Line #55 Comicbook/SpiderManNoir


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6	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spiderman_noir.png]]
7
8	->''"If those in power can't be trusted, it's the responsibility of the people to remove them."''
9
10	''Spider-Man Noir'' is a four-issue miniseries which reimagines the Wall Crawler into the genres of FilmNoir and [[TwoFistedTales pulp fiction]]. It is set in New York during the Great Depression in the ComicBook/MarvelNoir Universe. Part of a lineup of GenreThrowback miniseries featuring Marvel's most popular characters, it is also known for its sleek design and its version of Spider-Man being part of the video game ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions''. It was followed by another mini called ''Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face'', taking place a year after the previous mini.
11
12	In ''Spider-Man Noir'', Norman Osborn, a man known in certain circles as the Goblin, has everybody in his pocket. The mayor, the police, the local newspapers. May Parker is a notorious trouble maker for the corrupt regime. She and her nephew Peter lost Ben Parker, a big player in the underground movement against the government's abuse, until one day he was beaten up and savaged by the cannibalistic Adrian Toomes.
13
14	When Peter stands to defend his aunt from [[TerribleTrio the Enforcers]], he's noticed by Ben Urich, an IntrepidReporter, who gets his boss J. Jonah Jameson to hire Peter on board as a photographer's assistant. When the Enforcers try to jack a spider idol from cargo meant for the museum, Peter gets bitten by one of the spiders inside the idol, gains spider-like abilities, and takes up the mantle of Spider-Man. Peter uses his newfound abilities to fight crime, eventually leading him to face the Goblin himself.
15
16	In ''Eyes Without a Face'', Spider-Man has been active for a while now but is still considered a vigilante. The police don't seem to mind him, and he tries to better the [[CrapsackWorld community]]. Except when Doctor Octavius [[{{Pun}} rolls]] into town, Robbie Robertson tries to infiltrate his complex alongside Peter Parker, as his aide, to discover the evil human experiments being performed.
17
18	In the meantime, the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists (later renamed the ''Nazi Party'' in RealLife) is trying to get a foothold on American soil, and are secretly sponsoring Doctor Octavius and supplying him with people of African descent, done by the Crime Master and his [[TheDragon right hand man]] Sandman. Once again, Spider-Man must stop them before even more horrific crimes are perpetuated.
19
20	In 2014, Spider-Man Noir starred in a one-shot issue of the ''Edge of ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' in which he faced off against his world's version of [[StageMagician Mysterio]], following which he teamed up with Spider-people from other realities in their fight against the Inheritors, and in 2015, Spider-Man Noir became a playable hero in ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance''.
21
22	Noir made his cinematic debut in 2018's ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'', played by Creator/NicolasCage. The same year, the costume became one of the many unlockable skins in ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4''.
23
24	Following the massive success and popularity of ''Into the Spider-Verse'', Noir was resurrected in another one-shot, where he was helped by Miles in his battle with Nazi villainess Madame Swarm while tracking down the Spider Idol, which had fallen into the Third Reich's hands.
25
26	The character then starred in his own limited series in 2020, simply titled ''Spider-Man Noir''. Peter finds himself investigating a local girl’s murder involving a mysterious jewel named the Cicada Stone and a conspiracy involving Nazis once again.
27
28	As of 2023, a live-action ''Spider-Man Noir'' series from ''Into the Spider-Verse'' producers [[Creator/PhilLordAndChrisMiller Phil Lord, Chris Miller]], and Amy Pascal [[https://deadline.com/2023/02/spider-man-noir-series-oren-uziel-amazon-1235254599/ is in development]] for Creator/PrimeVideo. It is currently unknown if the project will be connected to the ''Spider-Verse'' franchise or if Cage will be involved.
29	----
30	!!''Spider-Man Noir'' provides examples of:
31
32	%%* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The final confrontation in the first mini.
