Far From Home The Uncle Ben Problem

[Another_Fool]

Yea it's obvious Tony is meant to be the Uncle Ben for Peter. Which frankly I dislike. For me, the beauty of the Peter-Tony relationship in the comics is the antagonistic friendship they share, and it's something I salivated at when Spider-Man entered the MCU thinking we'd see that, but instead we've only had him mostly sucking up to Tony. And I get it, it's a new portrayal, RDJ/Tony was the face of the MCU and they're trying to make Spider-man be that now and pass the torch, so I have to live with it. But I can't deny that it nags at me.

If they had to utilize an established MCU character as the "Uncle Ben" for Peter, I really wish they made that Steve Rogers. It would've been closer to the comics since Peter admires and is often inspired by Steve, and Steve has that old-school wisdom and shares virtually the same values as Peter.

 

[Lilbaz]

Yea it's obvious Tony is meant to be the Uncle Ben for Peter. Which frankly I dislike. For me, the beauty of the Peter-Tony relationship in the comics is the antagonistic friendship they share, and it's something I salivated at when Spider-Man entered the MCU thinking we'd see that, but instead we've only had him mostly sucking up to Tony. And I get it, it's a new portrayal, RDJ/Tony was the face of the MCU and they're trying to make Spider-man be that now and pass the torch, so I have to live with it. But I can't deny that it nags at me.

If they had to utilize an established MCU character as the "Uncle Ben" for Peter, I really wish they made that Steve Rogers. It would've been closer to the comics since Peter admires and is often inspired by Steve, and Steve has that old-school wisdom and shares virtually the same values as Peter.

Sony wanted stark in spiderman in exchange for spidey appearing in civil war etc... Also you couldn't really have had peter on caps side. It would have made him a fugitive.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Yea it's obvious Tony is meant to be the Uncle Ben for Peter. Which frankly I dislike. For me, the beauty of the Peter-Tony relationship in the comics is the antagonistic friendship they share, and it's something I salivated at when Spider-Man entered the MCU thinking we'd see that, but instead we've only had him mostly sucking up to Tony. And I get it, it's a new portrayal, RDJ/Tony was the face of the MCU and they're trying to make Spider-man be that now and pass the torch, so I have to live with it. But I can't deny that it nags at me.

If they had to utilize an established MCU character as the "Uncle Ben" for Peter, I really wish they made that Steve Rogers. It would've been closer to the comics since Peter admires and is often inspired by Steve, and Steve has that old-school wisdom and shares virtually the same values as Peter.

Peter and Tony having the antagonistic friendship works in a world where Peter is older and the characters are established. It doesn't work with a teenage Spider-Man just starting his career. Making him a mentor/surrogate father made a lot more sense for that reason. Especially if the intention is to pass him the torch of being the face of the MCU.

 

[MahvelBaby!]

Without reading anything else in this thread...

I'm over it, just happy to get great spidey movies again.

 

[AlluAllu]

I think Captain Stacy is better comparison to Tony than Uncle Ben. Stacy was:

- Someone who Peter admired. (Admittedly common with Uncle Ben.)
- Someone who Peter met while he was already Spider-Man.
- An ally of Spider-Man.
- Smart enough to figure out Peter's identity.
- Someone who died a hero.
- Someone whose death Peter took hard, but not because of guilt.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I think Captain Stacy is better comparison to Tony than Uncle Ben. Stacy was:

- Someone who Peter admired. (Admittedly common with Uncle Ben.)
- Someone who Peter met while he was already Spider-Man.
- An ally of Spider-Man.
- Smart enough to figure out Peter's identity.
- Someone who died a hero.
- Someone whose death Peter took hard, but not because of guilt.

Good observation

The lack of Uncle Ben's name just doesn't bother me. If they had cut him out of an origin movie, that would bother me. But for an already established Spider-Man, it just doesn't.

 

[Another_Fool]

Sony wanted stark in spiderman in exchange for spidey appearing in civil war etc... Also you couldn't really have had peter on caps side. It would have made him a fugitive.

