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Film ► Spiderman vs Spiderman: Toby McGuire or Andrew Garfield?



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Grono

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One question that I hear brought up a lot is this: who portrayed Spider-man the best, Andrew Garfield or Toby McGuire?

Now, while this is a simple topic, a lot of people have this to say: Toby McGuire played the better Peter Parker, while Andrew Garfield played the better Spider-man. However, I have trouble identifying with this particular line of thinking, and here's why: Andrew Garfield doesn't really do this to save anyone.

Now, I'm not saying that he is necessarily actively plotting out the destruction of the town with each heist or getaway or anything; of course he isn't. He does, however, cause a lot of destruction through inaction in these films, and it bugs me as much as it bugged me when Superman didn't bother saving anyone in Metropolis during Man of Steel.

Think about it: what does each Spider-man do when they're confronted with a big task? Toby McGuire stops a train going at FULL SPEED from falling off of the tracks, in turn revealing his identity and saving thousands of people, who graciously save him from falling, carry him into the train, and respectfully keep his identity hidden as they stand up for their hero.

In turn, Andrew Garfield has to just STOP A VAN, and he diddlys that up SO BADLY that the entire fight consists of him wasting time just telling quips and letting tons of people die and probably hundreds of thousands in property damage happen in the process. Seriously, I've watched videos from this movie doing a death count of all of the people he kills by letting The Rhino keep driving during that scene, and it's a stupid amount of people being affected. The real Spider-man would NEVER let that happen; if it did happen, he certainly would have beaten himself up for it in the process. He's a straight-up vigilante in those films, and the fact that in Garfield's films he's considered a hero is baffling to me.

People always say that Toby was never a good Spider-man type, but isn't Spider-man all about character? Toby's Spider-man was always in it because he wanted to help people, and the suit gave him the confidence to be a smart-ass about it too at times. Andrew Garfield, even when he's SUPPOSED TO BE THE NERDY ANTISOCIAL KID, is just the weird skateboarding dudebro Peter Parker that just gets a little louder when he puts on a suit. How is that even remotely close to Peter Parker, and how does him neglecting to save people in favor of telling jokes make him a better Spider-man?

All in all, Andrew Garfield's Spider-man never struck me as one that was interested in helping the people, while Toby's Spider-man, while cheesy, was way more sincere about his beliefs and sacrificed way more to keep the people he loved, and many people he didn't even know, much safer.

However, I'm not the final verdict on this opinion. Who do you prefer to watch, or who do you think makes the better hero altogether? Comment below and let me know ^u^
 

Noir

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I never saw the Garfield iteration of Spider-Man, which feels like I'm talking more about a spinoff rather than an actor. So out of the two by default, I guess I gotta go with Toby.
However, right now, I'd say my favourite portrayal of Spiderman has to be Tom Holland. It's the Spiderman I've always wanted.
 

Elysium

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Tobey McGuire. I haven't seen the new film, but I know Holland is a strong actor. He might overtake McGuire for me even if the original Spider-Man films are still better than Homecoming (I mean, Zendaya??? Really?). The only good thing to come out of the Garfield films was Sally Field as the aunt.
 

DarkGrey Heroine

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To be honest, for me too, Tom Holland is the best Spidey, everything's just there in his portrayal, I enjoy it incredibly much
as for the other two, I really liked Andrew Garfield as Spidey, but I gotta say his aura is that of a level 100 will-steal-your-girl type of boy in the scenes where Spidey isn't being a crybaby and that is amusing on one side and ooc on the other side xD
 

Grono

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Thanks for your responses! I did Toby vs Andrew because I hadn't seen the new movie yet, but I also compared them because they're the ones that weren't supported by a gargantuan extended universe, therefore lending them to have to hold the films together themselves. While I see why Garfield's quips might be desirable to some people, I didn't like his portrayal as a hero; he struck me as a deadpool type that was never in it as a savior, which really threw me for a loop when I rewatched the movies a couple of years later. I'm glad to see a lot of Toby love, though; I will admit that his emo phase in movie 3 was hilariously awful, but, ignoring that dark time for all of us, I still think he managed to pull it off pretty well :D
 

ImVentus

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I thought Tom Holland was fine as Peter Parker but yet not enough to be a favourite. I never really watched Tobey Maguire so I never really got attached to the first 3. Andrew Garfield was the first real Spider Man/Peter Parker I got attached to. I thought he was great as Spider Man in the first movie. But Even though Garfield is my favourite I still feel that someone else someday can portray a better Spider Man.
 
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