Marvel Is About to Kill a New Spider-Man Family Member (To Replace Uncle Ben)

Warning: Contains spoilers for Ultimate Spider-Man #3 (2024) Despite being nearly 40 years old, the new Ultimate Marvel universe’s Peter Parkerhas yet to suffer the famous tragedy that makes him Spider-Man: the death of Uncle Ben. Now, as Peter repeats a famous mistake from Spider-Man’s past, one fan theory suggests that the death of a Parker is on the horizon – but this time, Uncle Ben won’t be the one to get killed.

Ultimate Spider-Man #3 – by Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson, and Cory Petit – continues the evolution of Peter Parker’s role as Spider-Man, showcasing his first winning fight against a supervillain, Bullseye. After the fight is concluded, Peter is unmasked by Harry Osborn, the Green Goblin.

This issue showcases a recurring issue for Peter, as Harry, a complete stranger, becomes yet another person who knows Spider-Man’s secret identity. With Spider-Man getting repeatedly unmasked soon into his career, it’s only a matter of time until someone comes to his family’s door – potentially fulfilling the trope of a Parker death.

Too Many People Keep Learning Ultimate Spider-Man’s Secret Identity

Peter’s Just Asking For Trouble

Peter Parker’s origin in Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe (Earth-6160) is quite different from his original Earth-616 beginnings. In this universe, The Maker (the evil Reed Richards of Earth-1610) prevented Peter from becoming Spider-Man as a teenager. This was done as part of The Maker’s plot to control the evolution of a new universe, stamping out any superhero opposition he could. It was not until later in life that Peter, now married to MJ Watson with two children (Richard and May) became Spider-Man. In this world, Uncle Ben is still alive, though Aunt May died in an attack unrelated to Spider-Man.

So far, Earth-6160’s Peter Parker has appeared in four issues; in each, a different person is shown knowing his secret identity. In Ultimate Invasion #1, the Maker prevented a young Peter Parker from becoming Spider-Man. In Ultimate Spider-Man #1, Tony Stark undid this by giving Peter the radioactive spider and his costume. In Ultimate Spider-Man #2, Peter’s daughter walks in on Spider-Man in their kitchen. In Ultimate Spider-Man #3, Harry unmasks Peter. Of these four, three are strangers to Peter, and one is a supervillain. This raises the question of how long it will be until someone abuses his secret.

In The Ultimate Universe Death Is Still Central To The Spider-Man Mythos

The More Things Change…

This is far from the first time Spider-Man has struggled with identity issues; in fact, the original Ultimate Spider-Man series notably had a slew of friends and foes discover Peter’s secret, perennially putting his loved ones at risk. In this universe, Peter has the distinct disadvantage of Tony Stark, the Maker, and perhaps their allies knowing he was Spider-Man before even he did. He additionally has more family to be taken advantage of given his new status as a father. Were someone like Green Goblin to come after Spider-Man, family members like MJ, May, and Richard would be in grave danger.

A “Sword of Damocles” hangs over Spider-Man, seemingly made more pressing by the fact Uncle Ben has yet to fulfill the preventable death in the Parker family, found throughout Spider-Man canon. Though Ultimate Spider-Man has been a relatively wholesome book so far, Jonathan Hickman established in his Amazing Fantasy #1000story “You Get It” that suffering is a multiversal constant for Peter Parker. Fans have to wonder how long Peter will continue to prosper and, more specifically, if a mistake will cost him a loved one. With his identity becoming evermore known, Ultimate Spider-Man may soon bring danger to his family’s door.

Ultimate Spider-Man #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.