Spider-Man is defined by the loss of his Uncle Ben. Occasionally, he needs a reminder that there may be more than one tragic mistake to make in life.
Spider-Man’s mantra, told to him by his Uncle Ben in a comic that is well known and repeated often, has been shown why it needs repeating. Despite the fact that this all forms the foundation of Spider-man as a superhero, he still tends to forget its lessons-almost making mistakes again.
“With great power, there must also come great responsibility.” is a quote that has been around for years and was even paraphrased in Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man movie. This bit of advice from Peter Parker’s uncle has lasted for decades, but often falls by the wayside when Peter just can’t seem to get his act together or he starts forgetting how important it really is.
1998’s Amazing Spider-Man # 298 features the webslinger going after Chance, a member of his rogues gallery. This issue shows Peter Parker taking a moment to think about how much money he could make through his heroism, as well as nearly causing an innocent man to die, which is reminiscent of when Uncle Ben was killed at the hands of another person.
Peter always finds himself looking for a fresh story to write about, and so the day after he sees an article by chance, Peter decides that it’ll be his next target. Chance realizes Chance’s reliance on luck in order for him to do anything, but as soon as Pete is close enough-running through rooftops with agility like Spider-Man should have-Chance slips up by being spotted at a betting shop.
Peter is faced with a tough decision – does he do the story he’s already supposed to do, or hunt down another one by letting Chance go and getting paid double? He goes through this thought process right as there was a blackout. And not long after that, Spider-Man finds out someone got shot in their apartment complex during the blackouts-all while Peter could have prevented it! It wasn’t until his pursuit of personal gain nearly caused somebody else’s death (much like how Uncle Ben died) that our hero finally realized what mattered most.
