Spider-Man Noir (2025) #2-3 impressions — Crooked cops, Nazis, and secret identities: which will prove to be Spidey’s greatest challenge?

When last we saw our favorite old-fashioned spider-sleuth, he had just made a terrible discovery in the mystery of Captain Stacy’s murder: he was the murderer! Granted, the situation isn’t as simple as that, but it’s still quite a mess for the 20th century webslinger. Further complicating matters,  Spidey is growing increasingly fond of the late Captain’s daughter Gwen, who hired him to solve the death of her father in the first place. This is quite the pickle Spidey has gotten himself into, but surely things won’t get any more complicated for him. Right?

*Mild spoilers ahead for Spider-Man Noir (2025) #2-3*

Jumping right into the action, issue 2 opens in the midst of rival gangs battling it out in the crowded streets of New York City, namely the previously introduced Scorpion Gang and the new Hardboil Gang. Spider-Man swings right into the middle of the conflict in an effort to put a stop to the violence, something he’s mostly successful at until the leader of the Hardboil Gang —also named Hardboil, for reasons that are obvious the moment you see him— manages to send him flying up to a nearby rooftop. He awakens to find himself in the company of the Back Alley Boys, a group of kids who inform him that Hardboil managed to escape before returning his now-tattered hat. Spidey’s hat isn’t the only thing they give him, though, as they also gift him with a gemstone found at the docks where Captain Stacy was killed in the previous issue. 

Back in his civilian life, Peter’s dealing with punches of a different kind. Try as he might, he can’t seem to find a way to reveal the truth of Captain Stacy’s killer to Gwen. He tries to put her off for a time by telling her that there’s much more to the mystery than initially meets the eye, but deep down he knows he’s just delaying the inevitable because of his growing feelings for her. Feelings that are reciprocated by her, which only makes things all the harder for Peter.

Fortunately, he’s given a bit of a distraction from dealing with this particular problem by the emergence of another: a Nazi rally taking place in New York, which he’s invited to by an old acquaintance. Which brings us to the primary antagonists for the secondary half of issue 2 and the entirety of issue 3 and beyond. First in the form of a hulking, masked Nazi with some strange gas powers (or perhaps a gaseous form, given the way the fight concludes in issue 2), then in the form of a Nazi scientist who kidnaps one of the Back Alley Boys and a plasma being named, well, Plasma-Man. These are hardly the only Nazi threats in the story, however, as we see hints that the fascists have something big planned involving the gemstone one of the Back Alley Boys gave to Spider-Man. A gemstone that’s now missing from Peter’s office, with no clue yet as to who might have taken it. 

I really love the way Erik Larsen is handling the writing of Peter in these stories. Where some superhero stories make me want to rush through the parts when they’re out of costume because, well, frankly, those parts aren’t necessarily as fun, that’s not the case here by a long shot. 

Peter having relationship problems due to his dual-identity is nothing new, but the added complication of knowing he’s responsible for the death of his love interest’s father is far more interesting to me than yet another story of how he’s struggling to balance his two identities (especially when Marvel had largely solved this before they decided Peter is never allowed to have a lasting relationship following One More Day). What makes this even more interesting is the fact that Mary Jane (who is his ex in this universe) and Aunt May both know his secret identity, allowing for some fun interactions with them, especially once they both know he likes Gwen. 

The addition of Nazis as what looks to be the primary antagonists for this arc of the story is an interesting redirection from the first issue, which saw a single Nazi character appear briefly, but otherwise focused on the mystery of Captain Stacy’s murder. While this does change the story to feel less like a true mystery tale and more like a traditional action-focused comic book, there are still enough mystery elements involved that readers more interested in that particular aspect from the first issue will be satisfied. 

By shifting gears to focus more on the Nazi threat in America, however, Larsen is able to utilize an era-appropriate villain not only to create a larger threat, but also to create a commentary on the troubling things going on in the real-world present day. Yes, this is a fictional comic set in the 1930’s. Yes, it deals with superpowered beings who can stick to walls and have malleable bodies made of plasma. And yet, so many of the things said by both the Nazi sympathizers sound horribly similar to things being said far too often and boldly in our current world. Likewise, the words spoken by Spider-Man to the fascists when confronting them appear to be directed as much towards the real world as the Nazis drawn onto the pages by Simone Di Meo. That it happens to be presented through a superhero format doesn’t take away from the truth of what’s said, even if there will undoubtedly be those who will criticize the comic for “being too woke.” 

Taking a step back from the timely dialogue —both in the sense of the time period and the modern-day climate— presented by Larsen, however, how does the comic hold up as a fictional superhero story? Well…it’s great! The villains feel threatening in their own ways, whether they be your run-of-the-mill gangsters or super-powered fascists. I appreciate that thus far all of the villains are original characters (at least, to my knowledge) rather than simply reworking existing Spider-Man villains to fit this time period, which goes a long way towards helping the story feel fresh in an ever-growing market of alternate universes. The fight scenes are exciting, complemented by artwork that makes the action feel alive rather than just images on a page. And ultimately, it’s just an intriguing story overall. Every issue I’ve read thus far leaves me wanting to see what will unfold next, whether in regards to the still-unknown Nazi plot involving the now-missing gemstone or the growing complications in Peter’s personal/professional life. Issue 4 can’t get here soon enough. 

Spider-Man Noir (2025) #2-3 are available now from Marvel Comics.