Which generation’s Spiderman was the best?

Spoilers ahead!

Spiderman: No Way Home, starring Tom Holland, was recently released and it brought back the two actors who had portrayed Spiderman in the past. Tobey Maguire was the first Spiderman in his iconic movie trilogy, and ten years later, Andrew Garfield took the role in two Spiderman movies. Tom Holland is the current Spiderman since his first film as the character in 2017. Though each decade’s Spiderman was unique and memorable in their own way, I will be pitting them against each other in this article and ranking them based on their personalities, their relationships, and their movies.

Though many fans have given Tobey Maguire’s Spiderman the gold crown, apart from the villains, there’s nothing much to like about this Spiderman. He isn’t very kind and sociable at times. His bad characteristics were especially apparent in the third movie, which is why it is my least favourite out of all the Spiderman movies. I also feel that the relationship between him and Mary Jane felt fake and forced. Though Peter has always loved her, they really only got together after Mary Jane discovered he was Spiderman. It seemed like she was in love with Spiderman, not Peter Parker. However, he had a great relationship with Harry Osborn. The movies showed them as having a healthy friendship, and Harry Osborn was actually quite a kind and caring person before he unintentionally took his father’s role as the Green Goblin.

Now onto the 2012 Spiderman, Andrew Garfield. The Amazing Spiderman. He is the most typical teenager out of the three Spidermen, and certainly the one that went through the most. When he just got bitten by the radioactive spider, he went through a lot of changes and tried to discover more about himself. His relationship with his love interest, Gwen Stacy, was the best in the series. Gwen was caring, brave and intelligent and loved Peter for who he really was, not because he was Spiderman. However, the movies contain way too much heartbreak. Peter Parker doesn’t have anyone that understands what he’s going through, and after his uncle’s death, he has to be even more selfless and brave. Saving the city and taking care of his aunt before helping himself. At the end of the second movie, Peter was also unable to save Gwen from falling off a clock tower. I hated this plot point, because Peter already had enough weight to carry, and now the only person that can help him with the pain was gone. Nevertheless, apart from the sad scenes, I really enjoyed Andrew Garfield’s Spiderman movies.

Finally, Tom Holland. The Spiderman of this generation. He was also quite an ordinary teenager, apart from the fact that he was supplied with a bunch of futuristic technology by Stark Industry. In No Way Home, I found that his character became more hesitant and insecure. At the start of the movie, Peter Parker changed Doctor Strange’s spell too many times and it went wrong causing the villains from the other Spiderman universes to be brought to theirs. Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Electro all returned in No Way Home. Spiderman attempted to fight the villains off with the help of the other spidermen, but he got his Aunt May killed in the process. That scene was quite emotional and heart-breaking for me. Aunt May always took care of Peter Parker, and their relationship was very sweet and heart-warming. I also really liked how MJ was portrayed in the movie. She was initially an introvert who had no friends, but she fell in love with Peter, and her personality was shown more clearly. She really cared about people (even though it doesn’t seem like it), and wanted to help Peter as much as she could. However, I still think Gwen and Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker were a better couple.

Overall, I think that Andrew Garfield was the best Spiderman, but Tom Holland had the best Spiderman movies. In fact, Far From Home was my favourite Spiderman movie. No Way Home was also very entertaining and the fact that the other two Spidermen came back was a big surprise and a sweet treat for fans. However, his Peter Parker’s compulsiveness and hesitancy in No Way Home made me dislike his Spiderman more. After the exciting comebacks that the previous 2 Spiderman actors had in the latest movie, I’m excited to see what Marvel has to offer in the future.