After decades of stories about Spider-Man, it seems fair to take stock of the three spiders of the cinema and see who, in his own way, best embodied some of the aspects of Spider-Man. So if the first part is a simple challenge between the best Peter Parker, the best Spider-Man and the best costume, in the second part we will analyze some of the peculiar characteristics of the character, seeing who expressed them best, in his own way.
Best Peter Parker Student: Tobey Maguire
Despite the Peter Parker comics has changed its skin and character several times, thanks above all to the many years of editorial publication, the iconic Peter Parker (at least from the years in which he was in high school) remains the one with glasses, nerd, a little loser and shy, capable of bring out the exact opposite of his character as Spider-Man.
So if Tom Holland represents much more the modern boy, not too popular but not dodged by his companions, Andrew Garfield remained more in the area of the young man with the skateboard, definitely closer to his Ultimate counterpart. To be really close to the original is Tobey Maguire, who with his shyness, his half-mouthed phrases and his way of being (with lots of glasses) remains the best film Peter Parker ever.
But let’s break a lance in Andrew’s favor as regards the character: if in fact Tom Holland is seen as a sunny and friendly boy, Peter Parker has always had his inner demons, starting from the disappearance of his parents until the death of Uncle Ben. For this, Garfield manages to give that slightly dark tone to the character, just enough to make it clear that Peter is not a sunny guy who can easily be Spider-Man, but on the contrary he feels obligated by the responsibility he carries on shoulders.
Best Spider-Man: Andrew Garfield / Tom Holland
If Peter Parker is a shy character, Spider-Man is the funny guy on duty. Few stories have shown Spider-Man not joking, and they were often imbued with pain and seriousness; the rest of the days, on the other hand, our friendly webweaver spends making fun of his enemies, and whoever comes closest to us is undoubtedly Andrew Garfield. In fact, if Tobey Maguire remains a Spider-Man too set up, Tom Holland’s manages to balance very well but the Amazing Spider-Man embodies being Spider-Man both for the poses and for the dialogues. Just think of Maguire standing dressed as Spider-Man, which is different when seen in Holland and Garfield, who instead maintain poses, dynamics and actions.
Obviously in the comics Spider-Man is a very multifaceted character – as we have already said – and it does not all boil down to being agile and nice: in fact, if there is a scene that makes us understand very well the way of thinking of Spider-Man, it is that in Raimi’s first Spider-Man, where in order to save everyone he is forced to keep Mary Jane on one side and a whole bus of people on the other, something that we will surely also see in No Way Home, with Peter’s aim to save his friends, all of New York and even his enemies.
But if there’s one thing Tom Holland does well, it’s being Spider-Man as a whole. Seeing him scream “magic kick” as he hits Thanos out of a Strange portal, or hang upside down in the iconic Spider-Man pose makes him very close to the original Stan Lee concept.
Best Costume: Tom Holland (Civil War)
Here the analysis becomes very difficult: the Spider-Man costume has changed very often over time, especially according to the designer, but if there was something iconic it is certainly the coloring (blue and red, with symbol and black stripes ) and big eyes (at various inclinations).
Taking the various costumes seen in the movies (we eliminate the first of Amazing from the equation, definitely out of the canons), that of Maguire is very close to what the costume would be in real life, complete with a protruding nose and a kind of spandex rubberiness. Garfield’s one returns to be closer to reality with lots of folds on the back, how a fabric would really behave on those occasions (and without that rubberized effect). However, if there is something that really looks good on the screen, it is Holland’s costumes: if in fact the first, Iron Suit, is not similar to that of the comic but gives the idea with a lot of mechanical arms and functions, what you create in Far From Home – regardless of the midnight blue used and the stylized spider – is something really well done, especially for details like the cobwebs under the arms (for gliding) and the way the costume rests on her body.
If we were to be faithful to the original, then the best costume would remain that of Andrew Garfield, but having changed so many costumes over time, we are rewarding the best performing one on screen, namely Tom Holland in Civil War, who at the same time remains faithful to ‘ original.
