Ever since Spider-Man made his "homecoming" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, the existence of Uncle Ben in the franchise has remained a huge mystery to a lot of fans. Is he actually dead in the MCU or he simply does not exist? Well, the latest episode of Marvel Studios' What If...? finally shed some light (sort of) regarding the status of Peter Parker's father figure.
The latest episode of the Marvel animated series is set during the events of Avengers: Infinity War with Zombie apocalypse implications. One sequence during the episode sees Peter Parker aka Zombie Hunter Spider-Man having a heartfelt conversation with Hope Van Dyne and Bruce Banner where he explains how he lost some important people in his life. He mentions his mother, father, Tony Stark, and shockingly enough, Ben Parker. The episode also sees Parker turn down an offer to become part of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Also Read:What If...? Producer Believes Sony Prevented Tom Holland From Voicing Spider-Man
It's worth noting that the events of What If...? don't take place in the "proper" MCU timeline but it still pretty much features versions of our favorite Marvel characters that have lived the same experiences, just with different outcomes. Now, the brief mention of Uncle Ben obviously suggests that the beloved character is dead in the franchise and while it's still a little baffling how they never mentioned him until now, I guess Marvel Studios just didn't want to go that route of reexplaining how Ben Parker died because of course, we already knew how that happened.
What If...? is already streaming on Disney+.
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