Spider-Noir Brings 8 Marvel Characters to Screen in a Very Different Way

Spider-Noir riffs on some classic Marvel comic characters, giving them a delightful update for a noir series. We’re headed deep into the Spider-Verse now, exploring an alternate 1930s-style universe where Nicolas Cage’s Ben Reilly is the wall-crawler of his world. The idea will be a familiar one, but this isn’t the Spider-Noir of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It’s a whole new version, giving showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot an opportunity to completely reinvent the character.

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Comic book readers will be familiar with the basics, though, because Uziel and Lightfoot are adapting some iconic comic book stories that inspired Spider-Verse. Only the most well-read fans will recognize them, though, because these aren’t the characters casual viewers are familiar with. Here’s all you need to know about the Spider-Man characters who’ve been adapted for Spider-Noir.

Nicolas Cage is Ben Reilly / Spider-Noir

Nicolas Cage as Spider-Noir — Image Courtesy of Prime Video

The legendary Nicolas Cage is no stranger to superhero franchises or action films. In fact, the various incarnations of Spider-Man Noir aren’t even his first Marvel hero; he’s well known for playing Ghost Rider in the 2007 and 2012 films. Here, Nicolas Cage plays “The Spider,” a down-on-his-luck incarnation of the wall-crawler who’s started a career as a private eye. In the comics, this character was a Spider-Man raised during the Great Depression who dedicated himself to overthrowing the Goblin’s criminal empire after Uncle Ben was killed for organizing strikes in a sweatshop.

This Spider is not Peter Parker, but Ben Reilly. That name is drawn from the comics, where it’s the alias of Spider-Man clone the Scarlet Spider. As Uziel explained in an interview with Esquire, “Peter Parker feels very synonymous with a high school kid. Boyish. On his way up.” Ben Reilly is a different kind of character, older and jaded, because his life has gone badly wrong prior to Spider-Noir.

Brendan Gleeson is Silvermane

In the comics, Silvermane is one of Kingpin’s rival crime bosses. An Italian mob boss, he’s often portrayed as obsessed with eternal life, and viewers may remember him seeking a tablet of immortality in the classic 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. This version of Silvermane is played by Oscar nominee Brendan Gleeson (State of the Union, Mr. Mercedes, the Harry Potter films). Here, he runs prohibition booze in New York, and he’s an Irish gangster rather than an Italian one. This is a world without Wilson Fisk, meaning he isn’t overshadowed by the Kingpin.

Abraham Popoola is Tombstone

You may recognize British actor Abraham Popoola from Starstruck, The Rig, and Slow Horses. He’s no stranger to major franchises, though, appearing in Andor and recently voicing Kingsley Shacklebolt in the Harry Potter audio-books. “I’m a massive comic book fan,” Popoola told Lifestyle Asia. “To step into it in actual reality is truly a dream come true. And then get to see all these other characters pop out of the page is incredible.” Although Sony allowed Popoola to reinvent the mob boss Tombstone for Spider-Noir, he was deeply invested in the character and wanted to honor the villain’s history and heritage.

Spider-Noir‘s Tombstone is an army veteran who served with Flint Marko. Oddly enough, this is the first of three versions of Tombstone who’ll appear on-screen in 2026. Marvin “Krondon” Jones III will play Tombstone in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, making his live-action debut. A younger incarnation appears in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, voiced by Eugene Byrd, where he’s now taken the much-anticipated heal turn into becoming a true Tombstone. It seems 2026 is, oddly, the year of the Tombstone.

Jack Huston is Sandman

The Sandman is a classic Spider-Man villain, and we’ve already seen one version in live-action courtesy of Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he was played by Thomas Haden Church (although he appeared in the latter through CGI and a screen-grab from Spider-Man 3). Sandman is traditionally a low-level villain who stumbled into a nuclear experiment, where his body was bonded with sand and he became something so much less than human. He’s been a go-to Spider-Man foe since 1963.

In the original Spider-Man Noir comics, Flint Marko worked for the Crime Master. There, he was known as the Sandman because of the brutal way he killed his victims, and he was tough enough to withstand Spider-Man Noir’s attacks. Trailers for Spider-Noir suggest this will be a more traditional Sandman, with the Amazon show incorporating far more super-villains than the comics, which strove for a grounded feel. Here, he’s an army vet and friend of Tombstone.

Li Jun Li is Cat Hardy

Cat Hardy in Spider-Noir — Image Courtesy of Prime Video

Li Jun Li (Sinners, Based on a True Story, Sex/Life) is Spider-Noir‘s version of Black Cat. The original Felicia Hardy is a sneak thief who becomes Spider-Man’s best frenemy and a major love interest, and the Spider-Man Noir comics tied her to the Black Cat nightclub, and Spider-Noir riffs on that idea. Here, Cat Hardy is a lounge singer who works for Silvermane and is in a romantic relationship with Flint Marko. “We did pull from Felicia Hardy’s history,” Li told Lifestyle Asia. “Then we took bits and pieces of my research in watching different femme fatale inspirations that Oren had presented to me. And we created Cat based on all these little pieces that we built.”

Andrew Lewis Caldwell is Megawatt

Andrew Lewis Caldwell (Danger Force, Henry Danger, Cursed Friends) is Megawatt. The comic book version is Dirk Leydon, a lesser-known Spider-Man villain who can store and release electricity (and also, randomly, a film star). Megawatt is often confused with the more well-established villain Electro, but they’re actually separate characters; Spider-Noir uses Megawatt to keep the show distinct and do its own thing.

Lamorne Morris is Robbie Robertson

Comedian Lamorne Morris is no stranger to superhero stories – he appeared in Bloodshot, for example – but this is his biggest role yet. He’s playing Robbie Robertson, an iconic member of Spider-Man’s supporting cast. In the main timeline, Robbie Robertson is an editor at the Daily Bugle who has the misfortune of working under J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Noir‘s version is a former Bugle journalist and close confidant of Ben Reilly.

Randy Oglesby is Chief McNamara

Film and TV legend Randy Oglesby (Star Trek: The Next Generation, For All Mankind, Independence Day) plays police chief McNamara. This may well be a riff on a classic (but low-level) Spider-Man character threatened by the Fool-Killer.

Non-Marvel and Supporting Characters

Karen Rodriguez is Janet

Karen Rodriguez (The Big Leap, Power Book IV: Force, Acapulco) plays Ben Reilly’s secretary, Janet, a major character in this timeline. The cast is also rounded out by:

Lukas Haas (The Revenant, War of the Worlds, The Righteous Gemstones) plays Silvermane’s second-in-command, Winston
Richard Robichaux (Paradise, Big Shot, Ocean’s Eight) is Walters, chief of the Bugle
Cameron Britton (Paradise, The Umbrella Academy, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window) is Donegal, a private eye who works with Ben Reilly
Jack Mikesell (Pluribus, Fear the Walking Dead, Super Pumped) is an original character named Addison. Another super, he has combustion powers and becomes central to Ben’s case. He bears superficial resemblance to a comic book character called the Molten Man
Michael Kostroff (Law & Order: SVU, Platonic, Animal Kingdom) is Mayor Morris, who wants to clean up the streets and take Silvermane down