Spider-Noir Episode 3 Features The Live-Action Debut Of A Classic Spider-Man Villain

Spoilers for "Spider-Noir" Episode 3 follow.

Sony's upcoming movie "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is set to bring several Spidey villains into the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Mac Gargan (Michael Mando), finally returning after a cameo in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," is debuting as the Scorpion, alongside some B-listers like Tarantula, Boomerang, and Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone. The latter will be played by rapper Marvin Jones III (stage name Krondon), who also previously played an animated iteration of Tombstone in "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse." 

But Jones' live-action debut as Tombstone just got beaten by a few weeks, because another version of Tombstone is also in the new series "Spider-Noir." Lonnie (Abraham Popoola) debuts in Episode 2, "Tread Lightly," when reporter Robbie Robertson (Larmorne Morris) is investigating a Hooverville (remember, "Spider-Noir" is set during the Great Depression). In the following episode "Double Cross," a squad of policemen are deployed to attack the Hooverville residents for squatting. 

That's when Lonnie reveals he's more than meets the eye. His skin hardens, shrugging off strikes from the police clubs. He and Flint Marko/Sandman (Jack Huston) join together in defending the poor Hooverville residents from the cops. Unfortunately, Robbie's reporting on this is hijacked by his editor and reframed as "monsters" attacking people and "heroic" cops fighting them off. Both Sandman and Tombstone are traditionally portrayed as super-villains; "Spider-Noir" has turned those reputations into in-universe propaganda.

"Spider-Noir" also eschews Tombstone's classical albinism, instead giving him Popoola's own skin tone. His invulnerability powers are represented by growths along his skin, with forehead markings resembling the typical alien makeup on "Star Trek." However, "Spider-Noir" is far from the first story to reimagine Tombstone.

Created in 1988 by famous Spider-Man writer Gerry Conway and artist Alex Saviuk, Tombstone is typically portrayed as an albino African American gangster. (Whether he's a boss or a mere enforcer varies from iteration to iteration.) His nickname comes from both his deathly white skin, which is indeed as hard as rock, and his ruthless reputation: if you cross Lonnie Lincoln, a tombstone is what you'll need.

He also has a mutual grudge against Robbie Robertson, a former classmate who once tried reporting on his crimes. That's why "Spider-Noir" ties Robbie and Lonnie's stories together, even if in this version they're strangers at first.

Tombstone's first adaptation was as a recurring villain in the 1994 "Spider-Man" cartoon, where he was practically plucked right out of the comics. Years later, the short-lived but beloved "Spectacular Spider-Man" cartoon reinvented Tombstone (Keith David, later recast with Kevin Michael Richardson) as one of its primary villains. Per creator Greg Weisman, the show was barred from using the Kingpin, and so instead repurposed Tombstone as the top crime boss of New York City.

MCU-adjacent "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" featured the most altered Tombstone yet. Lonnie Lincoln (Eugene Byrd) is one of Peter Parker's (Hudson Thames) classmates and a pretty chill guy ... until he gets involved in a gang to protect his little brother. The ending of "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" Season 1 suggests a proper Tombstone will appear in Season 2.

Comic Tombstone has a distinctive appearance, including not just his albinism but his Frankenstein's Monster-esque square head. Finding an actor who matches that description is quite the challenge, so it's pretty forgivable that the "Spider-Noir" Tombstone doesn't capture the comic design the way that animated Tombstones have.

"Spider-Noir" Season 1 is streaming on Prime Video.