I dont know if I’ve ever discussed this particular head-canon so I’m gonna do it now. As always I love to hear thoughts on my theories so don’t be afraid of reblogging with tags and the comment section!
I don’t think spider noir goes by the name Peter Parker in his universe, I think he goes by Benjamin Urich.
NOW LET ME EXPLAIN
It’s not just convenient to have a different name than Peter Parker meta wise for distinguishing the different universe’s Parkers, I have actual reasoning. But first we have to talk about universe 90214 Ben Urich, the original. (This is going to b very generalized)
This version of Urich is an investigative reporter, who was really good at his job. So good in fact he’s associated with the likes of J Jonah Jameson(in this universe the bugle is a real newspaper who reports the facts despite criminal/political threats). There’s a lot implied that he used to work a lot more closely with Jonah and Felicia Hardy to run an information network, or web, to inform the public and keep organized crime in check. This is what earned him the name the ‘Spider’. To reiterate, the spider was an anonymous identity that few knew Urich was. However, over time he became addicted to drugs and began to take cuts from the organized crime he was supposedly working against. More specifically: the Goblin, who’s basically a mob boss in this universe. He had gone dirty, which is why I suspect his previous colleagues put some distance between them.
Fast forwards: Urich takes on Peter Parker as an apprentice after getting him out of a fight with some of Goblin’s goons outside of a protest. Peter becomes largely frustrated working for Urich due to just watching and reporting instead of doing something, this is evident during the apartment fire scene. Peter wants revenge on the Goblin for the death of Ben Parker and keeps pushing for Urich to go after him, but because of Urich’s deal with Goblin he essentially gives Peter busy work. This ultimately leads to Peter getting his powers. Later on Peter finds out that Urich has been hoarding information on the Goblin but is getting drugs from the Goblin so he’s not releasing it. He’s angry, there’s a shouting match. This ultimately inspires Urich to publish the Goblin’s information but also causing him to be killed by the chameleon in retaliation. While this was happening Peter swings in in his spider gear and mask to attack the goblin. They all assume this is Urich underneath the mask, and call him the spider. And later on people assume this masked spider is the same one who ran the information web.
Now as to the why I think Peter took the name Benjamin Urich: As seen above Peter is very much taking Urich’s place. He’s already taking the Spider’s name and it’s very convenient to have another alias to use with it. Especially one that people(from the underground at least) already associate the spider with. It’s quite literally perfect, too perfect, but that’s another post and has to do with the spider god. We already know he has a lot of heavy feelings with the name Benjamin for his uncle as well as his own middle name, which could be used against this theory. With that said I also think in this universe Peter doesn’t feel a whole lot like Peter after the spider bite. And maybe it’s gradual, but it most certainly starts with the spider bite/god. He is not the same person by the end of his run to say THE LEAST. Taking on a new identity, especially the one of Ben Urich, a man who wanted to do good, to be good but fell short, who wanted a second chance and didn’t really get it, would be a fantastic way narratively for Peter to express that.
And finally, because this Peter Parker is not the Peter Parker that May wanted him to be, but he is exactly who Benjamin Urich wanted him to be.
Ok for the people who have read the spidernoir comics specifically the first ones(and it’s been awhile so correct me if I’m wrong) but did anyone else think Felicia and Peter had a weird relationship?
Don’t get me wrong across the board/universes they have a very complex and complicated relationship and I love that for them! But let’s focus on the 90214 earth or noir universe. So we meet Peter right, exact age I don’t think is specified but it’s largely implied high school age. Then we meet Felicia, again age not specified but she’s portrayed as a lounge singer past her prime and is running the Black Cat speakeasy. So we know she’s been around a bit. But then we find out she’s Ben Urich’s ex or ‘old flame’. Which makes the Peter Felicia relationship weird because it could be argued that Urich becomes a type of father figure after Ben Parker’s passing. To clarify sleeping with your new(also newly dead at that point)father figure’s ex girlfriend IS FUCKING WEIRD. Now next, Urich, again no age, is at least 40s if not 50s or older, and I’m leaning older because it’s implied he’s been working with Jonah for a long ass time and they are equals in terms of experience. Jonah is usually portrayed in his 50s-60s. So how old exactly is Felicia to be Urichs longtime on again off again girlfriend? To add to this Felicia seems very well established with a lot of experience in the underground and crime scene.
