TV Show review
May 25, 2026 · TV-MA · Returning Series
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Spider-Noir.
Woke representation / casting
Diverse actors appear in supporting roles, including Lamorne Morris as Robbie Robertson (a character traditionally portrayed as Black in Spider-Man comics) and Li Jun Li in a key femme fatale part; these fit the 1930s period or existing canon without audience-visible emphasis, signaling, or quota-style promotion in marketing or reviews.
Woke political dialogue
No explicit activist language, identity lectures, or modern political messaging; dialogue stays focused on personal trauma, crime investigation, mob power, and vigilante choices in classic noir style.
Identity-driven story themes
The narrative centers on individual responsibility, grief, corruption in 1930s New York, and one man's return to heroism; no group-identity arcs, systemic identity critiques, or representation-first plotting.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Shows corrupt politicians, mob control, and city underbelly typical of Depression-era noir stories; presented as period-appropriate crime and power struggles rather than modern anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchy, or identity-based institutional attacks.
Review
Spider-Noir follows Ben Reilly, an aging private investigator in 1930s New York, who gets pulled back into his past as the city's only superhero, The Spider, after a personal tragedy. The eight-episode series mixes classic film noir detective work with superhero action, crime conspiracies, mob bosses, and super-powered threats in a Depression-era setting. It plays as a self-contained period crime story centered on loss, responsibility, and redemption, with no visible modern identity politics, activist messaging, or social-justice framing in the narrative or marketing.
Woke character or canon changes
Shifts the lead from comic Peter Parker to Ben Reilly as an older PI for narrative fit as a jaded hero confronting his past; standard adaptation adjustments for TV format with no public discussion of ideological or identity-driven motivation.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Pre-release online videos and comments accused the series of potential woke elements based on source comics or anticipated casting; post-release reaction stayed mostly positive and entertainment-focused, keeping complaints minor and unsubstantiated.
Creator track record context
Core team members carry low individual woke scores from prior action, sci-fi, and drama work with no activist statements or identity-centered output; the series was not marketed or discussed by creators through social-justice framing.
Production
