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Published Jun 20, 2026, 5:47 PM EDT
Lloyd 'Happy Trails' Farley: the man, the myth, the legend. What can be said about this amazing - and humble - man that hasn't been said before? Or, more accurately, what can be said in public? Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Lloyd is a master of puns and a humorist, who has authored one pun book to date - Pun and Grimeish Mint - and is working on a second. His time with Collider has allowed Lloyd's passion for writing to explode, with nearly 1,000 articles to his name that have been published on the site, with his favorite articles being the ones that allow for his sense of humor to shine. Lloyd also holds fast to the belief that all of life's problems can be answered by The Simpsons, Star Wars, and/or The Lion King. You can read more about Lloyd on his website, or follow his Facebook page and join the Llama Llegion. Happy trails!
There's been an exceptional run of television series born from some excellent superhero films of late. The Suicide Squad – you know, the good one – spawned the critically-acclaimed Peacemaker (the bad one did give rise to animated hit Harley Quinn, however). The Batman hatched The Penguin, Thor hammered out Loki, and so on. The latest to join the club comes on the heels of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, despite not officially being a sequel to that film. It's a series so nice it was made, and should be seen, twice – once in color, and again in black-and-white.
'Spider-Noir' in Color Makes a Great "Hue-dunit"
Why two versions of Spider-Noir? Ask Nicolas Cage, who was the one to suggest producing the show in color, making it more appealing to a teenage audience, with the hope that it prompts them to see it in black-and-white and "open a treasure trove of wealth of a great American cinema." What's fascinating is that even though nothing else is changed, each version feels different, with different, yet complementary strengths that make the experience unique.
The color "True Hue" version is arguably the weaker of the two, with its visual component ever so slightly trumping the story. Yet it proves Cage absolutely right. For those who don't like black-and-white (yet), the color has a rich vibrancy that is simply gorgeous to look at. Like Dick Tracy before it, the super-bright, pseudo-cartoony palette gives Spider-Noir the feel of being in a comic book. It pops off the screen, engaging the eye right from the start, an absolute must-have in a world where image reigns supreme.
What the color version allows that the black-and-white version does not is a deeper appreciation of the loving work that's been put into that visual component. The detail in the costuming comes to the fore. The intricate designs of the set pieces don't bleed into the grayscale. The bright neon lights and the special effects, in particular Megawatt's (Andrew Lewis Caldwell) electrical-based powers, are that much more, shall we say, striking (no pun intended, but damn, that's good).
'Spider-Noir' in Black-and-White Is an Homage to 1930s Noir
But Spider-Noir was built to be seen in black-and-white, a loving homage to the noir 1930s. Sans color, the classic visual aesthetics of the noir genre – the deep shadows, the sharp contrasts, dramatic lighting – are just as vivid as the pop of the color version. Everything from the dialect to the movements is a throwback to the same, with Cage telling Variety that he aimed to design his performance to fit within the black-and-white format, in the style of the greats of the genre (citing Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). It complements the photography and wardrobe to make it feel like "you're being transported to another time."
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Furthermore, the absence of color allows for a deeper focus on the story itself. It proves Cage correct yet again, that teens raised on TikTok are less likely to be engaged off the bat. A black-and-white film in general requires a level of attentiveness to what's being said and done, at least on par with its visual elements, and in noir, that attention is that much more necessary. Spider-Noir's story is one of corruption, loss, and redemption, and while the action scenes are exceptional in both versions, the black-and-white version gives them a depth that goes beyond spectacle. It just so happens to also match the original Spider-Man Noir comics.
Regardless of which version one watches, Spider-Noir is still an exceptional entry in the superhero genre on television. It's the perfect vehicle for Cage, with opportunities for his, shall we say, energetic approach partnered with the broader appeal of seeing his mastery of the craft on a smaller, more subtle canvas. The supporting cast, especially Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, and Karen Rodriguez, is excellent. And Brendan Gleeson is pitch-perfect as Silvermane, giving the crime boss villain an aura that commands respect and assures unpleasantness should he be crossed, in the vein of Robinson's Rico in Little Caesar. But by watching both the color and the black-and-white version, one gets a full appreciation for everything that went into making Spider-Noir a modern-day classic with a 1930s aesthetic.
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