Written By: Ariel Connell, Staff Writer
OPINIONS: Who do Poly students think deserves the title of ‘The Best Spider-Man’?
With the release of the new Spider-Man animated series, there is one long-standing question that has come up again: who is the best Spider-Man?
To start, we need to state how we determined the best Spider-Man. We determined the best Spider-Man based not only on their ability but also on how they portray Peter Parker. From my research, I have found that more people prefer Toby Maguire as Spider-Man and Tom Holland as Peter Parker.
“Tom Holland embodies the teenage boy awkwardness Peter Parker has in the comics,” says Allurabella Chandler (10). Tom Holland was the last live-action Spider-Man and overall has the best stats as he is one of the Avengers. Tom’s story begins the same way as all the rest but morphs into more of a story about a vulnerable teenage boy grappling between his responsibility and adolescence. This version of Spider-Man shows the more human side of Peter Parker, allowing the audience to connect with him rather than be in awe of his strength. Tom’s strength comes from the people that help him. He gets a lot of help from the Avengers, and Toby Maguire doesn’t do that.
Toby is more of a solo act; he is also the strongest, as he “is able to hold an entire warehouse roof and stop a train in less than a minute,” states Darren Rodriguez (10). Toby’s portrayal of Spider-Man doesn’t require web shooters to use his real powers and also never runs out, as it is his real body creating the webs. Not only that, but Toby Maguire played the original Spider-Man; he has the most original movies with the most comic-accurate characters.
However, the “most underrated” Spider-Man is by far Miles Morales. Miles Morales is an original character, having been bitten by a spider that wasn’t even from his own dimension. Miles’s story focuses more on creating his own path, not just following the rest of the Spider-People in their own story. Miles Morales is “truly the most underrated Spider-man for one reason, and that is ‘development’… His evolution from the first movie to the second in strength, wisdom, maturity, and skill is incredible,” Jacob Flores (9) tells us.
The other Spider-Men all have similar stories: Uncle Ben dies, they get bitten by a spider, and they become Spider-Man. But Miles is so different. Mile’s story changes from Uncle Ben sacrificing his life to Aaron Davis, his living dad’s brother, dying as the villain after Miles had been bitten by a spider.
An honorable mention would have to be the final or the ‘big three,’ Andrew Garfield. Andrew plays the second live-action Spider-Man in 2012. His version of Spider-Man by far has the best love interest and death. Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) dies in a conflict involving Electro. By far, her death was the saddest death. Spider-Man thought he saved her, but his web snapped her neck, and she quickly passed.
Overall, all Spider-Men are unique. They all have their own stories, and they are all strong in their own ways. However, the overall best Spider-Man was voted and given to Tom Holland because of his uniqueness in his story. His story strays the most from the comics, which adds more unpredictability to his movies, making them the most enjoyable to watch.