Common Sense Media Review
By Marty Brown
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Smoking, drinking, suggestive talk in flimsy superhero show.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Spider-Noir
What's the Story?
SPIDER-NOIR centers around Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), formerly known as "The Spider," a costumed hero who protected New York City from organized crime and other threats. He retired from his superhero life when he couldn't save his girlfriend, Ruby (Amanda Schull). Now working as a private investigator, Reilly finds himself delving into a case involving his old nemesis, mob boss Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson).
Is It Any Good?
Though it's not technically MCU canon (it's a Sony, not a Marvel, production), this show follows that franchise's lead in aiming to combine superhero adventures with other, seemingly incongruous, genres (e.g., the throwback Western Logan or the Muppet-like Thor: Ragnarok). While that approach has been successful for the MCU, Spider-Noir lacks the thoughtfulness or nuance to actually make it work. The series is such a slapdash representation of noir, it feels like the showrunners simply read the Wikipedia entry instead of even watching the classics. The story is set in an alternate-universe 1930s, though film noir didn't truly take off until the '40s, and the stylistic comparisons are '50s movies like Touch of Evil and Kiss Me Deadly, which are so stylistically exaggerated that they're nearly meta.
On the superhero front, the show seems to be holding back on special effects and not even the ability to watch episodes in black and white can obscure the extent to which it's been shot in front of green screens. Worst of all, there's nothing to root for. Cage is a cardboard cutout of a down-on-his-luck P.I. and the mystery itself is about as intriguing as a flour sack dress. Spider-Noir doesn't even reckon with any of the elements that make Spider-Man one of the all-time great superheroes: the struggle between his personal (mostly teenage!) life and his secret identity. Instead, it basically just grafts a 3rd-tier Daredevil or Batman story onto a Spider-Man character and expects no one to notice because there's a Dutch angle every once in a while.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Spider-Man. Who is Ben Reilly, and how is he related to Spider-Man? How does Reilly's story in Spider-Noir compare to Peter Parker's or Miles Morales'?
How does Reilly choose to use or not use his superpowers? How does this define his character?
Does this series reinforce the frequent Spidey theme that "with great power comes great responsibility"?
If you've seen actual noir films, how does this series compare? What does it have in common with those types of movies? How does it differ?
TV Details
- Premiere date : May 27, 2026
- Cast : Nicolas Cage , Lamorne Morris , Li Jun Li
- Network : Prime Video
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Adventures , Superheroes
- TV rating :
- Last updated : May 27, 2026
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