After his success in the film Into the Spider-Verse, Nicholas Cage is returning to his iconic role as Spider-Man Noir in his very own live-action TV show on Amazon Prime, set to be released on May 25th. This series will be an adaptation of Marvel’s Noir Universe, also known as Earth-90214, set during the 1930s and centered on noir detective tropes. Spider-Man Noir also made his return in 2025 with his own comic miniseries. However, the Web-Head isn’t the only crimefighter in the Noir Universe. Marvel previously created noir reimaginings of other heroes like Daredevil, Iron Man, and the X-Men. With the revival of this universe, there are many other heroes who would be perfect to star in their own Noir comic miniseries.
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The heroes of the Noir Universe are often reimagined to be darker and more grounded, with many even losing their iconic superpowers. Still, there are plenty of dark and brooding heroes who would fit right at home in the 1930s world of detectives, gangsters, and mysteries.
5) Iron Fist
Luke Cage already received his own series, so it would make sense for his best friend and crime-fighting partner, Iron Fist, to get one as well. Instead of relying on supernatural fighting moves that can shatter buildings with ease, the Noir version of Iron Fist could instead rely on more realistic martial arts to battle gangsters and ninjas. By grounding Iron Fist by taking away his chi-based powers, the stakes would be much higher whenever he had to fight dozens of criminals at once. Mixing the tropes of the noir and martial arts genres could also offer a lot of narrative and stylistic potential that hasn’t been explored much in comics beforehand.
4) Black Widow
The most significant event that defined the late 1930s and early 40s was World War II. Many noir stories focus on gripping tales of spies and espionage as various countries try to win the war behind the scenes. And there’s no spy more iconic in Marvel Comics than Black Widow. As a former Russian spy, Black Widow would fit perfectly into a World War II-era storyline. She could be operating as an undercover agent either in the United States or in Nazi-occupied Europe to gain intelligence to help the war effort. With her cunning mind, proficiency in seduction, and deadly marksmanship skills, Black Widow is exactly the type of hero who would work as the lead of a noir spy thriller.
3) Hulk
Although at first glance the Hulk seems like the last type of character who would work in a noir setting, he has everything he needs to succeed in this genre. Marvel could remove the radioactive monster part of his character and have him be a hulking man with above-average strength. His dissociative identity disorder would also be a great source of psychological drama and commentary on how poorly mental illnesses were understood during that period. Most importantly, though, the Hulk already has a split personality called Joe Fixit, who dresses and acts like a 1930s gangster. The animated TV show Ultimate Spider-Man already depicted a version of Joe Fixit in the Noir Universe, showing the character’s potential in a gangster story.
2) Moon Knight
Many dark and gritty street-level Marvel heroes like Daredevil and the Punisher have been adapted for the Noir Universe, and Moon Knight would be a perfect addition. Moon Knight is already a very physiologically damaged hero who solves mysteries, so not much would have to be changed if he were given a Noir series. Marvel Noir has already experimented with Indiana Jones-style pulp adventure stories with Iron Man, and Moon Knight’s connection to Ancient Egypt could expand on that genre. Like the Hulk, Moon Knight suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and his connection to Khonshu could be reimagined as another split personality. With his violent form of heroism, Moon Knight would offer an ideal character for a noir mystery and adventure tale full of suspense and horror.
1) Jessica Jones
Since Marvel Noir closely follows the genre’s tropes, no woman has had the chance to be the main character. Instead, women are mostly depicted as femme fatales and damsels in distress. If there is one woman who has the potential to be the lead in a noir detective story set in the 1930s, it’s Jessica Jones. Even in the main universe, Jones’ stories often take inspiration from the noir genre. Furthermore, casting her as a private eye during this time in American history could lend itself to powerful commentary on sexism and the fight for women’s rights during the Great Depression and World War II. Jessica Jones is a master detective, and she would be able to solve any mystery the Noir Universe could throw at her.
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