Spider-Noir kicks off with an episode that does a brilliant job of introducing fans into the world of Ben Reilly and the key characters who will be at the heart of the story.
The episode opens with Ben talking about how he used to be the Spider, the hero always ready to swoop in to save the day, as we see him battling armed gunmen in a jewelry store. We then find out that his time as The Spider ended when Ruby died. Cut to a scene of Ben and Ruby dancing as he talks about their plan to get married in the spring and how she died before he could even give her the engagement ring.
Ruby once told him that with great power comes great responsibility, and she was the greatest responsibility he ever had, but he failed her; the Spider failed her. After her death, he didn’t want the power or responsibility, so he went back to being an ordinary man. That was five years ago.
After the opening, we cut to Ben in a bar looking for his mark. He spots the man across the bar and follows the man out into the street after he leaves. We come to learn this man is named Addison and that Ben was hired to find him. Addison quickly makes a run for it, and Ben gives chase before being hit by a car. The driver of the car drives off after Addison, leaving Ben unconscious on the street. As Ben comes to, he races off in the direction of Addison and the driver, and they end up at the Standard Oil Company.
Ben walks along, and his spider sense begins tingling as he senses the armed gunman who hit him with the car. Addison’s hands begin to ignite, and he warns the man with the gun he’s going to burn. The armed man fires off several shots at Addison, and he collapses. The flames from his body ignite some spilled oil, and the blast sends the man who shot Adison flying off. Ben approaches the man, and we learn his name is Patrick Donegal, who also happens to be a P.I. and was likely hired by the same person who hired Ben. As Patrick comes to, he reveals that a man named Winston hired him to take Addison out. The pair enter the car and head out.
The following morning, Ben arrives at his office as his secretary, Janet, informs him he needs to pay the telephone company, suggesting that his P.I. business is not doing well. He tells her Addison is dead as a man by the name of Mr. Carmedy comes in asking for help with his wife. Ben asks if he’s a rich man, implying that his younger wife married for money, and Mr. Carmedy waves off the suggestion. He tells Ben how he heard his wife on the phone arranging to meet a man at an address later tonight and Ben agrees to take the case.
The explosion at the Standard Oil Compound makes front-page news as we see a gentleman walking into a diner. He meets with Ben and tells him about chasing a story of a monster coming after Silvermane, the kingpin who controls most of the city. We come to learn this man is Robbie Robertson, who is quick to point out how the city is a mess ever since the Spider hung it up and how the people could use a hero. It quickly becomes clear that Robbie is one of the select few who knows Ben is the Spider as Robbie questions what Ruby would think to hear Ben talking the way he is about leaving the city to fend for itself as we cut to a memory of Ruby sinking into the water.
After leaving his meetup with Robbie, Ben bumps into a boy named Frankie who has been practicing pickpocketing, and it becomes clear we’ll be seeing more of Frankie later in the season. Ben calls Donegal to talk about last night, and the pair meet up at a bar. Ben makes it clear to Donegal that they should know more about who hired them, and he asks him to meet him at 9 am tomorrow to enact a plan.
Through Robbie’s story, we learn that Silvermane has a chokehold on the city, and a man tried to set fire to the home but failed to kill him. Robbie ends the article noting that if only the Spider were here to save them, trying to send a not-so-subtle message to Ben. It works as Ben reads this paper while waiting outside the hotel where the woman from the case he took earlier is supposed to meet her suitor. He sees her get dropped off and follows her inside, watching as she takes the elevator up to the penthouse. Ben takes the fire escape up to the roof, which gives him a great vantage point of the room.
Inside, we see the woman meeting with an older man who gets rough with her. That’s when Ben shoots a web at the man’s hand to stop him from striking the woman, and giving her the chance to flee.
The next day, Been meets with Winston, who has come to pay up for the Addison job. Ben informs him the other P.I. he hired told him he was offered $50 and raises his rate. Winston pulls a gun out and threatens Ben as Janet comes in behind him with a gun. He leaves, and we see Donegal outside in his car; he follows Winston, who ends up at Silvermane’s estate.
Ben meets up with Donegal and we hear Silvermane talking about how Addison was suspected to have had some kind of powers and tells Winston to do whatever it takes to find him. Donega wants to shake down Silvermane using the information about Addison, but Ben wants no part in it.
When Ben gets back to his office, Janet is developing photos, and he got some great shots, including one of the man who attacked Mr. Carmedy’s wife: the Mayor of New York, Alfred Morris. Ben tells Mr. Carmedy that his wife was alone and never met up with anyone at the hotel and gives him his money back as he sends him home, not wanting to get caught up in whatever is going on. Ben tells Janet he wanted nothing to do with things, but she suggests selling the photographs to the woman as blackmail so that they still make something off the case.
Ben comes to learn that the woman he followed is named Cat Hardy, as Robbie recognizes her from The Alcove, the club Silvermane owns. This conversation unfolds at the morgue where Robbie has come to see the body of James Addison. To Ben’s surprise, Addison’s body shows no signs of being burned in a blaze with his only injuries being the bullets to the chest he took. He asks Robbie to hold off on printing the story right away, as Robbie questions whether Addison had superpowers and was like Ben, a line of questioning Ben shuts down quickly.
Spider-Noir episode 1 ends with death and the introduction of an iconic Spider-Man villain
Ben heads to The Alcove as Cat takes to the stage and performs. Ben sees Winston come through and meet Silvermane at his table. Wanting to avoid being detected, Ben steps into the phone booth as he watches Silverton and Winston walk away, trying to call Donegal.
Unfortunately, Donegal has been taken by Silvermane’s men, and when Silvermane arrives to question him, it looks like he’s already been killed. Silvermane stabs him in the hand, which awakens Donegal. Silvermane questions him for information on Addison’s location as he presses the blade to his neck. Donegal tells him about shooting him and how Addison seemed to have some sort of powers. Silvermane then slits Donegal’s throat, killing him instantly as he exits but not before ordering them to go to the morgue to find Addison’s body and to bring him the other P.I., aka Ben.
Back in The Alcove, Cat is enjoying a smoke between performances as Ben approaches her to talk. He mentions her trip to the hotel as Flint Marco, her security man, comes up to show Ben away. Ben gives her the photo and asks to meet over lunch to discuss the negatives. Ben heads out and enlists Freddie’s help in shaking Flint, who has begun tailing him after he left the club.
Ben continues down an alley with Flint still following him. Ben leads him to the top of a building under construction, and Flint begins to rough Ben up. Flint carries him to the edge of the building, threatening to drop him, but Ben fights him off using a two-by-four and knocks Flint out. As he turns around, he hears Flint grunting and seeming to transform before his eyes. Flint charges at Ben, and we see his first turning into sand as he then punches Ben off the building. Ben shoots his webs and flings himself back up to the building as he then knocks Flint out as Cat rushes to the roof, shouting at Ben to leave them alone. He gives her the negatives and leaves, again not wanting to get caught up in whatever mess this is.
As the episode ends, Cat comes to see Ben at his office the morning after his fight with Flint to offer him a job. It seems Flint has disappeared, and she needs help to find him.
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