, rather than being close pals with Robbie Robertson, like in the live-action series, Peter Parker is actually tight with Ben Urich, who is more of a mentor figure to him. While Robbie isn't a mentor to Ben Reilly in Spider-Noir and more of a close friend, he is still taking the place of the "reporter that's closest to Spider-Man" in this universe.

Robbie also takes the place that Ben Urich has in most of the Spider-Man Noir (2008) plots, being kind of the lead reporter chasing down the stories happening in the universe. While Peter may be a journalist with him in the comic universe, Ben is the one chasing all the leads as a reporter, while Pete is typically suiting up to jump into the fold as the noir-themed Web-Slinger.

Black Cat Is Quite Different

Li Jun Li standing at a microphone in Spider-Noir

Image via Prime Video

When the Black Cat character is introduced in Spider-Noir, she's introduced as Cat Hardy. Rather than being a lounge singer connected to the likes of Flint Marko, with a plot connected to the Mayor of New York City, Alfred Morris (Michael Kostroff), Felicia Hardy of Earth-90214 is a facially disfigured owner of a nightclub and the former lover of Ben Urich. The classic Spider-Man villain/love-interest is quite different in both versions of the Noir universe.

In the comics, her alter-ego isn't Black Cat, though, but rather the White Widow. She owns the Black Cat Nightclub, instead. In the books, she has a heartbreaking plot of witnessing Urich be murdered by Chameleon, who was impersonating J. Jonah Jameson, and goes into a revenge story that is emotionally compelling. While Cat Hardy is a great addition to Spider-Noir, a version of the character more like this would have been pretty dang cool to see.

A New Characterization

“Ben Reilly” (Nicolas Cage) in a scene from Prime Video’s Spider-Noir (Courtesy of Prime Video)

Image via Prime Video

The massive change that has hit the Spider-Man Noir character since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is honestly very drastic. Before he became the detective type, the noir Wall-Crawler was far darker and a lot more vengeful. In the comics, his Uncle Ben story features his beloved father figure being eaten—yes, genuinely _eaten_—**by Earth-90214's Vulture.** This event sends him on a far darker path than the iteration of the character that people know now.

As stated, though, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse reinvented the character to be who he is now,which is a much more classic detective type of character. He's quite comedic, older (more on that next), and a sleuthing type. While it's been a welcome change because of how fun it is, fans of the comic will say that this universe's Peter Parker is a completely different character than he used to be.

Comics Peter Is Only 19 Years Old

Spider-Man Noir pointing at someone off-camera in 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'

Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir pointing in 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

As aforementioned, the character in Spider-Noir is actually far older in age than his comic book counterpart. In the Spider-Man Noir (2008) comic storyline, Peter Parker is actually only 19 years old. While his age is never explicitly stated in Spider-Noir, audience members know that he is a World War I veteran, and with Nicolas Cage being 61 years old, it's assumed he's around a similar age.

The age difference is not only a huge part of the dissimilarity in the characters' characterization, but also crucial to how the plot lines in both character iterations are executed. In Spider-Noir, Ben, being a far more seasoned hero, allows him to experience things in a different light, which affects how he handles the plot points ahead of him.

A Shiny New Origin Story

Spider-Noir (Nicolas Cage) making his introduction in 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

In the source material, Spider-Man Noir's powers are actually magic. Yes, magical. When Peter accidentally breaks an ancient magical spider idol, he sets free a group of supernatural spiders. One of said spiders, as assumed, bites Peter and gives him the powers of a spider after seeing a vision of a spider demigod.

In the show, viewers already know that he gained his abilities during a rescue operation, in which he discovers a mutated man who looks like a "man spider" of sorts. The man bites him, and gives him the powers of, you guessed it, a spider. So, to say that the origins between comics and television are different feels like a bit of an understatement.

Ben Reilly

Spider-Noir

Image via Prime Video

What's arguably the most interesting change from comic to show is the fact that the Spider-Noir version of the character is actually known as Ben Reilly, and not Peter Parker. This, at first, confused pretty much everyone, especially after the most recent Spider-Man Noir still being a Peter Parker variant.

While it's eventually revealed later in the series—in Spider-Noir Season 1, Episode 6, "Nightmare on a Gurney"—that his true name actually is Peter Parker, he's still considered Ben Reilly for a majority of the show, and, on top of that, this is never a plot point in Spider-Man Noir (2008). After such a tumultus past, he changed his name to keep the government and others who knew him in his World War I days from knocking on his door.