academic pursuits and his rapport with Mary Jane. He is later killed by an armed robber early on in the series, which serves as a constant source of guilt and torment for Peter, due to his partial role in his uncle's murder, but not before he imparts Peter with the motto that "with great power comes great responsibility", which inspires Peter to use his powers for the greater good and to undertake his Spider-Man vigilante alter-ego. Richard Parker – Peter's late father. A brilliant biochemist, he was selected to be part of Nick Fury's team to redevelop Captain America's lost Super-Soldier Serum. He and Mary were injured in a related lab accident when Peter was an infant, which led to his adamant refusal to allow his and Edward Brock Sr.'s anti-cancer super-suit to be weaponized by Trask Industries later in life. It was during the legal battle with Trask when Richard, Mary, Edward Brock, Sr. and Edward's wife died in a plane crash. Recently, Richard resurfaced; allegedly back from the dead, claiming he did not get on the plane because he did not want involvement in the Venom (anti-cancer) project anymore. Since that time, he has been working as an underground scientist for the CIA to combat Nick Fury when and if he one day got out of control. After Gwen Stacy returns to the Parker's old house, he reappears to try to clear everything up. In Ultimate Spider-Man #103, Sue Storm tests Richard's DNA to confirm that he is really an aged clone of Peter. He is last seen in Ultimate Spider-Man #104 aging more rapidly and dying. Before he died from old age, "Richard" requested Sue Storm and the rest of the Fantastic Four to look after Peter. The real Richard Parker is still deceased. Richard was also the source of Spider-Man's "web fluid". Before his death, Richard was working on a "molecular adhesive". Peter finished the formula after becoming Spider-Man and uses it to fight crime (see Powers and abilities). Mary Parker – May Parker's sister-in-law, and Peter's mother. She died in the plane crash with her husband while Peter was a child. Dr. Curt Connors – A professor at Empire State University who sponsors Eddie Brock's Venom project. He tries to re-grow the arm he lost in the Vietnam War with lizard DNA, accidentally becoming the Lizard. Using a sample of Peter's blood, he inadvertently creates