The name Ben Reilly carries a heavy weight for longtime Spider-Man readers. For everyone else getting ready to watch Nicolas Cage suit up as a 1930s private detective in Prime Video’s upcoming series Spider-Noir, the name might sound unfamiliar. Why is Cage playing a character called Ben Reilly instead of Peter Parker? Why borrow the name of Spider-Man’s famous clone for a completely different universe?
The answer is not simple fan service. The producers have a specific reason for the change, and they promise to explain it in the show. But to understand why this matters, it helps to look back at who Ben Reilly really is in Marvel history—a character with one of the most painful, confusing, and emotional journeys in comic book storytelling.
The 1975 Beginning: A Clone Meant to Be a Villain
Ben Reilly first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #149 in October 1975. Created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Ross Andru, he was not born as a hero. He was a weapon.
The villain called the Jackal—scientist Miles Warren—blamed Peter Parker for the death of Gwen Stacy. Warren created a clone of Peter Parker to destroy the original. But the plan backfired. The clone discovered he was not the real Peter Parker, yet he had the same memories, the same sense of responsibility, and the same heroic heart. He chose to help Peter instead of fighting him.
After they stopped the Jackal, the clone realized there was no place for him. He watched Peter with Mary Jane and understood that Peter was the “original.” He was the copy. He decided to leave New York and build his own life. He took the name Ben Reilly—borrowing Uncle Ben’s first name and Aunt May’s maiden name—as a way to honor the family he technically shared but could never truly claim .
For years, readers believed the clone died in that 1975 story. He did not. He simply walked away.
The 1990s Clone Saga: Ben Takes Over as Spider-Man
Ben Reilly returned in the 1990s during one of the most controversial periods in Spider-Man history: the Clone Saga. The storyline ran for nearly three years across multiple comic titles. It was messy, complicated, and deeply divisive among fans. But at the center of it was Ben Reilly trying to prove he was his own person.
After years of wandering, Ben came back to New York. He created his own costume—the blue hoodie and red bodysuit of the Scarlet Spider—and fought alongside Peter Parker. For a time, the comics even suggested that Ben was the original Peter Parker and that the Peter readers had followed for decades was actually the clone. This was later revealed to be a lie by Norman Osborn. Peter was the original. Ben was always the clone.
But before that truth came out, Ben briefly replaced Peter as Spider-Man. Peter retired to start a family with Mary Jane, and Ben wore the web-shooters. He was Spider-Man. Fans either loved him as a worthy successor or hated him as an imposter .
Ben Reilly’s first death came in 1996. He was stabbed by the Green Goblin—Norman Osborn—while saving Peter’s life. He died in Peter’s arms. His last words were, “I always knew you were the real thing.”
Repeated Resurrection and Tragedy
Comic book deaths rarely last. Ben Reilly has been resurrected multiple times since the 1990s. In 2017, he returned as the villainous Jackal before eventually regaining his heroism. He became the Scarlet Spider again. He was killed by Morlun in 2006. He came back. He was twisted into a villain called Chasm in recent years, bitter and broken after losing his memories.
The constant cycle of death and return has made Ben Reilly one of the most tragic figures in Marvel Comics. He is a man who has spent his entire existence questioning whether he deserves to exist at all. He shares Peter Parker’s face, his memories, and his powers. But he has never been fully accepted as his own person—either by the universe or sometimes by himself .
The Spider-Verse Connection: Andy Samberg’s Ben
For movie audiences, Ben Reilly already made his cinematic debut. He appeared in 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, voiced by Andy Samberg. That version was a quick cameo—a friendly, slightly awkward Spider-Man who helped fight Spot. He wore the Scarlet Spider hoodie. He existed as a fun nod for fans who recognized the costume .
That version is not the same as Nicolas Cage’s character. But it introduced mainstream audiences to the name.
Spider-Noir: Why Is Nicolas Cage Playing Ben Reilly?
This is where the confusion starts for many viewers. In the comics, Spider-Man Noir is Peter Parker. He is a specific variant from Earth-90214 who gained powers from a spider god and fought Nazis and mobsters during the Great Depression. His uncle Ben was murdered by Norman Osborn’s gang. He is darker, more violent, and willing to kill.
