Uncle Ben (Spider-Man Films)



"Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility"

- Uncle Ben

Ben Parker, commonly known as Uncle Ben, is a supporting character and the deceased uncle of Peter Parker in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy.

He was portrayed by the late Cliff Robertson in all three of Sam Raimi's film trilogy. He appears in flashbacks in the second and third films after dying during the first film.

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Probably born in 1933 or 34, as he mentions he is 68 years of age in the first film (which is presumably set in 2002, the year it was released), Uncle Ben and Aunt May take care of their nephew, Peter Parker in the absence of his parents for unknown reasons.

Ben and May married in August of an unknown year (most likely in the 1950's), and they would've celebrated 50 years of marriage had he lived to the next August after the events of the third film.

An electrician by trade, he acted as a father figure for Peter through his upbringing. One night, Ben drives Peter to the library and talks with Peter about his changing behavior.

Losing his temper during Ben's speech, Peter tells him to stop pretending like he's his father which it hurt Ben. Later that night, Ben is apparently shot by a carjacker whose accomplice, Dennis Carradine, Peter refused to stop when cheated out of his money by the man Carradine robbed.

Peter is haunted by the fact that he could have stopped Carradine and saved his uncle.

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During the time where Peter was contemplating giving up his alter-ego Peter sees in a flashback a physical representation of Uncle Ben, encouraging Peter to continue on as Spider-Man.

Peter also later admits the truth surrounding Uncle Ben's death to Aunt May. She is shocked and upset upon first hearing it walking away silently from Peter. However, she later commends Peter for telling her the truth, describing it as a brave move.

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Six months later, Captain George Stacy informs Peter and Aunt May of new evidence that suggests Carradine was only an accomplice of Flint Marko, Uncle Ben's real killer.

After the battle with Sandman and Venom, Marko explains to Peter that he only wanted Ben's car, as Marko needed to steal money in order to help his critically ill daughter Penny.

However, Carradine startled Marko which caused him to accidentally pull the trigger while Ben was trying to reason with him. This shocked Marko, who feels extreme remorse for killing Ben.

Realizing how desperate Marko is to help his own daughter and understanding the importance of forgiveness over revenge, Spider-Man forgave Marko who drifted away into the wind.