When there’s a new Spider-Man, there’s a new debate. Which actor fits the role best? Who brings Spider-Man to life? With the first Spider-Man movie being released back in 2002 starring Toby Maguire ( excluding the 1970’s failures), and 6 more to follow, there’s a lot to be discussed. 

Spider-Man is an underdog. He’s a science- whiz teenager who lives with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. A bit of a loner at school with no one paying too much attention to him. That is until he’s bitten by a genetically modified spider, which gives him the ability of enhanced strength, wall-crawling, reflexes, stamina, healing and agility abilities, and of course the famous web-shooters… no biggie. 

Now, let’s focus on the ‘teenager’ part for a moment. When Spider-Man 1 was filmed, Toby Maguire was 27 years old. Andrew Garfield was 28 years old in the first Amazing Spider-Man. When Spider-Man Homecoming was filmed, Tom Holland was 21 years old. Quite an age gap there. Both Maguire and Garfield didn’t look the age of a true Spider-Man character. In that sense, they didn’t take on the role of Spider-Man as well as Tom Holland does. In the Tom Holland movies, he represents a true teenager. This is down to many scenes taking place at school, going to house parties and looking like a youngster. Maguire and Garfield were men when their films came out. Marvel has finally taken on board what Stan Lee wrote in the comics all those years ago, and presented us with a young, energetic boy. With that being said, the trait of being a ‘loser’ shines through Toby Maguire’s appearance throughout the films more so that the other two. Garfield is seen as quite attractive and mysterious, and Tom Holland is a geek in a time where geeks are the superiors. 

There are many attributes to Spider-Man’s character and things that each of the three actors brings to the surface. One being the suit. The suit, of course, is one of the main things you associate with Spider-Man. The look of it, what it can do, how it’s compatible with Spider Man’s superpowers. And although Andrew Garfield’s suit was quite attractive and impressive due to being made completely by hand, Tom Holland has my vote here… or shall I say Tony Stark does? Toms new suit, first appearing in Homecoming, includes an AI named Karen, upgraded web-shooters with hundreds of different web combinations, web WINGS ( Awesome!), spider drones and instant kill mode. Need I say more. 

Holland’s Spider-Man character is a much more accurate representation of the comic books. From his youthfulness and ability to nail the humour we all know and love, to his appearance and personality traits. Credit where it’s due though, Maguire and Garfield certainly did not put on a bad show, and do portray certain aspects of Spider-Man well. However, neither of them capture the real Spider-Man as much as Holland does in my opinion.