In the entire comic book canon, there may be no more iconic origin story than Spider-Man’s.
Traditionally, the story begins with Peter Parker gaining extraordinary powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider. His true transformation into a hero, however, comes after a criminal he could have stopped murders his Uncle Ben.
Photo: Reddit
That tragic moment forever engraves Ben’s famous mantra, “With great power comes great responsibility,” onto Peter’s heart.
The MCU Omitted Peter’s Origin
While Spider-Man’s origin story has been well-trodden ground in countless adaptations of the character, the Marvel Cinematic Universe chose to largely skip over Peter’s backstory.
Source: Marvel Studios
Instead, audiences first met Peter as a young street-level hero recruited by Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War.
Nevertheless, fans long assumed that the familiar Uncle Ben tragedy had still taken place somewhere in Peter’s unseen past.
Source: Marvel Studios
As it turns out, that may not actually be the case.
A Different Backstory
During a recent interview with CBR, Joe Russo revealed that he and his brother, Anthony Russo, intentionally altered Spider-Man’s backstory before the character’s MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War.
Photo: Looper
“Spider-Man was one of my favorite characters growing up, if not my favorite,” Russo explained.
“And what I related to was this idea of a kid with incredible responsibility, right? And I think you could manifest that responsibility through accidental death, right? And feeling the pressure, and the sense of loss in your life in a way that would keep the spirit that we wanted.”
Marvel
Russo then clarified that, in their interpretation of the character, Peter was not responsible for Uncle Ben’s death.
Photo: Marvel
“[But] what Tom Holland is as an actor, if he blamed himself for his Uncle Ben’s death, I think he becomes a very different character. So in our minds, no, he wasn’t responsible for Uncle Ben’s death. That would have been a different interpretation. A more intense interpretation of the character.”
A Different Tragedy
While Peter may not have been responsible for Uncle Ben’s death in the MCU, he was unable to save Aunt May in Spider-Man: No Way Home. May’s tragic death, combined with Peter’s decision to make everyone forget who he is in order to save reality, has clearly taken a toll on the character.
Photo: Marvel Studios
In the lead-up to Brand New Day, it has become evident that we will see an older and perhaps more cynical Peter Parker.
Photo: Marvel
How exactly that plays out, however, remains to be seen.
