Andrew Garfield Vs. Tobey Maguire: Who Is The Better Spider-Man?

390 Comments published: 2012-07-03 14:03:29 Author: Eric Eisenberg

I cant even begin to tell you how many times Ive gotten into arguments with friends about which actor played Batman the best in the movies (Christian Bale is the

best Bruce Wayne, Keaton is the best Batman, FYI). Its a simple fact that geeks love to debate each other about inane bits of trivia, be it Kirk vs. Picard, Ewoks:

good or bad, or RoboCop vs. The Terminator. Thanks to the arrival of The Amazing Spider-Man in theaters, however, a new debate has arisen: Tobey Maguire or

Andrew Garfield? Both have gotten terrific marks and fan appreciation for their performances, but who makes the best on-screen web-slinger?

To figure out an answer to this question in the most logical fashion, I have divided the character of Peter Parker into six different personality traits established in

the comics and previous incarnations, and have put the two actors head to head to determine which one is better at portraying particular qualities. Read on to find

out who comes out on top!

Midtown Highs Professional Wallflower

For those that dont recognize the expression, this was how Peter Parkers fellow students described him on the title page of Amazing Fantasy #15, the first

comic that Spider-Man ever appeared in. In just about every adaptation and version of the character Peter is seen by his peers as a total nerd/geek/spaz/whatever

other high school insult you want to include here. Its an important quality for him to have because in works in contrast with how he is presented as a hero after the

spider bite (more on that later). But who played up this angle of the character better, Maguire or Garfield?

Before he gets his special spider bite, Maguires Peter Parker is a true blue loser. Were first introduced to him as he is chasing down the school bus on his way to

class, and not only are all the other students laughing, but so is the bus driver. Even once he catches up to the bus he cant find a damn seat because even the

other losers dont want him on the other side of their bench. He gets regular hazing from Flash Thompson and his buddies and basically relies on Harry Osborn

and Mary Jane Parker to do his fighting for him.

Garfield is a different kind of outcast. Hes a loser in the eyes of his classmates, but a much less helpless one. In Garfields first scenes on the high school campus

he rushes to defend another student who is being abused by Flash (which happens to result in Peter taking the other nerds place). Its a new take on an old idea,

and while Maguires version may be a more accurate version of the comics, Garfields is more interesting in this respect.

Advantage: Andrew Garfield

The Science Genius
As with more kids who get picked on for being a geek, Peter is as brilliant as they come, particularly in the field of science. He is regularly building pieces of

machinery and technology that can help him better defeat his foes, and because so many of his enemies are science-based, he needs to keep up in order to better

understand them and fight them.

In fairness to Maguire on this one, Sam Raimi kind of screwed the pooch on this category when the idea for organic web-shooters was hatched. In the original

Spider-Man trilogy we constantly hear about Peters intelligence from other characters, be it Harry talking to Norman Osborn or Dr. Curt Connors talking to Dr.

Octavius, but hes never seen using his science knowledge in a practical way.

In contrast, Webb puts Garfields geekery on full display. Without organic web-shooters a big part of the Becoming Spider-Man montage is Peter building his

wrist-based devices and he is seen regularly nerding out with Dr. Connors about formulas and research. You find some evenhanded categories in his feature, but

this isnt one of them

Advantage: Andrew Garfield

The Hero
With great power comes great responsibility. Its a lesson that all of us can apply in our daily lives: if you have the ability to do something incredible, then you

damn well better use that ability right. For Peter Parker specifically, however, it means that if you have the powers of a spider then you damn well have the

responsibility to be a hero. In the movie adaptations the approach to the concept is complex and different in both versions of the character.

Maguires performance in Spider-Man 2 may be one of the most perfect examples of the journey of heroism ever put to screen. Set some time after Peter has

become Spider-Man, the movie allows the character to begin questioning his own motives for being a hero and has him struggling with the desire for a normal life

where he can be with MJ and live happily ever after. It affects him on a deep, psychological level, to the point where his powers actually begin to fade and

malfunction, but when he finally puts a strong focus on what he wants he discovers who he really is: Spider-Man.

