Spider-Man: Ranking the 8 best TV and film iterations of Peter Parker
By Mark Lynch
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 10: Andrew Garfield attends the 72nd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
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6. Andrew Garfield (Amazing Spider-Man)
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was like Tim Burton’s Batman. It set the standard for Peter Parker and Spider-Man, even if Spider-Man 3 is widely viewed as lackluster. After Tobey Maguire’s performance as Spider-Man and Peter Parker, Andrew Garfield was coming in at a disadvantage. And despite the criticism, Andrew Garfield did a good job in the two Amazing Spider-Man films. He gave the audience something Tobey Maguire didn’t — a great performance as Spider-Man. He quipped more, and he was in training as Spidey a lot longer. The one negative is that he wasn’t a great Peter Parker.
Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker had the awkwardness you wanted. He slouched a bit, couldn’t look people in the eye, and played the role of a young genius well. The problem was he still came off as cool, and Peter Parker isn’t “cool” in the traditional sense. The best example was him skateboarding. While it may seem like a small thing, it was still noticeable. Skateboarding was in at the time. Peter wouldn’t skateboard because it would draw too much attention to him, and he would be too scared if people saw him fall. It was little moments like this that puts him lower on the list, even though he’s number 2 on my personal list.