The fan-favorite hero Spider-Man has seen quite a few different actors play the famous role over the last twenty years. Since 2016, Tom Holland has held the latest claim to Peter Parker’s name, ushering in new stories in the wake of Tobey Maguire‘s and Andrew Garfield‘s works.
Each Spider-Man has his own series of adventures to share with the world. Villains, challenges, and even some characters may change, but there is no doubt that Maguire, Garfield, and Holland all play heroes. And no matter who is hiding behind the mask, audiences always love to see the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man make his signature, epic saves.
A Monumental Save: A Field Trip Gone Wrong
Though Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was introduced to the MCU in Captain America: Civil War, he made his true debut in Spider-Man: Homecoming. After his time fighting with (and against) the Avengers, Peter Parker is tired of thwarting boring street crimes and is ready for more exciting action. When he tracks the Vulture (Michael Keaton, a former and future Batman) to Washington D.C., Peter finds the adventure he has been seeking.
One of the Vulture’s weapons is unwittingly brought inside the Washington Monument by Peter’s friend Ned (Jacob Batalon). When the weapon activates, the elevator full of Peter’s classmates is minutes away from plummeting back down the shaft. Peter has to find a way to save them before they fall to over five-hundred and fifty feet to their deaths. The D.C. police arrive and tell Spider-Man to stand down, thinking he is the one causing problems. Peter, now at the top of the Washington Monument, has to evade them in order to save his friends. Vaulting off the monument and using one of the helicopters as an anchor, Spider-Man breaks through on of the monument’s windows and catches the elevator just before it falls. This nail-biting scene is Peter’s first big save, and still remains one of his best years later.
The Villain: An Unexpected Rescue
The Vulture is the big bad in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He picks up the scraps of technology left in the wake of big superhero battles and then turns them into dangerous weapons to be sold on the black market. When his financial situation hits dire straits, the Vulture is desperate to make one more large, final weapons order. To do this, the Vulture plans a heist; he is going to steal newly made Iron Man tech for his weapons.
When Peter Parker learns of the Vulture’s plan, he rushes to stop the villain. The pair’s harrowing airborne battle comes to an abrupt halt when the plane beneath them crash lands. The Vulture is close to defeat, but is unwilling to walk away empty-handed. He seizes some of the last in-tact technology and begins to fly off with it, but does not realize that his suit is malfunctioning. Spider-Man watches in horror as his girlfriend’s dad crashes to the ground in an inferno. Battered and bruised, Peter gets up, races into the fire, and pulls the Vulture to safety. Rescuing his enemy is one of Peter’s best and most impactful saves. It shows his pure heart, which will help him become and amazing hero.
An Avenger: One Of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
Avengers: Infinity War was a worldwide phenomenon that made a massive impact in the Marvel universe and in cinematic history. Many of the film’s tense scenes and action sequences had audiences on the edges of their seats. One of these scenes involves Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, who is the only live-action Spider-Man (so far) to join the Avengers.
Thanos (Josh Brolin) is searching the cosmos for the Infinity Stones, and he intends to use to kill half the universe. The Time Stone is in the possession of the magical Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), so Thanos sends his disciples to attack and then kidnap the sorcerer. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Spider-Man, aboard an alien spaceship, must find a way to save Dr. Strange. Spider-Man’s plan (based off of Aliens) sees Iron Man blowing a hole in the side of the ship. Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) gets sucked into the void of space, but Peter catches Dr. Strange in the nick of time. This save by Spider-Man is epic not only because it takes place in space, but also because it ensures that the heroes can continue to fight Thanos and protect the universe.
Father And Son: Saving The Dynamic
One of Holland’s more subtle saves as Spider-Man comes from his second team-up with the Avengers in Avengers: Endgame. After the original six Avengers brought back everyone Thanos had ‘snapped’ away, a massive battle ensues among the ruins of the Avengers compound. The battle sees everybody assisting each other out during the fighting, and one of Spider-Man’s best saves here is when he helps Tony.
Tony is fighting enemy forces when he gets knocked down, and Spider-Man keeps Tony from being pummeled by pulling the enemy back. Peter helps Tony up and starts talking about how he got to the battlefield, but he’s cut off when Tony gives him an impromptu hug. One of the biggest reasons Tony came back from his retirement to fight Thanos was to save Peter, with whom he has a father-son relationship. Tony saved Peter, and now Peter saved Tony. This Spider-Man save, while not as astounding as some of his others, is significant and personal to Peter, making this short, heartfelt scene one of Holland’s best saves as the web-slinger.
Tower Bridge: The Final Showdown
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Spider-Man: Far From Home, one of the highest rated MCU movies so far, shows Peter Parker struggling to deal with the loss of Tony Stark. Iron Man’s legacy is a responsibility that Peter feels falls upon his shoulders, but he doesn’t want to worry about being a superhero. All he wants to do is enjoy his summer vacation in Europe and talk to the girl he has a crush on. Unfortunately for Peter, a hero’s work is never done.
When Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) reveals his true colors and sets up a staged battle on Tower Bridge, Peter must step back into the role of Spider-Man and stop him. The battle becomes deadly when Mysterio starts using his drones to attack Spider-Man. After fighting off illusions and deception, Spider-Man manages to defeat Mysterio and quickly destroys his deadly technology, once again saving the day. This save helps Peter realize that no matter his struggles, he has a responsibility to protect people, and he will always be hero.
The Return: Villains All Around
Spider-Man: No Way Home is still being talked about, even seven months after its initial release. The film bringing back both past villains and past Spider-Men has been beyond popular with audiences, and will no doubt take its place as one of the best movies in Marvel and superhero history. Full of delightful callbacks, scream-worthy cameos, and jaw-dropping action sequences, the film features many saves from all three Peter Parkers.
While Garfield’s rescue of MJ (Zendaya) is inarguably the best save in the film, there are still plenty of great saves made throughout the rest of the movie. One of these occurs before the other Peters even make it to the screen. Holland’s character is trying to convince the MIT assistant vice chancellor (Paula Newsome) to reconsider Ned and MJ’s applications to the school, as they were rejected simply because they knew him. The conversation comes to a halt when Peter senses something’s wrong on the bridge. Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) appears on the scene, and starts attacking Peter. Spider-Man battles this unfamiliar villain, and in doing so saves multiple people on the bridge, including the Newsome’s character. This save is one of Holland’s best because it proves to the assistance vice chancellor (as well as others present) that he is not the villain Mysterio made him out to be.
