Please Give Spider-Man a Gun

Wish Granted! Marvel has released the Noir series which combines the elements of film noir and pulp fiction. One of those released is Spider-Man Noir. The story is a bit different from the Spider-Man we all know.

While Peter Parker still becomes the titular Spider-Man, the initial focus of the story is upon Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich. He is an experienced and respected reporter who runs a network of informants under the alias of the Spider. This has allowed him to amass a wealth of evidence against underworld boss, Norman Osborn  - also known as the Goblin. Osborn makes use of a diverse set of henchmen, all of whom are connected to the circus, in order to achieve his illegal ends. The henchmen are the Enforcers (Ox, Fancy Dan, Montana), Kraven (an animal trainer), the Chameleon (a master of disguise) and the Vulture (a geek  in the original, geek-show sense), who had developed a taste for human meat. Urich does not use the information he has to expose the Goblin but rather to blackmail him, in order to get enough money to feed his secret drug habit.

Urich encounters Peter Parker during an oration by Peter’s aunt in Central Park. The socialist slant of May Parker’s words does not sit well with the Enforcers and Urich is forced to intervene in order to prevent serious injury to either Peter or May. Urich subsequently takes Peter under his wing and after Peter mistakenly receives a tip-off meant for the Spider, the young man ventures to a warehouse where the Goblin’s men are unloading a shipment of stolen antiques. A particular antique – a spider statue – breaks open and releases a horde of spiders. One of the spiders bites Peter, causing him to pass out and dream of a spider god. When he awakes, he is upside-down in a black web. He has gained powers similar to those of the movie Spider-Man (right down to the organic webbing) and so he dons a black mask, gloves, and trenchcoat (he also packs a gun) in order to take down Osborn in the guise of the Spider-Man.

The concept of the story is good, The Peter Parker in this version is not the humorous type though. But being the brutal character that he is in the series, It really makes sense. Uncle Ben in this series was a fighter pilot and was already dead before Peter got his powers. It seems Uncle Ben was killed by the Vulture. So when he saw the Vulture attack Aunt May, he shot the Vulture several times on the torso. This Spider-Man has no hesitation to kill, he will use his gun if needed. This is the first Spider-Man I actually read that is focused on the more mature audiences. In the sequel "Eyes Without a Face" you will see Spider-Man using a Tommy Gun. This version of Spider-Man can also be found in Activision's newest game "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions" which will be released in September 7, 2010.

He kinda looks like one of the sand people in Star Wars.