To a lesser extent, he has a similar relationship with Spider-Man, whose alter ego Peter Parker was a photographer for the Bugle who occasionally accompanied Urich on assignments.
[1] Urich first appeared in Daredevil stories, where he investigated Wilson Fisk, a businessman who was secretly the Kingpin, the head of the New York criminal underworld.
Urich plays a vital behind-the-scenes role in the Punisher limited series Circle of Blood (drawn by Mike Zeck).
After Osborn's presumed death, Urich writes an exposé book on the man's many crimes, titled Legacy of Evil.
During the course of research for the book, Ben helps Spider-Man and the Molten Man save Liz Allan's son from kidnappers who resembled the Green Goblin.
[5] During the period where Daredevil's identity was exposed in print, Ben refuses to confirm it to J. Jonah Jameson on the principle of protecting his sources, and his status at work suffered for it.
Matt Murdock is recovering at the Night Nurse's clinic, of which Ben Urich knows the location (he had written an article on her), and he is forced to give that information to the FBI, due to the manipulation of the Kingpin.
His neutrality is called into question after a confrontation with the Green Goblin, who was supposed to be in prison at the time but had been secretly released as part of one of Iron Man's plans.
In Civil War: Front Line #4, Ben reveals to his friend Sally Floyd that seeing the Silver Surfer during the alien's first visit to Earth caused him to realize that mankind is not alone in the universe.
In the end of Civil War: Front Lines, Ben leaves the Daily Bugle, with Jameson's blessing and understanding, and forms the online newspaper Frontlines.com with Sally Floyd.
During the course of those events, Sally Floyd learns that Daily Bugle editor Jonah Jameson was the mysterious financial backer of the publication, a fact which they agreed to hide from Urich, lest it kill his spirit.
[8] During the Secret Invasion storyline, Ben was covering a story in a local hospital, only to be trapped inside during the Skrull attacks.
Ben and many other human refugees make their way to Stark Tower, though few are aware a human-hunting Skrull with a large body count hides within.
He then gets word of Norman Osborn's rise to power and confronts him at the press conference announcing the control of the Thunderbolts Initiative over S.H.I.E.L.D.
This ultimately breaks Urich's writer's block, prompting him to write his return article: "Dark Reign: Norman Osborn Takes Control".
[10] Following a superpowered disaster in Chicago, Ben teams up with his old friend Bill Stern, a disgraced former news reporter who rescues him from police custody.
[13] Learning of his nephew's identity as the new Hobgoblin, Ben Urich attempts to arrange a meeting to talk Phil down and convince him to accept a cure for the Goblin formula, but when Robbie Robertson is discovered in the area, Phil believes that Ben had been trying to set a trap and delivers a serious injury to Robbie before The Superior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus' mind in Peter Parker's body) appears.
[14] With the Daily Bugle on its deathbed, Ben approaches Jessica Drew and convinces her to assist him with investigating potential stories and cases, both local and nationwide.
This version is a jaded cynic and substance abusing reporter from 1933 who blackmails crime boss Norman Osborn for money to feed his drug habit.
This version is marginally younger than the mainstream incarnation, works as a top reporter at the Daily Bugle, and displays no connection to Daredevil.