Poll of the Day > Why does Spider-Man feel responsible/guilty when Uncle Ben is killed?

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Mind you I'm only going off of the several movie and cartoon incarnations of Spider-Man and my hazy memory. Maybe in the comics it's more sensible but I don't read comics.

Anyways it seems like he beats himself up over the fact that he could have stopped the guy who killed his uncle before the act, thereby preventing it, but he had no foreknowledge such an event would occur right? If he had stopped the guy then maybe he would have killed a guard in jail or any other number of possibilities. I don't see why someone who wasn't at least somewhat egotistical would feel bad about something several factors removed from their direct actions. Have the comics ever pointed this out?

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I do not how to formulate this properly, but this is probably more of a you issue than a comic issue.

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Nichtcrawler X posted...

I do not how to formulate this properly, but this is probably more of a you issue than a comic issue.

I'm not confused as to why he feels sad or angry, just why he feels like the situation is his fault. If it was just grief making him think irrationally for a time I could buy it but they don't try to sell it like that from what I've seen.

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Well, in the first movie (Sam Raimi version), I believe the guy who killed Uncle Ben robbed the place that was suppose to pay him. Because they stiffed Peter, he let the thief get away instead of stopping him like a super hero would. That led to the death of his uncle. So, it kind of was his fault I That situation. Had he done something like trip home up, or hang him from a web, his uncle would still be alive. He felt that his uncle died due to his selfishness or greed. In the end, youre right that he never knew the thief would kill his uncle. Doesnt mean he wont live with that guilt forever as he could have stopped it...
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Using the Raimi version as an example.
Its true that ita not entirely Peters fault that Ben died (hes not the one who shot him, after all), but he does bear some responsibility in the fact that he could have easily stopped the guy who ended up doing it but let him go because he was being petty and wanted to get back at the dude who ripped him off (This is one place where the line With great power comes great responsibility hits home.)
Peter didnt heed his uncles words, and one of the results of his failure to do so was the death of his uncle, which both proved that Ben was right and illuminated just how badly Peter had failed. And this is only a small part of all the things that would go into creating a sense of guilt in that scenario.

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pastyD posted...

Using the Raimi version as an example.
Its true that ita not entirely Peters fault that Ben died (hes not the one who shot him, after all), but he does bear some responsibility in the fact that he could have easily stopped the guy who ended up doing it but let him go because he was being petty and wanted to get back at the dude who ripped him off (This is one place where the line With great power comes great responsibility hits home.)
Peter didnt heed his uncles words, and one of the results of his failure to do so was the death of his uncle, which both proved that Ben was right and illuminated just how badly Peter had failed. And this is only a small part of all the things that would go into creating a sense of guilt in that scenario.

There's also that he had Ben drive him to a library as a lie to go wrestle instead, and that it's entirely Peters fault that Ben was there in the first place, and on top of that he let the robber get away when he first encountered him.

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Nichtcrawler X posted...

I do not how to formulate this properly, but this is probably more of a you issue than a comic issue.

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