33	%%* AdmiringTheAbomination: Peter for Octavius' experiments.
34	* AntiHero: Due to the tragic life he's led, Spidey becomes much more willing to kill. [[spoiler:This changed due to Aunt May]].
35	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Played with. Doctor Octavius is slimmer and more handsome than his usual pudgy, nerdtacular self, but he is also a little person confined to a wheelchair with some obviously bad body proportions.
36	* AdaptationalHeroism:
37	** J. Jonah Jameson, the voice of the weak and the suffering. A ''very'' loud voice.
38	--->'''JJJ's assistant''': You look like you've been hit by a truck. Did he give you the "make [the rich] weep" speech?\
39	'''Peter''' (dazed): Y-yeah, he did.
40	** In most of her versions, Felicia Hardy is a ClassyCatBurglar generally ranging from AntiVillain to AntiHero. Here, she is firmly on the side of the angels and later becomes a vigilante on her own right.
41	* AdaptationalNationality: This version of Otto Octavius is an AmoralAfrikaner.
42	** Electro is a German national allied with the Nazis.
43	* AdaptationalVillainy:
44	** [[spoiler:Ben Urich]], though he was ultimately gathering evidence.
45	** Crime Master is an odd example in that, while he's always been a villain, this version of him is ''far'' more evil and monstrous than all other portrayals of the character. For one thing he's a Nazi which is ''way'' past the [[EvenEvilHasStandards standards]] his mainstream counterpart has.
46	** Curt Connors is Octavius's assistant in his experiments on humans, very different from his generally sympathetic mainstream counterpart.
47	** In the main universe, Herman Schultz, the Shocker, is a bank robber noted for his firm belief in approaching supervillainy with professionalism, and in fact he takes pride that he doesn't kill people. In the Noirverse, he's a Nazi sympathizer introduced having created a suit of PoweredArmor with [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic blaster weapons]] as a potential wonder-weapon for the Nazis.
48	* AdaptationalWimp: Originally, Spider-Man Noir was probably the least powerful Spider-powered in the Marvel multiverse. Comes with the territory of a noir setting where everything is much grimmer and grittier. He couldn't wall-crawl and his organic webbing couldn't be used to swing either. He also doesn't display SuperStrength to the degree of the other spider people (he can crack a wall with his first, but that's it) and has no notable HealingFactor (at most, when he got shot he didn't notice until he saw the blood, and then he ''still'' didn't feel the injury). He makes up for it with pure brutality and a gun.
49	* AlmostDeadGuy: Jonah[[spoiler:'s imposter]], who has been already gunned down by the time Peter finds him, but still manages to get his final words out. Those words are what tips off Peter that something is wrong.
50	%%** ''In Eyes Without a Face'' [[spoiler:Girl]]
51	* BadassLongcoat: His Uncle Ben's army greatcoat from when he served in UsefulNotes/WorldWar1 serves as part of Spidey's costume. Combined with the clearly separate goggles and black mask, it helps make his costume instantly recognizable compared to most other Spider-men.
52	* BigBad: Norman Osborn in ''Noir'', and Doc Ock in ''Eyes Without a Face'' (though he also more or less [[BigBadDuumvirate shares]] the role with the Crime Master). [[spoiler: Inanna]] serves as one in the 2020 series.
53	* BigBadWannabe: [[spoiler:The Crime Master, who ends up being a puppet and is unceremoniously killed by his superiors]].
54	* TheBigRottenApple: Poverty and Crime are at an all-time peak -- Aunt May mentions in one of her speeches that there are 13,000,000 unemployed people (unclear if she was talking about USA or just New York), crimes such as arson, murder and drug trade are an everyday fact, police and authorities are corrupt, and several people are DrivenToSuicide. It says something when the last stand of moral integrity is ''The Daily Bugle''.
55	-->'''J. Jonah Jameson''': I want pictures that will make [the rich] ''WEEP''!
