‘Spider-Noir’: Superhero, in new form

The Spiderman Noir comic book universe created by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky, first published in 2009, forms the basis for this Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot-masterminded Prime Video series, in which Ben Reilly gains an entirely new origin story.

This eight-part series exists in a shadowy Depression-era Manhattan, where Peter Parker is an unknown entity. Set in a comic book alternate universe, there’s no visible poverty or racial discrimination permeating the narrative.

Nicholas Cage expands on his brief foray into the 2018 Marvel movie ‘Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse’. The series shows him as Ben Reilly, a Bogart-like character with a Bugs Bunny-like attitude. He is an ageing superhero, disillusioned and hiding from his superpowers as a private eye, until he gets drawn into a case that calls for his coming out from near ignominy.

Ben is a movie buff who rattles off dialogues and reference scenes from his favourite films. He suffers from recurring migraines due to the traumas of his past. His spidey powers don’t always work when required. Though presented in comic book style, he is not the typical generic superhero. He has quirks and affectations that keep the narrative off-kilter. Cage doesn’t play safe. He is supremely elastic in his performance. He impersonates, mimics, engages in broad physical comedy, and bursts into song with a confidence that lends him great viability.

The series begins with Ben’s detective agency falling on hard times. His cheeky assistant, Janet (Karen Rodriguez), is on the verge of quitting when a new case involving surveillance for Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li), a sultry nightclub singer, who is a prisoner of the mob kingpin Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), falls into his lap.

The evenly-paced compact episodes intertwine stories involving Nazi incarceration, inhuman experimentation on prisoners and subsequent release of the experimented into the mainstream as freak supermen with gradually diminishing superpowers. That basically explains the existence of Flint Marko/Sandman (Jack Huston), Dirk Leydon/Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell) and Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone (Abraham Popoola) as Silvermane’s hired muscle. The three are shown to be mutating with alarming rapidity.

The beauty of this series lies in the fact that it affords the viewer a choice between ‘True-Hue Full Colour’ and ‘Authentic Black and White’ formats — a variety that was hitherto unavailable on OTT platforms. The B&W option affords the viewer the pleasure of watching the series in the gritty film noir style while the other sets up an eye-popping distinction in colour saturation. The period costumes look stunning in colour and the art direction and production design are meticulous.

Darran Tiernan’s atmospheric cinematography, the assorted music choices, as well as the tributes to films and pop culture, elevate the experience.

‘Spider-Noir’ takes a refreshing step away from regular superhero CGI-defined action and keeps its focus on a regular person struggling with his abnormal superpowers while trying to find meaning in his life.

The narrative is predictable and the pace and tempo in the middle episodes get a bit uneven. The Silvermane conspiracy loses focus. There’s also not much intensity in this telling. Cage and Li are also unable to generate enough chemistry.

The series is far from perfect but it’s certainly watchable because of Nicolas Cage’s antics. The overall tone may be uneven but the visual aesthetics are ensnaring. The series is able to balance multiple sub-genres in its effort to fashion a hybrid entertainer that is inspired and unique.