How Maguire, Garfield, & Holland’s Spider-Men Are Different

Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland have each shown different facets of Peter Parker in their respective Spider-Man movies. With Spider-Man: No Way Home landing in theaters in time for the holiday season, it arrives as no other Spider-Man movie ever has. With Spider-Man: No Way Homes‘ multiverse-centered plot, numerous villains from past Spider-Man movies appear in the film, such as the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) – along with others.

With the antagonists of No Way Home hailing from past Spider-Man movies, there’s also been extensive speculation that the Spider-Men portrayed by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will appear alongside Tom Holland’s MCU rendition of the character. Seeing the three Spider-Men side-by-side also highlights something bigger than just how long the Spider-Man franchise has been portrayed in film. It also shows just how different Maguire, Garfield, and Holland’s Spider-Men are.

Of course, some of Peter Parker’s character traits have been consistent across all three Spideys, such as the geekiness of Peter and his aptitude for science. At the same time, Maguire, Garfield, and Holland have each shown an interpretation of the Web-Head that’s all their own, with each of them showing Spidey from his own specific angle. Here’s how the Spider-Men of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland are different.

Tobey Maguire Captured Peter Parker’s Personal Struggles

In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Tobey Maguire channels the timidity and social awkwardness of Peter Parker as a young man just trying to get by. Peter introduces himself in the opening narration of Spider-Man as a science-minded dork at the bottom of the high-school social ladder. However, this dynamic doesn’t disappear after the fateful spider bite that gives Peter his arachnid abilities, with Peter remaining frequently tongue-tied when approached by Kirsten Dunst’s Mary-Jane Watson. Peter’s difficulties only grow more pronounced in Spider-Man 2, with his superhero commitments taking a major toll on every aspect of his personal life. His friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco) also grows more strained in Harry’s belief that Peter is making a living off of photos of the man he thinks killed his father Norman.

Spider-Man 3 is where Maguire’s Peter gains a level of confidence he’s never known with the adoration New Yorkers now have for Spidey, and the alien symbiote that bonds with him as his new black suit. While Peter’s cockiness under the suit’s influence was very polarizing, it’s a logical extension of what Maguire’s version of Peter Parker would act like if he suddenly became so full of himself. Despite this, Maguire’s Peter also has a good heart, and forgives Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) for what he learns was his accidental killing of Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson), along with healing his broken friendship with Harry in his final moments. In Raimi’s Spider-Man movies, the personal difficulties of Peter Parker’s life formed the center of the series, with Spider-Man 3 ending on Peter and M.J. reconciling after the damage wrought to their relationship by the black suit.

Andrew Garfield Showed The Cool Side Of Peter Parker

While Maguire’s Spider-Man movies saw him portray Peter Parker as a stereotypical science geek, Andrew Garfield goes in the opposite direction in The Amazing Spider-Man films. While he still is scientifically oriented, Garfield’s version of Spider-Man is also much more assertive and self-confident even before his spider-bite. Garfield’s skateboarding Peter has also developed a short temper in the abruptness with which his parents left him with Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field), and his bitter argument with the former before his killing leaves Peter with anger he has no capacity to cope with. That is, until his quest to find Uncle Ben’s killer with a gradually developing disguise morphs him into the costumed hero Spider-Man.

As the Web-Slinger, Garfield also taps into Peter’s well-known sense of humor and skill at quipping while in costume, and he only grows more joke-prone in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Additionally, Garfield’s Peter, while having a few hurdles, approaches his relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) in a more self-assured way. He’s still giddily elated to strike up a romance with Gwen, and heartbroken by her death at the hands of the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) — after which he questions for months whether he should even continue as Spider-Man, though he ultimately does. The Amazing Spider-Man movies didn’t neglect to show Peter’s ingenuity and scientific aptitude, such as in his development of mechanical web-shooters, but Garfield’s portrayal emphasized Peter as an upbeat and cool Web-Slinger with the strongest knack for verbal sparring of any big-screen Spider-Man.

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Is A Perfect Teenage Peter Parker

Tom Holland portrays the youngest cinematic Peter Parker, being fifteen as of Spider-Man: Homecoming. While Maguire and Garfield were introduced at various points in late high school, Holland is the first to really play Peter entirely as a kid, and in Avengers crossovers, a loyal ally to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) Holland’s Peter, like Maguire and Garfield’s, is a science wiz, but his is also the first to have his own hero he looks up to in Tony. Peter’s zeal for his “internship” – swinging through New York stopping crimes in the hope of impressing Tony enough to be upgraded to a full Avenger – also shows he’s not above adolescent short-sightedness, which Tony reprimands him for. Still, he knows how to learn from his mistakes, and earns the respect of his hero in the battle with Thanos (Josh Brolin) before Tony’s sacrifice.

While Peter has learned a lot from Tony by Spider-Man: Far From Home, he still has a drive to be a hero worthy of the man who inspired him. Peter continues to have Stark Tech on hand, which makes the point that despite his high I.Q., he’s still a kid with limited resources at his disposal. Still, he’s a fast-learner nonetheless in thwarting the drone army unleashed by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). While all three Spider-Men have dealt with their own challenges, Holland is the one capture Peter Parker as a teenager still learning the ropes about both life and superheroics.

Holland is set to continue in the MCU as Spidey after Spider-Man: No Way Home, and while his Spidey is very different from Maguire and Garfield’s, that’s entirely the point and to the benefit of all of them. Peter Parker is the geekiest Marvel superhero there is, which was what made him such an enduring, timeless character. Still, there’s a lot more to Spidey than just that, which Maguire, Garfield, and Holland each show in their own ways.

About The Author

Brad Curran
(714 Articles Published)

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Growing up, Brad developed an innate love of movies and storytelling, and was instantly enamored with the world of adventure while following the exploits of Indiana Jones, Japanese kaiju, and superheroes. Today, Brad channels his thoughts on all manner of movies, from comic book films, sci-fi thrillers, comedies, and everything in between through his writings on Screen Rant. Brad also offers philosophical musings on martial arts and the filmographies of everyone from Jackie Chan to Donnie Yen on Kung Fu Kingdom, where he’s also had the privilege of interviewing many of the world’s great stunt professionals, and hearing plenty of gripping stories on injuries incurred in their line of work and the intricacies of designing the acts of death defiance he first thrilled to as a youngster. When he’s not writing, Brad enjoys going on a ride with the latest action hit or Netflix original, though he’s also known to just pop in “The Room” from time to time. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradCurran.

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