The stories of Spider-Man Noir reimagined a long list of characters associated with Spider-Man, friend and foe alike. So given the amount of source material Spider-Noir has to work with, there’s a good chance it’ll lean heavily on Spider-Man Noir’s darker interpretations of Peter Parker’s enemies and allies.
However, that doesn’t mean it’ll pull exclusively from the Noir universe. After all, there’s no shortage of story arcs and characters in the pages of Spider-Man’s classic comic books that would work in the upcoming TV show. Spider-Noir would be a great place for them to play out, especially since many may not get the live-action treatment otherwise.
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The Lifeline Tablet
In the early 1970s, Spider-Man found himself entangled in the search for the Lifeline Tablet, a mysterious artifact that supposedly contained the secret to eternal life, via the formula for a serum that would restore a person’s youth.
The fight over the Lifeline Tablet memorably pit Spider-Man against the Kingpin, and two new villains, Man Mountain Marko and his boss, Silvermane. An elderly crime boss, Silvermane was after the tablet because of his eagerness to fight his own mortality.
With Silvermane set to make his live-action debut in Spider-Noir, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the Lifeline Tablet – just as it was in his original story – is at the crux of his goals in the TV series. With it, he can return to his prime and ensure his continued dominance of the criminal underworld.
Not only that, but a gang war and an investigation into the whereabouts of the Lifeline Tablet would go hand-in-hand with the show’s seemingly intentional Maltese Falcon vibe.
5
Spider-Man’s Hunt For Vermin
In the early 1980s, Spider-Man joined forces with Captain America to defeat Vermin, a man transformed by science into a rat-like, sewer-dwelling monster. The cannibalistic Vermin was very much like the Lizard, but considerably more savage and less prone to his humanity getting in the way of his heinous acts.
When it comes to battles with monsters, Lizard will most likely always be the go-to choice for a Spider-Man movie. Spider-Noir, on the other hand, benefits from a longer narrative, and is therefore in a position to employ a larger roster of villains, that could quite easily extend to under-the-radar, B-list characters.
Not only that, but Vermin, as one of Spider-Man’s darkest villains, fits both the tone and the direction of the series. It’s easy to imagine a scenario where a murder investigation leads Ben Reilly to a showdown with Vermin.
4
The Gang War Between Doctor Octopus And Hammerhead
When Marvel Comics introduced Hammerhead, the now-notorious crime boss represented one side in a gang war Spider-Man was caught in the middle of. Rivaling Hammerhead for control of the various gangs in New York City was Doctor Octopus, who was already a well-established member of Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery by this point in the early 1970s.
The storyline had a number of fun twists and turns, from Hammerhead’s consciousness being blasted out of his body to Doctor Octopus trying to marry Aunt May.
While Spider-Man movies aren’t averse to using Doc Ock, the same may not be the case with Hammerhead, whose abnormally shaped head, combined with his outdated fashion sense and mannerisms of a 1920s gangster, would risk giving him a cartoonish feel. He’d feel out of place in any Spider-Man film, but would be right at home in Spider-Noir, due in large part to its 1930s setting.
Organized crime and fighting between gangs is sure to be a key part of the show’s story. It’s already known that Silvermane will be revealed to be a frequent subject of assassination attempts, thus implying that there will be various gangs vying for power.
Perhaps in a future season, the show could offer its own take on Hammerhead’s conflict with Doctor Octopus. That’s at least feasible, given that its inclusion of Black Cat, Electro, and Sandman serves as proof that high-profile Spider-Man villains are indeed at the show’s disposal.
3
Spider-Man vs. The Disruptor
Another Silver Age storyline that could be a worth a noirish reimagining is Spider-Man’s battle with the Disruptor in 1972. In The Amazing Spider-Man #117 and The Amazing Spider-Man #118, Spider-Man went up against Richard Raleigh, a corrupt politician running to become the New York City mayor.
Unbeknownst to the public, Raleigh was the Disruptor, a masked supervillain who used a creature known as the Smasher as part of a plot to earn the trust of the people of New York City.
The Disruptor would be a great, deep-cut choice for a villain role in a live-action Spider-Man project that deals with street-level threats. Corrupt, local-level government officials and public office candidates are often tied to superhero stories related to organized crime, which is why Spider-Noir feels like an appropriate place to feature Richard Raleigh, but possibly without his supervillain alter ego.
2
Spider-Man Battles A Dying Molten Man
In 1974, Spider-Man had a tragic encounter with an old foe, the Molten Man, who turned out to be the step-brother of the hero’s original love interest, Liz Allan. The story helped humanize the Molten Man, who was revealed to be dying as an unfortunate side effect of his abilities.
Although it was undone later, Molten Man’s rapid deterioration culminated in his apparent death at the end of the story, going to show that Spider-Man can’t save everyone. Evidently, Ben Reilly is on track to fight Molten Man in Spider-Noir, which could use its bleak atmosphere for an even darker and more tragic take on Molten Man’s sad fate in the comics.
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Tombstone’s Grudge Against Robbie Robertson
In Marvel Comics, Tombstone’s story is closely intertwined with that of Robbie Robertson, J. Jonah Jameson’s right-hand man at the Daily Bugle. In The Spectacular Spider-Man comic, it was discovered that Robbie, a childhood acquaintance of Tombstone, bore witness to a murder committed by the villain during their early years.
His secret knowledge of the crime weighed heavily on Robbie, came back to haunt him in more ways than one, as it put him at odds with both the law and Tombstone himself. Both Robbie Robertson and Tombstone will appear in Spider-Noir, so a comic-accurate twist where Robbie is revealed to know a great deal about Tombstone’s crimes certainly seems like something the show can and may very well do.
Tombstone is joining the MCU as well, but it would be surprising if it ever ventures down this road, even if it does introduce Robbie Robertson. Unless a Spider-Man movie chooses to make the latter a major character, such a storyline comes across as the sort of subplot that would be much more likely to happen in a TV format ala Spider-Noir, as opposed to a film.