Marvel/Sony
By my count, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the 10th feature-film to follow the web slinger from Queens. Let's remember all the way back to 2002, when Tobey Maguire was the first Peter Parker we ever got on the big screen. That started us off with Sam Raimi's trilogy: Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3. After a false start attempt at a fourth Spider-Man from Mr. Raimi, Sony rebooted the franchise; that's when Andrew Garfield, just about at the same time as his incredible performance in The Social Network, was cast in the role. And it was a role that never quite found the right surrounding movie for its talented star; after a pair of outings in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the decision was reached to try something else.
Then our pal Peter hit the MCU, and Tom Holland entered the fray. With Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home (in addition to group outings in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame), Holland has now appeared as Spidey more than any other actor. In addition to what the MCU is doing, Sony retained the rights for their own Spider-Man world, which also included the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, along with villain spin-offs for Venom (which got a sequel and has a third movie on the way), the not very good Morbius, and has more on the way.
So, with all of those movies, we've also had a good handful of actors playing Spider-Man and inhabiting different versions of the same universe (and sometimes, finding their ways into different universes too). Each one's brought something a little different to the role, and each one has different qualities that make their take on the hero unique. But that doesn't mean there can't be a favorite. Without further ado, here are all the Spider-Man actors, ranked from worst to best.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
6. Chris Pine (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Into the Spider-Verse is a tricky one to categorize for the purposes of this list. The entire premise of the movie is that there are multiple people (and at least one animal) in the multiverse holding down the Spider-Man mantle. We had to cap it somewhere, so we only included the movie's main character, and its two versions of the original Spider-Man.
Having explained all that, Chris Pine plays the version of Spider-Man that existed in Sam Raimi's universe. He's only in the movie briefly, in the beginning, but we see him do all the fun things from the events of Spider-Man (a certain upside-down kiss), Spider-Man 2 (the train rescue), and Spider-Man 3 (dancing through the street). Pine's vocal cameo is...really great. He sells the earnest nature of the character, but just sounds like someone who really loves his life and everything that he does. Pine's brief appearance is so good, that it really makes you think that maybe, just maybe, he would've made a great live-action Spidey at some point (as if Captain Kirk in Star Trek and Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman weren't enough already).
Stream Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Here
5. Jake Johnson (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Pine's Peter Parker makes for a stark contrast to Jake Johnson's Peter Parker. Where Pine is basically Spider-Man prime—he does everything right—Johnson's Spidey is more like Chris Hemsworth in Avengers: Endgame. Things have gone wrong: Mary Jane left him, and he got moved to a different universe. Pine's Spider-Man is dead, but Johnson's—a lazy, depressed, and detached version of Peter Parker—is left to figure out what even happened.
Johnson's not a traditional action movie star, so his vocal casting here is a pretty inspired choice. Best known for his role in New Girl, and now in HBO Max's excellent Minx, Johnson having some charm in his voice should come as no surprise. But that charm here comes in a lovable loser way, especially in contrast to how Pine voices his version of the character.
Stream Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Here
4. Shameik Moore (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Credit to Shameik Moore, the last of the Spider-Verse sector of this list, for being the only one to make the ranking playing a character not named Peter Parker. Moore played Spider-Verse's main character, the fan-favorite comic character Miles Morales.
As a teen, Moore's vocal performance captures a lot of the same stuff that Tom Holland's MCU performance does. What he captures really well is the sense of youthful innocence—he's a teenager who just wants to do the right thing for his friends and family, fumbling his way through life, all of a sudden with some new powers, and a new secret. He loves his Air Jordans (which Nike adapted into a real life limited sneaker!), he's got a favorite song, and he's really just an enjoyable character to watch in what has to be one of, if not the best Spider-Man movies to date.
Stream Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Here
3. Tom Holland (Six appearances in the MCU)
When the Marvel Cinematic Universe acquired the rights to bring Spider-Man into their world, the only way they could go was to make Spidey radically different. That's why they cast Tom Holland, who plays the hero in a more youthful, energetic manner than his predecessors in the role. And the rest, now, is history.
Holland's take on Spidey is starkly different from both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Holland brings a level of innocence and irreverence to the portrayal that makes his take on the character feel fresh.
The energy that Holland brings to the role is really special. Tobey's Spider-Man, an older and more mature take on the character, was similar to the Spider-Man animated series; Tom Holland's youth,quick wit, and constant one-liners are in line with the comics.
And while Holland is almost always shining on the screen with a rarely-matched electricity, it's the dramatic moments that really make him special. With six MCU appearances, he's got plenty of highlights already for the reel, but it's a moment in Infinity War, and a few in Spider-Man: No Way Home, that took everyone's breath away.
Stream Spider-Man: Homecoming Here
2. Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Tobey was the very first Spider-Man an entire generation (myself included) ever knew. He wasn't just an actor playing Peter Parker, he was Peter Parker. It wasn't until seeing Seabiscuit a couple years later that I even familiarized myself with any of Tobey's other work. He was the first Spider-Man, and for a while, it seemed like even though there was someone else playing the part, he was always going to be the truest version of the character.
In Sam Raimi's trilogy of movies, Tobey always brings it, from the cinematic highs of the second film to the campy moments of the third one (which I defend with my life! Emo Spider-Man is gold, embrace it). He plays the character in a pretty earnest manner, and it works. He's just low-key enough for us to believe. And when he shows back up in [SPOILER] Spider-Man: No Way Home, it's just a delight to see that this original version of Spider-Man, in his own universe, has somehow, some way, found a way to make it all work.
Stream Spider-Man Here
1. Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Andrew Garfield is a great actor. Have you seen The Social Network? He simply has this aura that comes off of him at all times, and it's magnetic on screen. You could watch basically any Garfield performance and see it: there's no doubt that he's got an immense amount of talent for acting.
Which is why it was so frustrating to see the way his Spider-Man turned out in his first two runs as the character. There are a lot of problems with both The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and absolutely none of them are Garfield's fault. Garfield plays the two parts of our hero interestingly; his Peter is a little cooler and more hip than the other versions of the character, but it's when he puts on the mask and starts web-slinging and shooting quips that he really shines. Garfield is a good Peter Parker, but he's without question the best Spider-Man.
Which is why Spider-Man: No Way Home, helped him jump to the very top of our list. Finally, he got a movie worthy of the performance he put in. Finally, he got stakes and drama to match what he put in. And the writers of the movie did him right in giving him a storyline that let him flex those acting muscles while still being unquestionably, distinctly the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man. His performance as this one-0f-a-kind hero has always been fun to watch, but his surprise turn in Spider-Man: No Way Home is an all-timer for this genre.
Stream Spider-Man: No Way Home Here
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below