There were several reasons why Spider-Man: No Way Home, proved to be the kind of resounding success that it is now seen as. Bringing forth a plethora of fan-favorite villains from across the three Spider-Man live-action franchises, the likes of Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield united in a stellar narrative that brought to life multiple memes, and gave fans plenty of scenes that will remain permanently in their minds.
While a competition between the three Spider-Men might not be on anyone’s cards, some fans have gone ahead and proclaimed Andrew Garfield’s version of the character as the best one, among the three. After one Twitter user talked about how Garfield made the most out of his limited screentime in the 2021 movie, a range of fans joined in, claiming similar things.
Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man gets his flowers for ‘running circles’ around Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland in No Way Home
There is little doubt that all three Spider-Men stand for positive things, as far as fans are concerned. Tobey Maguire brought forth the first-ever live-action iteration of the character via the Sony series, and is effectively the reason why an entire generation of kids grew so fond of the friendly neighborhood superhero.
Can we be real and finally admit Andrew Spider-Man’d circles around Tom & Tobey with little screen time in NWH? pic.twitter.com/gAJNCQUAzt
— Matt Ramos (@therealsupes) August 23, 2024
Sony then rebooted the franchise via the Amazing Spider-Man series, and fans got a more quirky, almost hilarious Spider-Man who fell in love with Gwen Stacy, rather than Mary Jane. Finally, the MCU brought forth Tom Holland’s version of the character, which increased the stakes and made the character a bonafide part of the Avengers.
While each iteration had a range of things working for it, fans have finally seemingly decided which version was the best, and it may have come down to how they interacted in No Way Home. A range of fans reacted to the post proclaiming Garfield’s iteration as the best.
Nah, Tobey won the movie. Tom Holland is an ok Spiderman.
— Kilo Harrison (@kil071art) August 23, 2024
Andrew Garfield is my favorite Spider-Man. He deserves his trilogy.
— I have so many questions? (@english_shamar) August 23, 2024
He’s by far the best actor to play spider-man. He’s gonna win an oscar one day
— Cyril (@CyrilH44) August 23, 2024
Andrew is the best Spider-Man & Peter Parker but Tobey got the best films. Period.
— Matt Ramos (@therealsupes) August 23, 2024
As is evident, fans used No Way Home for reference, where Garfield maintained his hilarity despite being surrounded by two other Spider-Men. Of course, there are plenty who might beg to differ.
No Way Home gave fans an opportunity to compare the three live-action versions of Spider-Man
The uniqueness Andrew Garfield brought to Peter Parker also ensures that his version of the character will continue to be well-remembered. Not only did Garfield prove to be the most accurate depiction when it came to Spider-Man’s mannerism and body language, but the heartbreak he went through via the loss of Gwen Stacy made for a resounding iteration, leading to a range of fans asking for a better payoff for his version.
Finally, Tom Holland had a range of advantages that others did not, in the sense that he is part of an elaborate universe littered with other Marvel superheroes, leading to more complex storylines that have made the character accessible to effectively the entire globe.
No matter which one is your favorite, there is little doubt that each live-action version of the character had its positives and negatives, and there is simply no clear answer to which character stands out the most, when the three are compared.
All Spider-Man movies are available to watch on Disney+.
