Amazon Prime has officially revealed the first teasers for its Spider-Noir series, so now is a better time than ever to dive into this black-and-white, gritty Spider-Man. Far more violent and far more emotionally troubled than his Earth-616 counterpart, Earth-90214’s Spider-Man, popularly nicknamed Spider-Noir, is a steely detective who fights against rampant corruption. This version of Spidey is almost nothing like the red-and-blue Wall Crawler we know from Earth-616.

Spider-Noir first debuted in Spider-Man Noir #1 (2008) - written by David Hine with art by Marko Djurdjevic - as a grittier alternate version of Peter Parker set during a time of poor workers’ rights, governmental corruption, corporate abuse, and a rise in Nazism across the world. Toughened by the harsh reality of his world, and the brutal death of his Uncle Ben, Peter Parker donned a secretive, all-black look before dubbing himself Spider-Man. Now, with Amazon Prime’s Spider-Noir series nearing next year, here are eight facts you need to know about Spider-Man Noir.

8 Spider-Noir's Reality Is Perpetually Set In The Great Depression

New York City Is Embroiled In Gang Violence And Corruption

In his native reality, Peter Parker was raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City in the 1930s. During this time period, the United States was embroiled in corruption and white-collar scandals, as major businesses began to buy out government officials and the police. With the economy in shambles and workers’ rights being consistently ignored, the Great Depression saw a rise in staunch political activism, which would directly impact this Spider-Man’s life.

Growing up for this Peter Parker looked drastically different from Earth-616’s. Both Uncle Ben and Aunt May were open activists, often leading strikes against big corporations. However, when Peter’s Uncle Ben was killed and mutilated by one of New York City’s most notorious businessmen, the Goblin, the young Parker’s stance against tyranny only hardened. After later gaining his powers, Spider-Noir dedicated his “superhero” career to taking down corrupt businesses, law enforcement, and governmental agencies contributing to New York City’s rampant economic and social disparity.

7 Spider-Noir Gained His Powers From A Spider-God, Not A Radioactive Spider

His Terrifying Origin Is Pure Nightmare Fuel

After the death of Uncle Ben, Peter Parker was taken under the tutelage of the hit investigative journalist for the Daily Bugle, Ben Urich. One day, Parker received a tip that the Goblin’s thugs were receiving a shipment of rare artifacts, prompting Peter to investigate the claim on his own. While looking into the developing case, the soon-to-be hero discovered a Spider Idol, which soon swarmed with a cluster of spiders.

Peter Parker was bitten by one of the spiders, triggering the young investigator to out when he then experienced a vision from a Spider-God named Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld. After waking up, Parker discovered that he was stronger, faster, and more agile than ever before, in addition to a particularly interesting arachnid ability. The Spider-God would frequently appear throughout the Spider-Man Noir franchise as an undercover waitress and secret police informant.

6 Spider-Noir Produces Organic Webbing

HIs Webs Are Just As Dark As His Personality

Because of the setting that Spider-Noir’s reality takes place in, this Peter Parker doesn’t have the same access to advanced and far-future technology that Earth-616’s Spider-Man has had. Instead, shortly after discovering his super-enhanced physical attributes, Parker learned that he could shoot black, organic webbing from his wrists and hands. Much like Tobey Maguire’s version of the superhero in the 2002 Spider-Man film, Spider-Noir never has to worry about reloading web-shooters.

However, this version of Spider-Man doesn’t often rely on his webbing, at least, not at first. Throughout the original Spider-Man Noir series, Spidey preferred to use traditional weapons and his overwhelming strength, often believing that webbing up his enemies was too kind of a fate than the one they deserved. That said, after the character’s sudden popularity following the first Spider-Verse (2014) film, Spider-Noir began to rely on his webbing tactically while still laying the beat-down with his own hands.

5 Spider-Noir's Costume Is Based On His Uncle Ben

Peter Always Has A Piece Of Uncle Ben With Him

Long before this Peter Parker became Spider-Man, Uncle Ben was an airplane pilot during World War One, where he gained multiple medals for his valiant service overseas. However, following what was the greatest war of all time, he believed that the war wasn’t just and his service was truly dishonorable. In the following years, Uncle Ben refused to even look at his old gear until Peter later used it as the basis for his Spider-Man costume.

