Spider-Noir is a departure from the Spidey we know and love, which is only possible through the multiverse.
But, while we first saw Spider-Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, this isn't the same version of him (even though they're both played by Nicolas Cage). That version of Spider-Noir was an alternate Peter Parker, but this version is Ben Reilly, a private detective in the '30s.
In the first few moments of the new show, Reilly says: "Someone once asked me what universe this was. A strange question that stuck with me all these years later. All I could say for sure was it was the only one I knew of."
Could this be a shoutout to Spider-Verse? It's not totally clear, since this version of Spider-Noir has never met Miles Morales. Instead, it seems to be a reference to something else entirely.
"Likely Miguel [O'Hara] trying to recruit him, yeah?" questions one fan on Reddit, though another points out: "Different Noir. This is the live action one. Just like they had live action Donald Glover appear in Spider-Verse. There are live action multiverses."
"See, comments like this make me wonder why they didn't just have this Noir be the same one from the Spider-Verse movies. They even share the same actor, for crying out loud!" says someone else.
"I don't think it was meant to be any deeper than just a way to tell the audience this was an alternate version of Spider-Man by dropping a line that reminds them about alternate universes," argues another fan.
"Might be an Easter egg for a crossover that hasn’t happened yet," speculates another person, while another says: "I imagine it was probably a dimension hopper who got sent there by accident and left quickly after. Maybe it was America [Chavez]?"
One fan, though, has a pretty great theory. "A random idea that occurred to me (and obviously unrealistic due to rights issues), but it would be funny if it was some TVA agent, who, given how they always dress, would blend in well with the show's aesthetic, who was classifying the universes," they say.
Whatever happened, it's clear Ben Reilly at least has an inkling that the multiverse exists – so, maybe we'll see Cage's live-action version of the wallcrawler appear in a future crossover project.
You can watch all episodes of Spider-Noir on Prime Video now. For more, check out our Spider-Noir review or our Spider-Noir ending explained, or our guide on how to watch Spider-Noir in black and white.
