Live-action Spider-Man shows are extremely rare. Back in 1977, Nicholas Hammond swung onto the small screen as Peter Parker courtesy of The Amazing Spider-Man. Just a year later, in 1978, the iconic Japanese Spider-Man series aired, and gave us a starring character so iconic that his story will be continued in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. But with such a short track record, fans weren't exactly sure what to expect from the upcoming Spider-Noir series. Fortunately, its first look floored us all.
The upcoming MGM+ and Prime Video series seems to have it all (except for Peter Parker, that is, as Ben Reilly will take his place). For starters, Black Cat will finally have a major role in a live-action Spider-Man series. Furthermore, there will be exhilarating swinging sequences that already look iconic. But the cherry on top? No shortage of beloved villains will take over the spotlight.
The first Spider-Noir trailer revealed that Sandman will wreak havoc in New York City, while fans believed they spotted the likes of Electro and Molten Man as well. However, in a new behind-the-scenes video, it is revealed that the latter two aren't who we initially thought.
Electro isn't in Spider-Noir; Megawatt will take his place
Turns out, Spider-Noir won't feature the appearance of either Molten Man or Electro. Now, I know what you're thinking: if Max Dillon won't face Ben Reilly, then who is the guy with electric powers showcased in the trailers so far? Well, he is none other than Dirk Leydon, a.k.a. Megawatt, an obscure Marvel villain who only appeared in one comic book issue published in 1993.
Speaking with IGN, co-showrunner and executive producer Oren Uziel explained the limitations that Spider-Noir faced when it came to choosing its villains:
"There are characters that you can't use. I'm not sure that I was ever told specifically [who] you can't use. There's just a little bit of a common sense. It's a shared playground. So we have a Spider-Man movie coming out a few months after the show. You don't want to have too much overlap. You have things that have been in the most recent movies. You've got things from The Spider-Verse, from animation. A lot of these characters are appearing in a lot of things, and I think you just always want to stay as fresh as you can. And I think there's no reason not to (...) if you're not going to use Electro, there's another guy you can turn to."
Electro already has two live-action appearances under his belt: one in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the other in the most recent Spider-Man MCU movie, No Way Home. Since the villain has been at the center of the spotlight recently, and given that Spider-Noir also includes other big characters such as Sandman and Tombstone, it makes sense for the series to find a "substitute" in the form of Megawatt. Dirk is a former actor who likes to quote famous plays while destroying New York City. As Uziel puts it: "Dirk is the problem, it's about getting his moment at all costs."
Another shocking revelation is that the Spider-Noir supervillain who can control fire isn't actually Molten Man. Instead, we're about to witness a completely original character who doesn't have a direct comic book counterpart, as revealed by Uziel:
"[James 'Jimmy' Addison] is the only one that doesn't really have a direct comp [from the comics]. There are plenty of Marvel characters that we could pull from that would satisfy that, but I wouldn't want to, for lack of a better term, 'burn' any for future use".
That statement alone could be seen as an indication that there have been discussions about Spider-Noir returning for a second season. However, chances are MGM+ and Prime Video will wait to see the reception the first season receives beforehand.
While Spider-Noir is set to have new faces, it will also feature characters that Spider-Man fans are likely to recognize in a heartbeat. Silvermane, Sandman, Black Cat, and Tombstone will all have a pretty complicated relationship between them. Felicia Hardy and Flint Marko have a romantic relationship, but they couldn't be any more different from each other. Felicia is "dishonest to every single person," while Flint has a more honest heart.
Tombstone and Sandman both served in World War I, making them "brothers in arms" who are willing to do anything to support each other. Last, but certainly not least, Silvermane will be at the top of everything. He runs the nightclub where Felicia sings, Sandman is on his payroll, and Tombstone will help him with the fight that's coming. Silvermane is such an important character in Spider-Noir that the burning of his mansion will be the catalyst for all the events to transpire in the series. But who exactly was the one to pull the trigger? Well, there's only one way to find out.
Spider-Noir will be released on May 27, 2026.
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