Spider-Noir Episode 3 Showcases One Strange New Use For Spider-Sense

Spoilers for "Spider-Noir" Episode 3 to follow.

Spider-Man's Spider-Sense may be invisible, but it's one of his most useful abilities, acting as an early warning against danger. Who knows how many of the Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs Peter Parker has dodged only thanks to his Spider-Sense's early warning. 

In real-life, spiders have an uncanny ability to sense danger early thanks to numerous hairs across that body that make them hyper-attuned to their surroundings. Spider-Man's ability is more like a psychic power, one that warns him of incoming threats, making it almost impossible to successfully ambush him... and now, the new series "Spider-Noir" has demonstrated yet another use for it.

In "Spider-Noir" Episode 3 "Double Cross," Nicolas Cage's Ben Reily/the Spider (not Spider-Man) sneaks into the apartment of mob boss Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson). Without getting too bogged down in the details, let's just say Spider needs to take some cash from Silvermane's personal safe for the titular double cross.

To get into the safe, Ben seemingly calls upon his Spider-Sense. There are close-ups of the tumblers inside the safe lock moving, as if Ben is precisely listening to them to gauge the right combination. These shots are rendered and audio-mixed in the same way as earlier scenes of the Spider-Sense in "Spider-Noir."

While the Spider-Sense is clairvoyant, it's more of an impulse. Generally, Spider-Man doesn't actively call upon the sense to scan for danger, it just warns him when said danger erupts. It's certainly not the kind of precognition that can let him divine answers (like, say, the correct combination to a safe) out of thin air.

How does the Spider using his spider-sense as a lockpick track with this?

The safecracking by Spider-Sense scene in "Spider-Noir" feels more like something you'd see Wolverine or Daredevil do. Both of them have extra-powerful versions of the five senses, with Wolverine's senses functioning more like a predatory animal and the blind Daredevil trading his sight for enhanced smell, taste, tactility, and hearing. (Not that Daredevil's powers don't have their downsides.) Both of them could theoretically place their ears right next to a safe and crack it open by listening to the tumblers moving.

The closest precedent is in the cartoon "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" episode "New Avengers." There, Spider-Man (Drake Bell) has to disable a superweapon built by Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Adams), and he has no clue where to begin. He eventually reasons that he just has to go on instinct for what wires to pull; after all, his Spider-Sense would let him know if what he's about to do would blow up in his face.

Perhaps there's some similar logic to the "Spider-Noir" scene — the Spider-Sense is letting Ben know when he's about to make a mistake. After all, if he gets caught breaking into Silvermane's safe, that puts him in danger. The close-ups of the tumblers moving could just be a visible representation of how the Spider-Sense is alerting him when he's about to make a wrong turn with the lock.

"Spider-Noir" is utterly unafraid to remix classic Spider-Man lore (read /Film's review of the daring Nicolas Cage-led Marvel series here), and the first season is currently streaming on Prime Video.