Spider-Man: Ranking the 8 best TV and film iterations of Peter Parker
By Mark Lynch
Credit: Sony Pictures for Spider-Man 2 (2004) — Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire)
2. Tobey Maguire (Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy)
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy goes on the list of one of the three most important movies to the Marvel Comics movie franchises (Blade and X2 being the others). Everyone knew who Spider-Man was. Tobey Maguire introduced the world to Peter Parker. Overcoming the uncertainties about himself and making mistakes along the way are a giant part of what made Spidey one of the greatest heroes of all time. Spider-Man 2 showed this in spades. Losing his powers due to insecurity, struggling to pay rent, having to deal with J. Jonah Jameson, and making the choice to be a hero over a boyfriend are all part of Peter Parker’s life. But while he may have been the perfect Peter Parker, he was only an OK Spider-Man.
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man didn’t really quip. This Spidey did have a plethora of classic moments, but they always seemed to miss something. Also, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn and Alfred Molina as Dr. Octavius contributed a lot to what we think of Spidey in these movies. If it weren’t for their performances, it’s doubtful these movies would be as revered. Without a doubt, these movies were flawless Peter Parker movies and incredibly important. Unfortunately, they’re only decent Spider-Man movies. We also have to take away major points for Spider-Man 3.