- “Remember this, Pete: with great power, there must also come great responsibility.”
- ―Ben's most-famous quote from the comic books.
Benjamin "Ben" Parker (typically known as Uncle Ben) is the late uncle of Peter Parker and the husband of May Parker. He is a kind, older man who was Peter's father figure as Peter's parents died when he was younger. He is tragically killed by a criminal that Peter didn't stop despite having the chance to do so. His death would teach Peter that with great power comes great responsibility, a philosophy that he took to heart when he chose to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.
Ben Parker was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Appearances
Marvel Animation
Ultimate Spider-Man
Spider-Man has referenced Uncle Ben's death a couple of times when talking about his morals. Ben appeared in the episode "Strange Days" where Nightmare tries to use the failure of Peter being unable to save his uncle's life against him, but it doesn't work. Peter's even grateful that he gets to see Ben again as his uncle encourages him to take the villain down. He was voiced by Greg Grunberg.
Spider-Man
Uncle Ben appears posthumously in this series, voiced by Patton Oswalt. Here, he is depicted as a budding scientist and a clock designer. In a flashback, it is revealed that he reimagined his "With great power comes great responsibility" quote as a scientific formula, which Peter regards as goofy.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Uncle Ben has not appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he has been alluded to.
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Uncle Ben's death is indirectly referenced by Peter, who mentions "everything that's happened with her (May)".
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter's suitcase has the initials "B.F.P." on it, implying that it was once Uncle Ben's.
In the animated series What If...?, in the episode "What If... Zombies!?", Peter mentions Ben by his name for the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He mentions how he lost his uncle as well as his aunt and how they both would want Peter and his allies to continue thinking positively throughout life.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, May tells Peter that "with great power, comes great responsibility" as she dies, to which Peter replies with "Yeah I know". Peter later re-quotes this phase to his older counterparts when he tells them this is what May said to him as she was dying. The other Spider-Men are both shocked to hear this quote being repeated, and the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finishes the famous quote before the youngest Peter can even finish it. Mainstream Peter asks his oldest self how he knows that saying, to which the other Spider-Men both mention that their respective Uncle Ben's told both of them the exact same quote on the day their uncle's died. The oldest Peter then believes and tries to reassure his youngest counterpart that May didn't die for nothing. The Spider-Men decide to cure the villains once and for all, with the infamous quote in mind.
Trivia
- Ben has been portrayed by Cliff Robertson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy, Martin Sheen in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films, and Adam Scott in Madame Web, all of which were made by Sony.
- Uncle Ben was Cliff Robertson's final role before his death.
- Coincidentally, Robertson's middle name was Parker.
- Cliff Robinson's "with great power" quote from the 2002 film was reused in Into the Spider-Verse film, as archive audio for Peter B. Parker's story.
- Uncle Ben was Cliff Robertson's final role before his death.
- His name is a play on Benjamin Franklin.
- According to Tom Holland, if Uncle Ben did appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he wanted Ben to be played by Tobey Maguire, who also played Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.[citation needed]
- Ironically Tobey Maguire went on to reprise his role as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man from the Rami trilogy in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- In an early script for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Aunt May mentions that Peter's wardrobe for the homecoming dance was Ben's clothes. However, it was cut out because it distracted from Peter's arc in the film, and the screenwriters didn't want Ben's death to be only mentioned in a throwaway line.[1]
- While Uncle Ben was confirmed to exist in the MCU, it was revealed that he did not meet the same fate as May and is still alive somewhere in the world.[2]
- Uncle Ben's phrase "with great power comes responsibility" was mentioned in the film Return to Halloweentown. Marnie Piper's mother tells her that the power of a witch comes with responsibility, to which Marnie tells her mother that she stole that phrase from Spider-Man.
References
- ↑ Uncle Ben Confirmed For The Marvel Cinematic Universe
- ↑ Couch, Aaron (December 29, 2021). "How Spider-Man: No Way Home Was "Shaped" by Its Secret Stars". The Hollywood Reporter.
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