Oh yea, I get it. The logistics of everything behind the scenes and the timing of inserting Spider-Man in the continuity - at the end of the day you need to make a good coherent story. I get all that. It's just a bummer and it will nag at me since I don't like Spidey being so chummy with Tony.

And also I was fine with Spidey siding with Tony in Civil War, because even in the comics that's who Peter initially aligns with.

Peter and Tony having the antagonistic friendship works in a world where Peter is older and the characters are established. It doesn't work with a teenage Spider-Man just starting his career. Making him a mentor/surrogate father made a lot more sense for that reason. Especially if the intention is to pass him the torch of being the face of the MCU.

I mean, teenage Peter also didn't idolize people like Tony Stark and Peter tended to be a pain in the butt for other Marvel heroes, like the Fantastic Four - and to a certain extent the Avengers, because he always had a slight arrogance to him that he could handle things on his own. I'm starting to tread into another territory of some of my qualms with MCU Peter, so I won't get into it now.

Ultimately yes, logistically like I said earlier I get why we got what we have with the current MCU Spidey and Tony, and it's not terrible, it all makes sense from a logistical and story perspective - its just a nag that irks me. I do think there were more clever ways they could've dealt with it to not make Peter so dependent for Tony's approval or being such a suck up (it sounds harsher than I intend, just couldn't think of a better term atm) and still get an effective passing of the torch.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Oh yea, I get it. The logistics of everything behind the scenes and the timing of inserting Spider-Man in the continuity - at the end of the day you need to make a good coherent story. I get all that. It's just a bummer and it will nag at me since I don't like Spidey being so chummy with Tony.

And also I was fine with Spidey siding with Tony in Civil War, because even in the comics that's who Peter initially aligns with.



I mean, teenage Peter also didn't idolize people like Tony Stark and Peter tended to be a pain in the butt for other Marvel heroes, like the Fantastic Four - and to a certain extent the Avengers, because he always had a slight arrogance to him that he could handle things on his own. We're starting to tread into another territory of some of my qualms with MCU Peter, so I won't get into it now.

Ultimately yes, logistically like I said earlier I get why we got what we have with the current MCU Spidey and Tony, and it's not terrible, it all makes sense from a logistical and story perspective - its just a nag that irks me. I do think there were more clever ways they could've dealt with it to not make Peter so dependent for Tony's approval or being such a suck up (it sounds harsher than I intend, just couldn't think of a better term atm) and still get an effective passing of the torch.

The idea with Spider-Man in these movies is to tell stories that a younger person around his age would struggle with. In Homecoming, that was the idea that Peter wants to be treated more like an adult when he is overrating how ready he is to be one. This is why the relationship with Iron Man worked so well for me in Homecoming in some regards. I would say I was more critical of the fact that this Parker doesn't seem to have quite the hardship or that May's struggle to keep them afloat financially doesn't seem as much of a burden. But, the idea that Peter wants Tony, the face of the superhero community, to treat him like he is an equal and not like he isn't on his level...the struggle to be respected and to no longer be a kid is something all young people face. I had no issue with that.

 

[MahvelBaby!]

I feel like they'll go into the uncle ben stuff eventually I think they just want some more space maybe in the 3rd film they can go over it and tie it into the story somehow.

 

[Arachnerd]

Eh, not really hopeful at this point.

 

[TheVileOne]

Basically, the Uncle Ben thing has been transferred over to Tony Stark in these films. I don't love it, but that's just how it is now.

Just like Hope Van Dyne is now the Wasp.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Janet Van Dyne was shown to be the original Wasp though, and she was given her moment to shine in the first AM film. She wasn't ignored just because Hope was there.

 

[TheVileOne]

Janet Van Dyne was shown to be the original Wasp though, and she was given her moment to shine in the first AM film. She wasn't ignored just because Hope was there.

So what? It's not good enough for me.

