Warning: the following article contains spoilers for Spider-Man (2002), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Spider-Man: No Way Home
With Spider-Man: No Way Home hitting theaters this week, spoilers are already making the rounds on the internet due to its LA red carpet premiere and screening embargoes lifting for journalists who want to dish on the finer plot details of the movie.
Be warned that some light spoilers will even appear in this very article, so if you don’t want the movie(s) ruined for you, turn back now.
Fans of the franchise are remembering one very important character to Spider-Man lore overall amid the fever of the film’s release: uncle Ben Parker, the character who gives Tobey Maguire the famous “with great power, comes great responsibility speech” in the 2002 Sam Raimi film. A reinterpretation of the character also appeared in the 2012 Andrew Garfield-helmed The Amazing Spider-Man.
So does that mean the character is returning for the movie? This writer is actually trying to tread lightly on this point because he also hasn’t seen the movie and doesn’t want it spoiled, either. But as far as we can tell, the phrase “Uncle Ben” began trending on Twitter Wednesday not necessarily because he cameos in the movie, but because it has become popular to say, “if you spoil No Way Home for me, you’re going to meet Uncle Ben.”
In case you’re not familiar with the aforementioned 2002 and 2012 versions of Spider-Man, I do have to spoil the fact that uncle Ben indeed dies in both those films, hence the meaning of the joke is that “if you spoil the movie, I’m sending you to the afterlife,” essentially.
As you can see right here, many people were touting the phrase on social media Wednesday, since despite spoiler talk for the movie swirling around the internet, the movie isn’t available for the general public until Friday.
However, as long as we’re remembering past franchise characters, one user was hoping we get a return of the only person that could take on Dock Ock single-handedly.
If you’re looking for actual spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home, check out our breakdown of all the post-credit scenes. Otherwise, we’ll see you in theaters for its premiere on Dec. 17.
