Who Is Silvermane? Brendan Gleeson's Spider-Noir Villain Explained

Contains spoilers for "Spider-Noir" Season 1

Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, who you might recognize from the cast of "Braveheart," plays the main villain in "Spider-Noir": Silvermane. While his name sounds like it should belong to a gorilla, he's a ruthless and devious mobster who becomes a serious thorn in the side of Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage). In many ways, he's to Ben what Wilson Fisk is to Matt Murdock in "Daredevil: Born Again."

Since "Spider-Noir" takes place in the 1930s, it also occurs during the Prohibition era, when it was illegal to make, sell, and distribute alcohol. But just because booze was illegal didn't mean that people stopped drinking. In the series, Silvermane operates his own enterprise as a bootlegger. It's a profitable business, but he doesn't respond well to anybody encroaching on his turf or meddling in his operations. Silvermane likes his money, and he'll do whatever he can to protect his income streams, though he uses his brains more than brawn. After all, that's why he hires muscle to do his bidding.

"He's kind of a bit of a philosopher," Gleeson told TV Insider. "He will philosophize about how the nature of the world is such that he has no real choice, but he knows and understands that. Of course, he does. So that's why he's a villain."

Much like other characters in "Spider-Noir," Silvermane receives something of a makeover due to creative liberties. He's not quite like the original character from Marvel Comics. Having said that, he's still a major antagonist for Spider-Man both on screen and on the page.

In the comics, Silvio Manfredi adopts the name of Silvermane, because of his grey locks. (It's a bit on the nose, but these villainous monikers generally are.) Silvermane is a mobster who's also part of the Maggia crime family. Aside from his general mobster activities, Silvermane holds an interest in something else: immortality. He manages to secure a serum that makes him younger for a brief period of time, but after some time, those grey hairs come right back.

Silvermane also forms a short-lived partnership with Hydra, which results in him usurping his rival, Kingpin, from power. Another interesting connection in the Marvel Universe is that Silvermane is partially responsible for the transformation of Cloak and Dagger as superheroes. They seek their revenge, though, which culminates in Silvermane almost dying. He's only saved because Kingpin turns him into a cyborg. Yeah, that sounds like a Marvel villain more terrifying than Doctor Doom.