Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Can Break A 47-Year-Old Superpower Tradition

Noir, the Spider-Man series starring Nicolas Cage, has recently been confirmed for Amazon Prime, with the show having the potential to break a 47-year-old Spider-Man power tradition. Cage first portrayed the role of Spider-Man Noir in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, providing the voice for the older, detective-inspired variant of Spider-Man. The character is expected to return in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse‘s story, with Cage likely also reprising his role.

The ending of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse teased this, providing fans of the character from the 2018 movie with something to look forward to. Aside from his appearance in the upcoming Spider-Man movie, Cage has been confirmed to take his character beyond the confines of animation, with a live-action Spider-Man Noir TV show in the works with Amazon Prime. This show has the potential to break a lot of Spider-Man conventions due to its unique take on the Web-Slinger, with one of these potential changes linking to Spidey’s powers and stretching back almost five decades.

Spider-Man Noir Has Far More Limited Web Shooting Superpowers Than Other Versions

Modern Spider-Man Web Shooters Were Not Shared By Noir In His Original Stories

The break of tradition concerning superpowers in Spider-Man Noir links to his web shooters. Although Spider-Man Noir has normal web shooters in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, this was not always the case. In the character’s original interpretation, Spider-Man Noir (2009), the character’s web shooting was much more limited than it is typically shown in Spider-Man comics, shows, or movies. This was fixed later, when Spider-Man Noir was resurrected, giving him more traditional web shooters.

However, before this point, Noir could not create web lines to swing from as Spider-Man usually can. Instead, Spider-Man Noir’s web shooters produced more net-like webbing, allowing him to trap criminals and aid his investigative exploits. If the Spider-Man Noir TV show chooses to adapt this style of web shooting, it will break 47 years of Spider-Man tradition in live-action. Going all the way back to the first live-action Spidey in 1977, the character has always had his traditional web lines, meaning Noir could be the first one to have such a limitation in the Amazon Prime show.

Noir’s Limited Web Superpowers Make Perfect Sense For Nicolas Cage’s Live-Action Show

Limited Web Shooting Would Fit An Older, Smaller-Budgeted Spider-Man

At first, this change to Spider-Man’s web-slinging could seem too drastic. However, it fits the expected tone and style of Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir TV show. For the first time since the first live-action Spider-Man adaptation, Noir is set to focus on an older version of the character. Cage is 60 years old, and the show’s premise surrounds an older detective coming face-to-face with aspects from his earlier superhero life. This premise sounds much more grounded and gritty than most Spider-Man movies, fitting the overall inspiration of noir filmmaking for the character.

With this tone expected for the show, grandiose web-swinging scenes would simply feel out of place. The more acrobatic action sequences typical with Spider-Man adaptations will likely be avoided in Noir as these aspects, as well as web-swinging sequences, fit the more generic superhero stories that the character appears in. If the early promises of Noir are anything to go by, it is clear the show will be anything but generic and tell a different kind of superhero story than the MCU’s Spider-Man 4, for example, one that limited webbing superpowers could fit aesthetically, tonally, and stylistically.

How Else Noir Will Likely Differ From Other Spider-Man Movies & Shows

Noir Will Forego Typical Spider-Man Formula

These differences in web shooting only bring to the fore the other ways in which Noir will likely differ from common Spider-Man movies and TV shows. As alluded to, the overall story of Noir is expected to play out like a detective story. The initial premise released for the show teased that Cage’s character has foregone his duties as Spider-Man when the story begins, with his past as the masked vigilante catching up to him. As such, the story will likely delve into what makes Noir unique by having Cage play an older detective.

This detective-driven story will also mean less big-budget action sequences that are commonly found in Spider-Man movies, leading to a more melancholy tone. Cage has often been known to present such stories and characters, with Noir likely being no different. The villains of Spider-Man Noir’s comic book stories are also quite different from the typical antagonists like Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, or Venom, marking a difference in whom this iteration of the character will face off against. All of this, when combined with the tradition-breaking web shooters, establishes Noir as a different, and highly exciting, take on the character of Spider-Man.

Spider-Man Noir

Spider-Man Noir is an animated television series set in a dark and gritty universe. The show follows the story of Peter Parker, a cynical and violent Spider-Man who lives in a black-and-white world. This darker take on the Spider-Man character is set in the 1930s and features a film noir-inspired aesthetic.