Spider-Man is arguably one of the most beloved Marvel characters of all time. Between hundreds of comic books, 10, soon 11, leading movies, and even more roles as supporting characters in other films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s a character that has webbed his way into millions of hearts. It’s easy to do that when you have more leading movies than any other Marvel character.
Out of all of his movies, we have four different leading Spider-Man films, one animation and three live action. For this argument, we’re going to focus on the original three live action films, where he is played by Tobey Maquire, the “Spider-Man” series, featuring two movies with Andrew Garfield taking over the role, and the latest Spider-Man, the MCU’s very own played by Tom Holland.
Due to so many different portals of this character, arguments have indured to answer the dying question: who is the best spiderman?
I would have to argue that the best spiderman has to be Tobey Maquire. He is THE Spider-Man. He created the on-screen character we have all grown to adore. And it’s not just me saying this. In a speech about the character, Stan Lee said the same thing to Maguire himself.
Maguire was able to embody the Peter Parker aspect of the character. He was easily able to slip into the nerdy guy who just happens to be a superhero, Holland and Garfield, although great at making the character one of their own, lacked the “loveable nerd” aspect. Garfield, as many fans critiqued, portrayed a “cooler” version of Peter which was good but when judging based on who the Spider-Man/Peter Parker character is, takes away. In Holland’s movies, they made the character less relatable, in a sense. He wasn’t just this poor kid from Queens. He quickly got involved with Tony Stark and got such advanced technology the others didn’t receive. The lack of these characteristics takes away from the relatability of Peter Parker – something Stan Lee wanted with this character.
So many different factors come into play which make these movies hard to compare.
It’s not just Maguire’s adorable portrayal of the superhero that makes his movies superior, but also the villains. Of all of the other movies, Maguire’s movies arguably had the greatest Marvel villains of all time, specifically Green Goblin and Doctor Octavius. Both of these villains are complex and have their own strong storylines. Neither of them wanted to be evil and hated who they had become once they realized. The audience was given stories to make them more human and likable. It’s beautiful.
On top of these two villains, “Spider-Man 3” also introduces Venom, a villain so great they even have their own spin off franchise.
Besides the villains, Peter’s best fiend, Harry, was such a beautifully written character. He turned evil but he had a heart. He is the perfect example of how going through something so tragic can easily turn you into something you are not. He was broken and real. He was a character the other movies lacked to provide.
For its time, the production of Maguire’s movies are amazing. Special effects were on point to create cinematically beautiful action scenes with fights that captivated an audience and caused you to hold your breath.
All of the Spider-Men had their strengths and weaknesses, but in the end, the best spiderman is an easy decision to come to. It has to be the original, iconic Spider-Man in the first three movies. Tobey deserves this honor. Nothing will ever compare to Maguire, the original Spider-Man.
