Though Tobey Maguire is the original Web-Slinger, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy has cemented itself as some of the most popular films in the MCU.
Spider-Man is one of the most successful superheroes, with three different movie franchises, video games, tv shows, and more. Tom Holland is the most recent actor to take on the role, with his individual movies premiering from 2017 to 2021. The other Spider-Men, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, have also portrayed Peter Parker in the past within their own universes.
RELATED:Tobey Maguire Vs. Andrew Garfield: Who’s The Stronger Spider-Man?
Many compare Tom’s trilogy to Tobey’s, and while Tobey’s is the original and has many wonderful qualities that beat out the others, there are many things about Tom’s MCU trilogy that are better.
CBR VIDEO OF THE DAYClose
10Tom’s Movies Have Ties To The Avengers
The Avengers have taken the world by storm as a collection of the greatest superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Viewers first meet Tom’s Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, when Tony Stark recruits him to help in the fight.
Peter plays a vital role in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and a few heroes from the MCU pop up in his individual movies as well. Tony Stark makes an appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Doctor Strange is pivotal in Spider-Man: No Way Home. These connections to the Avengers tie the Marvel universe together and are very entertaining.
9Tom’s Peter Has A Father-Son Bond With Tony Stark
Tobey’s Peter loses his father figure, Uncle Ben, in the first Spider-Man movie. While viewers are never introduced to an Uncle Ben in the MCU, Tom’s Peter goes through a similar loss when Tony dies in Avengers: Endgame.
RELATED:The 7 Legacy Characters Of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ranked
Over the years, Tony and Peter form an incredibly close father-son bond, and Tony even uses Stark Technology for Peter’s suit and his AI sunglasses. Viewers get to see this relationship grow over the years, which makes it much more emotional when Tony dies. While Uncle Ben’s death is sad, fans only see a glimpse into his and Peter’s bond before he is killed.
8Tom Feels Closer To Peter’s Age
When the original Spider-Man filmed in 2001, Tobey was 25 years old, playing 17-year-old high school student Peter Parker. While Tobey looked younger than 25, he still looked too old to be 17.
Tom, on the other hand, was 18 when he filmed Captain America: Civil War in 2015, playing 15-year-old Peter. Even now, at 25, Tom still looks young enough to play Peter as he goes off to college. Tom’s physical features, stature, and personality make him seem much closer to Peter’s age than Tobey does.
7Tom Is The Perfect Mixture Of Nerdy And Cool
MCU Peter is nerdy, a smart kid who loves science, competes on the decathlon team, and longs to get into MIT with his girlfriend and best friend. However, he’s still cool enough to fight with the Avengers and become “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” Tony Stark’s apprentice.
Tobey has the nerdy side of Peter Parker down to a science, pulling off the sweet, uncool guy act perfectly, but he is missing the cool side. Tobey is the nerdy Peter, Andrew is the cool Peter, and Tom is the perfect combination of the two.
6The CGI In Tom’s Movies Is Better
This is somewhat of a given, considering how far technology and movie-making has come in the twenty years since Spider-Man was created, but the CGI in Tom’s trilogy is far superior to Tobey’s.
RELATED:10 Mistakes Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Has Made In The MCU
Even Alfred Molina, who plays Doc Ock, commented about how much better the technology on the set of Spider-Man: No Way Home is than when he originally put on the Doc Ock tentacles in Spider-Man 2 in 2004. Almost everything in the Spider-Man movies of today is created using CGI, and it’s amazing how realistic it looks.
5Tom’s Peter Relies On His Friends For Help
A big theme in Tom’s trilogy is friendship, as Peter relies on Ned and MJ to help him, not only physically, but also emotionally. There is something to be said for Peter to have such great friends that are willing to risk their lives time and again to help him. Tobey’s Peter goes through his superhero battles alone.
While it can be argued that dealing with the struggles of balancing school, relationships, and saving the world alone is more admirable, everyone needs help sometimes. Especially when dealing with threats like Mysterio and Thanos.
4Tom’s Peter Has To Save The World
Tobey’s Peter is only focused in New York City, fighting villains like the Green Goblin and Sandman, which is difficult enough on its own. On top of the threats in New York like the Vulture, Tom’s Peter also has to fight villains who could destroy the planet altogether.
Peter’s first battle is against some of the best and strongest superheroes in the world, including the likes of Captain America, Bucky Barnes, and Scarlet Witch. He then has to fight Thanos, the galactic-level villain wanting to destroy half of the human population. He literally had the weight of the world on his shoulders as a teenager.
3Tom’s Spider Suit Is High-Tech
Tom’s Peter gets his spider suit from Tony Stark, which he created using Stark Technology. His initial suit from Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming is equipped with technology, which is only advanced as the characters progress. At the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony provides Peter with the new Iron Spider armor, which he wears throughout Avengers: Infinity War, and is seen all the way until Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Tom’s Peter has many suits throughout his movies, and all of them have been loaded with technology to assist him in fights, including iron spider legs that he teases Doc Ock with in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Tobey’s Peter has a regular suit made of nothing technological, which is honorable, but not as cool as metal legs.
2The Women In The MCU Trilogy Are Great
The women in Tom’s trilogy, namely MJ (Zendaya) and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), are strong, independent, and willing to get their hands dirty. The MJ in Tobey’s trilogy (Kirsten Dunst) plays the traditional damsel in distress role that was popular in the early 2000s, needing to be saved every movie and playing with Peter’s emotions in an on-again, off-again relationship.
RELATED:10 Spider-Man Comics The MCU Can Adapt After No Way Home’s Ending
Nowadays, it’s much more common for women in movies to hold their own and sometimes even save the heroes. While Tobey’s MJ is the original, Tom’s is simply better because she’s strong and builds Peter up, bringing out the best in him. Aunt May also helps out however she can, and even gives her life to save Peter’s in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
1Spider-Man: No Way Home Is The Best Movie To Come Out In Years
Spider-Man: No Way Home premiered in December 2021, and is the biggest cultural phenomenon of the last few years. The movie broke records for ticket sales, and for good reason. Anyone who saw the movie on opening night will remember the experience for a long time, the feeling of seeing the likes of Matt Murdock, Andrew’s Peter, Tobey’s Peter, and all the original villains in the same universe as Tom’s Peter.
This movie would’ve been great with just the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb villains, but the addition of Andrew and Tobey brings it up to an even higher level. Seeing all three Spider-Men fight together, swinging off of each other’s webs and landing in their signature poses, is simply magical. Although this movie wouldn’t have been what it is without Tobey and Andrew, it’s part of Tom’s trilogy, and therefore the credit has to go to the MCU.
