SPIDER-MAN: WHO'S YOUR WEB-SLINGER?

In the wake of the Spider-Man: No Way Home release, Marvel fans are faced with a tough question: Who did Peter Parker best? 

Regarded as one of the most successful superheroes in history, Spider-Man first graced the Marvel Universe in August 1962 in the comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 by renowned writer Stan Lee. The story was a massive hit, selling thousands of copies worldwide and booting Peter Parker straight into the spotlight. Decades after his debut, fans have three portrayals of Spider-Man to select from (I'll do everyone a favor and exclude the 1977 version. No offense, Nicholas Hammond). Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland each have blessed us with their unique performances of our favorite wall-crawler, so allow me to narrow down the competition for you.

Spider-Man Film Timeline

Tobey Maguire:

Spider-Man (2002) 

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Andrew Garfield:

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Tom Holland:

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man is an introverted, awkward teen who dreams of doing things he never has the confidence to do. His character bears heavy, emotional issues upon his webbed back (having been orphaned at six and bullied by his classmates). The Spider-Man we see in the comics is quite the dork, and we see this accurately portrayed in Tobey's Spider-Man. However, I'll have to cut off a couple of points for his sense of humor, or lack thereof. In these movies, Peter spends his life secretly loving Mary Jane, or MJ, and doesn't make a move until blessed with his arachnid abilities. Relatable, I think. Nine times out of ten, when the average person thinks of Spider-Man, Tobey will pop into mind. Without Tony Stark to give Peter support, Tobey's Peter carries all his responsibilities by himself. Props to him. 

Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, however, is quite different. Many have claimed that a prominent issue in the Amazing Spider-Man film series is that Andrew's Peter is "too cool"; or not nerdy and awkward enough to be the actual Peter Parker. He's aloof and distant and arguably far too much of a "rebellious" teenager to fit the perception we all know to be associated with Peter. Most were not fans of this Spider-Man when these movies were first released, and they thought he was a downgrade from Tobey Maguire. The average teenage girl, however, disagrees. He's quite the looker, at least in their eyes. The storyline is similar to the previous installment but with the replacement of MJ with Gwen Stacy. If the movies were not the greatest, they are undoubtedly worthy of praise for romance. 

That leaves us to the most recent portrayal of Spider-Man by British actor Tom Holland, the youngest to play the teenager. Tom was 20 years old when he first appeared as 15-year-old Peter, which is a stark contrast to Andrew and Tobey's 27 to 17 age ratio. Making Peter younger served as an element to making Tony Stark a fatherly figure, and with that came new aspects to his story. While Tobey and Andrew provided us with complicated Peters that had traits to reflect their complexities, Tom's Peter is more carefree and extroverted. He inherits attributes from the previous Peters, like keeping the awkwardness but adding a more chatty, charismatic twist. All in all, Tom's Peter is a very likable character and is an intriguing development to the hero we have all come to love. However, it's important to note that he had a lot of extra help with his role as Spider-Man by other members of the Avengers, while the others had to carry the weight of their superhero duties all on their own. 

When approached with this engaging topic, tenth-grader Hannah Gellani claims, "Andrew's my favorite because he's the hottest." Ninth-grader Mahdi Saleh, however, has a different stance. He says, "Tobey's the best because he's just the OG." Others have a more difficult time choosing between the three because they each have aspects about them to admire. It's all a matter of personal preference. Nevertheless, the numbers speak for themselves. Tobey's movies grossed 3.3 billion dollars, while Andrew's grossed 1.6 billion. Tom's movies (not counting the ones where other Avengers are involved), grossed a total of $2.59 billion. With Spider-Man: No Way Home numbers on the rise, it's easy to predict that Tom will soon surpass Tobey's record.