Spider-Man: What Really Happened To Peter Parker's Parents? - CBR

In every way that matters, Aunt May and Uncle Ben are the parents of Spider-Man. While they might not be his biological parents, they raised Peter Parker as their own son. They taught him invaluable lessons about power and responsibility that would influence the type of hero he later became.

However, their presence still raises some questions about Peter Parker's birth parents. These questions have been answered differently across Spider-Man's comic book and movie adventures. What really happened to Peter's biological parents, and what kept them from being part of his life?

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Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on September 24, 2024: The mystery of Peter Parker's parents remains crucial to the superhero's origin story. However, the comics reveal exactly what happened to Thomas and Mary Parker. This article has been updated with additional information and adheres to CBR's current formatting guidelines.

How Did Spider-Man's Parents Die in the Mainstream Marvel Universe?

On Earth-616, Peter's Parents are Killed by the Order of the Red Skull

In the primary Marvel Universe, Richard Parker was Ben Parker's younger brother and a decorated veteran. After being recruited to the CIA following his time in the Army, Richard met and fell in love with Mary Fitzpatrick, a CIA translator and data analyst.

Trivia
The fate of Peter Parker's parents is first revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Mike Esposito, and Artie Simek.

The pair were soon married, eventually becoming partners as they traveled the world and dealt with threats to national security. In Untold Tales of Spider-Man #-1 (by Roger Stern, John Romita, Al Milgrom, Steve Mattsson, and Richard Starkings), they saved Wolverine while serving overseas, who revealed that Mary was pregnant with their first child. This would be their son Peter, who would eventually be followed by their daughter Teresa.

Not long after Teresa's birth, the pair were confronted by Albert Malik, the third Red Skull. While infiltrating the Red Skull's operation, the pair were discovered and their plane sabotaged, seemingly killing both of them in the resulting crash.

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Peter grew up with Ben and his wife May, while the younger Teresa remained a secret from their family and was adopted. Chameleon later used Life Model Decoys of Spider-Man's parents to target Peter and his family as part of a plan orchestrated by Harry Osborn during his time as the Green Goblin. However, they would eventually be discovered and defeated, thanks largely to the LMD of Mary, which developed human emotions for the Parker family.

Revealing the Fate of Peter Parker's Parents Was a Mistake

His Parents Didn't Need to be S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents

Marvel Comics may have made a misstep when it decided to reveal that Peter Parker's parents were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were killed after crossing the Red Skull. Before this, Spider-Man was an everyman character with whom all audiences could relate. Peter Parker was an ordinary kid thrust into an extraordinary life after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Suddenly revealing that his parents had been secret agents nullified some of Peter Parker's relatability in a way that hurt the character rather than deepened his backstory.

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It is for this reason that most Spider-Man stories since this have changed or ignored the Parkers' fate. With some notable exceptions, Peter Parker's parents being secret agents is rarely mentioned again in the character's Earth-616 stories. Most live-action adaptations have also steered away from this backstory, with Peter's parents remaining offscreen entirely in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and the MCU. On the other hand, the Amazing Spider-Man movies hinted that the Parkers were working with a secret organization, but nothing came out of this storyline after the franchise was rebooted.

Ultimate Marvel Gave Spider-Man's Parents a Different Fate

On Earth-1610, Peter's Parents Were Killed in a Plane Crash

In the alternate events of the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Richard Parker was a biologist instead of a secret agent. He was partners with Eddie Brock Sr., and the pair worked together on a possible cure-all in the form of a biological suit that could bond with and repair a host body.

Events Discussed Appear In:
Ultimate Spider-Man #33 by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, Art Thibert, Rodney Ramos, Transparency Digital, and Chris Eliopoulos

However, Richard feared the dangerous potential of the suit and left audio recordings describing the suit's development and his fears concerning the tech. Richard and Brock later met an untimely end when they were killed along with their wives in a plane crash in Ultimate Spider-Man #33. This severely affected the six-year-old Peter Parker (who was taken in by his aunt and uncle) and his slightly older friend, Eddie Brock, Jr.

Meanwhile, their parents' work eventually became the beginning of the Ultimate Universe's version of the Venom symbiote, which became a consistent thorn in Spider-Man's side. Richard Parker briefly seemed to return down the line, believing himself to be the only survivor of the crash. However, it was later revealed that he was actually a clone of Peter Parker, who was aging too rapidly. The clone soon perished, and he expressed his love for his shared "family" in his final moments.

