Between Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy and Marc Webb’s “Amazing Spider-Man” films, fans had been stuck with more of the same. Peter Parker is bit by a spider, gets superpowers, Uncle Ben is killed, he makes a suit, and becomes a hero. These story details and more had been done twice already, so when the MCU launched its Tom Holland-led “Spider-Man” series, the minds behind it opted to make some changes to freshen things up. The aging down of Aunt May is one of multiple instances of Marvel Studios wanting to try new things for the webhead.
One of the biggest changes is the removal of Uncle Ben from the story. The MCU’s Peter rarely mentions him, and we certainly don’t see him in any of his solo movies. Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) becomes an Uncle Ben-like figure instead, and Aunt May delivers a version of the “with great power, comes great responsibility” line commonly associated with Ben just before she dies. Peter also dons a variety of Spider-Man suits instead of one or two different ones as previous takes did, his best friend is Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) instead of Harry Osborn, and he goes on world-saving adventures with other heroes instead of focusing on his own little corner of New York. The list goes on and on.
Regardless of how you feel about these big and small alterations, if nothing else, the MCU’s Spider-Man offers a unique and memorable approach to the character’s world and mythology.