 

[Leo Zelinsky]

Stuff like Uncle Ben never bothered me. It's similar to Batman parents dieing in every movie. I just don't care lol

 

[Marvel united]

Stuff like Uncle Ben never bothered me. It's similar to Batman parents dieing in every movie. I just don't care lol

You say that as if Ben is some throwaway, inconsequential aspect of the character's history. A lot of people seem to be under this impression now, unfortunately. Uncle Ben defined and informed *everything about Peter and Spider-Man, not just as a hero but as a human being. Everything from his values to his moral virtues.

Look, I get that they want to do something different, but I found it odd that we haven't even gotten so much as a mention of Ben's name in the MCU. There are ways to acknowledge his existence/show his importantance to Peter, without rehashing the origin story again. See: Spider-Man PS4 and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

 

[Leo Zelinsky]

You say that as if Ben is some throwaway, inconsequential aspect of the character's history.

It's just something I don't see as a problem with these movies. I don't even think about Ben. I just hate origins in CBM movies. I like that it got skipped in the MCU. Hopefully they mention him so one less thing to gripe about with this franchise. Maybe they'll get rid of Michelle next.

 

[I Am The Knight]

So what? It's not good enough for me.

Take it up with Marvel Studios

 

[Schlosser85]

It's just something I don't see as a problem with these movies. I don't even think about Ben. I just hate origins in CBM movies. I like that it got skipped in the MCU. Hopefully they mention him so one less thing to gripe about with this franchise. Maybe they'll get rid of Michelle next.

They're not gonna build up Michelle as Peter's love interest and then summarily get rid of her just to bring in another character also called MJ who will also be a love interest for Peter.

 

[GuestStar2004]

Yeah i suspect Michelle is here to stay for this incarnation.

 

[NotNickFury]

With Zendaya's star increasingly growing- Euphoria on HBO is definitely going to add to her profile with the reactions she's been getting with her performance- yeah I don't see Michelle/ML leaving anytime soon.

Side-note, if you've never seen it, check out Euphoria. It's a pretty good show.

 

[TheVileOne]

Take it up with Marvel Studios

How do you know I haven't?

 

[Detective Conan]

Probably going to ruffle a few feathers when I say this but outside the first issues of the Ultimate Comics of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, Ben was never much a character in the comics. In Amazing Fantasy #15 Ben was like in one or two pages in that whole issue. Beyond he wasn’t really much beyond being Peter’s loving uncle that he indirectly ended up killing. Besides, Ben got plenty of focus in the previous movies(especially the Riami ones which were to their determinant in some ways). So why not take a new angle with this character? After all, there’s plenty of issues of Spider-Man where Ben doesn’t even get so much as a namedrop because they know they’d be beating horse. Why not explore the core Spider-Man theme of loss in a new way through this surrogate father-son relationship between Tony and Peter?

Ben always existed as motivation fuel for Peter. He doesn’t really serve much purpose beyond that. This is the MCU Spider-Man, and Ben is already dead and gone when we first we meet this iteration of Peter. Peter alludes to Ben’s passing when he explains to Tony his reasons for doing what he does when they first meet Peter isn’t going to be wallowing in grief over his deceased loved one forever. Tony Stark is his most recent mentor figure that has had a huge impact on his life. He’s had time to grieve Ben, Tony is a emotional wound that’s still fresh in his mind. Tony is the one character most audiences care about. Much like Peter in-universe; audiences are sad to see Tony go. I remember seeing eyes well up when Tony died. Peter mourning Tony Stark is going to have a lot more emotionally resonance to the most the MCU-watching audiences than him mourning a character who died off-screen and in the context of the MCU they have no connection to. Especially since the audience has seen way more of Tony than they ever saw of Ben Parker who generally dies off pretty early at the start of any Spider-Man story so I think it makes sense to place a greater importance on Tony than on Ben.

 

[fan4stic]

Probably going to ruffle a few feathers when I say this but outside the first issues of the Ultimate Comics of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, Ben was never much a character in the comics. In Amazing Fantasy #15 Ben was like in one or two pages in that whole issue. Beyond he wasn’t really much beyond being Peter’s loving uncle that he indirectly ended up killing. Besides, Ben got plenty of focus in the previous movies(especially the Riami ones which were to their determinant in some ways). So why not take a new angle with this character? After all, there’s plenty of issues of Spider-Man where Ben doesn’t even get so much as a namedrop because they know they’d be beating horse. Why not explore the core Spider-Man theme of loss in a new way through this surrogate father-son relationship between Tony and Peter?