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Spider-Man's Parents Almost Had a Different Fate in Sony's Movie Universe

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Nearly Brought Richard Parker Back From the Dead

Peter's parents haven't appeared in many adaptations of the Spider-Man series. They were only briefly referenced in the original Spider-Man trilogy and haven't been mentioned in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, Richard Parker received some attention during The Amazing Spider-Man films.

Trivia
In The Amazing Spider-Man, Richard and Mary Parker are played by Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz, respectively.

The first movie briefly introduces them as they drop a young Peter off with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. The pair seemingly died during a sequence featured in the beginning of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. While searching through his father's old notes, Peter finds a link that leads him to an OsCorp lab.

It's revealed that some of Richard's work had been on genetically engineered spiders, which is why Peter was the only person the spiders were able to affect. In a deleted scene from the end of the film, an older version of Richard visits Peter while he's dealing with the death of Gwen Stacy.

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He revealed he survived the crash and has been trying to keep his discoveries from falling into the hands of OsCorp. However, this last sequence isn't canon with the rest of the film, and the world that this film set up was effectively superseded by the version of Spider-Man seen in the MCU.

Peter Parker's Parents are Still a Mystery in the MCU

The MCU Hasn't Mentioned Peter Parker's Parents

The mystery of what happened to Peter Parker's parents remains unsolved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the sprawling superhero franchise, Tom Holland portrays Peter Parker, who is first seen at the age of fifteen during the events of Captain America: Civil War.

At the point of his introduction in the MCU film, he is already living with his Aunt May in Queens, with his parents — and Uncle Ben, for that matter — assumed to be deceased. However, none of these characters are named in future MCU titles, nor are their fates fully addressed. Even so, the MCU's timeline offered hints about what might have happened to Richard and Mary Parker before their son became Spider-Man.

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The opening sequence of Spider-Man: Homecoming occurs just after the Battle of New York in 2012, which brought tremendous destruction throughout the city due to the Avengers' battle against Loki and the Chitauri. Given that Peter and his family were New York residents, it is very possible that Richard and Mary were killed during the Avengers' battle with the Chitauri. Peter, who would have been eleven years old, would be old enough to remember his parents but still young enough to look to his aunt and uncle as his de facto parental figures in the following years.

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Even so, the truth about Peter Parker's parents in the MCU has yet to be revealed. Richard and Mary Parker only appear briefly in most iterations of Spider-Man's story. Nevertheless, they still cast a shadow over their son's life as he works tirelessly to protect the loved ones that he still has. Peter may have never known his parents, but he still makes them proud with every person he saves as Spider-Man.

How Marvel's New Ultimate Spider-Man Subverts Peter Parker's Most Personal Tragedy

Earth-6160's Peter Parker Is Different From the Rest

When the Peter Parker of Earth-6160, also known as the current Ultimate Universe, first appeared in the pages of 2023's Ultimate Invasion #1, it was clear from the start that he was unlike any version of the character readers were used to seeing. Instead of a wide-eyed youth or grizzled veteran hero, this Peter Parker lived a life largely devoid of notable occurrences.

Trivia
The new Ultimate Peter Parker first appeared in Ultimate Invasion #1 by Jonathan Hickman, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, and Alex Sinclair.

That is, other than the fact that his world was ruled over by would-be superheroes who feigned war among themselves to keep the rest of the globe in line with the Maker's vision. As a part of his vision, the Maker ensured Peter Parker would never become Spider-Man. That Peter avoided being bitten by a genetically engineered spider wasn't enough to prevent his parents' mysterious deaths. However, it was enough to prevent what otherwise would have been the untimely demise of Uncle Ben.

As such, Peter grew up with the best support in the world, and he still has both Ben and May to lean on. This has helped strengthen his resolve while he embarks upon his career as Spider-Man, which was almost stolen away from him for good.

Ultimate Spider-Man

Publisher(s) Marvel Writer Jonathan Hickman Penciler Marco Checchetto Inker Marco Checchetto Letterer Cory Petit

Visionary writer Jonathan Hickman (HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X) and acclaimed artist Marco Checchetto (DAREDEVIL) bring you a bold new take on Spider-Man, with this, the debut title of the new line of Ultimate Comics! After the events of ULTIMATE INVASION, the world needs a hero...who will rise up to take on that responsibility? Prepare to be entangled in a web of mystery and excitement as the all-new ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN comic redefines the wall-crawler for the 21st Century!

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