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Garfield's Spider-Man Did Catch Uncle Ben's Killer (Just Not In The Movies)
Spider-Man never catches Uncle Ben's killer in The Amazing Spider-Man movies, but he does in the universe's second video game, which is more fitting.

Garfield's Spider-Man Did Catch Uncle Ben's Killer (Just Not In The Movies)

Andrew Garfield’s version of Spider-Man never caught Uncle Ben’s killer in The Amazing Spider-Man movies, but he did in the continuity’s ancillary material. As with most versions of Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield’s iteration lost his beloved Uncle and father figure to a criminal, leading him to use his newfound spider powers to help others. Most versions of Spider-Man track down Uncle Ben’s killer sooner or later, and while Garfield’s iteration does this in an Amazing Spider-Man video game, this is more appropriate than showing it in one of the movies.

The Andrew Garfield version of Spider-Man appears in his two solo films and the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, and while he’s arguably just as comic accurate as his predecessor, played by Tobey Maguire, he takes inspiration from different eras of the Spider-Man comic mythos. The Amazing Spider-Man is mostly an amalgamation of the 1970s Amazing Spider-Man comics by Gerry Conway and John Romita Sr. and the alternate universe Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. Following these inspirations, Garfield’s first cinematic outing features the tragic death of Uncle Ben, though none of the films show his killer being caught.

Spider-Man abandons his search for Uncle Ben’s killer at a certain point in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man, but he does eventually find him in The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s video game, which is part of the same continuity. While Spider-Man doesn’t apprehend the killer, the game provides closure for those who might have wanted to see the 2012 storyline concluded. Furthermore, having the killer’s storyline end outside of the movie preserves a key part of Spider-Man’s character arc in the first film: using his powers to help others instead of himself.

The two Amazing Spider-Man video games fit perfectly into the timeline of the films. The first game is set a few months after the events of 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man while the second is set during the events of The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s montage following Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy’s breakup. Early on in the second game, Dennis Carradine, who killed Uncle Ben, is pursued by Spider-Man but killed by Cletus Kasady before Spider-Man can capture him.

This ultimately works in tandem with Spider-Man’s characterization in the films. Peter Parker learns that he must use his powers responsibly after rescuing civilians on the Williamsburg Bridge. For the rest of the film, Spider-Man no longer searches for Carradine, pursuing The Lizard instead to protect New Yorkers. In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man’s offscreen relapse into the search for Carradine makes sense, given his anguish over breaking up with Gwen (for fear of endangering her with his double life).

The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s video game resolving the storyline of Uncle Ben’s killer is the most appropriate way to handle the storyline. Placing it during the events of the second movie through offscreen ancillary material supplements Spider-Man’s character development and provides fans with a conclusion to the story thread without interfering with Peter Parker’s cinematic character arcs. While Peter Parker does track down Dennis Carradine in the continuity of The Amazing Spider-Man, it’s wisely left out of the movies themselves.