"Captain America: Winter Soldier" has made over $1 billion since it was released worldwide two weeks ago. Whether you’re Team Captain America or Team Iron Man, whether you’ve seen the movie one time or five times, one thing is for sure: a certain web-slinging superhero stole every scene he was in.
From his adorably nervous tendencies to his fast-paced quips, 19-year-old actor Tom Holland has received praise for his performance as Peter Parker. With his own solo movie scheduled for 2018, I can’t help but feel like Hollywood moves through Spider-Man actors faster than you can say “with great power comes great responsibility.”
In a span of 16 years, audiences have watched three different actors portray our favorite geek-turned-guardian-of-New-York-City.
Tobey Maguire took on the mantle for Sony Picture’s "Spider-Man," "Spider-Man 2," and "Spider-Man 3," released in 2002, 2004 and 2007, respectively. In 2012, the torch was passed to Andrew Garfield, who donned the suit for "The Amazing Spider-Man" and its 2014 sequel, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."
Maguire’s Spider-Man was a confident young man ready to save babies inside burning buildings. Maguire’s Peter Parker was somebody entirely different. Audiences felt nothing but pity for this puppy-eyed kid who longed for a relationship with the girl next door, Mary Jane Watson.
“I cried like a baby when you played Cinderella.”
“Peter, that was first grade.”
“Well, even so.”
Maguire took the “chicks dig sensitivity” advice and cranked it to the max. His eyes were wide and hopeful, but his shy delivery led some audience members to criticize his performance as stiff. In his defense, an awkward teenager isn’t exactly the smoothest of operators.
Through his soft-spoken personality, Maguire gave us a character we could sympathize with. He represented the side of us that was unsure, unprepared, and hopelessly in love.
If there’s one piece of advice Maguire’s Peter Parker needed, it was to lighten up a bit. That’s where Garfield came in.
In case you don’t read the comics, Spider-Man is actually a very funny guy when he’s fighting baddies. He’s witty, sarcastic, and just downright annoying sometimes. When it came to wit, Garfield’s Spider-Man let loose on the live commentary.
“You know in the future, if you’re going to steal cars, don’t dress like a car thief, man,” said Spider-Man, hiding in the backseat and surprising a carjacker.
Out of costume, Garfield’s Peter Parker traded the geek gimmick for a loner, hipster look. It was a new image for a new decade, and for the most part, it worked with audiences.
The way he stuttered when he talked to Gwen Stacey was laughably cute. He was always holding his skateboard, ready to shred on rooftops to relieve stress. It was a little unbelievable why he was a loner in the first place.
Although Maguire and Garfield gave vastly different renditions of the character, they proved that there’s no such thing as a typical superhero personality. You can be confident, shy, geeky, or aloof.
Some prefer one actor to the other. Some like both and some are tired of seeing so many different Spider-Men on the big screen. As for me, 2018 can’t come fast enough.
