Everyone knows that Peter Parker was raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Serving as the foundation for the rest of his life, both Ben and May were perfect parental figures for Peter to have growing up.

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What many fans don't know, however, is who Peter's parents were. Richard and Mary Parker were both very interesting characters that accomplished a lot over the course of their lives. Much like many comic fans, for most of Peter's life, he also had no idea who his parents really were. Here are the top ten things you didn't know about Peter Parker's parents.

10 They were Spies

Tom Holland's Spider-Man in front of Richard and Mary Parker

Richard Parker was a member of the United States Army Special Forces. Later in his career, Richard showed so much promise that he was enlisted into the CIA by Nick Fury himself. Mary had a much different path. The daughter of an O.S.S. agent, Mary hoped to live up to her father's success and joined the CIA as an analyst in hopes of doing so.

Not too long after, the two met on the job and fell in love. Soon after the two spies married. Mary then became a field agent so they could begin going on missions together.

9 They Once Rescued Wolverine

During one of the couples missions together, the Parker's were sent to save an agent of a "friendly power," namely Canada. They set out to investigate Baroness Adelicia Von Krupp, who had kidnapped Logan, the mutant also known as Wolverine.

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Fighting off both Von Krupp and also the famous Captain America villain Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, the Parkers are successful in their mission to save Wolverine. Immediately afterward, Mary reveals that she is pregnant. The first person to congratulate the Parkers on their soon to be son, who would eventually become Spider-Man, was Wolverine.

8 They Were Killed By The Red Skull

It turns out that Peter's parents were murdered by the Captain America arch-nemesis known as the Red Skull. Or at least a Red Skull, since the one who killed them was actually a KGB agent who took up the mantle after the original's apparent demise.

During a mission to infiltrate the Skull's criminal organization, the two spies are found out by their target. He then hired an assassin to kill them. This assassin sabotaged the Parker's plane, making their deaths appear to be a tragic accident.

7 They Were Believed To Be Traitors

Although the two spies had died tragically at the hands of their enemies, it was widely believed that they were traitors to their country. When Peter discovered that Aunt May and Uncle Ben had actually believed this lie as well, he set out to clear their name as Spider-Man.

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Peter soon discovered Albert Malik, the third Red Skull, who still remained in Algeria where his parents had been murdered. After defeating Malik's goon the Finisher, Spidey was able to bring this Red Skull to justice and clear his parents' names once and for all.

6 They Returned?

the amazing spider-man richard parker

One day later in Peter's life, his parents appeared on his doorstep, apparently alive after all of this time. They claimed that the bodies found in the airplane were actually that of two KGB agents. Richard and Mary had escaped the plane just moments before it went up into flames.

The two appeared to actually be the real deal. Their memories were pitch-perfect when it came to certain events of their former lives, and even May came around to eventually believing it was them. Peter could not have been happier to finally have a chance to reconcile with his long-lost parents. It was a shame what happened next.

5 They Were Life Model Decoys

richard parker transforms

The recently returned Mary and Richard Parker were revealed to actually be life model decoys. Harry Osborn had hired the Chameleon to create these LMD's as a way of torturing Peter. This ended up being quite successful. When Peter found out his parents were fake he suffered a severe nervous breakdown.

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These LMD's may have been designed a little too well. When Spidey was at his most vulnerable, the two robots were ordered to attack him. Sharing the same love for Peter as the original Mary, the Mary Parker LMD instead decided to save her "sons" life.

4 Their Deaths Remain Unconfirmed

One of the reasons that the Parker life model decoys were able to convince everyone, including the government, of their authenticity is the mystery surrounding the originals' deaths. Although it is very likely the two died in the plane crash, the bodies are burnt so thoroughly that they were unrecognizable.

Given their history as agents of the CIA, it is not outside the realm of possibility that the two parents of Spider-Man could still be alive. It's possible, but don't count on it.

3 The Ultimate Richard Parker

Drake Bell as Spider-Man in Ultimate Spider-Man

In the Ultimate universe, Richard and Mary Parker's history is slightly different. Instead of a CIA agent, Richard was a biologist who worked for Trask Enterprises.

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Richard and Mary in this universe also died in a plane crash. Although they were not spies on a covert mission to stop the Red Skull, there were no doubt mysterious circumstances involving their deaths.

2 Ultimate Richard Helped Create Ultimate Venom

The ultimate version of Richard Parker was friends and partners with Eddie Brock Senior. Both of them scientists, the two geniuses started work on a revolutionary new experiment that became known as the Venom project.

Designed to heal all human diseases and illnesses, the two of them developed the Venom suit. Richard decided to leave the project unfinished due to the dangerous nature of the suit. After becoming Spider-Man, Peter would go on to wear the suit and learn just how dangerous it really was. After abandoning it, the suit then bonded with Eddie Brock Jr., creating this reality's version of Venom.

1 Their Ultimate Origins

It turns out that in the Ultimate Universe, the plane crash that killed the Parkers was merely a coverup. Richard had actually been working at a secret government lab headed by Nick Fury. Specifically, Richard was helping design a new super-soldier serum that replicated Captain America's powers.

Bringing his wife Mary along, Richard assumed that the government facility was the safest place he could be. It just so happened that Bruce Banner as also working on that very same project. After testing out a possible serum on himself, Banner became the Hulk and went into a rampage, killing both of Peter's parents.

NEXT: The 10 Best Things About Marvel's Ultimate Universe (And 10 That We Wish We Could Forget)