There are a lot of incredible Spider-Man movie moments, but some are better than others. Here are the ten most memorable of his solo movies.
The Spider-Man movies could be the most popular comic book franchise of all time.
Spider-Man’s history on the big screen dates back to 2002 when the first Spider-Man movie was released, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The film was a critical and commercial success, leading to two sequels. In 2012, The Amazing Spider-Man rebooted the franchise with Andrew Garfield in the lead role, followed by a sequel in 2014. In 2016, Spider-Man joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Tom Holland playing the web-slinger in Captain America: Civil War, and has since appeared in several MCU films and his own standalone movie
As of now, there are nine solo Spider-Man movies. There are three solo films with Tobey Maguire, two with Andrew Garfield, one starring Miles Morales (featuring other Spider-beings), and three with Tom Holland. Each of them had moments that left the audience laughing, on their seats, or flat-out crying. Yes, even Spider-Man 3 had parts that could be considered memorable. Fans can also assume the two Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will have unforgettable scenes as well.
Not counting any of the movies where he was featured, here are the ten best moments from Spidey/Peter Parker in the movies.
10. Spidey and the boat
Movie: Spider-Man: Homecoming
It’s almost common knowledge that Spider-Man has superhuman strength (proportionate strength of a spider). If you look at him, you’d never know it. He usually looks slimmer than most of the other heroes. Then you see him in action and you realize his size doesn’t match his strength. He’s stronger than heroes twice his size.
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, viewers saw this in action. He had to hold two halves of a boat together with his arms and a lot of webbing. Iron Man may have been the one who saved the day, but Peter’s feat shouldn’t be overlooked.
9. Peter Parker beats Doctor Strange
Movie: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Doctor Strange is one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. He’s proven it by holding his own against Scarlet Witch and Thanos. That being said, Spider-Man isn’t either of them. He doesn’t have Mad Titan’s strength or Wanda Maximoff’s power. However, Peter’s ability to think on his feet is unmatched.
Peter defeating Doctor Strange using math was perfect. It’s one of the most comic book accurate scenes in any MCU movie. It showed that Peter’s biggest weapon is his brain. This moment also put Spider-Man in a different league. Not everyone can defeat Stephen Strange. Especially in the Mirror Dimension.
8. Peter B. Parker’s life
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Into the Spider-Verse is one of the best comic book projects that Sony has put out. It didn’t make the money that the other Spidey movies did, but that doesn’t matter. People understand that box office numbers don’t determine how good a movie is. In this case, it’s the constant emotional moments throughout Into the Spider-Verse. Among them is Peter B. Parker talking about his life.
Peter Parker has bad luck in almost every reality. However, he still manages to keep trying. In Peter B. Parker’s reality, he lost his will to try. He split with Mary Jane and didn’t feel like a hero anymore. It’s one thing to hear him talk about. It’s another to see it. It was funny at times, but it was also heartbreaking. The best part was him regaining the desire to be a hero again towards the end of the movie.
7. Gwen Stacy dies
Movie: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
It was difficult not putting this scene higher than this. Gwen Stacy died in the comic books, but there was no guarantee that scene would happen in a movie. Part of what made this so memorable was that viewers thought she had a chance to survive. Even comic book fans thought so. Then everyone found out how wrong those thoughts were.
Gwen Stacy’s death was tragic. It’s rare that someone on the side of good isn’t saved by Spidey. This goes for comic books as well. If you’ve seen Amazing Spider-Man 2, then you haven’t forgotten the first time you saw it.
6. Learning
Movie: Spider-Man
Before Peter Parker became amazing, he needed to learn how to use his abilities. This scene doesn’t hold up visually compared to the more recent movies, but it’s crucial to the beginning of the Wall-Crawler’s movie career. More importantly, this is still among the most important moments in Marvel movie history.
Seeing Peter climb and attempt to swing for the first time was special. Fans got to witness him try to use his powers for the first time. And, like most people, he failed on his first attempt. It helped make him succeed at it even better. Had he got it right on the first attempt, it wouldn’t have meant much. Plus, it was entertaining seeing him discover his Spider-Sense.
5. The Train
Movie: Spider-Man 2
There have been a lot of action scenes in Spider-Man movies. Spidey also fought his share of supervillains and everyday criminals. Of all the scenes, this writer believes none of them combined emotion, action, and importance the way the train scene did.
Peter fighting Otto Octavius and almost dying saving the passengers on the train was emotional. Then it goes from heart racing to heartwarming when the people of New York try to protect their hurting hero against Otto. Just like Spidey, he didn’t run away despite being hurt. He stood up in defense of the innocent people despite barely being able to stand.
This was an emotional roller coaster that lasted less than 20 minutes. Not something easily accomplished.
4. Peter saves MJ
Movie: Spider-Man: No Way Home
As it was mentioned earlier, Andrew Garfield’s Spidey couldn’t save Gwen Stacy. This became a defining moment in Peter’s life. He said that it made him more aggressive. Garfield’s Spider-Man may not have been able to save the woman he loved, but he could spare his counterpart from the same grief.
It wasn’t just Peter saving MJ (Zendaya) in No Way Home that made this great. It was Andrew Garfield’s face after. He was proud of himself. After failing the first time in the same situation, he redeemed himself. A moment that made fans happy as well.
3. Miles Morales is Spider-Man
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
After failing to save his Uncle Aaron and not being allowed to help his spider counterparts, Miles was left alone and webbed to a chair. However, he didn’t give up. After his father’s speech, Miles went to Peter Parker’s home where Aunt May was waiting for him. Miles designed his uniform and swung into action for the first time.
Everything about this scene was perfect. The animation was crisp. Black Caviar and Blackway’s song “What’s Up, Danger” fit the moment like a glove. Best of all, it wasn’t perfect. Miles stumbled a little on the way, but that added some flavor to his journey. It was the best coming into your own moment in Spider-Man movie history.
2. Aunt may dies
Movie: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Unlike most of the deaths in Spider-Man movies, fans latched on to Aunt May for multiple movies. Fans watched as Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May helped Peter become a man. This is why her death was more painful than Uncle Ben’s.
Seeing her die was bad enough. It was even worse when she dropped the, “With great power must also come great responsibility” line. When we saw it in theaters, the entire room was still and quiet. That’s the mark of a flawlessly done scene.
1. Spider-Men
Movie: Spider-Man: No Way Home
This was the worst-kept secret in comic book movie history. Everyone knew that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were in No Way Home. That meant their appearance had to be better than expected. Thankfully, it did.
First, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire meet Ned and MJ. That scene was funny from start to finish. The hilarity stopped when Tom Holland met his counterparts for the first time. Peter just lost his Aunt May. The other two Peters knew what he was going through because they both lost someone close as well. Their Uncle Ben. Each of them connected when they realized each of them knew the great power speech.
Everything involving these three Spider-Men was, without a doubt, the best moment in Spider-Man movie history. The collaboration was everything that fans could have wanted. Seeing them talk about their lives and helping each other through their insecurities was special. It was also interesting to see the difference in personalities.
Lastly, Tom Holland taking charge was the previous two Peter Parkers passing the torch to the newest, and maybe the best, Spider-Man. You couldn’t ask for a better moment from the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Men. Hopefully, fans will get more going forward.
What other moments should have been on this list? How would you rank the scenes? Let us know in the comments below.