Uncle Ben

The murder of Uncle Ben is possibly the most notable in comic book history. He is also one of the few comic book deaths that has never been reversed in terms of official continuity. He was a member of the "Big Three", referring also to Jason Todd (an associate of Batman) and Bucky (an associate of Captain America) whose notable deaths, along with Ben's, gave rise to the phrase: "No one in comics stays dead except for Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben". Later, the revivals of both Bucky and Jason in 2005 led to the amendment, "No one in comics stays dead except Uncle Ben". The violent killing of Uncle Ben, done by a common street criminal, also shares multiple similarities to the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, the parents of Batman, which sometimes is included in the saying.[1]

There have been examples of Uncle Ben remaining alive in alternative timelines, including stories featured in Marvel's What If (one of which he forces Peter to unmask in front of J. Jonah Jameson), and a storyline of the 1994 Spider-Man animated series featured a universe where Uncle Ben had never died, and Peter Parker became a successful industrialist, having never really bothered to use his powers responsibly as everything always seemed to work out for him. This fact is used to defeat the rampaging Spider-Carnage by exposing him to the one person he will trust and listen to: the Uncle Ben of that reality.

A story-line in the official series Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man seemingly suggested that Ben may be alive. This Ben, however, was actually from a parallel universe where Aunt May died in a random accident, leaving him to raise Peter. This alternate Ben came to the planet Earth of regular Marvel comics (the 616 reality) as part of an evil plan devised by the Hobgoblin of 2211 to defeat the Spider-Men of different eras.

During the Clone Conspiracy storyline, when Peter's clone Ben Reilly (who had taken Uncle Ben's first name, along with Aunt May's last, to differentiate himself from Peter) used the Jackal's technology to revive several of Peter's old enemies and allies, he offered to bring Uncle Ben back to life while trying to win Peter to his point of view.[2] Although tempted at the offer, Peter concluded that the reason Reilly had not brought Uncle Ben back on his own was that he knew that Uncle Ben would disapprove of Reilly's actions, as his plan would see everyone on Earth granted immortality, while dependent on him to supply the medication needed to stabilize their cloned bodies.[3]

A version of Ben appeared in the Mark Millar, Terry Dodson 2003 limited series, "Trouble", with his brother Richie, who were involved with teenagers, May and Mary.

None of the characters' last names were revealed. The story did not become canon because of its negative reception.

In this alternate reality, a young Ben Parker is working as a military policeman. He is assigned to security for Doctor Erskine, a scientist for the Captain America program. An assassination attempt on Erskine succeeds, killing Ben in the process. Later on, May still attempts to raise Peter on her own, but without the influence of Ben, Peter grows up to be angry, cynical and mean-spirited, going on to become the Hulk of this reality when he sneaks onto the test site that Rick Jones sneaked onto in the original version of events.[15]

In the House of M reality, Ben Parker is alive and, like the rest of the world, is aware that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. After recovering Peter's journal, with entries detailing that the world is not how it should be, Ben discovers that he is killed shortly after Peter gains his powers. He later helps Peter fake his death, photographing Spider-Man apparently hanging himself.[16]

In the Marvel Noir reality, Ben Parker is a social activist who was murdered by Norman Osborne's enforcers. He had previously been a decorated pilot and veteran of World War I, but he did not take pride in his service, believing that no just cause was fought for. His nephew Peter dons his old aviator uniform and wields his service revolver during his activities as Spider-Man.[17]

During the "Spider-Verse" storyline, there are different versions of Uncle Ben that are featured:

