Since Spider-Man has been adapted outside of the comics so many times in many different ways, his comic origins have been brought to life on the big screen and animated on the small since the sixties, leading to a variety of takes on the man who arguably influenced Peter Parker the most in his ongoing missions as the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler--Uncle Ben.
However, it's not Uncle Ben's death in the various retellings of his origin that shines in some of his appearances, as the lessons he's imparted on Peter are what really put the weight of responsibility on Spider-Man's shoulders. It's those adaptations of the character that capture the real lessons and earn their ranking as we further explore Uncle Ben's adaptations today.
10 Cameos & Intros In Spider-Man: Unlimited & Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Uncle Ben and his place in Peter Parker's origin has been mentioned in a number of series that the character hasn't actually appeared in, though there have also been a couple of cameos that gave brief teases of separate iconic moments.
The Spider-Man: Unlimited animated series briefly featured a scene of Uncle Ben's murder in the opening credits, while 2019's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse featured Uncle Ben's speech about responsibility in the first Spider-Man intro that used actor Cliff Robertson's audio from 2002's Spider-Man.
9 Spider-Man (1981-1982): Chameleon Disguised Himself As Uncle Ben & Manipulated Aunt May
The character of Uncle Ben technically didn't appear in the Spider-Man animated series that first aired in 1981, though he was mentioned a few times along with his familiar lesson about power and responsibility.
However, Chameleon disguised himself as Uncle Ben during a séance in order to manipulate Aunt May and force her to assist him in capturing Spider-Man in one of the series oddest episodes, "Arsenic and Aunt May."
8 Spider-Man (1967-1970): Uncle Ben Was Briefly Shown After Peter Parker's Fateful Spider Bite
The classic Spider-Man animated series debuted in 1967 with an unforgettable theme song and the first appearances outside of the comics for a number of comic characters, including Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
However, Uncle Ben (voiced by Tom Harvey) didn't actually appear until the second season's incredibly faithful adaptation of "The Origin of Spider-Man," though it was only in a brief scene with Aunt May following the spider bite that transformed Peter, and failed to showcase his most famous line.
7 Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends (1981-1983): Uncle Ben's Death Was Only Implied
Voice acting legend Frank Welker played Uncle Ben in Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, which tackled Spider-Man's origin in the second season episode "Along Came Spidey," which saw Spider-Man share his story with Firestar and Iceman after Aunt May was injured during a battle with the Shocker.
The origin was ripped right from the comics and featured Spider-Man's success as a TV star prior to the burglary, though Uncle Ben's death was only implied and he never said his power and responsibility quote directly.
6 Marvel's Spider-Man (2017 -): Uncle Ben Appears In Flashbacks With Life Lessons
Disney XD's Marvel's Spider-Man began airing in 2017, with the most recent third season airing as Spider-Man: Maximum Venom. The series explored a new take on Peter Parker as he attended an advanced school for brilliant minds that further facilitated his superhero career as Spider-Man.
Uncle Ben (voiced by Patton Oswalt) appears mostly in flashbacks as he delivered crucial lessons that Peter replayed later in life to help him in situations. This version of Uncle Ben also reworked his iconic line into a "scientific" formula (W/GP⇒ GR) for Peter that he stitched to his school bag.
5 Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998): An Alternate Reality Uncle Ben Saved The Day From A Corrupted Spider-Carnage
Like most of the character's previous appearances outside of the comics, Uncle Ben (voiced by Brian Keith) featured heavily in the origin moments and a number of flashbacks throughout Spider-Man: The Animated Series when Peter Parker needed to mentally reassure himself.
However, the character proved how important he was to Spider-Man in the series finale "Spider Wars," when Peter Parker and a team of alternate reality Spider-Men managed to stop a corrupted Spider-Carnage thanks to the intervention of a surviving alternate reality Uncle Ben, who saved the day as usual.
4 Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-2017): Uncle Ben Was The Town's Sheriff & Phantom Rider
The Ultimate Spider-Man animated series that debuted in 2012 took inspiration from both the mainstream and Ultimate line of comics, though Uncle Ben (voiced by Greg Gruberg) pretty faithfully adapted the Ultimate version of the character.
While Uncle Ben mostly appeared in the series' introductory origin and flashbacks, fans got to see a unique multiversal version of the character from the Wild West who fought crime as both the town's sheriff and his reality's costumed Phantom Rider (voiced by Clancy Brown).
3 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): Uncle Ben Shared Words Of Wisdom & Died In An Accidental Encounter
Martin Sheen took on the role of Uncle Ben in Marc Webb's 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man, which updated Spider-Man's origin story and focused on young Peter's search for more information about his deceased parents.
Uncle Ben said quite a few things that sounded like "with great power comes great responsibility" over the course of the movie, though never actually uttered the phrase. His death was also altered into an accidental encounter on the street instead of previous versions like an interrupted home burglary or tragic carjacking.
2 The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-2009): Uncle Ben Gave Peter Parker A Pep Talk To Fight Off The Possession Of The Venom Symbiote
Peter Parker returned to high school in 2008's The Spectacular Spider-Man which modernized a number of classic Spider-Man storylines and characters over two seasons that began the summer after Peter Parker was transformed into his costumed alter ego.
Uncle Ben (voiced by Ed Asner) appeared in a few flashbacks that featured his death defending Aunt May from a burglar and his life-defining quote, though the series really stood above other adaptations when the memory of Uncle Ben helped Peter Parker mentally fight off the possession of the Venom symbiote with a good old fashioned pep talk.
1 The Raimi Trilogy (2002-2007): The Relationship Between Uncle Ben & Peter Parker Were Accurately Portrayed
Cliff Robertson starred as Uncle Ben in all three films of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, which accurately portrayed the relationship between Peter and his adoptive parents, though the adaptation made some changes as his murder now occurred during a carjacking right after the robbery Peter Parker failed to stop.
Robertson reprised the role as a mental figment in the sequel who conversed with Peter about his decision to leave Spider-Man, and again in the third film which retconned the character of Sandman into the original murder scene.