Sony’s Spider-Verse is adding a plethora of new villains to its universe this year via its new spin-off series, Spider-Noir. The upcoming Amazon MGM series stars Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly/Spider-Noir, the animated character he originally voiced in the Spider-Verse films. Ahead of Beyond the Spider-Verse’s release next year, Sony is expanding the universe with this new live-action series, and it brings a striking new take on classic Marvel heroes and villains.
Set in an alternate Earth in the 1930s Prohibition-era New York City, Spider-Noir follows Ben Reilly, a retired superhero and current private investigator, as he battles mob bosses, gangsters, and other comic book villains come to life. The villain trailer for Spider-Noir has already revealed several of the enemies The Spider will be up against, and they’re not simply a rehash of the same villains from Sony’s previous Spider-Verse films.
The main man in New York’s criminal underworld in Spider-Noir is Brendan Gleeson’s Silvermane, filling a similar role to Spider-Verse’s Kingpin. Silvermane is an Irish mob boss who is Reilly’s nemesis in the series and has been in charge of organized crime in NYC for 30 years. Not everyone is happy with Silvermane’s reign, as one of the main mysteries in the series is who burned down his mansion, one of the many assassination attempts he’s suffered.
Silvermane has been tackled before in animated form in shows like The Spectacular Spider-Man and Spider-Man: The Animated Series, but his role in Spider-Noir will be the first time the character has been adapted into live-action.
Another villain who Spider-Man fans may be familiar with from the live-action films, but has yet to debut in the Spider-Verse, is Flint Marko (Jack Huston), aka Sandman. Sandman’s powers allow him to shift his body into sand, but it’s also “what’s killing him,” according to Huston. In Spider-Noir, Sandman will seemingly be working for Silvermane, and the first look at his powers in action shows the treacherous effects they have on his body.
An electric-powered character is also making their Spider-Verse debut in Spider-Noir, but it’s not Electro as many thought; instead, the villain is Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell). After a brief appearance in the comics, this will be Megawatt’s first appearance on the screen, and he has the ability to absorb and expel electricity in both small and devastating ways.
Another brand new villain in Spider-Noir, the Spider-Verse, and the Marvel universe in general is Jack Mikesell as James “Jimmy” Addison. Addison has pyrokinetic powers and appears to be a completely original creation for the new Spider-Man show, unless his true identity is being saved for a reveal later on. Addison is seen in the footage able to light his body on fire, but it’s unclear right now whose side he’s really on.
Spider-Noir is scheduled for release on May 27, 2026, on Prime Video, or slightly earlier on MGM+. The series, created by Oren Uziel, is overseen by Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and Sony’s Amy Pascal.
Spider-Noir Adds to the Spider-Verse’s Roster of Villains
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have already established a lineup of pivotal villains, but Spider-Noir won’t share most of them. Plus, the new Amazon series will put a distinct noir lens on these classic heroes and villains, adding shades of gray that repurpose what might be expected in a typical Spider-Man tale.
Kingpin was one of the major antagonists in the first Spider-Verse film, with Fisk letting off the supercollider that causes the multiverse to open. Meanwhile, the crime boss in Spider-Noir’s world is Silvermane rather than Kingpin, and his henchmen include other notable characters like Tombstone, Megawatt, and Sandman.
Tombstone has already been featured in the Spider-Verse animated films, as one of Kingpin’s loyal followers, but he’ll be quite different in the 1930s, with Abraham Popoola playing Lonnie Lincoln, who says the character will link his comic book depiction with a “way more grounded story.”
Spider-Noir and the Spider-Verse do share a penchant for drawing on lesser-known villains. Across the Spider-Verse introduced The Spot as the major villain of the piece, who was only a minor antagonist in Marvel Comics, but was reimagined as Miles Morales’ nemesis in the Spider-Verse. Similarly, characters like Silvermane or Megawatt aren’t as popular in Marvel Comics, but will have upgraded roles in Spider-Noir.
Another added layer to Spider-Noir’s villains is the noir genre in which the series plays. This adds an extra element of moral complexity and groundedness to the whole show, which, in the case of the villains, depicts them more as feared monsters, outcasts, and criminals than as over-the-top comic-book characters like the animated Spider-Verse.