• A version of Peter Parker named Patton Parnell lives with his abusive Uncle Ted on an unknown Earth. After the bite of an irradiated spider mutates him into an arachnid monstrosity, Patton infects his Uncle Ted with his offspring while declaring he taught him that "With great power comes a great appetite".[18]
• An alternate Uncle Ben from an unknown reality appears in a flashback along with his universe's version of Aunt May. On Earth-14512, they are portrayed as scientists. They informed their niece Peni Parker that she was the only person able to carry on the project after her father, the original SP//dr, died in battle. She accepted the responsibility, allowing the radioactive spider that formed the other half of SP//dr's CPU to bite her.[19] During a fight against the kaiju M.O.R.B.I.U.S., Ben witnesses Addy Brock losing control of VEN#m. After SP//dr defeats VEN#m and finds that Addy and Aunt May aren't inside, Ben visits Peni hours later and states that what happened to May and Addy wasn't her fault. A portal opens as Spider-Ham requests Peni's help. Ben convinces her to go as duty calls.[20]
• In an unknown reality, Uncle Ben and Aunt May are with their nephew Peter at the hospital after he suffers an allergic reaction to the radioactive spider bite, leaving him in a coma. Because of this, they are out of their house when it's burgled by the thief that killed Ben in the main universe. Peter transforms into Man-Spider and attacks Uncle Ben and Aunt May, but is thwarted by Spider-Man Noir. Six-Armed Spider-Man creates a cure for Peter, allowing him to live a normal life with Ben and May.[21]
• The Earth-3145 version of Ben Parker was isolated in Ezekiel's bunker after Earth is decimated by nuclear fallout. Ben is later found by Silk, Spider-Man, and the other Spider-Men who arrive while fleeing from the Inheritors.[22] They learn that Ben received his powers when he accompanied Peter to the science demonstration and was bitten by the spider instead of his nephew. However, Ben retired out of grief after his foe the Emerald Elf discovered his identity and killed his May and Peter. After entering Ezekiel's bunker upon being told of the Inheritors, his Earth was decimated when a nuclear blackmail plot by Otto Octavius went wrong. Although he initially declines to join the other Spiders in their final attack on the Inheritors, Spider-Man and Superior Spider-Man convince him to do so by arguing that he has only failed if he gives up, Peter in particular affirming that the advice of his own Uncle Ben has saved his world and made a difference every day.[23] He subsequently works with Spider-Ham to rescue Benjy Parker - the baby brother of Spider-Girl - and take him to another dimension for safety.[24] When the crisis is averted, Ben accompanies Spider-Girl back to her home dimension, and decides to remain there so he can be the great-uncle that no other Ben Parker has had the chance to become.[25]

During the "Spider-Geddon" storyline, Earth-91918 has a version of Uncle Ben who is married to a Hispanic version of Aunt May. When he is shot by a mugger, Uncle Ben gains spider powers following a blood transfusion from his nephew. When Ben became a Spider-Man, he was a ruthless hero where he once severely beat up Kraven the Hunter.[26]

The Ultimate Marvel version of Ben Parker differs slightly from the original iteration. Younger than his original counterpart, he is also a former hippie who wears his hair in a ponytail and teaches Peter Parker to be nonviolent. Ben also reminisces about the period he lived on a commune. After Peter went out for a walk, Peter learned from a police officer that Ben was murdered.[27][28][29]

Uncle Ben was featured in various issues of What If.

• In the first "What If" story regarding Spider-Man (named "classic"), it was Aunt May who went downstairs after hearing a noise, not wanting to wake up Ben. The same storyline plays out, with the burglar shooting May and Spider-Man apprehending him in the warehouse. In this story, Ben finds out about Peter's activities as Spider-Man relatively soon, and talks to him about it. Peter explains to him when he donned the costume and why, even telling him about letting the would-be murderer go that very same night he robbed the wrestling register. Peter breaks down, saying how everything was his fault. Ben responds with anger at himself, being weak in not being able to protect "his May". After Peter tells him he did not know and could not have possibly done anything, Ben instantly calms down and tells Peter to follow his own advice. He further inspires Peter to keep being Spider-Man, not because of regret or penance, but to protect and help all those who are weak and in need of help. Ben and Peter form an even closer relationship with Ben offering his support in many of Spider-Man's future battles. Eventually Ben becomes outraged at Jameson's constant smearing of Spider-Man's name, considering it an insult to May's memory. He eventually lets Jameson in on Spider-Man's identity, forcing Jameson in a position he is uncomfortable in as a journalist. He cannot expose Spider-Man without endangering Ben Parker, yet he also does not wish to support vigilantism. Eventually, he finds a middle road and unofficially employs Spider-Man so he can gain inside scoops on crimes being solved in the city. The story eventually ends with Spider-Man saving Bennett Brant and Betty Brant from Doctor Octopus, as well as fighting a Green Goblin who kidnapped Jameson to find out Spider-Man's real identity (having correctly surmised there was a reason Jameson had those inside scoops). At the end of it all, Peter and Ben shake hands with Ben saying they will face all dangers and the future together.[30]