Using Uncle Ben’s airman uniform as the basis for his new costume, Spider-Noir quite literally takes a piece of his beloved uncle wherever he goes, constantly serving as a reminder to end the rampant corruption in his world. To Peter, Uncle Ben was the last living decent man, free from the moral degradation that seemed to pervade his reality. As Spider-Noir continues to struggle with his moral identity, his costume is a frequent reminder of the man his Uncle Ben would have wanted him to be.

4 Spider-Noir Uses Guns In Battle

Who Needs Super Strength When You Have Guns?

Alongside his costume, Spider-Noir adopted Uncle Ben’s old six-shooter to deliver the only form of punishment he believed the Goblin’s goons deserved: death. As he continued his career, Peter added more guns to his arsenal, including an old-school Thompson submachine gun. For the most part, Peter only uses his guns to intimidate his enemies or to cause distraction, but the hero doesn’t completely share Earth-616’s Spider-Man’s sense of moral clarity.

While using weapons may be out of the ordinary for Marvel’s prime Spider-Man, Spider-Noir’s dependency on guns is both fitting to face the twisted dangers of his reality and within the pulp-action setting his world is based on. Likewise, this gritty gumshoe uses fear as one of his most valuable weapons, making his choice of weaponry an especially valuable tool for the time. However, all that said, Spider-Noir is still monstrously strong and has beaten his foes to a bloody pulp with little more than his bare hands.

3 Spider-Noir Isn't Afraid To Kill His Enemies

This Spider-Man Consistently Crosses The Line Of No Return

Unlike Earth-616’s Spider-Man, Spider-Noir has very little problem with killing his enemies. Shortly after becoming Spider-Man, Peter Parker caught wind that the razor-toothed criminal known as the Vulture was targeting May Parker after having killed Uncle Ben for his vocal activism against corruption. Finally catching up to the criminal, soon to gouge out Aunt May’s neck, Spider-Noir wasted no time popping one in the Vulture’s head, much to Aunt May’s disapproval.

While Peter has struggled to decide whether his enemies deserve to die or not, he ultimately believes that killing people like the Goblin only makes the world a better place. Throughout the Spider-Man Noir series, Spider-Noir continues to wage a bloody. He once dropped Norman Osborn in a vat of spiders to be eaten alive and frequently chooses to execute the Nazis that have recently infected New York City. In this way, Spider-Noir’s distrust of the legal system and gruesome penchant for violence makes him more like the Punisher than anything else.

2 Spider-Noir Fights Against Real-World Corruption

Mobsters, Politicians, and Nazis Make Up This Spider-Man's Villains

Many of Spider-Man’s most well-known villains are also featured in Spider-Noir’s universe. While they are each given some fantastical spectacle of power or physical modification, most of his enemies are more strongly rooted in real-world crimes. After defeating the Goblin and destabilizing his criminal empire, Spider-Noir moved on to focus on a new but prevalent threat in the 1930s: The Rise of Nazism in America.

Set during the period of Hitler’s rise to power, Spider-Noir’s version of New York City became plagued with flooding Nazi ideologies which began to infest the United States government and major corporations. Wanting to follow in his Uncle Ben’s footsteps, Peter waged his own war against the growing German Nazi threat as Spider-Man while continuing to stand up for the rights of the average citizen as Peter Parker. Compared to Earth-616’s Spider-Man, Spider-Noir’s series are significantly more politically charged.

1 Spider-Noir Is A Viciously Deadly Journalist

He's A Kills Criminals And His Job

Throughout the first two Spider-Man Noir series, Spidey waged a bloody war against iconic Spider-Man villains including the Goblin, the Vulture, Kraven, Chameleon, Sandman, and Electro. In Spider-Man Noir #4 (2020), Spider-Man discovers that one of his current allies is actually the sister goddess to the Spider-God who gave him his powers. The evil god known as Inanna manipulates Nazi powers, Spider-Man, and her henchman Electro to uncover her old temple and retrieve the mystical M’kraan Crystal.

All having gone according to her plan, Inanna soon acquired the crystal and revived five of Spider-Noir’s deceased enemies, many of whom were killed by Peter himself. In a terrifying, grotesque display of power, each of the previous Spider-Man villains still retained portions of their powers as the zombified Sinister Six unleashed living hell upon Parker and his allies. These creatures were so unstoppable that Spider-Man only defeated them for the second and final time because of a last-minute act of patronage from the Spider-God.