Many people over the years have had a burning question that can be answered today. The question, you may wonder, is of course, “Who is the better Spider-Man?” We have three very promising Spider-Men you may know as Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and finally, Tobey Maguire. Tobey Maguire is the original actor behind the mask with his first of three Spider-Man movies in 2002. Andrew Garfield took the Spider-Man title in 2012 with the Amazing Spider-Man movies. And lastly, Tom Holland first appeared as Spider-Man in 2016, with 3 movies following his Peter Parker role. With this ongoing debate, we put the question to the ultimate test.
One of Marvel’s most crucial questions can be answered with a super scientific study. We posted a poll to our ALHS Journalism Twitter (now known as X) account and got 53 total responses. Andrew Garfield placed first with 24 votes, Tom Holland came in second with 23 votes, and Tobey Maguire fell behind, to a great extent, with 6 votes.
The first point we should make about Andrew Garfield is that he is much more comic-book accurate in comparison to the other two. Tom Holland is made out to be more of an Iron Man fanboy than a superhero of his own. He has little personality which proves that he is more of a follower. Unlike Maguire and Holland, Garfield’s character wasn’t always trying to be the nice guy. This can be seen in him standing up to bullies and holding great humor in the face of adversity.
Another amazing quality of Garfield’s take on Spider-Man is that he finds a great balance between humor and smarts when it comes to telling jokes as life-threatening situations are at his feet. Maguire lacks this quality because his character is so focused on the serious aspects of the superhero and how it ruins his life, making him kind of a drag to watch on screen. Holland also lacks this due to his fascination with being an awe-struck teen.
Finally, it’s no shock Garfield would win because he has had a much better acting range than the others. He won the BAFTA in his debut year as an actor. He also was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor in movies like Silence and Hacksaw Ridge.
Despite what many say about how much of an unfitted actor Garfield is for the role, the lesson to be learned from his character is moving and shows that not all superheroes are invincible and they feel emotions too. It is okay to be vulnerable when the situation is out of your hands. The ability to show his human characteristics makes him the best Spider-Man to ever hit the screen.
But, regardless of the results of the poll, Tom Holland can be viewed as a better-suited choice for Spider-Man. Holland’s character truly learns how to balance his life as a high school student and his responsibilities as Spider-Man, who just so happens to be the only one of the three to fight alongside the Avengers. Holland is the youngest to portray the role, which makes the most sense since Spider-Man was written as a high school student in the comics.
First off, many people may say that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is childish or ignorant. However, his character’s nerdy personality is much more relatable as a high school teen compared to Garfield’s and Maguire’s.
In Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Peter Parker has to make the toughest decision of his life to save the universe. He turns to Doctor Strange for a spell that will have everyone forget his identity. With this challenge comes consequences but he truly embraces what it means to be a superhero. As best said in the comics, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Holland’s Spider-Man indirectly shares this message as he progresses as a friendly-neighborhood Spider-Man.
While our deeply involved study was interesting, we may never know who is the better Spider-Man, but we sure do know that each one has amazing qualities that make them great picks for the role. After all, they did get the job (sometimes more than once). You can use our evidence and decide which one of the three Spider-Men you feel was best suited for the job and why they should go down in history.
