Benjamin Franklin Parker, usually referred to as Uncle Ben, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in association with the superhero Spider-Man. He is the husband of May Parker and the paternal uncle and father figure of Peter Parker. After appearing Strange Tales #97 (January 1962), Uncle Ben made his first full appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. He was modeled after American founding father Benjamin Franklin.
The character has been an essential part of Spider-Man's history. His death at the hands of a petty criminal, whom Spider-Man previously had the chance to apprehend, but chose not to, has been depicted in almost all versions of the hero's origin story, as the main factor that inspired Peter to become Spider-Man. Uncle Ben's quote, "With great power there must also come great responsibility", has become Spider-Man's iconic life motto.
The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including films, animated series, and video games. He was portrayed by Cliff Robertson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and by Martin Sheen in the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man.
Person
Brooklyn
Forest Hills, Queens
United States
High School
Soldier
Steve Ditko
Stan Lee
Marvel Comics