56	* BittersweetEnding: The first series is an EarnYourHappyEnding, while the second is a ''very'' bitter bittersweet victory.
57	* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Osborn was born with a rare disease that gave him scaly skin]]. And due to how much he was teased and called a freak, this led to his StartOfDarkness.
58	* TheBrute: Both Ox and Sandman, the former for Osborn and the latter for the Crime Master.
59	** Electro serves as one for the Nazis in the 2020 series.
60	* BullyingADragon: In the second mini-series a gangster gets invited to the Crime Master's HQ for a deal. He proceeds to insult the Crime Master and spit in his face... while Crime Master's hulking monster of a man Sandman is standing ''right behind him''. Needless to say the gangster quickly regrets his decision.
61	* TheCameo: The 2020 series features a Noir version of [[spoiler: Black Widow]] and sees the return of the Noir version of [[spoiler: Tony Stark]] working as a spy against the Nazis in Germany.
62	* CircusOfFear: Norman Osborn recruited his inner circle from the circus, [[spoiler:from which he himself is a refugee]].
63	%%* CoatHatMask: Spider-Man and the Crime Master's typical attire.
64	* ColdOpen: The very first panel is Spider-man standing over the corpse of J. Jonah Jameson.
65	* ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike: [[spoiler:Spider-Man shoots Toomes, and Aunt May derides him both for using fire arms and for killing a man... who happened to be a cannibal who was A: ate her husband alive, and B: was seconds from doing the same to her.]]
66	* CompositeCharacter:
67	** [[spoiler: Norman Osborn, "The Goblin", suffers from the skin disorder ichthyosis vulgaris, victims of which tended to be recruited to freak shows as variants of [[LizardFolk "The Reptile Man"]], due to the scaly skin it afflicts people with. In essence, he's a combination of his canon self as the Green Goblin and The Lizard, which makes him a DecompositeCharacter with Dr. Curtis Connor, who in this universe is simply an amoral scientist who assists Dr. Octavius.]]
68	** The Enforcers have the traditional line-up of Fancy Dan, Montana, and Ox but also include Sinister Six members Vulture and Kraven.
69	** At the end of the ''Edge of ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' tie-in, [[spoiler: Felicia Harvey]] is shown stealing the sample of Spidey's blood that Mysterio collected. In the next Spider-Man Noir mini-comic, it's shown that she's used Peter's blood to become a powered vigilante calling herself "White Widow". Whilst there is an obvious connection to her mainstream continuity's alter-ego of [[spoiler: The Black Cat]], there's also elements of ''multiple'' other Spidey-related mainstream characters to her!
70	*** As a woman with spider-like powers, she's obviously the Noirverse's version of ''ComicBook/SpiderWoman''.
71	*** Gaining superpowers by injecting herself with Peter's mutated blood? Makes her analogous to ''ComicBook/{{Morbius}}'' as he was reinterpretated in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''.
72	*** Her fighting style revolves around kickboxing, and she wears boots with elongated spiked tips to make her kicks extra lethal. This invokes a minor Spidey villain called ''The Tarantula'', who likewise was a master kickboxer who used spiked boots and gloves (often poison-smeared) to augment his attacks.
73	* CrapsackWorld: The authorities are corrupt all the way to the mayor of New York. This Spider-Man doesn't string up criminals and leave them to the police simply because they cannot be trusted to uphold the law. It says something when ''J. Jonah Jameson'' is the most moral authority figure in the setting.
74	* CursedWithAwesome: When Peter got bitten by the mystic spiders, he hallucinated that a spider god would give him "The Curse Of Power". Considering how the Spider-Man powers have [[ComesGreatResponsibility affected]] [[IneffectualLoner other]] [[ChronicHeroSyndrome Spider-Man]], this isn't actually that far off.
75	* DarkerAndEdgier: Like all of the ''Marvel Noir'' series.
