Benjamin Parker

"With great power, there must also come great responsibility."

Personality
Benjamin Franklin Parker's life motto was "with great power must come great responsability." Ben Parker attributed the formation of this philosophy in regards to his time as a US Army Military Police Officer; he referred it as coming both from his beliefs as he as an individual can do as a member of the US army and as what the United States should do as one of the two superpowers at the time growing up. Pre-service life though maintained he always dictated life as formed from responsability. Hence why he was driven to serve as a role model for his younger brother, Richard and did everything to make sure his younger brother would turn out well.

A believer in hard work and integrity, Ben Parker possessed a drive to do good. Growing up in the post World War II era as a young Jewish boy, he was also well-aware of the prejudices faced and strived to treat everyone equally. Hard-working, loving and down-to-earth, Benjamin Parker was a very enjoyable person to be around. Owing to his blue-collared workhood, he is always very open and honest with his opinions on matters, a matter that differentiate him from his more softspoken and secretative younger brother. Another seperation was temper as Ben was the man to show his temper outwardly when someone hurt those he cared about. Overall, Ben Parker followed his heart, formed his philosophy from it and he would in turn pass on that legacy of goodness onto his nephew, Peter.

Early Life and Richard
Benjamin Franklin Parker was born the first son of a Jewish couple in Brooklyn in 1940. He was raised initially by his mother as his father went out to fight in World War II. After the war through, his parents both began working jobs to ensure stability in the post-war world. Growing up, Ben often played with the other children on the street and like many others, was a large fan of Captain America and his team, the Liberty Legion, an elite squad who infilitrated the heart of Nazi Germany's secret laboratories. His father in fact once gave Ben a picture of the squad to his son when he returned home. However, life changed in 1951 when Ben's father would become drafted in the Korean War and would end up losing his life there in 1952. Ben's mother would go on to work full-time after a few years and at 15, Ben Parker would become the primary influence for his younger brother Richard Parker.

This transistional period of becoming man of the house helped Benjamin take on the foundations of growing up and applying the aspects of responsability, something his younger brother would emulate. By 18 though, Ben would become the full caretaker of his brother after an accident robbed them of their mother. As such, Ben would need to take time away from school and work to assist in his brother's education while also relying on some family friends for support. However over time it became harder to do so. However, fate changed when through a favor of a friend of their father, Richard could go into the New York Military Academy in exchange for Ben enlisting over for the Vietnam War, an offer that the Parker brothers would accept. It was 1964, Richard being 14 and Ben being 24. Over the next few years, while Richard excelled in the Academy, Ben Parker would rise through the ranks and become a US Army Police Officer. He would serve for about five years and his experiences in Vietnam reinforced his dedication toward responsability yet also he remained unwavered in doing the right thing.

When Ben came back, he was welcomed back by his brother Richard, who would remain in the military and would later go on for intelligence. Ben would end up completing college through the GI Bill and during that time, he would meet his future wife, May Reily. After an initialy rough start, the two dated and within a few years, they would end up getting married with Ben at 31 and May at 28. While they planned to start a family, a miscarriage occurred that would keep the couple from trying, instead devoting themselves to helping out the neighborhood. The wedding was a small affair. While Benjamin worked as a mechanic thanks to the work gained from his associate's degree, May worked within the neighborhood with her friend Anna May-Watson. The two lived a quiet life for several years of their marriage and the only notable moments were May's attempts at finding her family while also the two keeping up with Ben's brother Richard, who would accel and go to become an intelligence officer, eventually working for the CIA. Ben would insist on his brother returning to civilian life, not wanting Richard to lose himself in that sort of work. However, he was happy in seeing Richard finding a partner for himself in Mary Fitzpatrick. They secretly dated for several years before getting privately married.

Great Responsability
However, the large shock came with the birth of Peter Benjamin Parker,  the child of Richard and Mary. The next three years had Peter coming and going from his parents' home to that of his aunt and uncle's over the years. Richard told Ben that after one last mission, he would retire from duty and go back fully to civilian life. Unfortunately, the final mission cost Richard and Mary their lives and while they were unable to know the full details, the news was that Richard and Mary died as heroes. Ben was 40 upon learning the news of the loss of his younger brother.

Ben assumed full responsability alongside May in raising Peter Parker as their own and found a great deal in joy in raising the child they could not have and helping Peter become a good young man. Their quiet home life became more active as they raised Peter and went through the ups and downs of parenthood, such as birthdays, questions on parenting and career choices. During Peter's high school year, Ben did note Peter began changing and knew it was more important than ever that Peter learned on how great power needed to come with great responsability. Ben Parker died of a gunshot wound on July 22, 1995, attempting to talk down a thief, who panicked.

He is survived by his wife May Parker and his nephew, Peter Parker.

Legacy
Ben Parker's legacy lies primarily to that of his nephew, Peter Parker, who he raised as his own son. Peter's guilt over his bad judgment leading to the death of his uncle due to his own negligance became the motivating force behind his career as Spider-Man. Peter vowed never to let harm come to an innocent person ever again if he could help, and so it was that Spider-Man became the crime-fighter he is known for. Additionally, Ben's quote on "With great power, there must also come great responsibility" has become a lesson that Peter ends up sharing among his fellow heroes.

Trivia

 * Ben never discussed much on the military though it would appear he left on an honorable discharge after reporting his superior and risking his own career in it.


 * Ben was raised primarily Jewish, even having a bar mitzfah. Despite this, he never placed much emphasis on his faith. On the other hand, May is a Protestant Christian and has attended church regularly. Ben and occasionally Peter have accompanied her to be with her.


 * Ben was a large influence on Peter’s preference in various things. Besides both sharing a love in Captain America and the Liberty Legion, Ben was also an avid fan of science fiction works. He grew up reading the works of the "Golden Age of Science Fiction" in his youth and when he got older, ended up reading the works during the "New Wave of Science Fiction", especially after his military years. He shared some of these stories with Peter, which cultivated a love of science and a sense of the wonder.


 * Despite Ben’s reluctance to discuss his military past, he did maintain a firearm in the house in the event it was needed to defend himself. He even taught May how to shoot, which he noted she picked up on it quicker than he did.