Benjamin Franklin Parker, usually referred to as Uncle Ben, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in association with the superhero Spider-Man. He is the husband of May Parker and the paternal uncle and father figure of Peter Parker. After appearing Strange Tales #97 (January 1962), Uncle Ben made his first full appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. He was modeled after American founding father Benjamin Franklin.