With great power comes great responsibility
Introduced by Stan Lee, it originally appeared as a closing narration in the 1962 Amazing Fantasy #15, and was later attributed to Uncle Ben as advice to the young Peter Parker.
The idea—similar to the 1st century BC parable of the Sword of Damocles and the medieval principle of noblesse oblige—is that power cannot simply be enjoyed for its privileges alone but necessarily makes its holders morally responsible both for what they choose to do with it and for what they fail to do with it.
[1] Reminders that power is to not be used for wrong and should not be exploited at will are at least as old as the legend of the Sword of Damocles preserved in the 1st century BC Tusculan Disputations of the Roman orator Cicero.
[2] Probably retold from earlier but now lost accounts by Timaeus and Diodorus, Cicero relates that the courtier Damocles was overjoyed at the chance to trade places with the 4th century BC tyrant of Syracuse Dionysius the Elder for a day.
His happiness was abruptly ended when he found that a sword had been suspended above the throne by a single horsehair, indicating the worry of monarchs—particularly tyrants—over the precariousness of their rule.
[9][10] Relating Lamb's speech, Hansard retold his argument that "his friends would, perhaps reproach him with instigating ministers to curb the press; but nothing, he assured them, was farther from his mind.
He was aware of the great benefit the country derived from the liberty of the press, and nothing could induce him to concur in any measure that might tend to injure it; at the same time he was free to confess, that its state had an influence on the vote he gave on the present question".
[8] While undersecretary of the Colonial Office, Winston Churchill stated that "I submit respectfully to the House as a general principle that our responsibility in this matter is directly proportionate to our power.
[13] As prime minister himself, Churchill addressed Harvard in 6 September 1943 to encourage Americans to greater efforts in World War II, particularly in cooperation with the British Empire.
"Twice in my lifetime the long arm of destiny has reached across the oceans and involved the entire life and manhood of the United States in a deadly struggle...
"[15] After discussion of banking and shipping reforms, antilynching legislation, and other issues, President William McKinley's 1899 State of the Union letter closed with the admonition that "Presented to this Congress are great opportunities.
The earliest appearance of a direct reference to Ben telling Peter the phrase is the 1987 Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 by Jim Owsley, M. D. Bright, and Al Williamson.
Comic book writer Greg Pak opined that the motto was "one of the greatest single moral injunctions in all of American pop culture".
[25][26] The formulation created by Marvel has been used by journalists, authors, and other writers,[27][28][29] including the United States Supreme Court[30] and Representative Richard Neal on the occasion of the release of Donald Trump's tax returns.
