With Spider-Noir an alternative version of Spider-Man has made it to a series on Prime Video, but in this universe, there are more heroes. The well-known X-Men are not tragic protagonists there.
Spider-Noir is based on the comics of Spider-Man Noir. This is an alternate universe on Earth-90214 and Spider-Man is not the only one who has a new variant there. The series already features some of his villains, but other heroes are also represented in this universe.
Among them are also the X-Men, who otherwise fight as tragic heroes for the rights of mutants. In the Noir universe, things are different. There, they are villains, but still have a tragic component.
A Group of Gangsters
Who are the X-Men on Earth-90214? In December 2008, the first issue of X-Men Noir by Fred Van Lente (writer) and Dennis Calero (artist) was published. The detectives Dukes and Magnus investigate the murder of Jean Grey.
Their clues lead them to psychiatrist Charles Xavier, who runs a school for the reform of juvenile delinquents. However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Xavier is not trying to guide the youths onto the right path; he ensures they become criminal sociopaths.
He does this for a reason: In his view, sociopathy is the next evolutionary stage of humanity – this parallels the mutants in the known universe, who are referred to as Homo Superior
.
For this, he collaborates with police chief Magnus, who is essentially the equivalent of Erik Magnus Lensherr, also known as Magneto. He secretly headed the Brotherhood
, an association of corrupt police officers and criminals. Magnus wants the X-Men to join this association, but Xavier refuses.
This leads to Magnus throwing Warren Worthington III. (Angel) off a roof in order to initiate investigations that examine Xavier’s school and incarcerate him.
In the end, however, it turns out that Jean Grey was never dead; a murder did not take place. Instead, she faked her death to escape Xavier.
And what is Wolverine doing in this universe?
No Powers, But Still Somehow the Same
Is there Wolverine in the Noir universe? In line with Spider-Noir, James Logan
Howlett on Earth-90214 is a private investigator who is constantly drunk, making his first appearance in X-Men Noir No. 2. In April 2009, Marvel gifted him his own Noir series (Wolverine Noir) by Stuart Morre (writer) and C.P. Smith (artist).
Like the other X-Men, Wolverine has no powers. However, he is a knife expert who fights with self-made claws.
In X-Men Noir No. 3, Cyclops, the leader of the X-Men, and Logan meet after Cyclops learns that Logan and Jean had an affair. They start a fight in which Wolverine injures his opponent’s eye. Before things get worse, the fight is stopped.
In his 4-part comic series, Wolverine Noir deals with his own cases, along with his brother. As a bootlegger, Wolverine has many contacts. One of his antagonists is Victor Creed, an alternative version of his arch-nemesis Sabretooth. Here too, he is a ruthless villain who threatens those he cares about.
The Noir universe of Marvel offers several interpretations of well-known heroes and transforms them into the dark detective stories that were popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Spider-Noir is a good entry point for this. Spider-Noir on Amazon Prime: Which episodes should be watched in color, which in black and white?
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