In an alternate reality shown in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, an alternate reality was witnessed where May died in a random accident, prompting Peter to go into show business with Ben as his agent to make money. Peter's focus on his career prompts him to eventually leave home, simply paying Ben a percentage out of respect for their old relationship rather than any actual concern. This Ben was eventually 'derailed' into the 616 reality by the Hobgoblin of 2211 as part of her plan against the Spider-Men of various eras, leaving him shocked when he witnessed his destroyed house and the still-living May Parker. Confronting her, he ended up in a fight with Jarvis, with whom she at the time has a relationship with, but wandered away in confusion. Lacking direction, Ben wandered into an alleyway where he encountered a shadowy figure who offered him a gun, telling Ben that any action he takes would simply create another universe where he took the opposite action, so he might as well do what felt good. After this Hobgoblin was erased from history by a Retcon Bomb of her own invention, the Spider-Man of 2211 met with what he presumed to be the same Ben Parker to take him back to his own timeline. In a surprise twist, deciding he rather wanted to "stick around for a while", this Ben Parker shoots this future Spider-Man. At the same time, another Ben Parker was shown dead in the alley, meaning one Ben Parker had killed the other and taken his place.[31]

It was revealed that the Ben Parker who had died in the alleyway was the Uncle Ben of the alternate reality, while the Ben Parker who killed Spider-Man 2211 was, in fact, the Chameleon of 2211; the Chameleon had attempted to convince Ben to resort to murder, but Spider-Man correctly guessed that there were no circumstances under which Ben would do such a thing.

