Spider-Noir Season 1 Review

Spider-Noir (2026-)

Season 1 - 8 episodes (2026 May 27)
Watch Spider-Noir with Amazon Prime (paid link)
Created by: Oren Uziel
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Jack Huston, Brendan Gleeson
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer

Plot
Private investigator Ben Reilly is hired on a couple of straightforward cases until mobsters, monsters, and a mysterious femme fatale spin a web that brings him face to face with his former life as New York's only superhero: The Spider.

Verdict
This show is almost more novelty than anything with the setting, the Spider-man take, and Nicolas Cage in a series. The narrative isn't all that deep. It's a hero fighting a gangster. This could definitely do more with Silver Mane, giving him more motivation and making him a more interesting character.
The web swinging, somersaulting hero we've seen in the recent movies isn't what we get here. It's a lot less action and a lot more New Yorkese accents and talking. The setting along with Cage gives this just enough intrigue to make it worth watching. Cage isn't as over the top as you might expect, but he does get a few moments to have fun.
Watch It.

Review
The series released on Prime Video in both black-and-white as well as color versions. Which one you choose is preference, with black-and-white lending itself to the feel of something older. This is Cage's first starring television role, having voiced the character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Cage stated that watching Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad (2008) and the pacing of the series convinced him to accept a television role.

This isn't Spider-Man in the traditional sense. This is an old school detective show, and Cage certainly has fun in the role. He's not as wild as some of his roles, but he gets a few chances to play to his strengths. This has all the hallmarks of a film noir mystery with the addition of super heroes.

E3: Nicolas Cage plays Ben Reilly

Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage) was the super hero The Spider that protect New York. When his fiance is killed, he's grief stricken, giving up on trying to save people because he couldn't save her. He just wants to be a regular guy. It always seems like private investigators are hard luck cases.

Ben gets mixed up with club singer Cat (Li Jun Li) who hires him to find Flint Marko (Jack Huston), as well as the mayor and local crime kingpin Silver Man (Brendan Gleeson). That forces Ben to dig up his old Spider costume, demanding Silver Mane leave Ben and his secretary alone. That inadvertently saves Silver Mane's life, causing him to miss a police raid. How did the police know?

Cage has fun in this. He's more restrained that you might expect, but he does get a few changes to go wild. I did wonder how Ben gets beaten up early in the season and gets a black eye. Later in the season he's attacked with a street sign and there's no visible bruising.

E2: Nicolas Cage plays Ben Reilly / The Spider

Ben is hired by Silver Mane to find the rat in his organization. Ben thinks it might be Cat, but since they've grown close he wants to protect her. Then again, she hired him to find Marko, so it's complicated. Marko ends up siding with Silver Mane, and that gives the kingpin an effective intimidator as the mayor wants to stop prohibition which affects Silver Mane's business.

Ben's friend Robbie (Lamorne Morris) knows his alter-ego. Robbie tries to convince Ben to return as the Spider to no avail. A side story this season is Robbie investigating several WWI POWs that developed super human abilities. Episode five answers how they got powers. It was military testing, and there's a doctor in New York connected to all of them.

Ben gets pulled into the experiments. He may be the answer to stabilizing super powers. That episode gives Reilly a sequence for Cage to showcase what he can do. In the process he finds an antidote to being super powered.

E7: Lamorne Morris, Nicolas Cage play Robbie Robertson, Ben Reilly

Robbie urges Ben to become the Spider again and help the city. Ben has to figure out what he wants to do. He can be the hero or take an antidote and become just a regular guy. That's something he's professed to want the entire season. He drunkenly admits to his secretary that he's the Spider. She reveals that he's drunkenly revealed that many, many times.

The final episode generates a lot of tension. Silver Mane thinks Ben is the Spider, and Ben has to figure out how to throw him off with the help of his friends while also using the antidote on all of Silver Mane's super powered enforcers. Eventually there's one antidote left and Ben has to decide whether he takes it or finally embraces being the Spider.

Letting Nicolas Cage loose on television made this interesting enough to give it a try. This has plenty of twists and turns and even a few comedic moments. I wish this did more with Silver Mane. Providing him some motivation and background could provide a contrast and comparison to Ben Reilly. As presented, Silver Mane is just an undeveloped villain. This also features a lot of dutch angles, I assume that's a call out to the 2008 comics. It does enough, but I wish the story was more developed.