What Spider Man Is The Best?
March 9, 2023
Spiderman, one of the most iconic and well known superheroes of our generation. Known just by a simple mask and costume, iconic nonetheless. Making some of the most amazing and well known movies of our generation. But with that there have been many debates over the years as to which actor has truly been the best Spiderman.
Each debate leaves others believing one is better than the other for multiple reasons, such as which plays Peter Parker better, which has better acting skills, storyline, and which Spiderman is the best. Personally, I have always been stuck between two actors: Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. I love the story line for Tobey Maguire and how many movies they made for him, but I loved the acting of Andrew Garfield and the way he played Spiderman.
But nonetheless if I truly had to just pick one that would be a simple decision. I would have to go for Andrew Garfeild, he by far is the best when it comes to acting both as Peter Parker and Spiderman. He has always been an icon for those reasons and I have always liked the storyline he has. I never liked how they didn’t show Tom Holland’s Spiderman spider bite and I didn’t like the way Tobey Maguire played Peter Parker even if he was the original.
So to finally put an end to all the debating I set out and interviewed multiple students and staff here at Rangeview High school. I asked them the very simple question of who they believed was the best Spiderman and why. It was 50/50 for the most part as everyone kept going back and forth between Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfeild.
I started with Angeline Manzano, an 11th grader who said “I think the best Spiderman has to be Andrew Garfield mostly because he is the cutest, but also because he is the most courageous out of all of them.”
When I asked Adrian Favela, an 11th grader, he also agreed and said,“I think the best Spiderman is Andrew Garfield because I liked Gwen in the movie a lot and I think Andrew Garfield was super chill and cool in the movie. I liked the story and plot of the movie. I think he is overall a better Spiderman than Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland.”
But the question of who is the best Spiderman is a different story when I asked Heidi Ammons, Librarian, who stated “There is only one good Spiderman as I have only seen one. Therefore Tom Holland is the best. My daughter liked Spiderman: No Way Home and so did I. That’s why Tom Holland is the best.”
Similar to what others have said Zoey Hiwot Woldemicheal 10th grader agreed stating “I am going to have to say the best Spiderman would have to be Tom Holland because one he is cute but also because he actually looks like a teen compared to the others. His acting actually makes it seem like he is a realistic teen and that he truly has a double life. So I think overall he is better than the other actors.”
Lastly, Junior Ryley Kunz said, “Personally the only one I can truly remember is Tom Holland so I would have to go with him. But I will say I also really like Andrew Garfield as out of all of them he had the most spidery moves and he acted like a spider in some clips. Then I would have to put Tobey Maguire last.”
Overall every actor that has played Spiderman has done an amazing job for different reasons, but when it comes to what actor has done the best job it would have to be between Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland. Everyone has a different opinion as to why each Spiderman is the best but from those I have interviewed it’s safe to say that Tom Holland or Andrew Garfield are the best Spidermen.
Gabriel McDevitt • Apr 17, 2025 at 11:34 AM
This article was very intriguing to me. I am confused as to why you interviewed people of an older demographic, as they clearly cannot appreciate Spider-Man the way younger people can. I believe this is mostly due to the fact that Spider-Man is a teenager, making him not easily relatable to the older generations. You state in the article that your subjects who were interviewed valued cuteness?? What does that have to do with anything? Other than that, I notice you shifted from saying the two best were Toby and Andrew, but at the end of the article, you say that Tom and Andrew are the best? I am interested in where you are basing your opinions on Tom being in the top two, because that is one of the silliest things I have ever heard. Even comparing him to Toby is disrespectful, let alone saying he’s on the same level as Andrew. The best is undisputedly Andrew. His acting style, paired with the emotion he evokes from the watcher, is unlike any other person to have ever played a superhero role. Andrew also has the best romance storyline, mostly because Emma Stone is the beautiful woman she is. Some would say that he is not a real Spider-Man, since his body does not produce webs like Toby, but he makes up for it with his other abilities.
Furthermore, Tom Holland does not represent any of the key principles of Spider-Man. He is skiddish and not the typical nerd that Peter Parker is supposed to be. Instead, he gets the hottest girls at school and is respected for his intellectual abilities. He has no bullies, as Flash is no longer a bully in his movies, but a smart little dweeb. This makes the watcher not want to root for Tom. He never has to face any adversity for the first 3 movies, which makes him super unlikeable. He is just a rich city boy with a hot aunt who happens to be able to shoot webs. ALSO HIS WEBS AREN’T EVEN REAL, HE MAKES THEM IN SCHOOL. All of those things stack up against him while he doesn’t even display superhero-like strength or speed. This him the worst Spider-Man.
There isn’t much to say about Toby, as he is the original, so he exhibits qualities of both Spider-Men after him. He ranks second for me, due to his ability to play Peter. He is not a great action star and his fight scenes were so-so, but he is the face of the brand. When you think of Spider-Man, you think of Toby