• Uncle Ben appeared in the 1960s Spider-Man television series. He appeared in the episode "The Origin of Spider-Man".
• Uncle Ben was mentioned in the 1980s Spider-Man television series. In the episode "Arsenic and Aunt May", the Chameleon (after meeting the relative of the Burglar) escapes from prison and poses as a medium while using technology to make Aunt May seemingly see Ben's ghost.
• Uncle Ben appeared in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, voiced by Frank Welker. He appeared in the episode "Along Came Spidey".
• Uncle Ben appeared in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, voiced by Brian Keith (in "The Menace of Mysterio", "The Mutant Agenda" and the "Spider Wars" series finale). This version was seen in flashbacks or as a spirit talking to Peter Parker whenever his nephew gets frustrated the tough choices as Spider-Man. In the series finale when Spider-Man had to stop Spider-Carnage from destroying all reality, Spider-Man managed to make contact with his uncle's alternate reality counterpart in a world where Peter Parker was a successful industrialist; realizing that Peter's counterpart in this reality had never failed or had any difficulties in life due to a casual attitude towards the crisis as opposed to Spider-Man's counterparts, Peter realized that Ben was almost certainly still alive in this reality if he was alive in any alternate timeline. Thanks to Ben's influence, Spider-Carnage was convinced to stop trying to destroy reality. After Spider-Carnage instead used the reality bomb to create a portal and subsequently committed suicide by entering the portal to end the threat once and for all, Spider-Man and Ben hugged; they lived in different realities, however, Ben was proud of his nephew while Spider-Man assured Ben that he will always have him in his own heart.
• In Spider-Man Unlimited, Uncle Ben is briefly mentioned in the pilot episode "Worlds Apart" [Part One]. He is also seen in the theme song which Uncle Ben was killed.
• Uncle Ben appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Edward Asner. His character remains faithful to the comics. He is featured in Spider-Man's flashback in the episode "Intervention" revealed that Ben was killed while defending May Parker during a break-in at their house by a burglar that Peter Parker selfishly let go earlier that day. After Peter discovered that Ben was murdered by a burglar who broke into the Parker house and stole Ben's car, Peter furiously sought revenge, donning the Spider-Man costume and confronting the burglar in an old warehouse. Spider-Man unmasked his uncle's killer, realizing that it was the same burglar from earlier. After knocking the criminal out and lowered to policeman via web line, Peter vowed to use these spider powers for good and to never put himself before anyone else and to never to let another innocent person come to harm if anything could help it, and remembering his uncle's words: 'With great power there must also come great responsibility'. He then appears as a memory which helps Peter defeat the Venom symbiote's influence on him.
• Uncle Ben is featured in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series, voiced by Greg Grunberg.[32] His character is loosely based on his Ultimate counterpart as opposed to his previous versions. In the pilot episodes "Great Power" and "Great Responsibility", Peter Parker recalled that fateful night of his uncle's murder and Nick Fury uses Ben's memory to have Spider-Man join S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of being solo. A picture of Ben is also seen having fun with May Parker and their young nephew. Ben is personally featured in the episode "Strange Days". Nightmare tries to use Spider-Man's failure being unable to save his uncle's life, however, this does not work; Ben actually motivates Peter to defeat Nightmare (something neither Iron Fist nor Doctor Strange are able to do). In the episode "Ultimate Deadpool", Spider-Man remembers his uncle's memory when thinking about Deadpool's own demons. The character is occasionally referenced in Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six primarily as May's source of Ben Reilly's name. The episode "Return to the Spider-Verse" Pt. 2 features a Wild West reality version of Uncle Ben (voiced by Clancy Brown[33]) who is depicted as the "Phantom Rider" and Webslinger the Spider Cowboy's uncle. As Doc Ock Holliday's brainwashed Deputy, the Phantom Rider helped repelled Wolf Spider and later fought both Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid. Although unaffected by Kid Arachnid's venom blasts, Spider-Man and Webslinger eventually were able to defeat Doc Ock Holliday. Upon Doc Holliday's defeat, Ben is freed from the brainwashing and remanded Doc Ock Holliday to the hoosegow while reclaiming his Sheriff title. As Ben and Webslinger are reunited, Spider-Man gets a final look at Ben before departing to the next reality, quietly hopeful that one reality has Ben still alive.
• Uncle Ben appears in the 2017 TV series Spider-Man, voiced by Patton Oswalt.[34] He appears in different flashbacks like giving him advice with his life and a flashback to when he was killed by the Burglar. Throughout the series, Peter's closest memory of Uncle Ben's knowledge is the equation Uncle Ben showed him: "W / GP ⇒ GR".

