When Robbie Learned About The Spider's True Identity Addressed By Spider-Noir Star

Warning: Mild SPOILERS lie ahead for Spider-Noir season 1!Nicolas Cage’s Ben Reilly hasn’t been as secretive with his identity as The Spider in Spider-Noir, and Larmone Morris has the scoop on when his character found out.

Set in 1933 New York City, Morris stars in the new Spider-Man series as Robbie Robertson, a determined freelance journalist who sets his sights on high-profile stories that frequently put him in danger, particularly as he begins investigating ones tied to ruthless mob boss Silvermane. It’s also quickly established in the series that Robbie discovered Ben’s identity as The Spider sometime prior to the series, with the pair becoming friends and giving Robbie an advantage in reporting on Ben’s actions, much like Peter Parker reporting on himself as Spider-Man.

Ahead of the show’s premiere, ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns interviewed Lamorne Morris to discuss Spider-Noir. When asked about Robbie knowing Ben’s identity as The Spider, and when he learned of it, the star began by sharing that creator/co-showrunner Oren Uziel “wrote a letter to me about the backstory” from his character’s POV, which explained “this is when I learned this and this is when I learned that,” which “helped me out a lot” in his performance.

However, when it came to the specific details, Morris cautioned that he’s going to “keep that internal,” but further confirmed that “we definitely did pick a time” and “an exact happening” for when Robbie learned about The Spider’s identity prior to Spider-Noir‘s start. He further explained that it resulted in a “negotiation” between Robbie and Ben to find a way to “keep your secret safe here if you do this for me“:

Lamorne Morris: Their friendship kind of started on a negotiation. Robbie, being such a great journalist, gets the scoop, so he found out who The Spider was immediately and said, “Hey, listen, I’ll take some photos of you, I’ll write some good stuff about you, and this way, as a Black man in the 1930s, I’ll have a job.” It’s an even exchange, so we definitely went over that a little bit, yeah.

The reveal that Robbie figured out Ben’s identity as The Spider prior to the start of Spider-Noir came as something of a surprise in that it was the most direct involvement any version of Spider-Man has had with the press beyond Peter. In most adaptations, the webslinger is notably depicted as being a menace to society in The Daily Bugle thanks to the anti-superhero oversight of J. Jonah Jameson.

Robbie wasn’t the only one to have learned of Ben’s secret identity throughout Spider-Noir. As revealed in a humorous flashback, Ben inadvertently revealed it to Karen Rodriguez’s Janet multiple times while drunk in his office, with Li Jun Li’s Cat Hardy also inferring it and pushing him to confirm it by falling from his apartment window, requiring him to use his webs to save her.

In establishing the connection between Robbie and Ben through knowing his secret identity, it opens up a whole path of new options for Spider-Noir to explore. Beyond just making it so that The Spider is viewed positively in the city through Robbie’s reporting, it also allows for the writers to better flesh out supporting characters by having Robbie spend time with them as he builds his various stories tied to Ben’s activities.

It is interesting that Morris was careful about wanting to share the actual nature of the event that led to Robbie learning of The Spider’s identity. It could be speculated that it was an innocuous-enough event that doesn’t really need showing, and as such it could be a secret Morris carries with him. However, it could also be that Uziel and the show’s creative team are aiming to feature it in a flashback in a future season.

Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir Future & Season 2 Chances Explained

Spider-Noir seems to be off to a strong start, but does the series have a future, and will Nicolas Cage return after his TV debut for season 2?

What will be further interesting to see going into the potential Spider-Noir season 2 is how Robbie knowing of Ben’s secret identity will further impact their relationship with whatever new threat arises. Uziel teased to ScreenRant that season 2 could jump ahead to World War II, making for a more turbulent setting that might require Robbie to get more serious with his new newspaper company, and therefore push Ben to better put the demons of his past behind him.