We all know the story of Peter Parker. We also know that if Ben hadn't been killed, Peter would've never felt that guilt over the loss of his uncle. The guilt also shaped him into the hero he is today, and it's arguably the sole purpose of why he does what he does.

But what happens if Ben never died? May and Ben are alive and well, and Peter still has his superpowers. Do you think he'd be any different than how he is today?

There was a What If? story on that, I believe:

Interesting question...

@ZombieBigfoot said:

There was a What If? story on that, I believe:

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Aunt May died instead of Ben. I think Peter killed her murderer, and Ben took the fall for it and went to prison. Peter went into the system as a ward of the state, and eventually escaped and lived life as a bit of a wanderer. He becomes Spider-Man regardless, but I don't remember how the story ended exactly. Something about Peter breaking Ben out of jail, I think.

Yeah, I read that, but this scenario is a little different. Nobody's dead. There's no guilt about anything. Would Peter still be the same kind of hero he is now? Would he even go the hero route?

My best guess is that the fame gets the better of him (note he made money by showboating before he fought crime). He would've had the attitude of Johnny Storm with the brains of Tony Stark. He does what he can for the people, but if he fails, no biggie, the public likes him all the same. After trying to hide his identity from the public for several years, he unmasks because he's so well known and adored by the people because of his outstanding charisma. With all the money he got from the fame, Ben and May are pretty set with a good place to live with high-security tech that Peter could have invented. He probably never would have gotten with Gwen Stacy, but I could imagine him meeting MJ through her modelling and acting gigs. I do believe that Norman Osborn would have ended up killing either MJ, Ben or May though via bridge toss.

@Gambit1024 said:

@ZombieBigfoot said:

There was a What If? story on that, I believe:

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Aunt May died instead of Ben. I think Peter killed her murderer, and Ben took the fall for it and went to prison. Peter went into the system as a ward of the state, and eventually escaped and lived life as a bit of a wanderer. He becomes Spider-Man regardless, but I don't remember how the story ended exactly. Something about Peter breaking Ben out of jail, I think.

Yeah, I read that, but this scenario is a little different. Nobody's dead. There's no guilt about anything. Would Peter still be the same kind of hero he is now? Would he even go the hero route?

My best guess is that the fame gets the better of him (note he made money by showboating before he fought crime). He would've had the attitude of Johnny Storm with the brains of Tony Stark. He does what he can for the people, but if he fails, no biggie, the public likes him all the same. After trying to hide his identity from the public for several years, he unmasks because he's so well known and adored by the people because of his outstanding charisma. With all the money he got from the fame, Ben and May are pretty set with a good place to live with high-security tech that Peter could have invented. He probably never would have gotten with Gwen Stacy, but I could imagine him meeting MJ through her modelling and acting gigs. I do believe that Norman Osborn would have ended up killing either MJ, Ben or May though via bridge toss.

Ah, misread it then, my bad. And that scenario you layed out sounds pretty spot on. The only reason he decided to be the hero he was today is because of Uncle Ben.

@ZombieBigfoot: No worries, sir. That's what I'm talking about. I think that if it weren't for Ben's death, Spider-Man would be radically different than who he is today.

@Morpheus_: Yeah. And he was married to Gwen. And was famous. And bald.

@Morpheus_: Yeah. And he was married to Gwen. And was famous. And bald.

If Uncle Ben had never died, Spiderman wouldn't understand the true meaning of a superhero.

@Morpheus_: Human plot?

@Gambit1024 said:

@Morpheus_: Human plot?

In HoM humans where the baddies (kind of )

Remember the old 90s series of Spiderman? Another version of Peter Parker had Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Gwen, fame and fortune and a stark-type industry. Everybody knew he was Spiderman, Jameson loved him (LOL). Oh, he had an iron-suit. Peter was Peter, just a little bit starkish. That's what I think it would have happened.

@Morpheus_: Human plot?

@Yumulu: @Morpheus_: Oh that's right. Forgot about that.

Interestingly, we would not have Peter Parker as the responsible, noble, heroic person that he is as Spider-Man

I agree that Ben's death is what really gave him his final push to becoming the friendly neighborhood SPider-Man we all know and love. However I still think that he would have eventually moved to the same path he is on now eventually. While its true that Ben's death definitely gave him the final push to the "with great power comes great responsibility" side, but its not like he was a total reckless punk youth before that. He had been raised by Ben & May his whole life and grew up right, while Ben's death did help him realize he needed to grow up, those lessons were always there, I think as a 16 year old kid we all would have show boated and taken the fame, but I think once he walked that road for a bit and matured that he would have eventually joined the same path he took after Ben's death, but just a few more years down the road. I really see Pete telling his Uncle Ben that he was Spider-Man since they were so close, I know I would tell my dad if I had those amazing powers, but would probably hold out on my mom. I think Ben while being alive would have definitely pushed Spider-Man to take the moral responsibility high road. The situation kind of reminds me of the Elseworlds tale Superman Speeding Bullets, where Superman is found by the Waynes as a baby, and he relives the same horrific horror of his parents in the street, so grows up to become a super-powered Batman, yet eventually becomes the more optimistic Superman we know and love. I think in both cases the characters would eventually reach their "destiny" as the characters that we know and love them as, but they would just take a little different road to get there.