• In the Spider-Man film series, Ben Parker is portrayed by Cliff Robertson and his character remains relatively faithful to the comics, including his being shot by a criminal Peter failed to stop (although in the comics he was shot trying to defend May during a break in at their house and in the film he was shot during a carjacking).[35]
  • He appeared in the first film as a father figure for Peter. The amiable Ben is laid off from his job as a chief electrician after 35 years and worries about his nephew's strange behavior. His words of wisdom ('With great power comes great responsibility') eventually inspire Peter to become Spider-Man. Losing his temper during this speech, Peter tells him to stop acting like his father, hurting his feelings badly. Later that night, Ben is apparently shot dead by a thief, Dennis Carradine, whom Peter refused to stop because the victim had just cheated him out of money. Peter and his aunt greatly mourn his death, particularly Peter, who is haunted by the fact that he could have stopped Carradine and saved his uncle. By the end of the film, Peter has accepted Ben as the father figure of his childhood telling Norman Osbourne that Ben Parker was his true father in the end.
  • The second film features a sequence where Peter contemplates giving up his Spider-Man identity to Ben who, in the flashback, is a physical representation of the entity and ideology of Spider-Man, encouraging Peter to continue on as a superhero. Also, Peter admits the truth surrounding Uncle Ben's death to Aunt May. She is shocked and upset at first, but later commends Peter for telling her the truth.
  • Robertson reprised his role in a flashback scene in the third film (his final acting role). In the film, Captain George Stacy tells Peter and Aunt May of new evidence that suggests Carradine was only an accomplice of Flint Marko, who was Uncle Ben's real killer; Peter then imagines Marko throwing Ben out of the car and gunning him down in cold blood while Carradine desperately tries to stop Marko before driving off. Robertson also appeared in a dream sequence during sleeping Peter's symbiote transformation. He appears again at the film's epilogue during a more accurate flashback, as Marko explains to Peter that he only wanted Ben's car, since Marko needed to steal money to help his critically ill daughter Penny. However, Carradine startled Marko and caused him to accidentally fire his gun when Ben was trying to reason with him. This somewhat shocked Marko, as he feels extremely remorseful for killing Ben. Realizing how desperate Marko is to help his own daughter and understanding the importance of forgiveness over revenge, Spider-Man forgives Marko and allows him to go free.
• Martin Sheen portrays Uncle Ben in the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man. Though his character still remains faithful to the comics, the manner of his murder is drastically different. Following an argument with Peter which results in Peter storming out, Ben leaves to find his nephew and encounters a thief who has just raided a grocery store where Peter was shopping but who Peter refused to stop when he did not provide enough money to pay for a drink (and who also discreetly tossed Peter the drink). The thief trips over and drops his gun. Ben tries to get the gun first, but a struggle ensues and Ben is killed. Unlike the comics, Ben's killer remains at large.
• The screenwriter for Spider-Man: Homecoming, John Francis Daley, confirms that Uncle Ben exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe despite never being referenced directly in the film (though Peter does mention that Aunt May has been through a lot lately which was an intentional nod to the character). In an earlier draft of the film, May mentions that Peter's wardrobe for homecoming was Ben's clothing, but it was cut out because the screenwriters did not want his death to be a throwaway line.[36]
• In the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Uncle Ben appears briefly uttering his famous quote. The audio is archival footage of Cliff Robertson from Spider-Man. Also, Spider-Man Noir briefly mentions his Uncle Benjamin.
• In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter uses a suitcase that once belonged to Uncle Ben on his class trip to Europe. The suitcase is engraved with Ben's initials, BFP.

• Uncle Ben is mentioned in the first 3 missions, "Search for Justice", "Warehouse Hunt" and "Birth of a Hero" in the 2002 Spider-Man video game, as Peter Parker attempts to track down Ben's killer.
• Uncle Ben is briefly mentioned at the end of Spider-Man 3.[37]
• Uncle Ben's Noir version is mentioned by Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions when going after the Vulture (that universe's killer of Uncle Ben).
• Uncle Ben makes an appearance in the prologue of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, voiced by Mark Bramhall. The tutorial starts off showing the event that led to his death. After that, he is referenced throughout the game by Peter Parker, Aunt May, and Stan. Around the end of the game, Stan tells Peter that Ben would've wanted him to grow up to be the man that he wanted Peter to be.
• Uncle Ben appears in photographs and is mentioned in Marvel's Spider Man. He can be seen in the opening sequence in a picture frame in Peter Parker's apartment when a player starts a new save file. At the end of the game, a funeral is held for Aunt May and she is buried next to Uncle Ben. His grave can be seen as an Easter Egg in the game and unlocks the achievement once the player prompts Spider-Man to pay respects at the grave with Peter Parker saying "[He] miss him so much".