Because the reboot is a retelling of the origin story, the hero concept is a bit shallow in comparison. Garfields Spidey does have to overcome feelings of anger and

the desire for revenge, but the transition into helping the troubled citizens of New York comes fairly easy to the young man who was rescuing dorks from bullies

even before he had superpowers. Im not saying the new interpretation of the character isnt a hero, but the impact isnt as strong as it was previously. It may be

unfair to Garfield at this point because hes only had one movie while Maguire had three, but the truth is that the younger actor has a lot to catch up to.

Advantage: Tobey Maguire

The Comedian
Spider-Man is a funny character. He has a knack for making villains want to hurt him just because theyre so goddamned pissed off about all the snarky comments

and quips that he makes. Web heads sense of humor is legendary, so how does it come across in both Raimis films and The Amazing Spider-Man?

Raimis Spider-Man movies were largely beloved by fans because of their fidelity to the character, but something just went plain wrong here. Sure, Maguire

managed to frustrate his enemies, but it was rarely because of a taunting phrase or wisecrack. Once under the mask the actors dialogue was basically limited to

lines like, It's you who's out, Gobbie. Out of your mind. Not exactly Oscar Wilde.

The Amazing Spider-Man doesnt reach the levels of, say, Spider-Man: The Animated Series from back in the 90s (which was legitimately hilarious at times), but

there is definitely more of an effort made to give the wall-crawler a sense of humor while in costume. The perfect example of this is Spideys encounter with a car

thief early in the movie. He makes fun of the burglar for dressing like a burglar, pins him to the wall with webbing in all kinds of interesting ways, and isnt even

afraid to go for the crotch shot on occasion. Garfield may not have consistency down just yet, but hes definitely funnier than Maguire.

Advantage: Andrew Garfield

The Fighter
Spider-Man doesnt have the brute strength of a character like Hulk or Thor, but he is still a damn good fighter. Equipped with his patented spider-sense, ridiculous

agility and super strength, he is a challenge for any foe, be it The Lizard, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, or Sandman.

Raimi didnt have much experience in the action genre prior to making hisSpider-Man trilogy, but you would never guess that while watching the films. Maguires

Spider-Man (lets face it, in these movies its not the stars who are doing most of the fighting) is quite capable in combat, as seen in the last Goblin fight in Spider-

Man, the subway scuffle in Spider-Man 2and the final battle of Spider-Man 3. The fights are gritty and intense and we believe them.

Andrew Garfields Spider-Man is just as skilled a fighter as Maguires, but the melee sequences in The Amazing Spider-Man simply arent that strong.

Physicality comes into play Garfield is much skinnier than Maguire but the movie also lacks any really long, extended battle scenes, instead choosing to quickly

cut from location to location. Theres potential for Garfield to be a strong, physical Spider-Man, but his debut doesnt really have it.

Advantage: Tobey Maguire

The Lover
Its not just about the flying fists for Peter Parker, as the character has his softer side as well and has proven to be quite the ladies man at times. Over the decades

Peter has had many beautiful women on his arm, from Betty Brandt to Gwen Stacy to Mary Jane Watson. While weve never seen a romantic relationship between

Peter and Betty on screen (poor Elizabeth Banks), how do Maguire and Garfield compete when it comes to Spider-Mans dating skills?

Its strange to say, but one of the best parts of Raimis trilogy was just how tragic the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane is. Every ending, including 3 has a

sad element to it and while the upside-down kiss in the rain is iconic, its one of very few bright spots in their time together. Its handled well and with a sense of

reality, but its also one of the biggest bummer relationships in the comic book movie genre.

Prior to taking on The Amazing Spider-Man, Webbs only other directorial feature effort was the romantic dramedy (500) Days of Summer, so it actually makes

total sense that the relationship between Peter and Gwen is one of the best things about the new webhead movie. Garfield and Stone share terrific chemistry

(better than Maguire and Kirsten Dunst) and story gives the relationship time to breathe while also slowly pulling them closer to each other. Its such a natural

pairing that by the end of the film youre rooting for the love story as much as youre rooting for Spidey in the battle against The Lizard.

Advantage: Andrew Garfield

CONCLUSION
If it werent for Tobey Maguire we probably wouldnt have as many great actors playing superheroes as we do. He was one of the originals and he was a great

Spider-Man. But the truth is that Andrew Garfield does an absolutely brilliant job with the part in The Amazing Spider-Man. Its not one of the best superhero

movies weve ever seen and therefore some parts of the character arent as well done as others, but there is incredible potential for Garfield in the future of the

franchise. We cant wait to see how he does next time.