- Written by: Erik Larsen
- Art by: Andrea Broccardo
- Colors by: Rachelle Rosenberg
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
- Cover art by: Simone Di Meo (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: October 1, 2025
Spider-Man Noir #1, by Marvel on 10/1/25, debuts with hard-boiled banter, a femme fatale, and, out of absolutely nowhere, a Nazi Man-Bat crashing the party at the World’s Fair.
First Impressions
This issue has smokey visuals, flurries of fists, and a plot that races from detective work to pulpy chaos. The art oozes cool and the fights are wild, but Spider-Man Noir’s attempt at snark feels totally off-key for the supposed brooding gumshoe. Toss in a Nazi bat-monster subplot that’s as subtle as a brick, and the overall mood gets tangled fast.
Plot Analysis
Peter Parker, now a down-on-his-luck private eye, returns from dimension-hopping to find his personal life in tatters and his wallet empty. He’s been evicted, Aunt May’s health is failing, and Mary Jane has left him – a trifecta of classic noir misfortune. On top of that, the city’s overrun with armed goons like the Scorpion Gang, who make a mess of dock shipments and leave bodies for Spider-Man to clean up.
A surprise visitor to Peter’s shabby office is Gwendolyn Stacy, desperate to hire him to solve her father’s murder. George Stacy, a police captain, was found shot and dumped in the East River. Peter, driven by guilt and curiosity, gets drawn deep into a mess of police corruption, missing evidence, and cryptic clues. He bribes his way into morgues and rifles through old case files, piecing together a mystery that points back to his own vigilante alter ego.
Alongside this main plot, Peter keeps running into the regular troubles: landladies with overdue rent demands, Aunt May’s endless medical advice, and the need to scrape together enough change to eat. This all gets side-swiped when he chases Fliegende Fledermaus (a literal Nazi Man-Bat) who robs the World’s Fair for Hitler’s Bund. Their midair brawl provides wild spectacle, but never connects back to the core murder case.
Peter’s investigation reveals that Captain Stacy wasn’t who he seemed; behind a veneer of civic respect, he ran with the Scorpion Gang. In a final clifftop twist, Parker discovers the evidence points back to himself as the unlikely killer, setting up even more paranoia and peril for the next issue.
Writing
Erik Larsen’s detective narrative aims for hard-boiled, but the main character’s voice swings from deadpan to quippy in a way that lands more awkward than noir. For a character who should ooze seriousness, Spider-Man Noir is saddled with sitcom banter where there should be bleak reflection. Exposition about “great responsibility” gets fed through a wisecracking filter instead of the anguish a decent noir monologue demands. Worst of all, the Nazi Man-Bat subplot barges in, shouting about fascism and world domination without ever fitting the murder investigation, making the book’s themes feel tacked-on and tidy as an afterschool special.
Art
The pencils and colors are pure eye candy: inky shadows, fog-choked streetlamps, and expressionistic sparkle on every rainy window. Action is staged for maximum cinematic pop, selling every punch and crash landing as if it’s a classic pulp magazine cover. The noir mood is made to look gorgeous, right down to the stained trench coat and the shine on Gwen’s tears.
Characters
Parker’s characterization is a mess. Instead of the brooding, quietly tormented anti-hero, this Spider-Man slings gags as if auditioning for a vaudeville act or as Deadpool sidekick. The supporting cast – Gwen, Aunt May, Mrs. Watson – are handled better but mostly exist to give Peter a springboard for jokes or complaints. The Nazi Man-Bat villain is all bark, no menace, and sticks out like a moth in daylight.
Positives
The comic’s standout aspects are its art and action. Each panel bursts with noir energy; the fight scenes are dynamic and draw the eye straight into the dust-ups. Dramatic contrast between light and shadow keeps the mood both classic and fresh, and the pacing only ever slows for breathless closeups. The overall visual storytelling is among Marvel’s sharpest in years, delivering memorable cityscapes and noir drama in every frame.
Negatives
The worst aspects are the mishandling of Spider-Man Noir’s voice and the clunky subplot with the Nazi Man-Bat. The protagonist’s delivery is in constant tonal whiplash, undermining any attempt at serious detective work. The Nazi subplot never weaves into the story’s mystery, making it look like a loud moral lesson grafted onto the script for shock rather than plot. With every forced joke or lecture, the comic loses more of its noir heart.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Spider-Man Noir #1 looks like rainy-day perfection and throws punches with vintage flair, but the script can’t decide if it’s after Oscar Wilde or Raymond Chandler. The result? A detective story where the action dazzles, the mood is top-notch, but the protagonist’s quirkiness and shoehorned Nazi lecture rob it of true noir grit. Next time, here’s hoping Spider-Man Noir broods, not jokes, and that villains are organic parts of the mystery rather than propaganda on bat-wings.
6/10
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