The creator of Spider-Noir is speaking out about the recent Prime TV show and what he liked and didn’t like about the series!
Spider-Noir has established itself as a solid hit for Prime Video. Nicolas Cage won praise for reprising his role from Into the Spider-Verse as Ben Reilly, the Spider champion of a world set in 1930s New York who also works as a private eye.
Much has been made of the show, and finally, one of his co-creators is speaking up about it. The character debuted in 2009, created by writers David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky, artist Carmine Di Giandomenico, and costume designer Marko Djurdjević. Speaking to Radio Times, Hine addressed the series and what he felt it did right and wrong by his character.
"I’m impressed by the cohesive world they’ve built," Hine began. "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."
Many viewers and critics have agreed that the black-and-white version of Spider-Noir is better than the color version. It fits the noir motif and some spectacular imagery amid the action. Hine has praised that even while joining the chorus of other comic creators, his original book is better. Yet, "If it brings more attention to our books, that can’t be a bad thing."
On the flip side, Hine admitted having a few issues with the show. For one thing, it’s not a direct adaptation of the comic. There, it’s Peter Parker who’s not just bitten by the spider but granted abilities by a spider god to fight crime and the rising Nazi threat. Here, Reilly was a soldier in World War I mutated by an experiment.
Hine also said he would have enjoyed the series embracing the same political themes he and his co-creators had tackled in the comic.
"Our version was explicitly political. 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.”
Maybe that would have been a bit much for audiences to take; the show plays better as more of a PI-meets-superhero tale. Despite those objections, Hines praised the cast, particularly Cage. He also seems truly moved that his character has become such a hit with viewers and, like many, hopes Spider-Noir swings again.
Spider-Noir is streaming on Prime Video.
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