76	* DarkIsNotEvil: Spidey's costume is almost entirely black and his appearance generally looks dark. And although this version of Peter is more aggressive and violent, he is still noble and ultimately wants to make New York a better place.
77	* DeadpanSnarker: Peter’s gotten pretty snarky in the 2020 series similar to his multiversal counterparts.
78	* DisneyAcidSequence: When Peter gets bitten by the spider he receives visions of talking with a monstrous god-spider.
79	* DisneyDeath: Last we see of Kraven and the Goblin, they are covered with killer spiders and are never seen again.
80	* DragonWithAnAgenda: Octavius is technically a subordinate to the Crime Master, but has his own dreams that go far beyond his.
81	* DrugsAreBad: [[spoiler:Ben Urich]] does heroin, which makes him complacent and easily controlled.
82	* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
83	** Octavius gets one with a GrossUpCloseUp of an ape with his brain being vivisected in ''Eyes Without a Face''.
84	** Earlier, Sandman silently crushing the head of a man who had disrespected the Crime Master.
85	--->'''Sandman:''' [[PreMortemOneLiner Sweet dreams, Tony]].
86	* EatenAlive: Norman wants a spider idol, which is covered in big fat widow-like spiders. As soon as the box is opened, they swarm Fancy Dan and eat him. [[spoiler:Kraven suffers the same fate]].
87	* EvenEvilHasStandards: In a warped way; to Doc Ock, lobotomizing the "lesser" races ForScience is A-OK, but wantonly abusing for them no reason at all beyond simple sadism is apparently inhumane and monstrous, as he explains to Doctor Connors when Connors broaches the subject of training and disciplining their "experiments."
88	* EvilCripple: Doctor Octavius is a paraplegic.
89	%%* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: For so called "lesser races".
90	* FlechetteStorm: [[spoiler:Crime Master's]] death involves being repeatedly being stabbed to death by dozens of small, sharp, scalpels.
91	* FoodSlap: Pete chucks a scotch in Norman's face when he mentions Uncle Ben.
92	* TheFreakshow: Osborn's crew is made up of former circus performers and freakshow stars. [[spoiler:This is because Osborn himself is a bitter ex-circus freak who wants revenge on the world.]]
93	* FriendOnTheForce: Jean De Wolfe becomes this to Spidey about halfway into ''Eyes Without a Face''.
94	* GenderFlip: Jean De Wolfe, usually female, is a reimagined as a male Federal Agent in ''Eyes Without a Face''.
95	* GiantSpider: Peter encounters one (presumably a manifestation of the Great Weaver) in a DisneyAcidSequence after being bitten.
96	* GoodBadGirl: Felicia Hardy, a "dancer of the exotic kind" (her words) who's not above doing her own dirty work, but eventually is one of Peter's most steadfast allies and becomes a vigilante in her own right.
97	* GoryDiscretionShot: [[spoiler:Crime Master's]] death is cut away from, so we don't get to see the full details of Octavius mutilating him.
98	* GreaterScopeVillain: Ansel's presence in ''Eyes Without a Face'' is all over the book, but Spider-Man doesn't even learn of his existence, or the fact he was behind the Crime Master's initial actions.
99	* GreenEyedMonster: When Octavius rants about his disdain for Africans, the attendant panels make it clear that his racism stems less from ideology and more from resentment of how he grew up surrounded by healthy African children and teens who could live a normal life, whilst he was a chairbound invalid.
100	* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:She, Felicia Hardy, which costs her her face when the Crime Master discovers that she has been playing him]]. She's still alive, but when the ''second'' set of goons comes to interrogate her (read: torture), they are so horrified by her scars that one of them simply announces that there's nothing he can do to her.
101	* HerrDoktor: Doctor Octavius and Doctor Conners, both already mad scientists, are now also Nazi sympathisers.
102	%%* IdentityImpersonator [[spoiler:Chameleon is in the first book]], but you won't know until TheReveal.
