Benjamin "Ben" Parker (typically known as Uncle Ben) was the late uncle of Peter Parker and the husband of May Parker. He was 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 yet appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he has been alluded to.
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Uncle Ben's death is indirectly alluded to by Peter, who mentions "everything that's happened with [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.
Trivia
- Ben has been portrayed by Cliff Robertson and Martin Sheen in the two Spider-Man film series made by Sony.
- According to Tom Holland, if Uncle Ben appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he wants Ben to be played by Tobey Maguire, who also played Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.
- 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.
References
