Avengers: Doomsday and Captain America: Civil War director Joe Russo revealed a controversial detail about the origin story of Tom Holland's Peter Parker. Holland's Spider-Man made his debut in Captain America: Civil War after he was recruited by Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark to help Team Iron Man contain Steve Rogers and his group of unregistered heroes amid the chaos involving the Sokovia Accords. Unlike Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man Variants, Holland's version skipped the spider bite and Uncle Ben's death in his origin story, jumping straight into him already operating as a hero in Queens, New York.
In an interview with CBR, Captain America: Civil War director Joe Russo of the Russo Brothers provided fresh insight about the origin story of Tom Holland's Peter Parker in the MCU, confirming that he was not responsible for the death of Uncle Ben:
"[But] what Tom Holland is as an actor, if he blamed himself for his Uncle Ben's death, I think he becomes a very different character. So in our minds, no, he wasn't responsible for Uncle Ben's death. That would have been a different interpretation. A more intense interpretation of the character."
This is a significant clarification from the Marvel Studios longtime director, deliberately setting Tom Holland's Peter Parker apart from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's versions, given that the latter pair (and most versions of the hero) were responsible for the death of their own Uncle Ben.
In the same interview, Russo also admitted that Spider-Man was "one of [his] favorite characters growing up:"
"Spider-Man was one of my favorite characters growing up, if not my favorite. And what I related to was this idea of a kid with incredible responsibility, right? And I think you could manifest that responsibility through accidental death, right? And feeling the pressure, and the sense of loss in your life in a way that would keep the spirit that we wanted."
The Russos seemed to want to preserve the core theme of a young hero burdened by responsibility and loss, but without the heavy self-blame that would have cast a darker perspective on Holland's lighter take on the character.
Given that the MCU did not feature Ben Parker at all, Spider-Man: No Way Home rectified that by shifting the sacrificial death that forever changed Peter Parker to Aunt May, giving Holland's Peter a similar emotional turning point tailored to his established personality.
In February 2022, Spider-Man: No Way Home writer Chris McKenna even described No Way Home as "born in the blood of May," acknowledging that Aunt May's death is the catalyst for Peter Parker's transformation in the MCU.
"This is his moral discovery because we don’t know anything about Peter from Civil War. He’s just like, ‘Okay, a bad thing happens to other people and you don’t do anything…’ It was the Russo brothers and Marcus & McFeely’s version of 'With great power comes great responsibility,’ but it wasn’t born in sacrifice. And in this movie, it is born in the blood of May, that’s why it comes down to ‘I’m gonna kill this guy,' and then the only way he can learn that lesson is because two Peter Parker’s from the Multiverse come in and they help teach them the lesson that they’ve learned the hard way. "
McKenna told The Hollywood Reporter in December 2021 that they went through many scenarios of incorporating Uncle Ben into the script, but ultimately reverted back to May being Peter's "mentor:"
"Some people [ask], 'Oh, did Uncle Ben die? Was he guilty [of Ben’s death]? Are we losing that gravitas as part of that character?' I think that’s something we’ve always discussed. 'What is the deal with his Uncle Ben? Is it a total parity — is it one to one? Is it absolutely the same way?' We started thinking, 'Well maybe it’s not. Maybe his mentor is May and she’s instilled this thing in him.'"
Fans will get to see more of Peter Parker's evolution in the MCU when he returns to the big screen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31.
Why Choosing to Abandon Uncle Ben Is the Right Move for the MCU's Spider-Man
By choosing not to include Uncle Ben as a huge part of Peter Parker's story, it created an opportunity for Marvel Studios to avoid audience fatigue from seeing the same origin story on-screen for the third time, while also enabling Peter's arc to focus on mentorship under Tony Stark and, later, Aunt May.
Tom Holland's Peter Parker was introduced as optimistic, quippy, and eager to prove himself, and this version fit perfectly into the world of the Avengers. Adding Uncle Ben's death as a burden for the MCU's Peter Parker would've fundamentally altered that portrayal.
It's worth noting that the MCU didn't completely abandon the "with great power comes great responsibility" lesson for Peter, saving it for the right moment in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The MCU found a way to showcase Peter's origin in a more poignant way by using Aunt May's death rather than the usual, predictable Uncle Ben approach.
Ultimately, this decision gave fans a Spider-Man who feels distinct yet true to the character's essence, setting the stage for more compelling stories in the MCU's future.
