Spider-Noir: Step Into My Office

I will admit, when I heard Nicolas Cage was going to star in a live action version of Spider-Man Noir, the character he voiced in the Spider-Verse movies, I had some doubts. I don’t hate Nicolas Cage, like so many seem to, and I actually kinda liked his first Ghost Rider movie, and some of his others. But I was curious, and I tend to watch all the hero shows, so I knew I needed to check it out. And I was very pleasantly surprised by “Step Into My Office,” the first episode.

I was also impressed by the choice they gave the viewer of being able to watch the series in either color of black and white. We opted for the black and white mode, and it really helps with the overall noir feel of the series. Actually, just about everything is in synch with the noir mode. His opening monologue, because you knew there had to be one, gives a passing nod to the Spider-Verse movies and sets us up for his current status quo. You don’t see a lot of happy characters in a noir setting, and our man Ben Reilly is not one of them.

So who is Ben Reilly and why is this not Peter Parker? We do see Ben using a camera, and hear he’s a great photographer, but that’s the closest we’ll get to the Parker identity here, it seems. In a truly confusing (at times), long, drawn-out story, Ben Reilly was introduced… well, even that’s complicated. One of Spider-Man’s early, and very dangerous, foes, was the Jackal, Professor Miles Warren, who, like so many Spider-Foes was a brilliant scientist. In one of their clashes, Warren cloned Spider-Man, and had the two fight. The clone appeared in Amazing Spider-Man 149 and was believed killed. But a few decades later, the clone returned, occasionally fighting crime as the Scarlet Spider, and using the name Ben Reilly. Ben, of course, for his late uncle, and Reilly was Aunt May’s maiden name. He’s been an on again, off again ally (sometimes foe) of Spidey ever since. Why is this version Ben and not Peter? No idea.

We get some more of his tragic backstory, the loss not of an uncle or aunt, but a woman he loved, and his giving up being “The Spider.” So he sort of had his own Gwen Stacy scenario with a woman called Ruby. The intro shows some cool graphics, including confirming the Daily Bugle exists in this world, and that the papers are occasionally running stories about the missing hero.

Back to the main story, and Ben is doing surveillance, trying to locate a man named Addison. He has some fun banter with a woman at the bar, nearly loses the guy, follows, and demonstrates once again that one of the most inconsistently written abilities, arguably in all of comics, is the Spider-sense. When he shakes off the effects of the distraction that shouldn’t have worked, he pursues his quarry and the guy now after him to the Standard Oil Company, which is wonderfully moodily atmospheric with pipes, puddles, and steam all over the place. There’s a very unexpected showdown with a result that surprises everyone involved. This leads to Ben making a new friend, a comparing of notes, and more entertaining banter. This show is very good at that.

In the morning, Ben goes to his office, we meet his “gal Friday” Janet Ruiz, and we get more great dialogue and a strange client. Ben resignedly agrees to follow yet another apparently unfaithful wife. Ben next meets up with reporter Robbie Robertson, who in the “main” Marvel world was one of Peter Parker’s bosses at the Bugle. This version is out chasing stories and urging Ben to pick up the costume again. They also talk about Silvermane, a powerful gangster in the city. Silvermane’s original version was an Italian gangster who eventually got a powerful cyborg body; this one appears to be Irish mob. Leaving, Ben shows he has his own version of Sherlock Holme’s Baker Street Irregulars, and he finally gets to work.

On a long, boring stakeout (trust me, they tend to be that), Ben reads some of Robbie’s articles, and is indirectly nagged about coming back as the Spider. Annoyed, Ben is relieved when the woman he’s been hired to follow shows up. He does a dogged job shadowing her, and we see both that he’s still trying to not use his powers, and that his heroic impulses haven’t abandoned him, no matter what he might tell himself. Those two things make for an interesting character study. Ben is a complicated man.

Back at his office once again, we see why Ben and Janet make such a good team when their client tries to turn aggressive. Janet is a very cool, self-possessed woman, and it’s nice to see she’s an actual part of the agency, not window dressing or damsel in distress for plot purposes. The client turns out to be Winston, which Ben learns after following him back to Silvermane’s mansion, or what’s left of it. The burning of Silvermane’s home seems to have kicked off several subplots at once, and Silvermane shows he’s not only aware of superhumans, he’s clever about them. A smart villain is always more dangerous, and Silvermane certainly seems to be that.

Ben talks with his new friend, a fellow PI named Donegal, who seems to be doing his best to live up to every bad stereotype there is about private investigators. Donegal has a plan which Ben warns him is a very bad idea, but Donegal isn’t listening, too busy chasing dollar signs. Ben has learned a bit more about the woman he was hired to follow, and she proves to be a torch singer called Cat Hardy. Cat is this world’s analouge of Spider-Man/s sometimes friend, sometimes foe, sometimes lover Black Cat, AKA Felicia Hardy. Sensing a lot of complications when he realizes who Cat is involved with, Ben spins some lies and gets out of the case, to the annoyance of Janet, who reminds him, again, that they are very broke and that there’s a Depression going on. She comes up with a new idea, and shows she can be quite ruthless and sharp.

Trying to decide on a new course of action, Ben meets up again with Robbie. It’s an interesting change, watching someone work a case without Google, cell phones, or the usual computer wizardry that’s part of every proceedural these days. Ben realizes Donegal is likely in even more trouble that Ben first feared, and decides to try and help him. This from the man consistently proclaiming he’s not a hero as he rushes off to help a guy he just met.

After leaving messages where he can, Ben makes his way to the Alcove, the club Cat sings at. Here we learn that not only is the actress, Li Jun Li, gorgeous but she has a hell of a voice. Ben ends up talking to her after her set, and she’s another cool customer with snappy lines dripping off her tongue. Looking out for her interests is the hulking Flint Marko, who back on Marvel’s main Earth is the Sandman. Meanwhile, in a dark back room, we see why Donegal has been so hard to reach, how ruthless Silvermane is, and more trouble heading for our hero.

There’s a great bit of Ben being followed, and knowing he’s being followed, which leads to a confrontation in an unfished skyscraper. Ben and Marko face off, and we see there’s more to both of them than it seems. There’s a hint as to which of the cinematic Spider-Men Reilly favors, and it’s an interesting choice. Their struggle ends when someone steps in, and Ben once again shows he’s a good man, despite his own protestations. In the morning, Janet is very frustrated that Ben’s benevolence is costing them money. Their argument gets interrupted when a new but familiar client walks in and Janet smoothly pivots into all business mode. It’s an interesting new wrinkle in this case and a good spot to end the episode.

What I Liked: Damn near everything. It was a great spin on the Spider-Man story, and I liked the new versions of the characters. They definitely nailed the noir vibe. The dialog was top-notch, as were the deliveries. Cage, despite some of his reputation, plays the haunted man with more than his share of grief quite well, and Li Jun Li was fantastic. Karen Rodriguez did great as Janet. I think it was a good choice that they gave you the choice of color vs. black and white, and I have to say the black and white version really works. Even the title is a sort of clever wordplay.

What I Didn’t: As I mentioned above, the Spider-sense continues to be erratically written in every medium. As far as I can tell, Addison is an original character for the series, which seems an odd choice considering the extent of Spidey’s Rogues Gallery.

I enjoyed this a great deal more than I expected to. I will give this a 4.5 out of 5, and I’m looking forward to seeing the various mysteries play out over the season.