Spider-Man Noir Reading Order Guide

Marvel Comics’ multiverse is an infinite canvas. It allows writers and artists apply new takes on the Marvel Universe, adding new wrinkles to long-running characters. A notable example of this is Spider-Man Noir. Created in 2008 by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, and Carmine Di Giandomenico, this interpretation of Spider-Man is drenched in a noir-flavoured characterisation set in 1930s New York City. As a private detective, Peter Parker operates as “the Spider-Man”, a one-man war on the criminal underworld that has its pulp roots in The Shadow.

While the idea of Marvel Noir was meant to be a short-term publishing program, Spider-Man Noir has had surprising longevity. He’s been featured in many comics – both his own and in the wider Spider-Verse – as well as on the screen, with Nicolas Cage portraying the character in animated and live-action form.

Are you trying to figure out how to read Spider-Man Noir comics? If so, you’ve come to the right place. This guide delves into the character, offering multiple ways to read the character’s comics based on your preferences.

Disclaimer: The character is referred to as “the Spider-Man” in the comics. However, it’s easier and less confusing to refer to him as “Spider-Man Noir” in this guide.

Peter Parker or Ben Reilly?

If you don’t know anything about the character beyond the Spider-Noir series on Prime Video, then you might be confused as to the identity of this version of Spider-Man. That would be fair, since the hero’s identity differs in the comics and the show.

In the comics, Spider-Man Noir is the Peter Parker from Earth-90214, a noir-focused alternate world. However, in Spider-Noir, Nicolas Cage is playing Ben Reilly. Who is Ben Reilly? In the comics, he is a clone of Peter Parker, who temporarily replaced him as Spider-Man in the divisive Clone Saga during the 1990s. He has also used the Scarlet Spider moniker.

In an interview with Esquire, Spider-Noir showrunner Oren Uziel discussed the change. The change is all down to the tone of the series and how the different characters are perceived, which doesn’t align with the story they want to tell. Peter Parker is known for his youthful optimism, which doesn’t really fit with the show’s darker and cynical tone. As a result, they opted to use Ben Reilly instead, which they can easily transform into a pessimistic misanthrope.

Unless it is stated otherwise, Spider-Man Noir is Peter Parker in the comics listed in this reading order.

Spider-Man Noir reading order

Below are two reading orders that cater for how you want to read Spider-Man Noir comics. If you want to read everything, including the Spider-Verse stuff, there’s a reading order for you. We’ve also got you covered if you prefer the noir-centric stories, without the Spider-Verse stuff, with a stripped-down reading order.

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #1 cover by Patrick Zircher and Dennis Calero.

Extensive reading order

Below is an extensive reading order that focuses on all appearances of Spider-Man Noir. Some of these are noir-centric stories, while others are part of broader Spider-Verse storylines.

When it comes to the Spider-Verse material, the character has patchy appearances. If you read simply those issues, then you’re not getting the full story. I have added notes and annotations for these instances.

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #1

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #2

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #3

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #4

Note: Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) is the first Spider-Man Noir story, which was published as part of Marvel Noir.

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #1

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #2

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #3

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #4

Note: Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face is a direct sequel to Spider-Man Noir (2008).

Superior Spider-Man #32

Edge of Spider-Verse (2014 series) #1

Superior Spider-Man #33

Note: Superior Spider-Man #32-33 and Edge of Spider-Verse (2014 series) #1 are part of the build-up to the Spider-Verse comic book event.

Spider-Verse comic book event

Note: Spider-Man Noir, along with many other Spider-People from throughout the multiverse, appear in the Spider-Verse comic book event. However, he only appears in some of the parts of the story – notedly at the second part and epilogue of the main story and the Spider-Verse Team-Up #1 and Spider-Woman (2025 series) #1 tie-ins. However, only reading some parts of it won’t make much sense. Check out this reading order to understand how to read the comic book event and how the tie-ins relate to the main story.

Spider-Verse (2015 series) #1

Spider-Verse (2015 series) #2

Spider-Verse (2015 series) #3

Spider-Verse (2015 series) #5

Note: Spider-Verse (2015 series) is a tie-in series to Secret Wars (2015 series) event. In the event, the world has been replaced with Battleworld, a patchwork-like world where bits and pieces of alternate worlds have been joined together. Spider-Verse (2015 series) explore a Spider-Totem corner of Battle world in a series that can be read independently to the main story. Spider-Man Noir doesn’t appear in Spider-Verse (2015 series) #4. However, I recommend reading so your reading experience doesn’t feel disjointed.

