Andrew Garfield: The Best Spider-Man
Welcome back pals! We’ve been on a bit of a break since Christmas, while we gathered ourselves for our big comeback with more of your favourite features, WGN regulars and guest-posters, not to mention a groovy new look (see above – have a gander, it’s quite good)!
So without further ado, let’s hand over to our Ultimate Movie Geek, Nathaniel Jepson as he tells us who he thinks is the best Spidey!
Greetings my Movie Geeks!
Beware Spidey-Spoilers!!!
So the last film I saw in 2021 was Spider-Man: No Way Home. No Way Home resonated with me because it is so scattershot with nostalgic fast pacing that I was simultaneously watching Spider-man 4, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and the final in Tom Holland’s trilogy all at once. But why is Andrew Garfield the Best Spider-Man?
I didn’t realise how much I enjoyed the returning aspects from Amazing Spider-Man. I put this down to the fact I watched it with my son. Now older, he just grunts at me without looking up from his phone. I watched those films through his eyes, Andrew Garfield was his Spider-Man, and his return… spoilers, by the way, was a welcome one. More so than the return of Tobey Maguire, who arguably should be my Spider-Man… Oh yeah, Spoilers by the way.
But why was it that Andrew Garfield’s appearance was more iconic than the rest?
Could it be his tenure as Spider-Man was cut short at it’s height? Was it because his story arc was completed within No Way Home? Or is it because Garfield was able to lie for months without spoiling the surprise?
Let’s see.
The Worst Spider-Man
Only having two movies under his spandex leotard it’s often thought and said that the Amazing Spider-Man movies weren’t great. But even though the sequel certainly had a lot of missteps, it did tell a story that was close and personal to Peter Parker’s origin.
The more realistic, and excitingly conspiratorial, view of Spider-Man’s beginnings is one of many things to enjoy about Mark Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man movies. Yes, Uncle Ben is still shot by a man Peter refused to apprehend, and yes, he is still bitten by a radioactive spider, but The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel go into far more detail about his personal origins.
The addition of Oscorp in the plot and the revelation that Richard Parker was working on a secret project for Norman Osborn serves the storey well, offering an emotional backbone to Peter Parker’s origin.
Oscorp’s super-spiders, which were a product of Richard Parker’s research, were infused with his own blood as the basis for his experiments, so the spider bite would only have worked on Peter.
Both films have pretty conventional plots. The first is about Peter’s origins and his enemy, who has an insane goal to make everyone look like him. He’s a lizard who thinks everyone should be one. Makes sense!
Garfield is a perfect Spider-Man, it’s funny because one of the main gripes toward him is that his Parker is too cool. But we already had the nerdy Parker with Maguire’s. But it was nice to see that both their entrances in No Way Home highlighted where their strengths lay. Maguire was introduced as Parker, Garfield was introduced as Spider-Man.
Character
Peter Parker’s intelligence is highlighted in Garfield’s portrayal of him. He’s an intelligent millennial who can accomplish everything he sets his mind to. In comparison, Maguire’s Peter was a boy genius, whereas Garfield’s Peter is a prodigy. Basically, Garfield’s better than Maguire…
He is able to comprehend and assist Curt Connors in the completion of his father’s formula, develops his own web-fluid, and, in the sequel, must upgrade his technology to take on Electro. The sequences of him being scientific appear to have been carried over into the MCU’s Spidey.
The scene in the first instalment where he uses his webs to track down the Lizard by sensing vibrations in the sewers, like a real friggin spider, is one of the most memorable. Yes, his ingenuity is thwarted when his gory camera bears his name, but still.
Take away Holland’s Stark tech, and Garfield’s Parker is undoubtedly the smartest in the room, at least for now. Parker appears to be in a similar, if more vulnerable state after No Way Home than any of the previous Spider-Mens.
Where it was going?
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 focuses on a broader Spider-Man universe, which opened up a world of possibilities. As with WandaVision, Loki, and No Way Home, the MCU has only teased this. However, in The Amazing Spider-Man, Oscorp is at the heart of the story; unfortunately, Oscorp does not exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet.
In the origin basement, all of Spider-man’s biggest foes were lined up. They were all supposed to appear in a cancelled Sinister Six film that was supposed to lead into two additional Amazing Spider-Man films. That would have created a larger story and led into a bigger Spider-verse.
Many people thought that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was “too large, too fast,” although it actually follows Spider-Man’s life more closely. Spider-Man is never idle. There is always too much going on in Peter Parker’s life that he has little control over, which is why he frequently has to take a backseat for Spider-Man, as he does at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Multiple villains were never a problem for The Amazing Spider-Man, but other issues plagued it. Now  Spider-Man 3 on the other hand had far too many villains that Sam Raimi didn’t want to include.
Saving MJ
If Sony decides not to continue or add Andrew Garfield to the Venom-Verse, No Way Home was able to provide Garfield’s Spider-Man with the closure he deserved and that we sought. You’re familiar with the scene I’m referring to. When MJ falls Holland’s Spider-Man jumps to save her, but the amazing Green Goblin whisks him away, prompting Garfield to leap to her aid. This time, instead of using his web-shooters to catch her, he focused on the jump. It’s a fantastic scene that was really needed to bring Garfield’s Spider-Man character arc to a close.
Andrew Garfield is the Best
Finally, Andrew Garfield is fantastic as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He gave it his all and was sacked for reportedly failing to attend a meeting with Sony executives. Being brought back, on the other hand, was amazing. The cinema I was in erupted when he reappeared. He returned to the role as if he had never left. It was flawless, especially considering how long he lied about appearing in No Way Home. He brushed off question after question, claiming that he wouldn’t be in it until opening night.
No Way Home was an excellent display of nostalgia, at the same time as telling a story that moves Holland’s story forward.
Now let’s see which direction Holland’s Spider-man will go in the next MCU movies, and here’s hoping Sony make the right decision and add Andrew Garfield to the Venom-Verse continuing The Amazing Spider-Man movies.
What did you think of The Amazing Spider-Man films? Were they good or bad? I think we can all agree that Andrew Garfield deserves a second chance.
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