The most iconic Spider-Man Line has a strange history in the MCU. When comic book fans think of Peter Parker, there is one quote in particular that always comes to mind. “With great power comes great responsibility.” was a sentiment first shared in a story caption in Marvel Comics’ Amazing fantasy In 1962. The line was popularized after Uncle Ben said it as a life lesson to Peter, advising his nephew to make sure he wasn’t abusing his power and to use it instead to help others.
Since the line was introduced in the comics, it has been a consistent lesson in the various live-actions Spider-Man Movies. Uncle Ben says it to Tobey Maguire’s Peter in Spider-ManWhile Richard Parker says it to his son in an extra scene from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. There was much anticipation for how the MCU timeline would interpret the line, and the franchise took a somewhat unique approach. However, the exact history of the line in the MCU has become more confusing since the canon confirmation of another Marvel hero.
The Defenders become MCU canon means Jessica Jones beats Spider-Man to his most iconic line
This line was said in Jessica Jones season 2
When the Netflix Marvel shows first premiered, many assumed that the projects would remain contained within their own universe. Speculation began to grow about the canon status of the Defenders saga when the shows were added to Disney + until it was finally confirmed that they were canon to the MCU. Marvel Studios Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum confirmed this fact, saying that the development of Daredevil: Born Again Encouraged the studio to make things official. The development of the Defenders saga to become MCU canon is exciting, but it complicates the MCU timeline of Spider-Man.
in Jessica Jones Season 2, Jessica says the iconic phrase attributed to Spider-Man’s story. It’s not in the same context as it is for Peter, with Jessica instead telling someone, “If you say ‘with great power comes responsibility’, I swear I will throw it at you.“ The line felt like meta humor from Marvel, perhaps poking fun at the fact that so many people use the line as a go-to life lesson and that Jessica is probably sick of hearing it. This could have been a throwaway reference, but the MCU canon status of The Defenders makes it confusing.
Jessica Jones’ “Great Responsibility” Line Coming Before It Was Said in the MCU’s Spider-Man Story Is More Confusing
This line wasn’t said in the MCU until Spider-Man: No Way Home
The MCU iteration of Spider-Man doesn’t hear the “great responsibility” line until now Spider-Man: No Way Home. Since Uncle Ben has been completely removed from MCU Peter’s story, it made sense that the person who would end up saying a version of​​​​​​the famous line would be Marisa Tome’s Aunt May. Just before her death, she tells Peter that “With great power must come great responsibility.“Fans have been waiting for three movies to finally hear the line in the MCU, and while the build-up has paid off in the trilogy, there is some confusion when factored into the larger MCU timeline.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Takes place in 2024, but the line was first told in Jessica Jones Season 2, which takes place in 2017. It is strange to consider that Jessica’s version of the iconic phrase predates the actual MCU Spider-Man’s use of it. Especially in the context that the line was said on the show, it was clearly meant to come off as a meta joke. Although viewers may have been aware of the context of the past Spider-Man films, the fact that the line hasn’t been said in the MCU yet isn’t as effective.
Spider-Man: Homecoming gave Peter Parker his own MCU version of The Great Power Lesson before Jessica Jones
Tony Stark gave Peter a similar lesson
Even if fans couldn’t hear the iconic line in the MCU Spider-Man Trilogy until the third film, Peter received his own version of the “great power” lesson in 2017. Spider-Man: Homecoming was about Peter adapting to his newfound status as a superhero with Iron Man as his mentor. When Peter starts abusing his powers beyond what he can handle, Tony tells him that “If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it.“Although “great power” is not directly mentioned, It was essentially the same lesson.
Since Come home In 2017, Peter’s “great power” lesson probably would have happened earlier Jessica Jones Season 2. That slightly helps Jessica’s “great power” reference, as fans could have just assumed that Tony’s mentorship was how the MCU was going to interpret the line. While hearing it fully referenced in Spider-Man: No Way Home Feels strange to know that Jessica Jones Beat them to it, all that really matters is that the MCU Spider-Man Received his valuable lesson in the end.