This year, Columbia Pictures celebrates their 100th anniversary. To usher in a new century of filmmaking, Sony is re-releasing all 8 live action Spider-Man films in theaters. Peter Parker might be coming to a city near you! Here’s the scoop.
From his first comic book appearance in 1962, Spider-Man has been beloved by superhero fans everywhere. The wall-crawling vigilante is abundant in graphic novels, TV shows, movies, video games, and even more. Three sets of live-action films have been created, each featuring a different actor to portray Peter Parker, Spider-Man’s true identity.
Peter Parker is most often depicted as a high school teenager, something of a social outcast, and a firm defender of “the little guy.” That is to say, he deals primarily with low-level civilian threats, though he has been shown to rise to higher challenges.
Spider-Man: A Brief History
Spider-Man was first seen in the comic book Amazing Fantasy #15. He was created by writer/editor Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko.
As a character, Peter Parker was groundbreaking. Up until that point in time, most esteemed heroes were grown adults (Superman, Batman, etc.). Not only was Spider-Man a teenager beneath the mask, but he was a common man. Audiences were easily able to relate to him.
Spider-Man’s story has expanded significantly, especially with the recent exploration of the Spider-Verse in the animated film series featuring Miles Morales. The multi-verse is quite the cluster of chaos, but it’s worth the undertaking.
Throughout all the media, Spider-Man’s origin story remains more or less the same. Peter, orphaned as a child, lives with his aunt May and his uncle Ben. After he is bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter Parker is unable to stop the murder of Uncle Ben. He is then prompted to use his new abilities to protect others.
We all know Ben’s iconic line: with great power, comes great responsibility.
Toby Maguire – 2002 to 2007
Most older Spider-Man fans are especially fond of the original movie trilogy, featuring Toby Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi.
These films depict Peter Parker’s classic origin story, as well as his on-and-off romance with classmate Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). The trilogy pits Spider-Man against a number of classic comic book bad guys, including Green Goblin, Sandman, Doctor Octopus, and Venom. For a time, he’s even up against best-friend-turned-villain Harry Osborne (James Franco).
Raimi’s Spider-Man films are typically ranked the best overall. There has been, obviously, lots of debate about that. Many claim that Maguire is a great Peter Parker, but a lacking Spider-Man. Others argue that, despite comic-inaccuracy, Maguire captures the hero’s spirit the best.
You can still catch Spider-Man 3 in some theaters, April 29th. Swing on by and catch the action on the big screen!
Andrew Garfield – 2012 to 2014
They could never make me hate you, Andrew.
The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, both directed by Marc Webb (fitting name, don’t you think?), make up the second installment of Spider-Man films. The role of Peter Parker’s parents plays a heavier role in them, featuring both Richard and Mary parker in various flashbacks. In these films, Parker’s love interest is Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
The origin story is more or less the same. The Amazing Spider-Man features Dr. Curtis Conner (Rhys Ifans) as The Lizard, former scientist friend of Parker’s father. In the sequel, Garfield’s Spider-Man brawls with three different villains. Electro, Green Goblin—Harry Osborne, but not Norman—and even Rhino all make an appearance.
“It’s interesting. I read a lot of the reactions from people and I had to stop because I could feel I was getting away from how I actually felt about it. For me, I read the script that Alex [Kurtzman] and Bob [Orci] wrote, and I genuinely loved it...I’m proud of a lot of it and had a good time, and was a bit taken aback by the response.”
Andrew Garfield, The Daily Beast interview
Webb’s films are generally regarded as least favorites among most Spider-Man fans. It’s a familiar discourse. Some think Garfield’s portrayal of Peter Parker is “too cool,” but they find his Spider-Man representation to be accurate.
Don’t hate me, but I have a soft spot for Garfield’s performance in these movies. You can catch me, front and center, in theaters to watch them. Join me on May 6th and 13th!
Tom Holland – 2017 to 2021
We’ve reached the most recent portrayal of Spider-Man, none other than the beloved Tom Holland. Kicking off with Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, with Jon Watts directing, Marvel finally integrated Spidey into the cinematic universe. The film was met with so much success that Watts went on to direct the sequels Spider-Man: Far From Home and the iconic Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Holland’s first appearance of Spider-Man was actually in Captain America: Civil War (2016). This version of Peter Parker take a different path than we’ve seen before. For starters, the films skip the origin story entirely. When the audience meets him, Peter is already quite familiar with his superpowers.
Secondly, Holland’s Peter is a bit younger than previous Peters (Holland portrays a 15-year-old, versus Maguire and Garfield, who portrayed seniors in high school). The usual debate of “who’s better?” holds Tom Holland somewhere in the middle. The late Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, stated his opinion on Twitter.
Regardless of which Spider-Man comes out on top, most fans agree that No Way Home (2021) was a masterpiece. The film embraces the multi-verse in a way we hadn’t previously seen. Not to mention, Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield joined Tom Holland for the film. All the wall-crawlers in one place? Crazy.
No Way Home also brought in some more familiar faces, such as Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin), Jamie Foxx (Electro), and Alfred Molina (Doc Ock). The literal definition of “when worlds collide”!
You can catch Tom Holland’s movies in theaters May 20th, May 27th, and June 3rd (two days after Holland’s birthday!).
