(upbeat music)
With great power comes great responsibility,
and with a great movie comes a great amount
of overthinking it by the fans.
And, by all accounts, Spider-Man Homecoming
was a pretty great movie, so it's no surprise
that legions of Marvel Cinematic Universe fans
have cooked up their own fan theories
about this latest iteration of Peter Parker.
Now, this particular fan theory is actually among
the most heartbreaking I've encountered to date.
And it may change the way you view,
not only Spider-Man Homecoming,
but Captain America Civil War
and Avengers Infinity War, as well.
If you thought Peter didn't feel well after the Snapture,
then buckle up, because your heart
might not survive the trip.
Because today's episode of The Dan Cave is all about
the saddest Uncle Ben theory I've heard so far.
So let me just ask you one question --
Are you ready?
Bonesaw is ready!
Now, for those of you who've been living
under a rock or feral children or something,
Uncle Ben, in case you don't know,
was Peter Parker's father-figure, his uncle,
and the impetus for Peter becoming a superhero,
rather than just some sort of
low-rent professional wrestler.
In the comics, Uncle Ben was originally murdered
when a burglar broke into the Parker family home,
gunning him down when Uncle Ben
surprised the robber mid-burgle.
Outraged, Peter Parker returned home and decided
to use his new-found powers to do,
not only whatever a spider can,
but also whatever a superhero could: make a difference.
In the Raimi movies, though, Uncle Ben's demise
is distinctly more tragic.
After defeating Bonesaw in an epic wrasslin' match,
Peter's cheated out of his winnings by the promoter.
When a thief steals the promoter's money,
Peter has a chance to stop the criminal in his tracks,
but lets him get away in an attempt
to stick it to the guy who cheated him.
When the criminal makes his way outside,
he steals a car and murders the driver.
And who was driving that car, you ask?
You guessed it!
None other than Uncle Ben.
The tragic death that Peter could have stopped,
coupled with Uncle Ben's fateful words,
"with great power comes great responsibility,"
would be the only motivation Peter Parker needed
to become your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Okay, so, back to the theory.
First posited by redditor ScoobyQuinn23,
this theory puts forth that while we've yet
to see Uncle Ben in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
Tom Holland's Peter Parker carries
his late Uncle's memory with him
in a very subtle, very clever way.
Remember all those really old movies,
like The Empire Strikes Back and Aliens,
that Peter loves to reference?
Well, guess who first sat little Peter down
to make sure he watched those cinema classics
in the first place?
That's right! Uncle Ben.
"My theory is that Uncle Ben was a film nut
"and he loved sharing his favorite movies
"with Peter," wrote ScoobyQuinn23.
"All of the references Peter has used so far
"are from really old movies that
"would've come out when Uncle Ben
"was around 20 based on Aunt May's age.
"Sure, Peter could've seen all those movies
"on his own, especially Star Wars,
"but I've met kids from his generation
"that have never seen Wizard of Oz or Back to the Future,
"let alone Aliens or Ferris Bueller.
"So all these movies made an impact on a young Uncle Ben,
"some of which he may have even seen
in the theater with Peter's father."
Oh god.
"So he showed them to Peter and Peter loved most of them,
but not all of them judging by his remarks on Footloose."
Yeah. (laughs)
Dancing couldn't save a town; that's dumb as hell.
Let's dance!
And just in case you weren't sad enough already,
the theory also puts forth that the film by Peter Parker
that Petey-boy's making at the beginning of Homecoming
is for an audience of one,
an audience that will never actually get to see this movie.
Uncle Ben.
And why did he film it?
And I quote, "Peter found himself right in the middle
"of the kind of movie Uncle Ben would've loved,
"so he just had to film it."
Whoo!
Yikes. Mr Stark, I don't feel so good.
Some commenters are taking things a step further in thinking
that things might get even sadder in the sequel.
They're wondering, if, given Mysterio's
special-effects and movie-magic background,
the villain formerly known as Quentin Beck
will strike a particularly emotional chord
when Peter suits up to take him down
in 2019's Spider-Man Far From Home.
That is, of course, presuming that Peter
isn't just a pile of dirt in a zip-lock bag by then.
(clap) Ahhh.
Usually it feels good to make that joke,
but today I just feel bummed.
God.
Can a spider cry?
I don't know, ask Kyle Hill.
But what do you think?
Do you buy this fan theory?
Who do you think should play Uncle Ben in the MCU?
What movie do you think Peter's gonna reference next?
Let me know in the comments below
and give me the saddest thumbs-up
of 2018 while you're there.
Hang in there, guys.
Almost done.
Be sure to like, subscribe, and hit
that notification bell, or else you might miss out
on next week's episode about a mission
to rescue endangered species from a theme park,
that turns out to be an elaborate plot
to write Colin Firth into the story
in a, frankly, underwhelming way,
and perform weird experiments on British kids
in Jurassic World Fallen Kingsman, the Golden Compass.
Until next time, keep on diggin'.