Now let’s circle back: when Peter meets Felicia he is very much a teenager and implied to be under 18. Felicia is his somewhat father figure/bosses ex girlfriend, who meets Peter through her ex boyfriend, and then sleeps with Peter pretty soon after her ex dies. Felicia is implied to at least be in her 30s if not older following context clues.
Again we have no real timeline for anything and no confirmed ages so its definitely up to interpretation. There are a lot of plot holes in the spidernoir comics in general but this is one that has always bugged me, especially since a lot of people really like the noir spideycat ship. And they do have a couple of sweet moments throughout the noir comics and I do love them in other universes but I can’t get over the ick in this one.
I wanna hear peoples opinions on this so please comment or reblog with your thoughts and takes!
I read spider noir a WHILE ago but,, the origin let’s discuss.
There are too many coincidences. And now I’m sure some of you will be like ‘buts it’s a comic book’ ‘it just for fluidity’ etc etc. Valid, But I don’t care, and that’s meta, anyways. There are too many coincidences but the one I’m focusing on is the name the Spiderman. Once again yes I know it’s a spiderman comic let me FINISH. But in the story Peter works for Ben Urich, who has the alias the spider/spiderman bc of his web of info on other people or whatever idk, and then Peter just happen to run into the spider god, that gives him powers? I don’t think so. (This would be a good time to read my other noir verse theories) What if it was a set up? An intended outcome?
Now we know the gods can have multiple avatars, and can even reject an avatar so what if there was an avatar to the spider god before Peter? And what if that was Urich? Hence the spider namesake. How did he come across the god though? No idea, might be similar to peters or smth. Maybe he discovered the statue to the god first and became her avatar, to deliver justice against the gangsters of nyc but over time he became tired, couldn’t deal with the curse and the darkness of the city he was fighting. He began to use drugs to numb that pain and if he ever overdosed the god would bring him back, he wasn’t afraid of dying he was just tired. Now again you can form your own opinions here but for one reason or another Urich sent the statue into peters path knowing he’d be chosen as the next avatar. He had the power and resources to do this, knew all of goblins moves, and had control over some of the lackeys. Peter also went where he and JJ said. He had all the pieces to set this up and he wanted out. But then Peter becomes the new avatar and Urich isn’t but he’s still addicted. The more he works with Peter the more he realizes how far he’s strayed from the path of good and he kind of lets go. I’m not saying his overdose was intentional but he did stop caring, or maybe he just got so used to the god bring him back every time he ODed.
To sum up Urich was the spider gods avatar before Peter and was part of the transition/reason Peter became the next avatar. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
“ I’m so ashamed to say that I was completely thrown off by who Ben was until they said his name entirely, at which point I damn near knocked my laptop off the table in excitement, disbelief, and joy. I didn’t realize my dude was going to be up in this series! This was fucking Christmas for me man. Lemme put y’all on game real fast, Ben Urich is the best reporter in Marvel to ever do it. Point fucking blank period.
Ben Urich is the fucking 50 Cent in the news world. He is out here in the Marvel universe writing the articles that exposed Wilson Fisk as King Pin and outed Norman Osborn as The Goblin.
Ben Urich is the epitome of hard hitting Noir, street crime, murder mysteries and chain smoking while looking dope as fuck in a trench coat while in ya late 50’s aficionado... “
- omarholmon speaks on Vondie Curtis-Hall who was phenomenal as Ben Urich DA GAWDDD in the breakaway hit from Netflix, “Daredevil”, which you can read about here.
