WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Spider-Man Noir #2, from Margaret Stohl, Juan Ferreyra, and Travis Lanham, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Though not explicitly steampunk, the world occupied by Spider-Man Noir has been known to exhibit some late-period, American stylings typically associated with the genre. The title character, for instance, sports the trench coat and goggles often used by steampunk cosplayers and dirigibles have had a longer-lasting presence in the Noir-verse.
In the latest issue of Spider-Man Noir, this version of Peter Parker travels across the ocean while investigating a case and runs into a steampunk-inspired version of one of his oldest enemies: Electro.
Spider-Man Noir lives on Earth-90214 during the Great Depression and the time leading up to the Second World War. He's modeled, in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek fashion, after the so-called hardboiled detectives who were featured in film noir in the 1940s and 1950s. Characters then were portrayed as world-weary, beaten down by the weight of the dirty city around them. They tended to speak in voice-overs a lot, too.
After a murder at the Black Cat Club, Spider-Man Noir follows the trail to Europe, where things are ramping up toward the start of war. Of course, he's in the company of a femme fatale who's more involved with the murder than what she's letting on. She also knows information about the only clue found at the murder scene, the ancient Cicada Stone, which is perhaps more than just an old piece of jewelry.
The investigation takes the pair to a ritzy party, where they get to rub elbows with famous, politically connected people (including Winston Churchill). Just when their questioning of antiquities dealers seems to be starting to bear fruit, a small hang of hoodlums busts in and easily snatches away the Cicada Stone. Peter's instincts and Spider-Sense indicate that everyone he encounters is up to something, but all that needs to wait. He's got to chase the Cicada Stone across London.
It gives the story a chance to explore the 1930s landscape, though Peter is pretty cavalier with his secret identity. With the Cicada Stone gone, Peter and his companion head to Berlin to talk to Heinrich, another antiquities expert. When they arrive, though, they find Heinrich dead and are quickly attacked by this universe's version of Electro.
This Electro is geared up with a backpack of lightning producing coils and protected by a leather vest and padded shirt. His oversized gloves and goggles really match the steampunk / Tesla aesthetic that writers and other artists tap into from the time period. Most fabulous, though, are the bushy mustache and mutton chops that define Electro's face.
The fun of alternate versions of popular characters is often seeing the reinterpretations of secondary characters -- and this version of Electro doesn't disappoint. He feels faithful to both universes, familiar, but offering an interesting new take. Though his origin remains a mystery, we can only hope he stays away from dirigibles.