In the August of 1962, writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko created the hero we know as Spider-Man. The alter ego Peter Parker, is a bookish, bespectacled high school student, isolated and unpopular. An orphan, he lives with his elderly relatives, Aunt May and Uncle Ben. While attending a science exhibit, Peter is bitten by a spider that has accidentally received a dose of radioactivity. Spider-Man made his first solo appearance in the Amazing Fantasy number 15 comic, which led to the creation of The Amazing Spider-Man comic. This shortly led to him appearing in live-action films, the first being Spider-Man by Donald F. Glut in 1969. But this soon led to a chain reaction, adding on more and more renditions of Spider-Man. But I’m going to talk about the movie renditions of the wall crawler himself, being Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland. I will being going of the criteria of acting, portrayal, commitment, stunt-work, and technique, in order to answer the age old question: Who is the best rendition of Spider-Man in the film industry?

The earliest well-known trilogy of our hero was played by Tobey Maguire, in Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), and Spider-Man 3 (2007). When it comes to acting, Maguire is indifferent, though he doesn’t go all out, he uses connections towards the audience in situations like when he experienced the death of uncle Ben as well as when he had to face against the father figure, Norman Osborn, when he turned into the Green Goblin, which eventually led to his death. Maguire also carries a gigantic weight on his shoulders of knowing that a lot more civilians have died because of his sequential actions, as we might feel at various points in our own personal lives. In Maguire’s movies, he does do an adequate job of portraying Peter Parker and Spider-Man. When he portrays Peter Parker, he is an intelligent man who is a nerd in school and in public, who is just trying to live life, even when life throws problems towards his love life, and his loved ones. But when he portrays Spider-Man, he is confident, outgoing, and unique than anyone else. Maguire shows a lot of confidence in his work, but it turns out that he was not so confident when it came to the film as a whole. When it came to his character, he was very excited to be the star role of the Spider-Man films, and he didn’t want to let anyone down. Maguire fits well in the stunt work category, because he said that he wants to try to do as many stunts as possible during the time of his trilogy’s release. Maguire’s technique is one hundred percent like the original Spider-Man character. He uses the ring finger, and his middle finger to press down on the web pad, and uses the same humor and enthusiasm as the original character. He is above average as a whole when it comes down to the role Spider-Man, and he definitely made an impact on us as the audience, which carried along all three of his films.

The second well-known series of our arachnid hero was played by Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. When it comes to acting, Garfield goes a little too over board, in my opinion. He is too much of a model when it comes to Peter Parker, because Peter Parker is nerdy and Garfield portrays the character as a try hard student when it comes to love and others around him. In Garfield’s films, he never gives up on the character, and really digs deep in the character, as if he were in their shoes. When he portrays the role of Peter Parker, he looses all of the key factors that makes Peter Parker who he is as a character. At school, Peter doesn’t get bullied because it’s always some other kid, and he tries to be sly around Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, like it’s a teen drama series. But when he changes to Peter Parker’s alter ego Spider-Man, he is similar to the spidey character as well. He is strong, intelligent, and confident as a whole when it comes to this role. Garfield shows a lot of confidence for this character, as he has had the same unbreakable confidence in his other past films. He holds a strong amount of confidence, and nothing can put him down when he gets into the role. When it came down to Garfield’s character, he stayed somewhat close to the comics and displeased some fans of the character. He cares a lot about the comments and suggestions to the character, which helps the audience while he helps his career simultaneously. Garfield fits pretty well in the stunt work category, he has the same intentions as Maguire did. But just like Maguire, some stunts had to be preformed by a stunt double, or edited before the release of the film by the staff. Garfield’s technique is not much like the original comic book character. When he shoots his webs, he doesn’t even use the original Spider-Man hand position, and to add on to that, he goes way too hard when it comes to the New York accent. He is less average when it comes down to the wall crawler himself and has made a mark on the Sony/Marvel film industry as a whole.

The last very well-known web-slinger is currently played by Tom Holland, in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man Homecoming, Avengers Infinity War, and soon to be Spider-Man: Far From Home, as well as Avengers Endgame. When it comes to acting, Tom Holland blows everyone else out of the water through emotion, strength, and pathos toward the audience, showing how he is just an ordinary guy just like us. In Holland’s films, he never gives up on his role and sticks very closely to his character of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He loves the character, and he relates to him as well. Personally, this is what I call a real life Spider-Man, because he never stops the attributes of his character even when he goes outside of the studio. He is loyal, honest, relatable, reliable, and is everything everyone wants him to be, a hero. When he portrays the role of Peter Parker, he helps us understand what Peter Parker would be like in real life. He acts like a high school student and does whatever a high school student wants to do alongside his part time job as an Avenger. But even when he changes to Peter Parker’s alter ego Spider-Man, he stays the same but holds much more confidence, responsibility, power, control, and intellect. Just like the comics, Spider-Man is the same guy as Peter Parker but the only difference is the iconic red and blue suit. Holland shows a lot of confidence in his role, he stays strong through every scene and some how pulls off the fact that his character’s emotions connect to him and us as the audience. You can tell that he strongly believes in himself during the role and he continues to carry us along for the ride with him. When it came down to Holland’s character, there is not really any mistakes which is unlikely for actors and actresses during his time. What I mean by this, is that, nothing has been messed up when it came to the main story arch, but the staff and Holland himself are continuing to build up Peter’s life story of a series of films in order to make a story line at the end of it all. Holland very well in the stunt work category, because he has told many people during his interviews, and to his fans, that he does the majority of his stunt work unless it comes to certain circumstances. He took ballet, gymnastics, and even when everyone thought a British teenager wouldn’t be able to play as Spider-Man, they were immediately mistaken. Holland’s technique is the closest to the original comic book character. He uses the hand positioning throughout each film, never missing one shot of footage without it. This is one of the many key factors that makes the character come alive alongside humor and abilities. He is way above average when it comes to the role of Spider-Man himself and has made his mark on the film industry of Marvel Studios as a whole.

As a result of the outcomes of each actor and their portrayal of Spider-Man, I will say that the true Spider-Man is Tom Holland. It’s not because of popular sovereignty, but it’s because of the five key factors: acting, portrayal, commitment, stunt-work, and technique. I am a huge fan of Tom Holland’s character, the wall crawler alone and I can’t wait for what else they have in store for us. This is why I think that Tom Holland is the one, spectacular, Spider-Man.