who popularized the proverb with great power comes great responsibility

The proverb "With great power comes great responsibility" was popularized by the Spider-Man comic books. It was introduced by Stan Lee in the 1962 comic Amazing Fantasy #15, appearing as a closing narration rather than being spoken by a character. The phrase was later attributed to Spider-Man's Uncle Ben as advice to Peter Parker, though this attribution appeared in comics only about a decade later. However, the idea behind the proverb predates Spider-Man by centuries, having been expressed in various forms by earlier historical figures. For example, similar sentiments appeared in writings by Voltaire (though the exact phrase is not directly found in his works), in a 1793 French revolutionary decree, and speeches by British politician William Lamb in 1817 and Winston Churchill in 1906. U.S. Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt also expressed related ideas emphasizing the link between power and responsibility. In summary, Stan Lee and Spider-Man popularized the exact phrase in popular culture, but the concept has a long historical lineage going back at least to the eighteenth century and earlier moral teachings.