Spider-Noir the TV series is changing that. Nicolas Cage is not playing Peter Parker. He is playing Ben Reilly, a retired vigilante called The Spider who now works as a private investigator in 1930s New York. The show is merging two separate comic characters into one person.
Co-showrunner Oren Uziel explained the decision clearly:
“Peter Parker feels very synonymous with a high school kid. Boyish. On his way up. Ben Reilly has already gone through the entire arc and has seen it all. He’s over it, and trying to move past it. But his past kind of keeps coming back to haunt him. It’s just a different version that we haven’t seen before.”
Executive producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller added:
“This character’s very different from the Peter Parker from the movies. He’s older and jaded, and not afraid to punch a guy in the face drunkenly. He already had his Chinatown disillusionment moment that happened years and years ago.”
Lord also addressed the name directly:
“I have to be coy about the reasons, because you’ll find out. The reason he’s named Ben Reilly is explained. We’ll leave it at that.”
The show is not trying to confuse audiences. It is using the emotional history of Ben Reilly—a man who spent his life as a copy, who lost his identity, who tried to walk away from heroism—and applying that backstory to a noir detective who has already lived through his war.
What This Means for the Character
Nicolas Cage’s Ben Reilly is described as a man who survived a deeply personal tragedy that forced him to retire. He is cynical. He is tired. He does not want to put on the mask again. But a new case involving the crime boss Silvermane—played by Brendan Gleeson—forces him to confront his past .
This is not the clone saga. This is not the Scarlet Spider. But the spirit of Ben Reilly remains. He is a man who was Spider-Man, who walked away, and who cannot escape the weight of what he used to be.
The series also introduces other Marvel characters in new forms. Lamorne Morris plays Robbie Robertson as a freelance journalist and Ben’s oldest friend. Li Jun Li is Cat Hardy, a nightclub singer who serves as this universe’s version of Black Cat. Jack Huston is Flint Marko, a hired goo n who is clearly a young Sandman. Brendan Gleeson plays Silvermane, a crime boss who has survived multiple assassination attempts .
When and Where to Watch Spider-Noir
Spider-Noir will premiere in Spring 2026. The show will debut on the MGM+ linear channel in the United States first. After that, it will launch globally on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories.
Each episode runs 45 minutes, and the first season has eight episodes. Harry Bradbeer, the Emmy-winning director of Fleabag and Killing Eve, directed the first two episodes. Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot are the co-showrunners .
Nicolas Cage is not just the star. He is also an executive producer on the series.
Viewers Can Choose Black-and-White or Color
One unique feature of Spider-Noir is the presentation format. The show will be available in both full color and black-and-white. This is similar to what Marvel did with the 2022 special Werewolf by Night.
Nicolas Cage explained the choice:
“The truth is, they both work and they’re beautiful for different reasons. The color is super saturated and gorgeous. I think teenage viewers will appreciate the color, but I also want them to have the option. If they want to experience the concept in black and white, maybe that would instill some interest in them to look at earlier movies and enjoy that as an art form as well.”
This dual format fits the 1930s noir aesthetic while still giving modern audiences the choice.
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Why This Version of Ben Reilly Matters
Comic book purists might argue that Ben Reilly should remain the clone from Earth-616. They are not wrong. That character has decades of history. But television adaptations have always taken creative liberties.
The Ben Reilly in Spider-Noir is not the clone. He is a private detective who once protected New York as The Spider, lost someone important, and hung up the mask. The name is borrowed, but the emotional core is the same. He is a man trying to figure out who he is after being defined by heroism for so long.
The producers have promised that the reason for the name will be revealed in the show itself. It is not a random change. It connects to his past and the mystery involving Silvermane.
For viewers who have never read a Spider-Man comic in their life, the name Ben Reilly will simply be the name of Nicolas Cage’s character. But for those who know the Clone Saga, the Scarlet Spider, and the decades of tragedy, the name carries extra weight. It signals that this version of Spider-Man is someone who has already lost everything once and is terrified of losing anything again.
Spider-Noir is not retelling the clone saga. It is taking the feeling of being a copy, an outsider, a retired hero forced back into the fight, and placing that feeling in 1930s New York. That is the connection. That is the story.
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