SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Writers On Uncle Ben's Absence & Iconic "With Great Power" Line - SPOILERS

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Writers On Uncle Ben's Absence & Iconic "With Great Power" Line - SPOILERS

During a new interview, Spider-Man: No Way Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers address Uncle Ben's absence in the trilogy and Aunt May's role as Peter's mentor. Spoilers follow...

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By MarkCassidy - Dec 29, 2021 10:12 PM EST
Filed Under: No Way Home

Aside from a brief reference in Homecoming, Peter Parker's Uncle Ben hasn't really factored into Jon Watts' Spider-Man trilogy in any significant way. The character played a major part in Peter's formative years and his death ultimately led to the budding crime-fighter accepting responsibility to become the hero we know today, so many fans assumed his absence would at least be addressed at some point in No Way Home.

Well, we now know that wasn't to be. Spoilers ahead.

In the final act of the movie, May Parker is mortally wounded by the Green Goblin, and imparts the immortal words "with great power comes great responsibility" to her beloved nephew before she dies. This basically subs-in May for Ben in The MCU, but was this the plan all along?

"Some people [ask], 'Oh, did Uncle Ben die? Was he guilty [of Ben’s death]? Are we losing that gravitas as part of that character?," co-writer Chris McKenna tells THR. "I think that’s something we’ve always discussed. 'What is the deal with his Uncle Ben? Is it a total parity — is it one to one? Is it absolutely the same way?' We started thinking, 'Well maybe it’s not. Maybe his mentor is May and she’s instilled this thing in him.'"

In many ways, choosing not to rehash the Uncle Ben/Peter dynamic was a smart move as we've already seen it play out in Sam Raimi's trilogy and The Amazing Spider-Man movies. In fact, it sounds like May's "with great power" speech wasn't always going to happen, either.

"I don’t think there was much impetus to put it into the other two movies," adds Erik Sommers. "This iteration of Spider-Man didn’t start by telling the story of losing Uncle Ben. We started at a different place with Peter. Those words are so tied to Uncle Ben, there didn’t seem to be a natural place for it. We weren’t even thinking necessarily, 'Oh, we have to do it in this one.'”

In the end, Parker honors his Aunt's memory by deciding not to fill MJ and Ned in on what happened, allowing them to live their lives in peace without Spider-Man. We're sure something will happen to bring all of these characters together again down the line, but for now, we'd say the web-slinger - and Tom Holland - have earned a rest!

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Itwasme
Itwasme - 12/29/2021, 10:04 PM
I thought this was a really clever way to address it, not just with it being May, but the first conversation between the 3 Spidey's was about it.

They also reminded the audience that the other versions still exist and if people really like that part of the story they can go back and relive it in different ways through the other films.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 12/29/2021, 10:10 PM
@Itwasme - well said cuz I’ve seen him die enough. Someone actually said May didnt get enough screen time before dying. What? The 2 bens gad like 0.5 screen time each, May was practically Stan Lee in comparison
MUTO123
MUTO123 - 12/29/2021, 10:19 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - Exactly. I don't get why certain nerds have such a hard-on for watching that poor old man die over and over and over again. We've seen it done really well once and really dumb another time; I don't need to see it again.
Itwasme
Itwasme - 12/29/2021, 10:32 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - haha. That's a great way to put it.
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 12/29/2021, 10:49 PM
@MUTO123 -

