Ben’s Plans Thwarted by a Dangerous Visitor
Spider-Noir Season 1 Episode 6 begins with Ben packing to go away with Cat. Ogden arrives at his door with a shocking revelation just as he is packing. He shows Ben an old war photo and says he was one of the young prisoners of war saved with Flint and Addison.
Ogden also confesses the truth about his condition. His mutation has sped up his aging process so that he looks like an old man, but he is only 36.
Ben lets him in, but the conversation quickly becomes tense. Ogden says that he knows Ben is The Spider and asks him to stop Robbie from publishing his article. “The story could blow Dr. Faber’s shot at saving his life,” Ogden says. Ben refuses, telling him he has quit The Spider and is leaving the city behind him.
Ogden injects Ben with something that puts him out before he can walk away.
Dr. Faber’s Secret Laboratory
Ben wakes up in a secret laboratory handcuffed to the bed. Dr. Faber tells him she is going to do some tests on him. The episode then flashes back to France, where Ben first started mutating after being bitten. Army doctors experimented on him, his body twitched and web-like fluid leaked from his wrist wound.
Faber is adamant that she is not like those military scientists back in the present . “I don’t want to make Ben into a weapon,” she says. Instead, she wants to save her son. The catch is that Ogden is Faber’s kid and she’ll do anything to save him.
Faber also informs Ben that Cat has betrayed him by turning him in. She keeps drawing his blood and Ben begins fading in and out of consciousness.
Ben’s Night Terrors and Ogden’s Cure
Faber later decides to take Ben’s genetic material. Ben is wheeled into surgery but has disturbing nightmare visions before waking up strapped to a gurney.
Faber finds glowing orbs in samples of Ben’s liver that seem to stabilize the mutation when mixed with the blood of other mutants. She administers the new formula to Ogden and it works. Ogden goes back to his younger self and gives Faber the cure she’s been looking for.
But the victory is not long lived. Faber decides they need to get out of there, but Ogden knows she plans to kill Ben to erase their tracks. He takes her gun and says he will do it himself.
Silvermane Attacks the Laboratory
Ben frees himself of his webbing and begins to look for a way out. Ogden catches him but drops his gun, not shooting him. Ben saved Ogden’s life in the war, so Ogden decides to return the favor.
Meanwhile, Silvermane and his enhanced men show up, having read Robbie’s article. Silvermane wants Faber’s list of super-powered people to create an army.
Ben and Ogden hid out on the ceiling of an elevator. Ogden helps Ben escape then goes back to find his mother.
Faber leads Silvermane and his men to a horrifying room with the preserved remains of mutated soldiers. When Flint and Leyden see what has happened to the others, they’re furious. Leyden hit Faber and Ogden came in to protect her. Leyden’s electricity strikes both mother and son, causing a fire.
Finally, Faber and Ogden die in the flames and Silvermane and his men run away.
Ben Escapes with Possible Cure
Ben grabs his mask, his clothes and a bottle of Faber’s antidote and escapes the burning lab. The episode ends with Ben holding something that could possibly reverse his mutation, and this poses a major question: will he give up being The Spider, or will he choose to remain the hero the city needs?
Episode Summary
Season 1 Episode 6 of “Spider-Noir” is a little more subdued than some of the previous chapters, but it still has some strong tension and a darker emotional edge. The majority of the episode takes place inside Faber’s lab, which keeps the story feeling more intimate, but that claustrophobic setting is great for Ben’s nightmare-like experience.
The discovery that Ogden is Faber’s son gives a new dimension to her actions. She’s more than a power-hungry scientist. She is a mother trying to save her child, desperate, even if her methods are cruel and unforgivable.
The black and white style remains one of the best things about the show. The lab scenes are especially spooky, with sharp shadows and disturbing visuals that make the whole episode feel like a horror story.
Nicolas Cage continues to be one of the show’s biggest assets. His performance is a mix of pain, confusion and odd humour, especially in Ben’s physical struggles in the lab. The nightmare sequences are also well done, trapping the viewer inside Ben’s unstable psyche.
The episode doesn’t advance every storyline, but it gives Ben a strong personal conflict. The antidote is an interesting choice for him. If he takes it, he might finally be free of his mutation. He knows that if he says no, The Spider is part of him now.
Overall Episode 6 is not the fastest episode of the season but it is atmospheric, tense and important for Ben’s journey.