The Burglar
First appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15

Hardly the toughest or most powerful foe Spider-Man has ever faced, the Burglar nonetheless forever changed young Peter Parker's life, and made Spider-Man a true hero. Years ago when Peter Parker had just gotten his Spider-powers and was cashing in on them by appearing on television, a thief robbed the studio one night, and despite the calls of a security guard for assistence, Peter refused. His newfound power having gone to his head, Parker returned home that evening and was horrified to learn that his Uncle Ben had been shot by a Burglar. Donning his Spider-Man suit, Peter raced to an old warehouse were the burglar was cornered, and after taking him down was shocked to learn that the burglar who killed Uncle Ben was the same thief he let go at the television studio. The burglar was taken into police custody for Ben Parker's murder, and Peter vowed to avenge his Uncle Ben's death by becoming a hero, having now fully understood his Uncle's fateful words, "With great power, comes great responsibility."

However the story of the Burglar does not end there. Years later the Burglar was released from prison, and his true motivations for going to the Parker household all those years ago was at last revealed. It turned out years before that the Burglar had shared a prison cell with an aging gangster named Dutch Malone, who revealed to the Burglar that he hid a great deal of money in the old Parker house. The Burglar then bought the Parker house, which at this time was not being used since Peter lived in an apartment and Aunt May was in a nursing home. Despite his best efforts in searching, the Burglar could not find Dutch Malone's hidden cash, and he went to the nursing home to find out where Aunt May must have put it. With the aid of May's doctor, who was actually Mysterio in disguise (this is the oft-mentioned "nursing home scam" by the way), the Burglar faked May's death to find the truth and to avoid May's nephew who might find out what was going on.

However the Burglar, unaware that Dr. Rinehart was actually Mysterio, decided to bump the doctor off so he wouldn't interfere with his plans, but before the Burglar could do anything, Mysterio stopped him and got away. The Burglar however, still had May in his costody, and planned to use her as a tool to find Malone's cash, and in time Peter became aware of this, and tracked down the Burglar, who was now using the old Acme warehouse as a hideout. Arriving as Spider-Man, a brief fight ensued between Spider-Man and the Burglar who murdered his beloved Uncle Ben, and at the climax of the fight, Spider-Man unmasked himself, revealing to the Burglar at long last, that Spider-Man was the nephew of Ben Parker. The Burglar was shocked and terrified that Spider-Man was going to kill him in retaliation, suffered a fatal heart attack. It seemed now finally that the Burglar had paid for his sins, and a recovering Aunt May actually seemed to move forward past her hatred of Spider-Man for his help in rescuing her from the Burglar's clutches.

That was the last anyone saw of the Burglar. That is, until a few years later when Peter Parker, believing himself to be a clone of the true Spider-Man, stepped down and handed the mantle over to Ben Reilly. It was early into Ben's tenure as Spider-Man that he encountered a striking young woman named Jessica Carradine, with a fascination towards Spider-Man. Ben and Jessica began dating, but their bliss was short-lived when Ben not only discovered that Jessica was the daughter of the Burglar, but also that Jessica saw Ben unmasked as Spider-Man. You see, Jessica blamed Spider-Man for her father's death, believing that Spider-Man murdered her father, and the heart attack story was a scam to save Spider-Man's reputation. However, Jessica soon realized the truth and decided that it was for the best if she kept her knowledge secret, as she realized that Spider-Man truely was a hero. Jessica subsequently dropped out of ESU where she was a journalism student and has not been seen since.

It seems that the spectre of the Burglar that killed Uncle Ben will forever loom over Peter Parker, but for now both the Burglar and his legacy have long since been dealt with and buried.

Powers and Abilities: The Burglar was an average intelligence and the strength and abilities of a man at least in his forties. He did seem to have a bad heart though, and had trouble seeing the larger picture.

REFERENCES: Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #193-200, Sensational Spider-Man #0-6

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