103	* ImAHumanitarian: The Vulture was a freak show geek willing to eat anything, including people. Osborn employs this cannibalistic streak as a tool to intimidate underlings and opponents.
104	* IntrepidReporter: Peter, Urich and Jameson. And unlike other incarnations, Jameson is firmly in the side of good and less of a {{Jerkass}} to Spider-Man.
105	%%* IronicNurseryRhyme: About the Sandman.
106	%%* JoeSentMe
107	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Nicely subverted with Dr. Octopus, who gets away with his experiments... only to get insulted and rejected by the Nazis that he practically worshipped because he doesn't fit their definition of a MasterRace.]]
108	* KindheartedCatLover: Felicia Hardy has dozens of pet cats, and she's on the side of the "angels".
109	* TheKlan: In the background of ''Eyes Without a Face''. They are on the rise, but only receive a brief mention.
110	* LaserGuidedKarma: Octavius commits horrible human experiments to endear himself to the Nazi party, whilst secretly using his racist ideology as a cover for the fact he simply envies and resents black people for having grown up a cripple surrounded by healthy Africans. [[spoiler:Then he actually ''gets'' to Germany, and finds that, in a land of true eugenics ideologues, his congenital deformity makes him no better than the blacks he mutilated for them.]]
111	%%* LatexPerfection: [[spoiler:Osborn's]] mask, which hides his scaly skin.
112	* LikesOlderWomen: Peter himself, being in love with the thirty-something Felicia Hardy while just barely being an adult.
113	%%* MasterRace: [[spoiler:Octavius is snubbed because his handicap is genetic, not accidental.]]
114	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Peter refuses to believe that there's no scientific explanation for his newfound powers. That said, all evidence points to magic.
115	-->'''Peter''': I don't believe in magic, I believe in science. I dreamed a spider god gave me these abilities. There has to be a logical explanation.
116	* MissKitty: Aptly, Felicia, here the proprietor of a speakeasy.
117	* MookCarryover: "Fat Larry" runs a seedy joint first for the Goblin, then for someone else, and finally for the Crime Master.
118	* MoralityPet: Literally, Kraven's monkey for Kraven. [[spoiler:His grief over his death provides a small spark of goodness, enough for him to survive a bit longer after being overwhelmed by the mystical spiders to kill Osborn.]]
119	* MythologyGag:
120	** Felicia isn't a ClassyCatBurglar, but her establishment ''is'' called "The Black Cat".
121	** Osborn is always seen in a [[WaistcoatOfStyle stylish]] [[ComicBook/GreenGoblin purple and green]] [[WaistcoatOfStyle waistcoat]].
122	** Kraven's death by being covered in spiders is highly reminiscent of what he experienced in his hallucinations in ''Kraven's Last Hunt'' storyline.
123	* NeutralFemale: Black Cat runs a "respectable" business and can't afford getting in between Spider-Man and the bad guys.
124	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Spider-Man is on the receiving end of one of these by the hands of Sandman.
125	* NothingPersonal: [[spoiler:Urich]] claims this is what Peter and May are to him -- just things getting in the way of his business.
126	* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Crime Master is initially set up as a weak-willed lackey who cowers to a more powerful master. [[spoiler:Then he brutally beats Felicia near to death and horribly scars her face by cutting it with broken glass when he finds she's been sleeping with Peter. And then he casually plans to murder a bunch of innocent African-Americans, who he's been kidnapping as victims for Octavius' experiments in creating a docile SlaveRace through brain surgery, to cover his tracks.]]
127	* RedRightHand: Norman Osborn [[spoiler:Is a LizardFolk]]
128	* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Spider-Man, obviously, cannot be bribed to look the other way.
129	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Otto laughs at the idea of being punished for his monstrous human experimentation, telling Spidey outright that his friends in high places will keep him from ever being punished.
130	* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Norman, who at one point makes it clear that he is so well-connected and high-up on the social ladder that he could kill someone in a room full of witnesses and get away with it.
