Spider-Man: 10 Reasons Why Tobey Maguire Is Still The Best Peter Parker

Since Sam Raimi revolutionized superhero cinema with 2002’s Spider-Man, three actors have played Peter Parker in major blockbuster franchises. Tobey Maguire played the web-slinger in Raimi’s trilogy, then Andrew Garfield took on the part in the ill-fated Amazing Spider-Man reboot series, and the role is currently filled by Tom Holland in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Each of these actors has their own individual merits, and a lot of critics have declared Holland to be the best Spidey yet, but it’s arguably Maguire who did the finest job of playing this character. So, here are 10 reasons why Tobey Maguire is still the best Peter Parker.

10 His Double Life Is Palpably Hectic

Being Spider-Man isn’t easy. Whereas Tony Stark can excuse himself from a cocktail party, summon his Iron Man armor, and disappear to go and fight some terrorists whenever he wants, Peter Parker has to jump through all kinds of hoops to keep his identity a secret and live a double life as a superhero.

Maguire’s Peter embodied this perfectly. He struggled to keep up with his commitments to high school and later college, as well as holding down two jobs (freelance photographer and pizza delivery guy) to pay the rent for his crummy apartment.

9 He Came Off As Genuinely Dorky

Peter Parker is a dork, but hunky actors like Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland haven’t been able to convincingly pull off that aspect of the character. Garfield’s Peter was an all-out stud and Holland’s Peter is undeniably awkward, but still irresistibly charming.

Tobey Maguire is the only actor who has played Peter as a full-blown nerd. When he’s taking pictures for the school paper, he’s authentically nerdy. Holland’s Peter constantly ditches school to fight crime, but Maguire’s Peter makes a concerted effort to do well in his studies.

8 His Villain Dynamics Were Deeply Personal

Spidey has always had personal relationships with his villains, but Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker had deep, intimate dynamics with his enemies. Peter idolized Otto Octavius. Eddie Brock envied Peter. Flint Marko murdered Uncle Ben. Harry Osborn was his best friend, consumed by jealousy and misplaced hatred. Most of all, Norman Osborn saw Peter as the son he never had, disappointed with Harry’s lack of academic prowess.

These connections between the alter egos of the movies’ hero and their villains added layers of emotional resonance. The Amazing Spider-Man movies tried to force these connections, but they never felt real, and the MCU has come close (but ultimately ties them more to Iron Man than Peter Parker), but not as well as Raimi’s trilogy.

7 He Confronted His Mistakes

Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker never got a chance to confront the fact that he let Gwen Stacy die and didn’t save her in time, because his franchise was canceled, but we did see him mourn silently through several seasons.

Tom Holland’s Peter has only ever confronted one mistake: not being Tony Stark, which isn’t really his fault. But Tobey Maguire’s Peter faced his mistakes. He came clean to Aunt May about letting Uncle Ben’s murderer get to him.

6 He Always Struggled With His Powers

For Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland’s Spider-Men, the powers of web-slinging and wallcrawling were gifts that kept on giving. But for Tobey Maguire’s Spidey, those superpowers were both a gift and a curse, summed up perfectly by Uncle Ben: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

In Spider-Man 2, he began to lose his powers, which gave him the freedom to return to his regular life as Peter Parker. But he ultimately had to figure out that being Spider-Man was about more than just powers that he acquired by chance.

5 His Voiceover Narration Is The Best Cinematic Portrayal Of The Comics’ Thought Bubbles

One of the defining characteristics of Spidey in the comics is his thought bubbles. When he’s swinging through New York or staking out a villain, we can read everything that’s going through his head. This is a lot easier to pull off in comic book form than in movie form.

In the MCU’s Spider-Man movies, this is achieved through Peter’s conversations with the A.I. in his suit, but that’s not the same thing. Tobey Maguire’s voiceover narration in Raimi’s Spider-Man movies is the closest the movies have come to translating those thought bubbles to the screen.

4 He Was An Outsider

Tobey Maguire has said that what initially drew him to Peter Parker was identifying with him as an outsider. Even in his relationships with his closest friends, Maguire’s Peter seems to be at arm’s length, struggling to fit in.

Andrew Garfield’s Peter became cocky and arrogant and started bullying his bullies as soon as he got his powers, while Tom Holland’s Peter doesn’t have a problem making friends or getting invited to parties.

3 He Faced Consequences For His Actions

Starting with letting the mugger escape, leading to Uncle Ben’s death, Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker always faced terrible consequences for his actions. If he did something bad, then something bad happened to him, forcing him to learn and grow.

His double life as Spider-Man drove away his love interest and his best friend. Maguire’s Peter was completely on his own. Tom Holland’s Spidey can always rely on Tony Stark’s resources to get him out of a jam, even after Stark’s death.

2 He Had The Closest Relationship With Uncle Ben

As the closest thing that Peter Parker had to a father, Uncle Ben is incredibly important to Spider-Man’s character development. Tobey Maguire’s Peter has the closest relationship with Uncle Ben out of all the big-screen Spider-Men.

Andrew Garfield’s Peter wasn’t particularly close with Martin Sheen’s Uncle Ben, and Tom Holland’s Peter hasn’t even mentioned that he ever had an Uncle Ben, although it’s been implied a couple of times. Maguire’s Peter developed a real father-son bond with Cliff Robertson’s Ben Parker.

1 The Subway Scene In Spider-Man 2 Captures The Character Perfectly

No scene in any Spider-Man movie has captured the character better than the subway sequence in Spider-Man 2. Spidey’s battle with Doc Ock takes him onto a speeding train and the nefarious tentacled baddie busts up the controls so that it starts careening toward an incomplete section of a bridge.

Webhead springs into action, doing everything in his power to bring the train to a halt, before being carried into the train, unconscious, by concerned New Yorkers. With his mask gone, they can see that the hero celebrated across the city is just a kid.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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