Problem with What If stories is that they always go to extremes (obviously to be entertaining, but they lose their "realism"). If Uncle Ben didn't die, and both he and Aunt May lived, odds are Pete would have simply gone on to become a Scientist. He would sell his Webbing adhesive and make a very respectable living for himself. He would have married Gwen and lived a very happy life.  
 
Until Manhattan was destroyed. Or he was killed by a supervillain's rampage.  
 
There is little doubt in my mind that Pete's life would have been better had he not become Spider-Man, but the world would be so much worse off. That's what makes Spidey so great. His heroism is truly selfless. Arguably more so than any other supehero/ine. 

This is interesting and if i may i would like to bring in the spiderman movies.

In Sam Raimis trilogy, Peter ultimately is pushed to becomes spiderman because Uncle Ben died and needed a sense of justice that his father figure died. If uncle ben didnt die he doesnt have this sense of justice, he has the craving for mary jane, yes, but if was bitten by the spider but uncle ben didnt die, would we have a selfish hero? using his ablities to jsut fly through the city and get girls, who are we to say that the sense of justice that comes with superheros would apply peter if he didnt have that tradegy which seems to apply to all heros

However in the new spiderman movie by Marc Webb, peters parents are a prominent part and in the trailer we see the constant lonliness of peter because he has lost his parents and uncle ben and aunt may dont seem to be able to take that place. I think if you factor in the fact that peter was techincally orphaned, his want to find out what happened to his parents and why they disappeared would of given him his justice and doesnt matter if uncle ben dies.

Pete would still be a selfish dick.

@MetropolisKid41: What was the name of that Superman story? That sounds like something I'd be into.

@InnerVenom123: Really? No hope for him whatsoever? lol

@Gambit1024: IIRC, Ben's death is what made him stop being a dick. So, if only Ben lives, and nothing else changes; then yeah. LOL.

Fair enough, lol

there was one version of him like that in the 90s Spiderman cartoon. He had ego and does not think things though. Maddem Web hated that one but you know that one may have a perk that she does not notice. He has good allies that help him and a robot spider. I am guessing the robot spider is good buddy to him.

Spiderman probably wouldn't understand the importance of being a true hero since Uncle Ben taught him that being a hero has big responsibilities and due to Uncle Ben's death, Spiderman learned that he must be a responsible hero to protect the ones he loves. Also, Spiderman might have become very egotistical since he wouldn't take his superhero job seriously.

@Morpheus_ said:

It's been a while, but weren't both alive and well in HoM?

What If? Spider-man: House Of M as well, two stories as well as a few other What if's and likewise.

I can only point my given answer to see the plot of any of those. What if? questions, and proposals

for potential What If? comics always throw me off here as they almost always (well over 200 issues?)

already have been made and the details covered. Then again I read every volume so that may be what

founds my stance.

Pete would still be a selfish dick.

@Gambit1024: That'd be a great story Green Goblin throwing Uncle Ben off the bridge!

@FadeToBlackBolt: That's a very plausible scenario

Peter would never become the hero he is now, if Uncle Ben didn't die.

@Gambit1024: The story is called Superman Speeding Bullets, its a prestige format one shot, I think it came out in 1993.

Uncle Ben: (dying) Peter, Peter come here. Peter: Yes Uncle ben (crying) Ben: Tell may to take her pie out the oven (dies) Peter: NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Damn you Betty Crocker He will live on the be Spiderman the hunter of bakers.

He would have gotten the power but would not have been spiderman

This is very interesting since i wondered it myself after i played marvel future fight. In chapter 3-6 when you play against spider-man (he is from a another dimension) captain america says to spider-man ''deep down you know this is not right'' I can't remember how spider-man replied but it goes along like this, when spider-man replies and says ''back off old man, looting and steal is way more fun than saving people, look at what saving people got me, if uncle ben hadn't smacked me around because of me not living up to his potential of great power and responsibility this probably wouldn't happen.'' That implies IF ben had survived his attack on the robber, then ben himself would be the reason for spider-man to go darkside. really interesting stuff.

Then he wouldn't cry as much lel.

If Uncle Ben had never died, then will aunt May die !!!

He goes into show biz

Show biz spidey

He would become a wealthy tech business owner and drive around in a fancy car and fight crime globaly...oh wait..

he might have been a better hero. a lot of his struggles came with wanting to protect his aunt may. if he didn't have to worry about that, he could have live up to his potential. he probably would have been more like stark.

Peter probably would have stayed in show business. And lives would have been lost because he would not be a superhero

@gambit1024: being bald is the worse part. W8 I'm bald...

Spider-man: House of M is another one of those stories where Uncle Ben didn't die. Don't remember which of the thousands of Marvel Universes that one is.

I think it depends lets say both Aunt May and Uncle Ben surivied. Lets say Peter decided to catch the criminal that took him. Peter would feel he did something good ans at some point he decides to tell someone. Peter tells ben what happen and he said he knows ans would tell peter he apretiate what he tried to do, but would tell him you can do more then that.

So i would say ben would be someone peter would go threw cause unlike Aunt May he would understand.

Spider-Man would still catch the same villains.

I think Spider-Man would sill be a hero, but not be guilted to keep doing it but Ben would be their to support him.

This 100%.