For decades Uncle Ben has been mistakenly attributed as the source of the Webhead's philosophy, "With great power there must also come great responsibility." This iconic phrase is one that any fan of New York's favorite menace knows off the top of their head, as it has defined the character for his entire publication history. However, Uncle Ben never said that line in Spider-Man's original comic origin story, and would not be credited with it until years later.
When he first made his debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man's whole origin is depicted from start to finish within this single issue. Uncle Ben is still a character in this story, but only has a few lines of dialogue and none of them is his most famous line. In fact, the phrase is never actually spoken out loud, but instead appears in a narration box written by Lee in the last of the comic, depicting Peter's self-reflection on the events. So if Uncle Ben didn't say this line then why does everyone believe in this misconception?
It wasn't until 25 years after Spider-Man's debut that the comics were retconned so that Uncle Ben coined the phrase "With great power comes great responsibility." Ironically, the first time that this philosophy is attributed to Benjamin Parker in the main Marvel timeline is not even in a Spider-Man solo title. In Spider-Man Versus Wolverine (1987) #1, written by Jim Owsley with art by Mark Bright, Peter recalls his Uncle Ben saying the phrase. This retcon establishes that at some point in his life living with Ben, these words of wisdom were shared. In The Amazing Spider-Man #38 by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr., Aunt May also recalls Ben saying this, making it clear that it was a regular saying of his. It's not specified when Ben shared this wisdom with Peter, but it makes sense that Peter would reflect on it in the final of his origin.
Part of the reason that there is a popular misconception that this phrase was Ben's motto is because of the countless adaptations that re-tell Spider-Man's origin. Most famously, Uncle Ben tries to scold Peter for recent rebellious acts and also give him advice. He tells his nephew that it will be his responsibility to share his gifts with the world, but Peter doesn't want to listen.
Ultimately, it really shows how much Spider-Man has been influenced by interpretation and retellings while having the core of the character remain the same. Peter's Uncle Ben and the credo that "With great power comes great responsibility" are so integral to the heart of Spider-Man that over the years writers have blended these two elements of his origin. In the end, while Uncle Ben's death taught Peter an important lesson, he is not the original source of the phrasing of Spider-Man's philosophy.
