Marvel fans are shocked and disappointed over a key character’s absence in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The latest MCU movie features Tom Holland, who reprises his role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker.
For the past decade, avid Spider-Man fans have noticed that the character of Ben Parker, famously known as Uncle Ben, has been missing from the MCU.
None of the Spider-Man movies with Holland have mentioned him even once, let alone showing a moment of Peter and Uncle Ben together in any form. Unsurprisingly, Brand New Day also follows this pattern, showing no trace of Uncle Ben.
Spider-Man’s origin story traditionally has strong ties to Uncle Ben’s death
In the past, two major live-action Spider-Man movie franchises, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, have shown Uncle Ben and Peter Parker’s strong, emotional connection. This comes from the comics, where Uncle Ben’s death transformed Peter into a responsible individual who vowed always to use his powers to protect others.
In his last moments, after getting shot by a burglar, Ben gives the lifelong lesson to Peter, saying, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Spider-Man fans who have become fond of seeing Uncle Ben alongside Peter are now annoyed that the character has been missing from Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films in the MCU.
One ardent fan, named @BorkEternal, wrote, “One thing that still drives me crazy is the Uncle Ben erasure in Tom Holland’s spidey movies. All they had to do was show his grave next to Aunt May’s!! It’s so simple!!!! The silence is just more jarring now seeing Peter regularly visiting her grave years after her death.”
Another fan shared a similar take while being upset over Uncle Ben’s absence from Spider-Man: Brand New Day. They wrote, “The truth of the matter is there was only one film that actually tried to erase Uncle Ben, and it wasn’t one of the ones directed by Jon Watts… loved BND but that was an issue for me, ngl.”
On Reddit, one fan, named Good-Photograph-2883, was confused over Ben Parker’s continued absence. They wrote, “I really loved Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and I was hoping they were at least gonna briefly explain what happened to Uncle Ben in the MCU.”
The Redditor pointed out that Ben does exist in the MCU, citing his belongings such as the briefcase with his initials in Far From Home. However, the character himself has been missing from the films so far. Even in Brand New Day, when Jean Grey enters Peter’s mind, she only sees memories associated with Aunt May, but not Ben.
As for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the movie is now playing in theaters. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, its cast also includes Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Sadie Sink, and Mark Ruffalo, among others.