Ben always existed as motivation fuel for Peter. He doesn’t really serve much purpose beyond that. This is the MCU Spider-Man, and Ben is already dead and gone when we first we meet this iteration of Peter. Peter alludes to Ben’s passing when he explains to Tony his reasons for doing what he does when they first meet Peter isn’t going to be wallowing in grief over his deceased loved one forever. Tony Stark is his most recent mentor figure that has had a huge impact on his life. He’s had time to grieve Ben, Tony is a emotional wound that’s still fresh in his mind. Tony is the one character most audiences care about. Much like Peter in-universe; audiences are sad to see Tony go. I remember seeing eyes well up when Tony died. Peter mourning Tony Stark is going to have a lot more emotionally resonance to the most the MCU-watching audiences than him mourning a character who died off-screen and in the context of the MCU they have no connection to. Especially since the audience has seen way more of Tony than they ever saw of Ben Parker who generally dies off pretty early at the start of any Spider-Man story so I think it makes sense to place a greater importance on Tony than on Ben.

The audience's connection isn't Peter's connection. Peter had over a decade of life, as far as we could know based on comics, with Ben. Tony isn't as relevant as Ben is to Peter. He doesn't have to be a developed character to touch/develop Peter's emotions in regards to him and the loss of him in his life.

 

[TheVileOne]

Probably going to ruffle a few feathers when I say this but outside the first issues of the Ultimate Comics of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, Ben was never much a character in the comics. In Amazing Fantasy #15 Ben was like in one or two pages in that whole issue. Beyond he wasn’t really much beyond being Peter’s loving uncle that he indirectly ended up killing. Besides, Ben got plenty of focus in the previous movies(especially the Riami ones which were to their determinant in some ways). So why not take a new angle with this character? After all, there’s plenty of issues of Spider-Man where Ben doesn’t even get so much as a namedrop because they know they’d be beating horse. Why not explore the core Spider-Man theme of loss in a new way through this surrogate father-son relationship between Tony and Peter?

Ben always existed as motivation fuel for Peter. He doesn’t really serve much purpose beyond that. This is the MCU Spider-Man, and Ben is already dead and gone when we first we meet this iteration of Peter. Peter alludes to Ben’s passing when he explains to Tony his reasons for doing what he does when they first meet Peter isn’t going to be wallowing in grief over his deceased loved one forever. Tony Stark is his most recent mentor figure that has had a huge impact on his life. He’s had time to grieve Ben, Tony is a emotional wound that’s still fresh in his mind. Tony is the one character most audiences care about. Much like Peter in-universe; audiences are sad to see Tony go. I remember seeing eyes well up when Tony died. Peter mourning Tony Stark is going to have a lot more emotionally resonance to the most the MCU-watching audiences than him mourning a character who died off-screen and in the context of the MCU they have no connection to. Especially since the audience has seen way more of Tony than they ever saw of Ben Parker who generally dies off pretty early at the start of any Spider-Man story so I think it makes sense to place a greater importance on Tony than on Ben.

Neither was Peggy Carter.

 

[Gothamsknight]

You say that as if Ben is some throwaway, inconsequential aspect of the character's history. A lot of people seem to be under this impression now, unfortunately. Uncle Ben defined and informed *everything about Peter and Spider-Man, not just as a hero but as a human being. Everything from his values to his moral virtues.

Look, I get that they want to do something different, but I found it odd that we haven't even gotten so much as a mention of Ben's name in the MCU. There are ways to acknowledge his existence/show his importantance to Peter, without rehashing the origin story again. See: Spider-Man PS4 and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

Agreed. I feel people are makign so many excuses just because it's the MCU. The fact that Tony has taken bens place will never stop bothering me