Meet the Heroes and Villains of Spider-Man Noir’s Universe

Of all the realities in the wider Marvel Multiverse, one of the most strikingly memorable is the Marvel Noir Universe. Set in a stylized version of the 1930s, Marvel Noir is populated by many familiar super heroes and villains with distinct twists reflecting their hard-scrabble era. This is a world where justice isn’t as black-and-white as its aesthetic suggests, but is rather served firmly within shades of moral gray.

Like in many realities, Spider-Man is a prominent figure within this alternate universe, but he definitely isn’t the Peter Parker fans know from decades of prior storytelling. Establishing his own corner of the Multiverse, Spider-Man Noir is joined by much of his expected supporting cast, who similarly received the Noir treatment. With the Spider-Verse constantly offering unique takes on the Spider-Man mythos, let’s revisit this moody world and the reimagined heroes and villains living in it.

SPIDER-MAN NOIR

Debuting in SPIDER-MAN NOIR (2008) #1 by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, and Carmine Di Giandomenico, the Peter Parker of Earth-90214 worked for New York City photojournalist Ben Urich to pay for college after his Uncle Ben was murdered by crooks working for local crime lord, Norman Osborn. While investigating a shady shipment of stolen artifacts in one of Osborn’s warehouses, Peter accidentally broke an ancient spider idol and unleashed a wave of supernatural spiders. Bitten by one of the arachnids, Peter received a vision of a spider demigod who granted him super-powers.

As Peter regained his senses, he discovered he had superhuman strength, speed, and endurance, along with the ability to weave organic dark webbing from his wrists. He then fashioned a costume out of his uncle’s World War I aviator uniform and armed himself with a set of firearms, taking on crime throughout New York as Spider-Man Noir. In addition to confronting super-powered crime lords like Osborn, Spider-Man Noir also thwarted an attempt by the Nazis to establish a foothold in New York in SPIDER-MAN NOIR: EYES WITHOUT A FACE (2009).

NORMAN OSBORN

Few super villains have left a more profound and lasting mark on Peter Parker’s life than Norman Osborn, especially as the Green Goblin. Unlike his Earth-616 counterpart, the Norman Osborn of Earth-90214 earned the nickname “the Goblin” due to his strange, reptilian skin condition. The Goblin ruled New York’s criminal underworld and kept lethal enforcers like the Chameleon and Kraven on his payroll. The former master of disguise even created a mask for Norman to hide monstrous visage. After Spider-Man Noir unmasked Norman Osborn, a spider-infested Kraven went on a rampage that seemingly killed the Goblin in SPIDER-MAN NOIR (2008) #4.

FELICIA HARDY

The ultimate femme fatale no matter the universe, Felicia Hardy always keeps the web-slinger on his toes. However, in the Marvel Noir universe, Felicia Hardy is no cat burglar. Rather, she’s the owner of the Black Cat nightclub and a trusted ally of Ben Urich – not to mention his former lover. Introduced in SPIDER-MAN NOIR (2008) #1, Felicia used information from her club’s illicit clientele to help Urich and Spider-Man in their investigations. However, when Felicia began dating Crime Master, he violently turned on her when he learned she was in league with the wall-crawling hero. Upon her recovery, Felicia took on the masked identity of White Widow and continued to fight crime with Spider-Man.

SANDMAN

Spider-Man has a long history with elemental super villains and one of the most prolific in his rogue’s gallery is Sandman. A small-time crook, Flint Marko gained superhuman abilities on Earth-616 while fleeing from prison and crossing a beach of irradiated sand from a nearby nuclear power plant. In the Marvel Noir universe however, Sandman earned his nickname due to his granite-like physique, becoming notorious for dealing fatal blows with his bare hands.

Introduced in SPIDER-MAN NOIR: EYES WITHOUT A FACE (2009) #1, Sandman worked as a mob enforcer for Crime Master. Sandman was about to make Spider-Man his latest victim after the wall-crawler interrupted his latest plot, but this universe’s Jean DeWolff saved the hero in the nick of time.

ELECTRO

One of Spider-Man’s most electrifying villains is also one of the his oldest: Electro. While Max Dillon turned into a being of living energy while repairing electrical lines on Earth-616, the Marvel Noir version of Electro gained power through different means. In this reality, Max Dillon wore a set of experimental Tesla coils and fired electricity through a modified lightning rod. The classic Spidey villain made his Marvel Noir debut in SPIDER-MAN NOIR (2020) by Margaret Stohl and Juan Ferreyra. However, he met an untimely fate. When traveling into an ancient temple, Electro was monstrously transformed by the M’kraan Crystal, only to be consumed by an evil demigod.

ROBBIE ROBERTSON

The sequel comic book SPIDER-MAN NOIR: EYES WITHOUT A FACE (2009) #1 introduced Robbie Robertson, who worked alongside Peter as a journalist, just like his main Marvel Universe counterpart. Concerned by a growing number of Harlem resident disappearances, Robbie investigated the case after growing frustrated by the authorities’ lack of interest. He uncovered a sinister plot by this reality’s Otto Octavius, who abducted and lobotomized his targets. While trying to uncover this injustice, Robbie met a particularly tragic fate as one of Octavius’ victims. Spider-Man took down the mad scientist once and for all to avenge his close friend and colleague.

MYSTERIO

When Hollywood special effects whiz Quentin Beck put his technical expertise in service of crime, he created the costumed persona, Mysterio. The Marvel Noir iteration of Mysterio maintained the villain’s flair for theatrical showmanship, dazzling audiences as a magician at the World’s Fair in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE (2014) #1 by Hine, Sapolsky, and artist Richard Isanove. When Mysterio held Felicia Hardy captive before a live audience, Spider-Man Noir confronted the showman only to be disoriented by the villain’s noxious gas. Ultimately, Spider-Man saw through Mysterio’s illusions and defeated him just as he was recruited to help stop an extra-dimensional threat across the Spider-Verse.

TOMBSTONE

A towering mob enforcer with filed teeth, Lonnie Lincoln gained superhuman strength and endurance after being exposed to experimental gas produced by Oscorp. Despite being a menace to Spidey for decades, Tombstone made his Marvel Noir debut in LUKE CAGE NOIR (2009) #1 by Mike Benson, Adam Glass, and Shawn Martinbrough as a corrupt cop from Harlem with ties to the mob. In this reality, Lonnie’s strength and endurance came from a congenital condition where his skin progressively hardened over time. After Tombstone threated Luke Cage and his loved ones, the hero defeated the corrupt mobster by overloading him with gas in LUKE CAGE NOIR (2009) #4.

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