In this review of Spider-Man: Noir #1, Aunt May’s favorite web-slinging/gun-toting nephew is back in New York and busting up crime gangs, 1930s style. But when Gwen Stacy hires private eye Peter Parker to look into her father’s murder, the high-paying gig draws unwanted attention (and danger).
Spider-Man: Noir #1
Writer: ERIK LARSEN
Artist: ANDREA BROCCARDO
Main Cover: SIMONE DE MEO
Variant Covers: ERIK LARSEN, ANDREA SORRENTINO, JEROME OPEÑA, DAVID MACK
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: October 1, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Spider-Man: Noir #1 kicks off with a nighttime battle down at the docks, as Spider-Man tangles with the infamous Scorpion Gang during a jewel heist. Heavily outnumbered, Spidey deploys his twin pistols as an equalizer (only to wound). During the fracas Spidey is disarmed, but his spider powers and web-shooters prove more than a match for the masked thugs, (to the delight of the neighborhood kids watching from the sidelines).
The next morning, private eye Peter Parker is confronted by his landlady Mrs. Wong for being late on his rent. Peter fast-talks his way into a brief reprieve, but knows he’s up a creek until Gwen Stacy walks into his life, with a big case, and an even bigger retainer. Peter accepts. Aunt May calls to “check in” but mostly to get him to drop his masked crimefighting gig (she knows he’s Spider-Man).
Later on, down at the morgue, Peter asks the medical examiner about George Stacy’s murder but is ordered to leave by a uniformed officer. Later that night, he returns as Spider-Man to follow a hunch only to be confronted by a group of armed officers. Spidey escapes as he tries to figure out why the murder of a police captain rates this type of violent response.
The next morning, Peter visits Gwen at the Stacy home, asks some questions, including what is inside the giant wall safe. Gwen doesn’t know the combination, but Peter has a workaround. On Sunday night, Peter meets Aunt May for dinner as she grills him about his lack of social life.
Sometime later, Spider-Man man chases down a flying Nazi man-bat who robbed the World’s Fair. Spidey takes out the villain, but his bag of stolen cash spills open, flooding the sky with bills, to the delight of the crowd below. Spidey hands off the man-bat to the police, who are unhappy that he didn’t return the cash.
Spider-Man: Noir #1 ends with Peter piecing together some surprising clues about George Stacy, including that he was part of the Scorpion gang, and that his killer was Spider-Man?
Analysis
Spider-Man: Noir #1 kicks off the story with a boatload of action, and it’s wild to see a Spider-Man in a trench coat, combat boots and a fedora moving like the hero we know, but dialing up the violence a couple of notches. Watching Spidey take on a group of bad guys on the waterfront is familiar, but not his using pistols.
Readers know from the narration that Peter only uses them to wound, and only when the odds are overwhelming. In this case, even with his web shooters and spider powers, the Scorpion Gang hits back repeatedly before Peter finally gets the upper hand. Also, it is difficult to read the narration and not hear Nicholas Cage’s distinctive voice from the animated Spider-Verse movies in my head.
Writer Erik Larsen tackles the darker world of Spider-Man: Noir, leaning hard into the tropes and dialogue of the depression era characters and settings. The writing crackles at points, while other parts blur the line between clever and corny. Larsen still imbues Peter Parker with his most enduring traits (concern for Aunt May, a sense of responsibility), coupled with the edge and grit befitting a pulp hero who is in over his head.
There’s no reinventing the wheel in Spider-Man: Noir #1, but the title character’s distinct hybrid identity amid familiar tropes such as the hard-luck private eye, crooked cops, and the damsel in distress (femme fatale?) allows for a refreshing take on a Spider-Man story. The reveal of George Stacy’s alleged ties to the Scorpion Gang, and his murder by “Spider-Man” doesn’t hit as hard as it should, as it seems to come out of nowhere.
Larsen also firmly cements the world of Spider-Man: Noir in 1939, showcasing the rising pre-war tensions, the New York World’s Fair and the pop culture sensation of The Wizard of Oz.
Artist Andrea Broccardo (Alien) absolutely nails the distinctive world of Spider-Man: Noir, filling the many action set pieces with energetic layouts. It’s interesting to see a Spider-Man toting pistols, a fedora, trench coat and combat boots, while moving around like the webslinger we all know. Broccardo’s quiet scenes with Aunt May, Mrs. Wong and Gwen Stacy also hold a sense of dramatic weight.
Final Thoughts
Spider-Man: Noir #1 revisits a cool Spider-Man concept that hits a lot of the right notes, while attempting to strike a balance between the nostalgic and the campy. The art is outstanding.
