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!