The Burglar is a Marvel Comics character, and the first true enemy of Spider-Man.
This unnamed small-time crook played an essential role in Spider-Man's origin in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Spider-Man originally intends to use his powers for fame and fortune, but one day allows a thief to run past him. Soon after, the same criminal breaks into his house intending to rob it, and when confronted, shoots and kills Peter's Uncle Ben. After chasing the killer to a warehouse and confronting him, Peter learns, to his horror, that he could have prevented the death by using his powers more responsibly.
He reappears in Amazing Spider-Man #170 after serving his term in prison. In #200 (January 1980), it is revealed that he had been seeking a large stash of money that was hidden in the Parker house, but had been destroyed by insects years before. When Spider-Man confronts him again, the burglar is overwhelmed by fear and suffers a fatal heart attack.
He has a daughter named Jessica Carradine, a photographer who has a brief relationship with Spider-Man's clone, Ben Reilly. She believes the murder her father committed was an accident, and that Spider-Man had murdered him. After learning that Ben is Spider-Man, she first threatens to expose him, but then decides against it. The burglar's true name has never been revealed, and it has not been established whether or not Carradine was his surname as well.
Ultimate Universe
In Ultimate Spider-Man, a reimaging of the Spider-Man mythos, the origin story from Amazing Fantasy #15 is reinterpreted over the course of seven issues. Ben Parker's death at the hands of a burglar does not occur until Ultimate Spider-Man #4.
In other media
In the feature film Spider-Man, the killer was not a burglar. Instead of trying to break intoo the Parker home, he attempted to carjack Ben Parker. When Ben refused to surrender his vehicle, the robber shot him. Unlike the comics continuity, Ben lived just long enough for Peter to arrive upon the scene and share a brief, final moment with his uncle. Peter chased the killer to the warehouse, where the killer tripped and fell from a second-story window to his death. The movie credits list the character as "Carjacker", and he is portrayed by Michael Papajohn.
In photos from the set of Spider-man 3, it shows a flashback sequence where the Carjacker, Uncle Ben' and Flint Marko, a.k.a. Sandman are present at the scene where Uncle Ben was killed. It is believed that Sandman was the Carjacker's partner in crime.