Season 1 of Spider-Noir on Amazon Prime Video dropped several particularly intriguing references about the probable existence of a cult superhero from Marvel’s stable.
We can state with 100% certainty: the first season of Spider-Noir on Amazon Prime Video is clearly one of the best takes on the Spider-Man mythos in ages. Bravely steered by the duo Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot, this radical foray into 1930s New York utterly transcends the ordinary fare of the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”
Headlined by a Nicolas Cage‑led performance as Ben Reilly, the series shines with an unyielding pulp vibe and a five‑star cast, featuring Lamorne Morris (Robbie Robertson), Li Jun Li (Cat Hardy), Karen Rodriguez (Janet Ruiz) and the towering Brendan Gleeson in the role of mob boss Silvermane.
But Spider-Noir also managed to pull off a clever trick by reimagining Spider-Man’s origin story. And the closer you look, the more it seems the show may have delivered another origin tale for a superhero who is absolutely central to Marvel’s House of Ideas.
Spider-Noir, a First Step Toward a Marvel Noir Universe?
The connection to Captain America’s mythos jumps out in episode 6 of season 1 of Spider-Noir. The plot explicitly mentions secret research tied to a “super-soldier” program that tragically derailed during World War I. In Marvel, the phrase serves as a magic keyword and points to the serum that forged Steve Rogers’ legend—the original Captain America. From there, imagining a pulp take on the Sentinel of Liberty roaming this “Noir” universe seems perfectly logical.
This line of thinking gains even more traction as the showrunners have already teased a potential season 2 that could be set during World War II. And who better than a Black Captain America to fight fascism and take down Nazis? Still, there remains a massive puzzle for Amazon: obtaining the rights to use the name “Captain America” from Marvel, the famously protective parent company?
A clever option would be to present a super-soldier operating covertly at first, without initially sporting the star-spangled banner or its iconic stage name. We could meet Steve Rogers (or a new alter ego) born from American experiments, ready to lend a hand to Reilly on the European front. Conversely, to match the prevailing darkness, the series could spawn a far more nefarious twist, with a test subject corrupted by the enemy—a sort of Captain Hydra.
By the way, Marvel Noir has already treated a whole roster of superheroes. Aside from Spider-Man/Spider-Noir, the X‑Men have also received this reimagining, with the brilliant arc Who Killed Jean Grey? And even Wolverine got a revenge-fueled run, titled Original Sin.
We also got Daredevil entangled in mob schemes, an ever more extreme Punisher, and Luke Cage strolling a jazzy, Harlem. The publisher even pushed the envelope by putting Iron Man in the mix with a makeshift exoskeleton. In short, most of Marvel’s heavyweight heroes have enjoyed their Noir treatment, but Captain America had not—this would be the perfect moment.
While fans wait to see whether the monochrome webslinger will ally with or oppose a hypothetical Sentinel of Liberty in a future batch of episodes, Season 1 of Spider-Noir remains fully available for streaming on Prime Video across its eight installments. Viewers still have the option to savor the series’ stunning black-and-white version or its colorized variant.
