In this review of Spider-Man Noir #2, Peter Parker burns the candle at both ends fighting gangsters by night as Spider-Man, and investigating a murder by day as a private eye. The good (and bad) news is that Peter already knows who the killer is: Spider-Man.
Spider-Man Noir #2
Writer: ERIK LARSEN
Artist: ANDREA BROCCARDO
Main Cover: SIMONE DE MEO
Variant Covers: ERIK LARSEN, ROD REIS, GERMÁN PERALTA
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: November 12, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Spider-Man Noir #2 kicks off with Spider-Man interrupting a turf war between rivals the Scorpion Gang and the Hardboil Gang in the middle of a busy street. The leader Hardboil (yuck) is a behemoth wearing an expensive suit, no shoes, and has a huge growth on the side of his bald head. Hardboil fires his Tommy Gun as Spidey picks off gang members and rescues civilians.
The two gangs finally wise up and target Spidey. The webslinger dispatches most of them with ease, but Hard Boil proves to be a tougher challenge. Spidey tries to knock out the gang boss but instead punctures the giant boil on HB’s head (gross). The boil leaks acid that eats through Spidey’s glove, and the startled hero gets clobbered.
Spidey comes to on a nearby rooftop (where Hardboil knocked him), surrounded by the Back Alley Boys who catch him up on what he missed, (the cops arrested most of the gangs). One of the Boys named Chalky hands Spidey a large gem he found down by the docks after Spidey thwarted the Scorpion Gang’s heist the other day.
The next day Peter Parker visits Gwen Stacy at her home and tries to convince her that her father was a dirty cop. Peter’s detective instincts (or keen sense of décor) discovers a hidden wall safe behind an askew painting. Later, at his local watering hole, Peter runs into an old school friend who invites him to a pro-Nazi rally. Back at his office, Peter mulls both the shocking invite and Gwen Stacy’s case when Mary Jane Watson enters in a stunning evening gown.
Since MJ knows Peter’s secret, she lends an friendly ear over his dilemma of having shot George Stacy in self-defense as Spider-Man. Later at the rally, Spidey breaks up a fight and gets attacked by a masked Nazi super soldier with body morphing abilities. Spidey webs up the brute, and the soldier seems to just collapse.
Spider-Man Noir #2 ends with Gwen Stacy inviting Peter to spend the night with her.
Analysis
Spider-Man Noir #2 is another wild, depression-era superhero romp. Writer Erik Larsen moves the story forward, jumping from one plot point to the next as Peter Parker’s dual identities further complicate his life. Larsen seems to revel in the classic (and occasionally cheesy) pulp fiction narration, and takes advantage of the grittier tone to showcase this darker version of Peter Parker and the world that made him.
Spider-Man having killed someone (George Stacy), even in self-defense leans hard into the pulp fiction roots of the character, evoking the early days of a gun-toting Dark Knight from the same era. Gwen Stacy continues to play the shy damsel, but is she really a femme fatale in disguise? Is there more to George Stacy’s story? If Spidey shot an undercover cop that might be too far for even Spider-Man: Noir. No Aunt May Spider-Man Noir #2 but the story was already packed to the brim and MJ was a good sounding board.
In the opening gun battle, not only are dead bodies shown, but gang members are being shot in full view. Peter’s diction is eloquent but still hard-boiled (sorry), but he is essentially the same Peter but with darker quips. Most of Larsen’s topical references of the era are on point, even Isaac Asimov who remarkably published short stories in magazines at the age of nineteen in 1939.
Not being entirely familiar with Spider-Man Noir lore, why did Larsen create Hardboil and not use Hammerhead, a modern day hood who modelled himself after 1920s gangsters in the regular Spider-Man comics? Hardboil is a tough customer for sure, but his gimmick and moniker are as too on the nose as the villain Poker Face (look it up).
Spider-Man Noir is also unsettlingly topical with the growing fascist/anti-immigrant movement gaining steam leading up to World War II. Spidey’s monologue about how the majority of Americans reject fascism and support immigrants is straight out of today’s protest movement.
Artist Andrea Broccardo (Alien) dazzles with stunning acrobatics distinctly for the Spider-Man who wears combat boots and a trench coat into battle. His Spidey is constantly on the move, but even Broccardo’s quieter scenes are brimming with emotion, energy and flair. His design of Hardboil is a gruesome mix of brutishness, opulence and bloodlust.
Final Thoughts
Spider-Man Noir #2 is another energetic, quippy and edgy Spider-Man adventure for fans who enjoy a solid dose of crime fiction with their superheroes. The stunning art only adds to the story’s success.