131	* SecretKeeper: Felicia Hardy knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man. After the events of ''ComicBook/SpiderGeddon'', both Aunt May and MJ know about Peter's vigilante job.
132	* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Peter, wordlessly to his ''aunt May'' of all people. Their argument is over whether killing is a proper means of justice or not.
133	%%* SnowMeansDeath: [[spoiler:Ben Urich's]] funeral.
134	* SpellMyNameWithAThe: This version of Peter Parker stands out in that he's referred to by the public as "'''The''' Spider-Man."
135	* SssssnakeTalk: Toomessssss, emphasizing how animal-like he is.
136	* SubParSupremacist: Dr. Otto Octavius is a solid deconstruction of the trope. As a fervent Nazi supporter, Octavius despises those he deems as "lower races" and has a particular disdain for Africans. His attendant panels make it clear that his racism stems less from ideology and more from resentment of how he grew up surrounded by healthy African children and teens who could live a normal life, whilst he was a chair-bound invalid. He eventually gets to meet the Nazis he practically worshipped only to get insulted and rejected because he doesn't fit their definition of a MasterRace.
137	* SuperheroPackingHeat: Spidey himself uses guns.
138	%%* TerribleTrio: The Enforcers, as usual.
139	%%* ThoseWackyNazis: Nothing Wacky about the ones in ''Eyes Without a Face''.
140	** Nazi Electro in the 2020 series is pretty wacky though.
141	%%* TooDumbToLive: Peter, at first.
142	* TooBrokenToBreak: Felicia is the only person alive who knows Spider-Man's secret identity. One mob group tried to get his name out of her through ColdBloodedTorture. The second mob group took one look at what was under her mask and decided there was nothing they could do to her.
143	* TwoFistedTales: The 2020 series sees Spider-Man on a global trek from New York through Europe to Istanbul to track down a conspiracy involving a mysterious artifact named “the Cicada Stone.”
144	* VigilanteExecution: Peter kills the Vulture and lets Kraven and Norman die simply because he knew they were far too well-connected to convict of any crimes.
145	* VigilanteMan: Spider-Man, moreso than usual given that he is both willing to use a gun and kill.
146	* VillainousBreakdown:
147	** ComicBook/NormanOsborn breaks down altogether when he realizes Spider-Man is going to arrest him, meaning he will be forced into a jail cell, a new kind of cage for him after having escaped life as a circus freak.
148	** Crime Master loses his composure completely when it becomes apparent that Felicia Hardy has been cheating on him with Spider-Man, to the point of scarring her face.
149	* WallCrawl: In the comics, this is notably absent from Spidey's power set. It doesn't get too much in his way, as he still has excellent parkour skills and his webs.
150	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: The first three issues of Noir are a flash back building up to the ColdOpen.
151	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[SubvertedTrope Spider-Man does]]. Except for, of all people, [[spoiler:the Goblin, due to the lecture from Aunt May. Of course, [[LaserGuidedKarma he got his anyway]].]]
152	* TheWormThatWalks [[spoiler:The spiders, while still eating Kraven, force his body into the sewers for the climax.]]
153	* WouldHitAGirl: Crime Master, up to and including carving up Felicia's face.
154	* WretchedHive: New York is a giant slum, where Prohibition has fueled the dominance of organized crime and mass corruption, whilst the economic crash has flooded it with impoverished and desperate people who will do anything to feed themselves or forget their troubles. Whilst the economy is back on track, crime is down, and corruption is leeching out by the time of ''Eyes Without a Face'', to the point a reporter even wonders if New York needs the Spider-Man now that his "gangbusting glory-days" are seemingly behind him, World War 2 is on the horizon, the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan is embedding itself into politics, and Nazi sympathizers are openly running around in the streets.
155	%%* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Ansel states this about Crime Master.

Context Comicbook / SpiderManNoir