Now is the time to go into detail, however, to talk about the characteristics that make Spider-Man one of the best superheroes ever, and to understand which of the three is the best at these things. Obviously everything was born from the analysis of scenes in the film compared with comics and features, but in reality it is no longer a simple challenge between the three, but a sort of ranking that, probably in No Way Home, we will find staging (perhaps showing how the three spiders are different from each other).
This dynamic is not so strange when seen in comparison to comics: in the stories of the Spiderverse, in fact, it often happens to see Spider-Man that differ from each other in small characteristics, just enough to make them different.
Best Intelligence: Tom Holland
Tobey Maguire is eliminated from the list immediately as he was never the creator of his webs (which he has by default in the body), and leaves the challenge to Garfield and Holland. Although Garfield made his own cobwebs, he is with Tom Holland – that he did the same – that we see the ingenuity put to work. Among the many scenes, the one made to defeat Mysterio stands out, using a drone engine and a banner as a shield. It remains strange not to see him even more at work, especially considering the work Garfield does with Curt Connors (Lizard) despite being a student.
Regardless, the others also struggle between the actions they do and the way in which they are never stupid – but rather brilliant – yet Holland perhaps manages to be the “smartest” one.
Best Mentor: Tom Holland
Here the challenge is easy, but it makes sense: Maguire did not have a mentor, although Octopus is approached in the second film, while Garfield had Connors, but he too becomes a nemesis. Tony Stark it is very important because it depicts an equal mentor of how, in the comics, Reed Richards was in the early days. In fact, if we read the first stories, the person Peter goes to as soon as he takes the symbiote is him.
Best Physical Strength and Powers: Tobey Maguire
Over time we have seen many Spider-Man in theaters, but if we compare the powers of these three, it undoubtedly wins hands down. that of Maguire. If we think about it, he is the only one who has a fluid generated by his body for the cobwebs. In addition to this, it must be said that he managed to stop a moving train (while Holland was unable to keep a ship divided in two) and even to break the fabric of Venom (which, however, the other two have not yet done).
It should be noted that Tom Holland has already fought cosmic beings and came out unscathed, which could make him the strongest of the three in the future, but for the moment – especially given the fact that he has not yet developed the Spider Sense well – that of Maguire remains the best.
Best Depth: Tobey Maguire
By Tom Holland, although we can see that there was an Uncle Ben in the past, he is now the lightest, especially compared to the traumas that Garfield undergoes in the second film. But if there is a series of films about Spider-Man deepen the right, are those of Raimi. In fact, Maguire plays a Peter Parker who makes serious, profound – sometimes too deep – speeches on the sense of responsibility and judgment, on doing the right thing and on how to behave like a hero. He doesn’t succeed very much, given the second film, but who really succeeds is instead …
Best Sense of Responsibility: Andrew Garfield
No doubt Spider-Man’s wins hands down Garfield, as despite the death of Gwen Stacy, he returns to fight after not keeping his promise to Stacy’s father, who is also dead. If we think about it, Maguire is giving up for less, and Tom Holland has been on the verge of giving up a couple of times.
Best Comedian: Andrew Garfield
There is no doubt, the jokes made by Garfield they are fantastic: perhaps his being as well as Peter Parker, and above all his acting skills, make him fantastic in joking with enemies. Each sentence is just enough of a joke, and although Holland also comes a little closer to it, not being so distant from the Peter Parker version makes it less obvious. Let’s not talk about Maguire, however, who spends most of his time in costume screaming.
Best Swing: Andrew Garfield
There is no Spider-Man without a spider web, and above all without his swaying among the skyscrapers of New York. Perhaps the outdated technology does not help Maguire here, but only Garfield and Holland are certainly left in the race. And if we go and see the sprawling way in which Holland moves between the skyscrapers (closer to Morales’ Spider-Man), then here is Garfield wins the coin flip, mainly thanks to the first-person shots and the ability of the CG to show. a really fun Spider-Man to see in the sky and the Amazing Spider-Man scene with the cranes.
So who do you think is the best Spider-Man? These are just our impressions and ideas, but we are sure there could be many more ideas to reflect on. Waiting for the final answer, however, let’s enjoy the moment linked to the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which will hit theaters on December 15th.
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