OWEN’S OPINION
People have been arguing about who the best Spider-Man is. Tobey Maguire? Andrew Garfield? Tom Holland?
Well I’m here to tell you it’s none of them. Nope, none of the actors I listed are the best Spider-Man.
In fact the best Spider-Man doesn’t appear in live action. He appears in Into the Spider-Verse and is played by Jake Johnson.
While each Spider-Man portrays an individual aspect of what makes Spider-Man, Spider-Man, none of them are able to capture who Spider-Man is as a whole.
But Jake Johnson’s performance captures the essence of who Spider-Man is — his personality, his mannerisms, and most of all, his faults and how broken he has become from the years of being Spider-Man.
This is by far the most comic accurate Spider-Man we’ve gotten in any of the movies, and it likely will be for a long time.
The thing is, Peter isn’t even the main character of the movie Jake Johnson plays him in. He plays a pivotal role, but Miles Morales is the protagonist throughout the movie’s runtime. Despite this, his character goes through an amazing arc and Johnson sells every scene with him.
He shows us a tired Peter who’s lost what it means to be Spider-Man, and we get to see Miles help him get back up.
It definitely helps that Into the Spider-Verse is widely considered the best Spider-Man movie, but Johnson still brings the character to life all on his own.
Even though he doesn’t appear in any of the live action movies, Jake Johnson is my Spider-Man and undoubtedly is the best Spider-Man.
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CLAY’S OPINION
I don’t really understand why this is even a question. There’s an obvious answer to this debate, and if you’ve ever watched the movies, then you’ll know the answer too. Andrew Garfield is by far the best Spider-Man. It’s just plain and simple.
First of all, he’s the only Spider-Man that portrays a real high school student, which is a big part of his character. Tobey Maguire looks like a full grown adult in his spiderman movies, and Tom Holland acts like an elementary kid in his. Andrew Garfield is the happy medium. He looks and acts like a high schooler, making the movie more enjoyable of a watch.
The only downfall for Garfield’s case is his movies. They don’t have great villains and are written horribly. However, people still enjoy watching his movies because Andrew Garfield is just spectacular. He’s not an unlikeable nerd but a do-his-own-thing mutineer. He encapsulates what Peter Parker should be — a brilliant and witty teenager who struggles with the responsibility of his powers and learning from his mistakes. This is what draws audiences towards him while his movies themselves are lackluster.
If you doubt this, just think about the most recent Spider-Man. No Way Home had all three Spider-Mans, but one stood out: Andrew Garfield.
He was easily the most charming and had the most touching moment when saving Zendaya’s MJ from falling. None of the other Spider-Mans had this connection with the audience. We could see the failure in his face from the weight of his past, bringing us back to the moment that connected us to him in the first place.
Andrew Garfield is in a league of his own when it comes to playing the part of Peter Parker. Others have tried, but none have lived up to his standards. He has outclassed his fellow actors while having one less movie, and leaves all MCU fans yearning for the Amazing Spider-Man 3!
