Spiderman does not exist without Uncle Ben. While Uncle Ben in the Spider-Man franchise is more of a prop than a character, he is still a pivotal part of the story. He is Peter’s number one motivator for his selflessness, and if there was no Uncle Ben, there would be no Spiderman.
The MCU’s Spiderman does not have a motivator. Most of the MCU’s Spiderman movies are setting up his relationship with Tony Stark, and while Tony ends up dying just like Ben, you can’t replace Ben with Tony because Peter has already been Spiderman for a while after Tony dies. Uncle Ben is the reason Peter will always turn around and go back into a fight. He realizes the consequences of turning a blind eye because, the last time he turned a blind eye, his uncle died. He realizes after Ben dies that if he looks away and chooses not to help, the next person to go will be someone else’s loved one.
Since the MCU doesn’t have Uncle Ben there to be his motivator, Peter feels like a flat character. Especially in the movie Spider-Man: Far From Home, Nick Fury needs to convince Peter to help them fight the Elementals. Fury has to hijack Peter’s trip in order to convince him to help them. This feels out of character for Peter. Again, if Peter would have lost his uncle in some capacity, with it still indirectly being his fault, he wouldn’t need convincing from Nick Fury to help fight at all. He should know what happens if he chooses not to help, especially with the death of Tony being the movie before this one. It feels strange for him to not want to help people in danger, especially after losing Tony. But Tony was never meant to replace Uncle Ben in the first place.
Uncle Ben and Tony Stark motivate Peter in two fundamentally different ways. The motivation Tony gives Peter is one of admiration. Peter has looked up to Tony for a long time and wants to be like him in every way possible. Uncle Ben on the other hand is a guilt based motivator. After Ben’s death Peter has to realize that his selfish decision was the direct cause of his uncle’s death. His heroism is not fueled by inspiration of admiration, he becomes Spiderman because he has to. Tony is a mentor and an inspiration to him, but Ben forces Peter to grow because he can’t be there for him anymore. It’s an important distinction because Spiderman’s character has always been rooted in guilt based responsibility, not the need to impress a mentor. Without Uncle Ben, the story just wouldn’t feel like Spiderman is something he really NEEDS to be.
There is a line from the comic run Spider-Man: Life Story that captures Peter’s motivation perfectly in three sentences. “What you want is to save Ben. But you can’t. So you save everyone else.” Peter’s motivation is not to impress his mentor, it has always been unresolved grief. He can’t undo his selfish decision to not stop the thief. He can never bring his uncle back, so every person he saves is an attempt to make up for the one person he couldn’t. Spiderman doesn’t do what he does because he enjoys it or because he has someone to inspire him, he does it because he is trying to live with the guilt of not being able to save his uncle. Being Spiderman is a way of honoring Ben and making sure no one else has to lose someone close to them just like he did.
This deeper tragedy is sometimes overlooked in the movies. Before gaining his powers in the original comics, Peter was selfish and fueled by anger. He would act as if people being mean to him meant he didn’t owe them anything, and his uncle directly pays the price for this. In the comics, Peter is more ostracized and bullied than he is in the movies, which makes this loss feel more devastating. His refusal to look out for anyone but himself results in the loss of one of the only people who truly cared for him. The whole moment reshapes him as a person and solidifies that responsibility is not a choice for him.
Spiderman is not defined by his powers. He is defined by the responsibility born from his uncle’s death. Uncle Ben’s death is not just a common, tragic origin story, he is a moral foundation for Spiderman’s character. It teaches him that his actions have consequences and turning a blind eye can cost the lives of others. While the MCU has shifted Peter’s motivation to inspiration and mentorship, Spiderman’s character has always been at his strongest when motivated by loss, guilt, and accountability. Without Uncle Ben, Spiderman would still have powers but he would lose the reason he is compelled to use them. Without that reason Spiderman would just be another superhero story and not the classic it is now.
Featured Image by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
