I haven't seen Homecoming so I dunno how they handled Uncle Ben's death in that film (if they did) but I've seen the two previous Spider-man filmverses (Maguire & Garfield) - and it got me thinking about what if they varied it by having Uncle Ben's death caused by the indifference/vengefulness of another superhero? Obviously it being Peter's fault is part of the idea of responsibility & power, which is a major theme of Peter's origin story, so I can definitely understand if some fans wouldn't like this variation, but if nothing it's food for thought. If it's caused by another superhero, you'd initially have the opacity of what the other person's motivation could possibly have been for letting an armed robber go. Imagine Peter catching up to the superhero late in the film, stricken with grief, to find the other superhero as equally stricken with shame as the Maguire and Garfield Peters were. Or if the person shot wasn't Peter's uncle but someone else's loved one, whether a superhero or civilian's. Hearing the gunshot and going out to see the crowd and watching from afar as someone else sobs over the body. Later on, maybe if it was the loved one of a superhero, that superhero meets up with the Avengers or other hero group that Peter is a part of and tells their story and Peter is sitting there aflame with guilt & shame. He can't stop himself from going sweaty or trembling and at least two of the people he's with keep glancing at him while the story is told and he knows, or thinks he knows, that they're noticing his reaction and almost definitely putting two and two together but he can't stop himself. And everyone would have a different reaction to noticing, depending on who Peter's with. Natasha would keep a straight face & pretend she hasn't noticed because Peter's gone white like he's just been found out for murder. Clint is almost as perceptive as Natasha and almost as good at hiding his reactions, but not quite. Tony would stare at Peter once he notices (especially if Homecoming Spidey because as far as I've heard, Tony's a mentor to Peter in that & presumably has a closer relationship from helping him navigate being a superhero?). Steve would keep glancing at Peter as the story is told which is almost as bad. I think Sam would also look over at Peter once or twice but stop once it's obvious Peter is severely upset by this story and trying to hide it. Bruce's face would fall subtly as he realises, "Oh no..." Thor would be solemnly listening to the tragedy and then notice Peter's face and become even more serious as he realises the implications. Imagine it happening in a meeting room or conference room of the Avengers tower and the superhero telling the story of their loved one's murder is facing the room, and maybe Peter's not facing them because he was working on something but as he hears the story he begins to realise... Imagine hearing someone tell the room your greatest, deepest shame, and feeling your face growing red & hot and feeling your pulse pounding in your ears, and you're beginning to hyperventilate and struggling not to, and Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson are staring at you, two of the greatest & most heroic & compassionate & upstanding people you know, and you fail to prevent the hyperventilation from deepening so now you're trying to muffle your hiccupping breath in a room that's already quiet from everyone listening to someone's story, and Steve is reaching over and putting a hand on your shoulder and saying, "Peter? Peter, are you okay?" And that's just with the Avengers. Imagine sitting in Weasel's bar or in the apartment of Vanessa & Wade as it gets told. Blind Al might give a diplomatic non-reaction like Natasha. Weasel wouldn't put two-and-two together and would ask out loud, "Peter, are you alright?" Vanessa is sharp and would quickly catch on to your body language. Wade might notice more slowly but he'd notice. Worst of all is that afterwards Vanessa & Wade would give you understanding & earnest sympathy that you don't deserve once they’d heard your story, and they'd mean it. Even after hearing that you'd committed a murder (in your own opinion - and that's not to say you're necessarily entirely void of responsibility either!). There's something about seeing even Deadpool become serious that makes it worse. And this can be played around with, depending on who the hero is (whether accidental killer or lover of the loved one). And the above reacting heroes are just the heroes I know of, they can be played around with too. Imagine a superhero confronting Peter who is a little younger or a little older than Peter. At the same life stage as Peter, whether that's high school or college or working their first proper adult job. A superhero who started off like Peter with next to no support systems on "how to hero" and without knowing any other superheros. I haven't said much on them because it'd depend on who it is & I don't know many heroes, but if you give equal weight to their emotional narrative & perspective, it could be equally as interesting and still explore the ideas of power & responsibility (and who can be hurt by those). And this is without going into the "what if it was another superhero who accidentally got Peter's uncle killed" side. Phew, this was a long post.