Amazing-Spider-Man (2015 series) #1 (Church and (Quantum) State story only)

Note: This is a back-up story that helps launch the Web-Warriors (2015 series) story.

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #1

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #2

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #3

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #4

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #5

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #6

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #7

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #8

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #9

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #10

Web-Warriors (2015 series) #11

Note: Web-Warriors (2015 series) was an 11-issue Spider-Verse series that saw the various Spider-People teaming-up for the common good. Spider-Man Noir is a major character in this series.

Spider-Geddon #1

Note: Spider-Geddon is a sequel to the Spider-Verse event. Spider-Man Noir only appears in the first issue. You’ll see why you read it. Check out our Spider-Geddon reading order if you want to go beyond Spider-Man Noir’s appearance.

Spider-Verse (2020 series) #5

Note: Spider-Verse (2020 series) #5 sees Spider-Man Noir return. It also sets up a new miniseries for the character. Each issue of the series has self-contained elements, with Miles Morales jumping to different worlds and encountering various versions of Spider-Man. As a result, you can get away with reading just issue #5.

Spider-Verse (2020 series) #6

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #1

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #2

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #3

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #4

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #5

Note: Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) is also known as Spider-Man Noir: Twilight in Babylon, which is what it was called when it was collected in trade paperback.

Spider-Man (2022 series) #1

Spider-Man (2022 series) #2

Spider-Man (2022 series) #3

Spider-Man (2022 series) #4

Spider-Man (2022 series) #7

Note: Spider-Man (2022 series) #1-7 are part of the End of the Spider-Verse storyline. However, Spider-Man Noir doesn’t appear in every issue.

Spider-Boy #10

Note: Spider-Man Noir makes a brief cameo in this Spider-Boy #10. Up to you if you want to read it.

Spider-Society #1

Note: Spider-Man Noir only appears in the first issue of Spider-Society.

Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man (2025) #1

Note: Spider-Man Noir makes an appearance in the “Prelude to the New Dimension” story of Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man (2025) #1.

Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse #4

Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse #5

Note: Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse is a crossover miniseries which sees the Spider-Society take on the Venom equivalent, a.k.a the Venomverse. Spider-Man Noir makes an appearance towards the end. You might want to read the full story for it to make sense.

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #1

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #2

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #3

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #4

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #5

Note: As of writing, this is the latest Spider-Man Noir series that’s Noir focused.

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #1 cover by Patrick Zircher.

Noir-focused reading order

Not interested in all the Spider-Verse stuff? Below is a reading order that focuses on the noir-centric stories.

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #1

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #2

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #3

Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #4

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #1

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #2

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #3

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #4

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #1

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #2

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #3

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #4

Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #5

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #1

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #2

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #3

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #4

Spider-Man: Noir (2025 series) #5

Will there be more Spider-Man Noir comics?

Probably. Marvel hasn’t announced anything yet. However, there will likely be more due to the Spider-Noir Prime Video series. If the series is a success, the publisher will likely publish future comics either as a stopgap measure while fans wait for a second season or to coincide with its release.

Marvel has also been publishing plenty of Spider-Verse comics and has no plans to slow down anytime soon. Spider-Man Noir will likely make major and/or minor appearances in those.

I’ll update this reading order as more information is made available.

Spider-Man Noir collected editions

Those looking to read the noir-centric stories in a collected edition should check out the following collections.

Spider-Man Noir: Hard-Boiled Origins
Collects: Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #1-4, Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #1-4, Edge of Spider-Verse #1, Spider-Geddon: Spider-Man Noir Video Comic #1, and material from Spider-Verse Team-Up #1

Spider-Man Noir: Twilight in Babylon
Collects: Spider-Man Noir (2020 series) #1-5

There are also plenty of out of print collections that are still available digitally. These include:

Spider-Man Noir: The Complete Collection
Collects: Spider-Man Noir (2008 series) #1-4, Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #1-4, Edge of Spider-Verse #1, Spider-Geddon: Spider-Man Noir Video Comic #1, and material from Spider-Verse Team-Up #1

Spider-Man Noir
Collects: Spider-Man Noir #1-4

Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face
Collects: Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face #1-4

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Have your say

Which version of the reading order are you following? Let me know in the comments below or via Bluesky, Facebook, or Mastodon.