‘Spider-Noir’ Ending Explained: What Happened in That Electrifying Final Brawl? (VIDEO)

Prime Video’s eight-episode first season of Spider-Noir nabbed audiences in its complicated web of superhero mystery, noir-style crime, and psychological intrigue, weaving together a dark and dangerous story set against the shadowy backdrop of 1930s New York City.

In the end, every arc got an ending. Some are good, some are not, and others are merely the beginning of yet another tale in this fair Gotham.

Here is a look at how Spider-Noir came to an end, what happened to Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), and if Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson) ever felt the sting of justice. Warning: Spoilers for Season 1 of Spider-Noir.

What was killing the superpowered folks?

Flint Marko (Jack Huston as Sandman), Lonnie Lincoln (Abraham Popoola as Tombstone), and Dirk Leydon (Andrew Lewis Caldwell as Megawatt) were given their powers as German POWs when they were experimented on by having their DNA merged with elements and animals. However, over time, they grew unstable, and many of the POWs died. Dr. Faber (Amy Aquino) attempted to cure them, but her treatments mostly accelerated the process. She later discovered that Ben, because a mutated POW with spider-like traits bit him rather than being directly experimented on, Ben was the only stable superpowered individual to exist. By harvesting part of Ben’s organs, Dr. Faber created a cure, but Dirk, Lonnie, and Flint destroyed the lab and killed the good doc after discovering many of their dead comrades were preserved in jars for study. Horrified, they torched the lab and killed Faber.

During the final battle with Silvermane, all three superpowered thugs fight The Spider in the streets of New York after Silvermane orchestrates a showdown at the Alcove. During the rumble, Ben and Robbie (Lamorne Morris) gave Lonnie a dose of the cure, returning him to normal.

Courtesy of Prime Video

Dirk, meanwhile, fully lost control of his ego, turning a street battle into a theatrical spectacle for the crowd as he became increasingly volatile. After turning on Flint and shattering his hand, Ben throws him in front of a train.

The emotional heart of the ending comes when Ben gives Flint the antidote rather than letting him die. Flint survives and is cured, leaving him to seek a normal life with lounge singer Cat (Li Jun Li).

What happens to Silvermane?

During the final confrontation at the Alcove nightclub, Silvermane realized that he was the Spider and tried to force him into revealing himself by threatening Cat. Once the battle spilled into the streets, Cat pursued Silvermane into a mirror-filled funhouse, where he taunted her about the people he had had killed over the years, including her former lover Thomas. Cat finally snapped and shot him, ending his control over her.

“I have a sneaking suspicion that he is pushing Cat to do what she eventually does, or being ahead of the curve, and doing it already, and when he says at the very end that he was glad it was her, he is almost subconsciously pushing her to do it,” Gleeson told TV Insider. “I don’t think he has a suicide wish, as such, but her realizes this is his last big kick of a dying horse and he wants to go out in style.”

Silvermane’s death ended his grip on the city, though the finale hinted that corruption remained since the oh-so-shady Mayor Morris (Michael Kostroff) won reelection, despite everything that happened.

How about Ben and his chums?

At the start of the story, Ben was a broken former hero who had abandoned the Spider identity five years earlier after his main squeeze, Ruby, died because of one of his old cases. Ever since then, he tried convincing himself that walking away from heroism was best because it meant walking away from responsibility, which he couldn’t handle.

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By the finale, however, he was pulled fully back into the role. Cat discovered his secret identity, betrayed him to Dr. Faber in hopes of saving Flint, her true love, and Ben nearly died while being experimented on for a cure tied to his more stable mutation. Even after all of that, Ben still chose to cure Flint and stop Dirk instead of running away from the city.

After defeating Silvermane, Cat apologized for betraying Ben and ultimately left New York with Flint. Ben was left behind alone again, but he no longer tried to run from his identity.

In the end, Ben wins thanks to his best friends by his side. His former assistant, Janet (Karen Rodriguez), became his official investigative partner in the renamed Reilly and Ruiz Investigations, while Robbie started his own newspaper. Ben finally moved forward from Ruby’s death instead of letting guilt completely consume him as he fully embraced being the Spider once again.

Talking to TV Insider, Lamorne Morris explains why Ben was able to open up to both Robbie and Janet, and in the end, they are the ones to help him the most. “We know he has more responsibility than a regular old private eye,” said Morris. “He used to keep the people safe, but when The Spider went away, I know for Robbie, I know for Robbie, he knew. He knew the heartache that he felt. The heartbreak. The loss. He knew of it all. So he knows he’s just a human. A human with extraordinary gifts.”

So in the end, the dame walked off with the antihero, the hero got a new lease on life, his buddies got new opportunities, and the city was safe… for now.

Is this the last we’ll see of The Spider?

So far, MGM+ and Prime Video have not officially announced or renewed Spider-Noir for a second season. However, executive producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller expressed interest in working on another season. Miller told The Hollywood Reporter that they “would be happy to do more,” while Lord added, “We are television producers. We’re not gonna say no.”

“One of the magical things about any private detective story is, if you want another story, all it takes is another client to knock on that door, and then comes a new set of cases, a new set of problems, and a new adventure to go on,” Creator and co-showrunner Uziel added. “So [it’s] conceived to be as many seasons as we want to go.”

Spider-Noir, Streaming Now, Prime Video