The following contains major spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, now in theaters.
Uncle Ben's speech to Spider-Man is one of the most iconic Marvel moments ever. It even transcended pop culture by proving to be the catalyst for Peter Parker to embrace his destiny as a superhero. Hearing about how great power comes with great responsibility got him to mature, which is why the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans were concerned the new movies didn't detail this exchange. Thankfully, the moment did come, but it was remixed with Aunt May delivering the line instead of Uncle Ben. However, thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU got a second crack at it by doing the moment better with a totally different hero.
Now, that isn't to knock Aunt May's moment, but it felt unoriginal. The live-action versions of Ben Parker delivered the line when they were dying due to Peter failing to stop a robber, forcing guilt on the hero's shoulders. The MCU's Pete also felt guilty because trying to help Green Goblin resulted in Norman Osborn turning on May and mortally wounding her. But being that far into the hero's story made the line feel cheesy.
Doctor Strange 2, on the other hand, poured more emotional weight on the shoulders of America Chavez as she got her own spin on the Uncle Ben moment. It came when a flashback showed how her multiversal portal powers first appeared. She got spooked by a bee in a flower field and accidentally opened a portal that sucked her mothers in. But before she could even react, it closed, leaving America alone and scared.
As she'd tell Strange, she had no idea where they got thrown. But right then and there, she realized how responsible she needed to be with her talent. And what made that even more impactful is she had to process it on her own. As years passed, she had no trainers or support system. The various Peters still had family and friends, and even the MCU's Spider-Man could still find others like him, such as the Avengers or Doctor Strange.
America didn't have that luxury because she had no variants, and her only friend tried to kill her. But she braved it all in isolation, hopping across different worlds and training herself to become more responsible with a gift she didn't even know how to use or control. Sadly, she ended up being more vulnerable because of this, which is why Wanda Maximoff began hunting her down to harness her powers.
That made America's journey much more dangerous, as she was a risk to herself and the public. However, she took the lesson to heart and somehow survived. It's why she was thankful at the end to work with Wong as the Sorcerer Supreme at Kamar-Taj, training to become even better. Sure, Spider-Man's moment is more iconic, but America's take on it proves that the best recipe for success is resilience.
See how America gets a better Uncle Ben moment in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, now in theaters.
