Since he first swung onto the big screen in 2002, there have been a total of three actors who have taken on the role of the web-slinger in three different Spidey series. The first was Tobey Maguire, who starred in the Sam Raimi-directed series that included Spider-Man and its two sequels. To many, especially those who grew up with his portrayal, Maguire’s is the quintessential version of the superhero. And while many, many superhero films have been released since the first Spider-Man series ended its run in 2007, Spider-Man 2 is still often cited as one of the best superhero movies of all time.
Although Raimi’s first two films represented great highs for the genre, his third is considered one of the greatest superhero misfires of all time and ended the series. However, Sony wasn’t willing to give up on its most famous superhero property and rebooted the series with Andrew Garfield in the lead role in 2012 with the Marc Webb-directed The Amazing Spider-Man. In general, viewers enjoyed Garfield’s performance but weren’t particularly thrilled with the material he had to work with. Garfield played the character in the sequel, but the duo of films was met with viewer indifference and critical bemusement.
After those movies, fans expected Spider-Man would be taking a nice long vacation, so they were surprised when Marvel announced that a new version of the superhero would the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War in 2016 and start his own series the following year. It was only four short years after the last Amazing Spider-Man film, but skeptical fans ended up embracing Tom Holland’s fresh take on the character and his inclusion in the MCU. Ultimately, Maguire, Garfield, and Holland each brought a unique spin to Spider-Man and his alter ego Peter Parker, and each of them was more successful in certain ways than the others.
Here, is Everything Maguire, Garfield, And Holland Did Right With Spider-Man (And Everything They Did Wrong)
RIGHT–MAGUIRE: CAPTURED PETER PARKER’S SHY VULNERABILITY
Spider-Man and Peter Parker have always been opposite sides of the same coin. While Spider-Man could be confident and even cocky in his abilities, Peter Parker wasn’t doing quite as well. Parker was more of a nerdy loner who occupied the bottom of the high school social food chain. He was awkward and unsure of himself, qualities that didn’t change even after he got superpowers.
Maguire captured this part of Parker’s personality perfectly. He played up the character’s shy insecurity and showed that despite his superhero antics, he was still emotionally vulnerable. This made Parker just as interesting to watch as Spider-Man.
WRONG–MAGUIRE: EMO DANCING
You knew this was going to come up sooner or later. Maguire’s dancing in Spider-Man 3 is now the stuff of legends. When it comes to what not to do in a superhero movie, this is Exhibit A.
Up until Spider-Man 3, Maguire had portrayed Peter Parker as a sympathetic loser. Then in the trilogy’s third movie, Maguire was forced to go emo and become a confident ladies’ man. The whole thing felt forced and embarrassing. Even 2018’s animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse singled the dancing scenes out for ridicule. Maguire’s dancing is so notorious, that even those who haven’t seen Spider-Man 3 know about it.
RIGHT–MAGUIRE: FRIENDSHIP WITH HARRY OSBORN
In Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Peter Parker’s one friend is Harry Osborn, played by James Franco. The relationship between Parker and Osborn was a cornerstone of the trilogy, so it needed to work for fans to truly invest in the films. Fortunately, Maguire and Franco were able to create a friendship that came across as long-lived and genuine.
Although the characters are from extremely different worlds, the actors had a believable, easy rapport that made it even more tragic when Spider-Man had to take on Osborn’s father when he became the Green Goblin — and later when the friendship soured.
WRONG–MAGUIRE: TOOK SUPERHERODOM TOO SERIOUSLY
While Maguire made a great Peter Parker, he wasn’t quite as successful as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. In the comics, the hero often delights in his abilities, enjoying the rush of his enhanced abilities. Although Maguire periodically whooped and cheered upon discovering what he could do, he was more often silent and serious when he was playing the superhero.
It took some of the fun out of being a superhero and made Spider-Man more brood and serious than he typically is. It also prevented Maguire from clearly differentiating between his Spider-Man and Peter Parker sides.