Spider-Man Reboot dot pee en gee
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 12/29/2021, 11:10 PM
@MUTO123 - True. It's become a meme at this point. Just like the Wayne's getting gunned down. The general public knows the entire origin, why keep showing it?
GwenLantern
GwenLantern - 12/30/2021, 3:49 AM
@Feralwookiee - I wonder if Battinson will see Gordon and Alfred get gunned down and then decide to war on crime in Matt Reeve's third movie.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 12/30/2021, 4:36 AM
@MUTO123 - That's the origin of the character.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 12/30/2021, 4:36 AM
@Feralwookiee - It doesn't have to be shown to be acknowledged.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 12/29/2021, 10:06 PM
Really found it interesting that they shifted Aunt May into that role. Played similar but in a new and familiar way. Worked really well and created the emotional core of the film
Steel86
Steel86 - 12/30/2021, 1:22 AM
@MrDandy - Yeah and what I really liked about it is that we have seen Uncle Ben die twice and we know its coming but with May we got to enjoy and connect with her character so when she says the line it hits you different because May usually doesn't die or say it.
dragon316
dragon316 - 12/30/2021, 5:06 AM
@MrDandy - surprised didn’t get upset by that they got upset by taskmaster being woman but most of marvel movies are based ultimate marvel characters in ultimate universe
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 12/29/2021, 10:07 PM
I read that “with great powerline”
ElricReturns
ElricReturns - 12/29/2021, 10:17 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - ironically, No Way Home had the perfect cast 😉
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 12/29/2021, 10:45 PM
@ElricReturns - bruh you goofy, uhyuh
KWilly
KWilly - 12/29/2021, 10:07 PM
I'm convinced Uncle Ben didn't die in Tom's universe. Probably divorced May after a tumultuous marriage, and Peter didn't give af about him because of it.

I mean, I just thought it was so weird when the other Peter's were mentioning their Uncle Ben's and Tom's Peter was just standing there like...
MUTO123
MUTO123 - 12/29/2021, 10:13 PM
@KWilly - You might be on to something.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 12/29/2021, 10:15 PM
@KWilly - his uncle Ben was played by Denzel. He died in the drone attack at the stark expo. You shoulda heard his great power speech
cyclopsprime
cyclopsprime - 12/29/2021, 10:26 PM
@KWilly - and that we didn't see Ben's gravestone next to May's
TheShellyMan
TheShellyMan - 12/29/2021, 11:05 PM
@KWilly - & What if Uncle Ben comes back to Peter's life in the next trilogy? 🤔
YonnyLayna
YonnyLayna - 12/30/2021, 12:02 AM
@ShellyMando - Ben Grim
GwenLantern
GwenLantern - 12/30/2021, 3:58 AM
@KWilly - I think you must be right and it's ridiculous! And he never said the line! So why the fvck was Peter a super-hero then? In the first place?

We skipped the origin because we've seen it so many times, but that shouldn't mean it didn't happen.

When Peter was introduced in Civil War, he explained to Tony that the reason he's Spider-Man is because:

"When you can do the things that I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you."

Loosely translated? "With great power comes great responsibility and I found this out the hard way by losing someone close to me"

We all assume it's Uncle Ben and move on.

But now that has been undone as has Spider-Man's origins in the MCU.
dragon316
dragon316 - 12/30/2021, 5:09 AM
@GwenLantern - nick fury said he lost his eye saving friend in war in budhapest in captain marvel he lost his eye to stupid cat in ship
MrDandy
MrDandy - 12/30/2021, 8:32 AM
@KWilly - I was considering that too and that Uncle Ben may still be alive in this version.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/29/2021, 10:08 PM
It would be interesting if in this universe, Uncle Ben is alive and he had divorced May when Peter was young and Peter rekindles some type of connection with his uncle again after May's death.
KWilly
KWilly - 12/29/2021, 10:09 PM
@SonOfAGif - Right? Wouldn't that be something?

