Many fans were confused and disappointed when they learned that Nicolas Cage wouldn't be portraying Peter Parker in Spider-Noir, but Ben Reilly. It didn't help when co-showrunner Oren Uziel explained that one reason for the change was that he felt "Peter Parker is so synonymous to [him] with a young character and a coming-of-age story," that it wouldn't fit for Nicolas Cage's older character.
Uziel even went as far as to imply that Peter Parker was an entirely separate character in Spider-Noir and that he didn't exist "yet" in the series. However, those who finished the newly released Spider-Noir should realize what Uziel meant. After all, just because he's called Ben Reilly doesn't mean he always called himself that.
In Episode 6, "Nightmare on a Gurney," the biggest revelation of Spider-Noir happens, finally giving fans a proper explanation for why this Spider-Man goes by Ben Reilly, despite not being a clone. When Odgen met with Ben Reilly, he mentioned that, "If you hadn't changed your name, I would have come knocking on your door years ago."
While no one ever says the name Peter Parker in the series, the most obvious implication of this reveal is that Nicolas Cage's character changed his name from Peter Parker to Ben Reilly to better hide from any further scrutiny by the United States government or others from his past. But this reveal has far-reaching implications beyond Spider-Noir.
Spider-Verse Connections Renewed
What's crazy is that this reveal gives new hope that this character is the same one seen in Sony Animation's Spider-Verse franchise, also played by Nicolas Cage. While both have relatively similar origins, even coming from 1933's New York, there are still discrepancies between the two iterations.
The biggest being that Spider-Verse depicted a normal radioactive spider biting him, rather than a mutated man-spider hybrid chomping on his arm. Not to mention how the character is even more unhinged in Spider-Noir, setting himself apart from not only his animated incarnation, but every Spider-Person before him.
As for him introducing himself as Peter Parker, despite having changed his name to Ben Reilly, it might be a hint that Cage's character will eventually return to his old name again in Spider-Noir or that he realized he didn't need to hide his real name from interdimensional strangers. However you spin it, this revelation has surely made Spider-Verse fans happy.
However, it's still odd that Sony changed the character's name in the first place. Outside the co-showrunner Oren Uziel's reason, there might be another: a decades-old licensing agreement between Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and Marvel. Something that Spider-Noir could very well have debunked with this change.
More Freedom for Cage's Spider-Man
In the infamous 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment hack, fans learned of a 2011 license agreement between SPE and Marvel covering the live-action and animated rights to Spider-Man and all his related characters. In it, not only did it reveal the complex rights to characters like Wilson Fisk and Jessica Drew, but it also showed that Sony had to follow strict guidelines on how it portrayed Peter Parker.
To avoid breaking the licensing agreement with Marvel regarding the use of the Peter Parker character, the studio had to adhere to several "Mandatory Spider-Man Character Traits," which included:
- Male
- Does not torture
- Does not kill unless in defense of self or others
- Does not use foul language beyond PG-13
- Does not smoke tobacco
- Does not sell/distribute illegal drugs
- Does not abuse alcohol
- Does not have sex before the age of 16, does not have sex with anyone below the age of 16
- Not a homosexual (unless Marvel has portrayed that alter ego as a homosexual)
What makes this whole situation so interesting is that Nicolas Cage's character breaks at least three of these traits, some repeatedly, throughout Spider-Noir.
Cage's Ben Reilly is seen excessively drinking alcohol several times throughout Spider-Noir, especially in the penultimate episode of the season, "Nobody's Hero," when Ben Reilly's secretary revealed that he had let slip his secret identity several times because of his constant drinking. Definitely breaking the "does not abuse alcohol" character trait.
Another, more subtle example, is that Ben Reilly regularly partakes in smoking tobacco, specifically cigarettes, as early as the first episode. He doesn't even smoke the comically large cigars that Jameson is allowed to still smoke. However, it's certainly appropriate and expected for the time period of Spider-Noir.
In Spider-Noir, Ben Reilly seemingly has no problem having an unambiguous hand in killing his foes, as shown when he hurled minor supervillain Megawatt into an oncoming train. Technically, it falls under him doing it "in defense of self or others," but Spider-Man's villains (Green Goblin, Eddie Brock, Doctor Octopus, and Mysterio) still typically kill themselves accidentally or purposefully to avoid this.
In this instance, it feels like, narratively, Reilly could have beaten Megawatt the same way he did the first time in the series: draining him of any power. Even then, if the train hadn't hit him, Megawatt would have fallen to his death anyway.
Some fans believe Sony circumvented these mandates by changing the character's name to Ben Reilly rather than Peter Parker. However, that still wouldn't have worked, since the contract specified that "Spider-Man (whether Peter Parker or an alternative Spider-Man character) must always strictly conform" to the mandatory character traits.
In a way, Spider-Noir could very well have proven that this old licensing agreement is officially outdated, no doubt having changed over the last decade to give Sony more leeway. It even directly lists Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly, and Spider-Man Noir as alternative Spider-Man characters, leaving no ambiguity that Nicolas Cage's Ben Reilly should have been legally bound to follow these "Mandatory Spider-Man Character Traits" in Spider-Noir.
Regardless, these new freedoms have helped this version of Spider-Man stand out, especially in comparison to Tom Holland's Peter Parker. It also only makes the wait for Season 2 all the more agonizing to see how else they'll change the character in Spider-Noir.
