Who is the best Spider-Man? Is it the shy kid who awkwardly points finger guns at passing strangers? The kid who wasn’t quick enough to save his love? Or, the kid who had everything he could ever dream of and ended up with nothing. Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland each do an amazing job at portraying Peter Parker and Spider-Man– but only one did it best.

A poll sent out at Dulaney revealed that 56 percent of the students who voted said that Garfield is the best Spider-Man, and I agree. 26 percent said that Holland was the best and 18 percent said that Maguire was the best. I don’t think any actor did a bad job in their unique portrayal of Spider-Man, but Andrew Garfield’s witty commentary while maintaining the broken teenage archetype that audiences love strengthened his adaptation of Parker’s character.

As the original Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire brought to life the character that we all know and love today. Throughout the movies, he does a great job creating Peter Parker to be a nerdy kid who has too much power and struggles to know how to use it, just like any kid would be in that situation. Personally, I think Maguire does a great job at playing Peter Parker, but his version of Spider-Man lacks internal struggle, therefore causing his performance to be mediocre compared to the others.

The most recent Spider-Man, Tom Holland, was not only a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but also a member of the avengers, earth’s mightiest heroes. I think being an avenger takes away from the meaning of Spider-Man Maguire created–that anybody could be a superhero. Holland’s Spider Man does a great job with struggling to be the hero everyone wants him to be. Although Holland does a better job at playing Spider-Man than Maguire, I think he falls short of the maturity and depth that Garfield has because he is not as developed as an actor. 

Finally, in the second set of Spider-Man movies, Andrew Garfield’s interpretation of a confident, charismatic and intelligent Spider-Man makes his portrayal the best. Although his movies are not as good as the other ones, throughout them you can see him using many spider-like qualities never shown in Maguire’s or Holland’s films. His keen sense of humor and use of intelligence when defeating his villains advances Spider-Man’s character.

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