Peter needs someone to talk to for crying out loud, lol
Bdub21
Bdub21 - 12/29/2021, 10:16 PM
@KWilly - fax but bro wouldn’t even know Peter existed fr
KWilly
KWilly - 12/29/2021, 10:18 PM
@Bdub21 - Oh yeah, then nvm
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/29/2021, 10:27 PM
@Bdub21 - That wasn't the spell. The spell was for the world to forget that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Uncle Ben would still be his uncle.
KWilly
KWilly - 12/29/2021, 10:40 PM
@SonOfAGif - The last spell tho was to forget Peter existed in general tho. No one on the planet knows who Peter is. Bit much if you ask me, but that's what happened
inkniron
inkniron - 12/30/2021, 1:31 AM
@KWilly - It was absolutely way too much. A more logical fix would have been for the entire world to forget who Spider-Man was. That way, he could keep his friends and start a new career as a spandex wearing crime fighter with no hang ups if he so chooses to.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 12/30/2021, 5:05 AM
@KWilly - yes, but what is the range limit of the spell?

If it is, as Strange says, ‘the world,’ then those who are ‘off-world,’ (ie Fury and Danvers) would still retain Peter’s identity.
ElricReturns
ElricReturns - 12/29/2021, 10:09 PM
I find all this shit funny and dumb, because all they had to do was have Peter say to Tony in his bedroom in Civil War "Before he died, my Uncle Ben taught me that... that with great power... there must also come great responsibility."

That whole thing would have been addressed and done with. They basically had that scene anyway, but no.... Feige needed it to be different.
GwenLantern
GwenLantern - 12/30/2021, 4:08 AM
@ElricReturns - I couldn't agree more. I think everybody's just giddy because the movie was so enjoyable with all the actors coming back and reprising roles and whatnots. But this may be the worst thing the MCU has ever done (May saying the line).

I wouldn't mind if it was May saying the line and dying instead of Ben if this were an origin movie, but Spider-Man has already had a pretty substantial super-hero career at this point, 6 movies in. It's just so stupid.
SethBullock
SethBullock - 12/30/2021, 4:24 PM
@GwenLantern @ElricReturns @Psyconiix - Yeah, this is what I hated the most on this (very badly written) movie, this is like if in The Batman we don't see Bruce's parents being killed again, we all know what happened anyway, but then in The Batman's third sequel after Flashpoint we see that Alfred (Serkis) gets killed by Jack Nicholson's Joker from the Burtonverse and it's implied that somehow that's a replacement for the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne in the Battinson movies, that maybe his parents are not dead and have been just retired in a caribbean island while Bruce was punching criminals in Gotham dressed like a bat just because he was depressed or something.

I already hated the dumb Michelle Jones idea (they could have just called her Mary Jane, not a problem with Zendaya), but this is just too much, now I just can't accept this version of the character as the "real" Spider-Man, and I feel that Marvel Studios are just ruining their own huge MCU franchise with their newer movies, but everybody seems to love NWH and it's making a ton of money, so I guess my opinion won't matter very much.
Psyconiix
Psyconiix - 12/29/2021, 10:11 PM
Having May say it and no mention of Uncle Ben is dumb. MCU Spidey isn't my cup of tea, the new trilogy may be better. Really sad they glossed over such an important character to the Spider-Man mythos.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 12/29/2021, 11:27 PM
@Psyconiix - why's it dumb? It's not HIS line anyway; it originated in Spidey's first comics and wasn't spoken by Ben.
Psyconiix
Psyconiix - 12/29/2021, 11:38 PM
@Slotherin - he's become an integral part of Spider-Man's origin for years. Ben and his line are iconic. I don't like the change to such a foundation of the character. It was changed to Ben years back for the better and Spider-Man's origin was finalized.

Different takes whatever. As mentioned, it's whatever, MCU isn't my cup of tea.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 12/30/2021, 1:54 AM
@Psyconiix - eh, I prefer as it originally was to it being refurbished as anyone's line to keep it 100.
It didn't need to be one of Ben's last words to have gravitas.
The story and the words are enough as a narrative.
GwenLantern
GwenLantern - 12/30/2021, 4:13 AM
@Slotherin - I prefer as it originally was also. As a line that explains why Peter became a hero, in reference to his guilt over the death of his Uncle Ben.

So it kind of is very, very dumb that May says it at the end of the trilogy.
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