RIGHT–MAGUIRE: SPIDER-MAN’S ORIGIN STORY
Spider-Man showcased the superhero’s origin story including how his selfish actions led to the demise of his Uncle Ben and led him to become the web-slinger. Maguire expertly portrayed each part of the storyline, from using his powers for personal gain to his heartbreak at what happens to his uncle. Maguire’s portrayal was moving and invited audiences to consider how they might handle budding superpowers with him.
Furthermore, Uncle Ben’s well-known pronouncement that “with great power comes great responsibility” drove Parker throughout the rest of the trilogy. The audience saw Parker evolve and grow as he absorbed this lesson and took it as his mantra.
WRONG–MAGUIRE: OVERLY PREOCCUPIED WITH ROMANce
Spider-Man contained one of the most iconic kisses in movie history between the upside-down web-crawler and his paramour Mary Jane Watson. And while Spidey’s romances are part of his story, his preoccupation with Kirsten Dunst’s girl next door ended up taking up an awful lot of screen time throughout Raimi’s trilogy.
Yet, despite her sizable role, Dunst’s character remains defined by her relationship with Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and never manages to become a well-rounded character in her own right. In addition, while Dunst and Maguire do an irable job in their roles, together they never seem to generate the chemistry the films want us to believe they have. Upside down kiss aside, the pair don’t generate the heat to power their romance.
RIGHT–MAGUIRE: PETER PARKER IS RELATABLE
While Peter Parker starts out as a high school student in Raimi’s trilogy, he quickly becomes a college student with adult responsibilities, including a job, homework, relationships, and, of course, being a superhero. Maguire successfully conveyed how torn by these various obligations he felt and how hard it was for him to keep up with each part of his life.
Parker struggled to maintain a job, keep up with his rent payments, turn his homework in on time, and make time for his relationships all while Spider-Man duty called. While most adults don’t worry about that last part, everyone can relate to the weight of our obligations getting the better of us.
WRONG–MAGUIRE: DIDN’T LOOK THE PART
While Maguire certainly brought a lot to Spider-Man, one thing that was hard to ignore was that he didn’t capture the look of the comic book character. Spider-Man is lithe and lean, making him seem perfectly suited to all the swinging through the air he does when it’s time to save the day.
While Maguire was in great shape for the role, in comparison to his comic book counterpart, he was shorter and looked less aerodynamic than what’s typically expected of the character. Of course, this is something Maguire couldn’t do much about, but it made him a bit less believable as the superhero.
RIGHT–MAGUIRE: STARTED a TREND
When it was originally announced that Maguire would star in Spider-Man, the news was met with some head-scratching. After all, Maguire was considered a serious actor. At the time, he was best known for his roles in dramas like Pleasantville, The Cider House Rules, and Wonder Boys. While well-regarded actors had played comic book villains, like Jack Nicholson in 1989’s Batman, but a well-known serious actor hadn’t yet taken on a superhero role.
While the release of X-Men followed by Spider-Man kicked off the modern superhero boom, it was Maguire’s embodiment of his movies title character that turned superheroes into viable characters for serious characters. It’s a trend that’s continued with actors like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Mark Ruffalo as Hulk.
WRONG–MAGUIRE & GARFIELD: TOO OLD FOR THE ROLE
One of the biggest knocks against both Maguire and Garfield is that they were too old to play Peter Parker and his alter ego — and they looked it. Both actors were in their late 20s when their respective films came out making it difficult to buy either of them as high school students. Fortunately, both Spider-series quickly moved the character on to college, but this also left the classic comic version of the character behind too.
Of course, Spider-Man’s been an adult in comics for quite some time now. However, by attempting to kick-off their movies in high school, directors Raimi and Webb nod to the teenage version with the character but don’t quite capture him because their actors aren’t believable as naïve, optimistic adolescents.
