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Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland have all embodied the famous character, Spider-Man, in movies that have stretched across generations. They even had the chance to bring all three of the Spider-Men together for a grand event in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which depicted the earlier actors as multiversal versions of the character in the MCU.
However, before Tom Holland's introduction in Captain America: Civil War, Tobey Maguire was widely considered the best version of the character, and while Andrew Garfield also had a niche fan base, there always seemed to be some unsaid imperfections about the character that the movies could not overcome.
That is until Tom Holland appeared in the role. Age-appropriate, charming, full of fun, and often collaborating with other superheroes, Holland soon started to embody the perfect version of Spider-Man, and not all of it was because of the acting skills that the young actor possessed.
Perhaps the most important reason for Holland's exceptional popularity is the lack of weak points in the character, which existed for both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
Here is a breakdown of why Tom Holland's Spider-Man is, or appears to be, the best version of the character.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinion of the writer.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man does not possess anything negative compared to Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire
Since the storylines are completely different in each movie, and Holland had the advantage of stepping in when the MCU was at its very best, we will compare the three without looking at their storylines.
It also has very little to do with acting as all three actors are prominent names in the industry and have a lot to show for themselves as well. Their individual performances have remained solid throughout their respective films.
For Tobey Maguire, he was considered one of the best to take the role, with many arguing he is even better than Holland's version. But there was something fundamentally wrong with Maguire's version - the age. Maguire was much older than Peter would conventionally be in the story. Rather all the characters at the high school are much older.
Moreover, Maguire's Peter seemed to work out perfectly, merging the sly genius with the nerdy exterior, but his masked superhero did not seem to change personalities all that much. Rather, his version of the superhero may be the least appealing one in more than one sense. Peter's character also lost some consistency over the three movies, making it harder to rate him higher.
As for Andrew Garfield, he was a charismatic Spider-Man, but a way-too-cool Peter Parker. With his dashing looks and his skateboarding, he never felt like the nerdy kid with a secret. Rather, he felt like a superstar version of the character. While Garfield is arguably the best actor among the three, his version seemed the least convincing and has a much lesser chunk of a fan base currently.
Tom Holland, on the other hand, seemed to have got it all. He looked younger than the other two (and was), which made him extremely convincing as Peter Parker, a high school student. Moreover, he was nerdy in the right amounts and looked believable as a kid who could be hiding something big. His awkwardness with Zendaya's character was also extremely believable and so was his social exclusion.
But what completed Holland's perfect transformation was his version of Spider-Man, who is one of the funniest superheroes in Marvel comics. Holland's version seemed to change completely when he wore the mask, much like in the comics, giving fans accurate versions of both sides of Peter Parker.
This, combined with the great storytelling in the MCU, made Tom Holland stand out as the best version of the character. He also sported some of the most unique suits, powers, and skills, which made his version far more appealing to the masses. But this would not have ideally helped Maguire and Garfield's versions much as the primary problem is more fundamental.
A fourth installment in MCU's Spider-Man franchise is reportedly in the works.
