One Spider-Noir Decision Would Leave Aunt May “Scathing,” Reveals the Original Comic Creator

Amazon’s new Spider-Noir may have a 93% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes, but comic book writer David Hine wasn’t impressed by one decision. Spider-Noir makes a lot of changes to the comics, and in many cases it has good reason; the plot ties Spider-Man’s origin to that of his villains, meaning the younger “Peter Parker” of the Spider-Man Noir comics wouldn’t have been a great fit. But, along the way, it also made several other changes that Spider-Man Noir creator David Hine isn’t pleased about.

Speaking to The Radio Times, Hine noted that the show carefully distances itself from the real-world politics of the 1930s. “Our version was explicitly political,” he said. “We named names. We referenced the Friends of New Germany and the rise of actual Nazism in the US. Everything referenced was historical reality, except for the obvious elements of pulp weirdness.

“Our Peter Parker was a radical communist along with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. The politics of the show are soft left. Aunt May would have been scathing. I’d have been overjoyed if they took a more courageous political stance.”

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To be fair, Hine isn’t entirely critical. “I’m impressed by the cohesive world they’ve built,” Hine said. “It’s actually more ‘noir’ than our comic, though it retains a lot of the pulp origins. The black-and-white version is visually stunning, and everyone involved is so clearly enjoying their work and totally into it.” He’s happy to enjoy Spider-Noir for what it is, though, and simply hopes it will lead viewers to the comics. “We fought to get our version into print in the first place; I like to think the success of the character proved us right to do so.”

He singles out several of Spider-Noir‘s characters for praise. “Karen Rodriguez, Brendan Gleeson and Li Jun Li were standouts,” he declared. “They’re at the top of their game. I’ve a soft spot for Cage’s humour and the way he lets the arachnid side of his powers inhabit him. Not since Steve Ditko’s original comic has anyone made the movements so spidery.” He wasn’t so impressed with the web-slinging, though, suggesting Cage “comes across as a clumsy, stiff-limbed old man.”

Hine’s Aunt May comment is more than a little amusing, but undoubtedly spot-on. The world of Spider-Man Noir was one where Ben Parker died trying to unionize workers, and May Parker was a firebrand agitator. Delightfully, when Spider-Man Noir rescued her from that universe’s Vulture – the man who had eaten Uncle Ben alive – May called the hero out for killing him. This was an Aunt May with fire, and that heat is sadly missing from Spider-Noir.

No comic book adaptation will ever be 100% faithful; it’s taking material from one medium into another, after all. But Spider-Noir – although widely praised – takes particular liberties with the comics. It has gone largely uncriticized, simply because these particular issues aren’t quite so well-known. Hine is certainly right to hope that this will lead people to the comics, where they’ll encounter Spider-Man Noir as he was originally created to be; someone whose political leaning are very strong indeed.

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