One of End of Spider-Man was that in this new timeline, Uncle Ben is alive and well – but now that the character has discovered his nephew’s new dueling life as the Webslinger, I fear this could spell his doom. Marvel fans are sharply divided over whether the new Ultimate Universe will subvert expectations once again or turn into an all-too-familiar tragedy for Spider-Man.
In Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #11 – written by Jonathan Hickman with art by David Messina – Uncle Ben reveals that he knows Peter Parker’s secret identity as Spider-Man, and this only makes fans more worried about Ben.
The crux of the matter involves a private conversation between Ben and Peter on the anniversary of Aunt May’s death, in which Ben reveals that he knows Peter became a superhero. The problem, for me, is that this reveals it just makes it seem like Uncle Ben will follow the path of his normal counterpart and die tragically.
Uncle Ben’s discovery of Spider-Man’s secret identity could be a sign that the character won’t last long in this world
Ultimate Spider-Man #11 – Written by Jonathan Hickman; Art by David Messina; Color by Matthew Wilson; Lyrics by Cory Petit from VC
In the previous edition of Ultimate Spider-ManBen and J. Jonah Jameson confront Harry Osborn with the fact that they have realized his identity as the heroic Green Goblin. As Ben says in Ultimate Spider-Man #11, it didn’t take more than a week to discover that Peter, Harry’s new surprise friend, is Spidey. Ben and Peter’s conversation in issue 11 is brilliant, but also portentous. Every conversation about being Spider-Man in this series seems go back to the idea of Peter keeping his family safe, which is a Chekhov’s Gun if I’ve ever seen one.
Ultimate Spider-Man #11 tips the scales and makes me care a lot more about Uncle Ben, although I still think he’s less likely to die than most of the other characters.
The series is always balanced on a knife’s edge. There’s a good chance someone will die tragically sooner or later, but there’s also a good chance that writer Jonathan Hickman, an expert at playing with readers’ emotions, is worrying us for nothing. It would be typical of Hickman if the ultimate symbol of Peter’s triumph was the fact that nobody in his life he dies. That being said, Ultimate Spider-Man #11 tips the scales and makes me care a lot more about Uncle Ben, although I still think he’s less likely to die than most of the other characters.
I definitely think Ultimate Spider-Man is setting up a great death, but Uncle Ben might be too obvious a choice
Writer Jonatthan Hickman is known for killing his loved ones
Uncle Ben is almost too obvious a choice to diebecause we all know what their traditional role in history is, so assuming someone is dying, who will it be? I have two main candidates. One of them is Harry Osborn. After all, he was the one who gave Peter his lecture about power and responsibility in this universe, and he’s been acting recklessly ever since he stuck a Norman Osborn AI in his head. The other leading candidate is J Jonah Jameson, who is just as nosy as Ben but is arguably more expendable to the story.
My esteemed colleague Casey Loving calculates that Peter’s son will probably die, but I suspect that Peter’s immediate family is actually safe. One of the reasons why readers invest in this series is because it is rewarding to follow a married Peter Parker with children, who manages to have a relatively stable family life. Killing off one of his children would be a horrible twist, one that would anger many readers of the series. However, if there’s one thing that lends credibility to Casey’s theory, it’s that Jonathan Hickman is more than happy to upset readers by telling a memorable story.
The Spider-Man franchise has a history of killing off characters who discover Peter Parker’s secret identity
But is this true in the Ultimate Universe?
Part of the reason why Uncle Ben discovering Peter’s secret is so scary is that we, as comics, readers, but especially as Spider-Man readers, are so conditioned to treat someone discovering a secret identity as confirmation that they are basically dead. In a world where mainstream comics have to return to a recognizable status quo sooner or later, major supporting characters knowing secret identities is not sustainable, and many comics also have random new characters or minor villains discovering the secret, just to die before. the truth may come out.
This is part of the genius of this new Ultimate Universe; We cannot take anything for granted. Over the past few even-numbered issues, nearly everyone in Peter’s immediate orbit has figured out that he’s Spidey, from Mary Jane to his two children, from Harry Osborn to now Uncle Ben. In fact, Peter is terrible at keeping his identity a secret, and this feels new. We can no longer use ‘X knows Peter’s identity so they are dead’ as an assumption. Anyone in this book could discover Peter’s secret and I would be willing to accept it.
In the Marvel Universe, no one is exactly freaking out about Peter’s secret
But this could have ramifications
According to the “realism” of Ultimate Spider-Manno one who has so far discovered Peter’s identity has overreacted. I love soap opera histrionics as much as the next fan – after all, I’m an X-Men fan – but they wouldn’t fit the tone of this book. In Ultimate Spider-Man #11, Uncle Ben can react realistically. He just wants to know that his family will be safe if everything goes wrong. Unfortunately, if we readers know anything, it’s that things usually get worse for Spider-Man; I just hope this doesn’t mean someone is about to die.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #11 is now available from Marvel Comics.