The Peter Parker of the Ultimate Universe hasn’t had much success in keeping his secret identity. He accidentally revealed himself as Spider-Man to his young daughter, May, before purposefully revealing the secret to his wife, Mary Jane, and son, Richard. Also aware of the secret are his partners in crime-fighting, Harry Osborn, Harry’s wife Gwen, and Oscorp scientist Otto Octavius. Now, a seventh person has become aware of the secret in Ultimate Spider-Man #11.
Written by Jonathan Hickman with art by David Messina, Ultimate Spider-Man #11 finds Peter continuing to battle the Sinister Six. He barely escapes an encounter with Negative Man and returns home to find Mary Jane starting to worry about his double life. He assures her everything will be fine before leaving for a late-night meeting.
The meeting turns out to be with his uncle, Ben Parker, at a memorial for the victims of the terrorist attack blamed on Tony Stark. Aunt May was among the fallen that day, and Uncle Ben wanted to remember her with Peter before the big ceremony the next day. In the middle of their reminiscing, Uncle Ben reveals that he figured out his nephew is Spider-Man.
What Uncle Ben knowing Peter’s secret means for Ultimate Spider-Man
Uncle Ben figured out who Ultimate Spider-Man is while investigating Oscorp for ties to Tony Stark’s alleged terrorism. This led to the discovery that Harry Osborn was the Green Goblin. From there, the fact that Peter had become friendly with Harry in recent months allowed Ben to piece together the rest.
Ben is proud of Peter but advises his nephew that he’s far from the only person who could figure out his secret by accident. He also confirms that J. Jonah Jameson doesn’t know, but it won’t take him long to figure it out. Ben ends their talk by telling Peter that he’s lived a good life and is content to die because of his actions. He suggests that Peter start being more careful if he doesn’t feel the same way.
This conversation hints at trouble on the horizon in Ultimate Spider-Man, but the nature of that trouble is unclear. It could be teasing the eventual death of Uncle Ben under different circumstances than the original comics. However, it could also be foreshadowing the Ultimate Sinister Six figuring out who Spider-Man is.
Ultimate Spider-Man #11 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
