Spider-Man is one of the most iconic characters that the Marvel Universe has given us. The most beloved character and all for very genuine reasons. The friendly neighbourhood Peter Pater, aka Spider-Man is no god or billionaire with power, but he is just an ordinary teenager like most of us. The school going boy struggling to keep up with homeworks, good grades and his love life feels highly relatable to his fans.
Each version of spider-man raised a whole different generation. For some who grew up watching Tobey, see him as the “real” Spiderman, while the angst, emotional depth of Andrew Garfield is a nostalgic topic for the rest.
And if you ask the younger generation they will end up listing hundreds of reason for why Tom is the better spiderman. Spider-Man: No Way Home may have brought all the three Spider-Man in the same room but it is not enough to end the debate among fans. So scroll down to get a final blow of who is the better Spider-Man!
Who has the better origin story?
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in Spider-Man (2002): This version is the only version that shows Spider-Man’s story from start to finish. Peter is bitten by genetically modified spider and experiments with everything to understand his powers. He loses Uncle Ben in a robbery incident. He got his lesson of “With great power comes great responsibility” in this movie.
Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man (2012): This version retells the same story in a different style. Peter gets bitten by an experimented spider at oscorp. He struggles to know what had happened to his body and ends up discovering his powers. He lets a thief escape which later kills his Uncle Ben. He becomes a hero out of guilt and owes to protect others.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Marvel never gave Tom’s original story of how he became a Spider-Man and introduced him as a ready-made hero in Civil War (2016) assuming that we already know the story. This version never had Uncle Ben and his moment of realisation came in Spider-Man: No Way Home, after Aunt May’s death repeating the lines “With great power, there must also come great responsibility” from the Spider-Man (2002) version.
Same story, different heroes, different pain. All the three suffered equally, so no one wins the sob story challenge. But, to know who will be superior among the three in a combat, let’s compare their web shooting power, strength, speed, durability and spider sense.
Also read: Marvel Lineup: Complete List of All Upcoming Marvel Movies in 2026; Spider Man, Doomsday and More!
Spider-Man Vs Spider-Man Vs Spider-Man: Who will win?
Web shooting: Let’s start with Tom Holland, the most tech-savvy spidey. He has a super upgraded web launchers powered by the nano technology. All thanks to Tony Stark for the super fast web storage that reloads in just one second so he never runs out of webs.
Andrew is little unlucky in this comparison as he is self made who created everything by himself from the scratch. He had built his web shooters at home with basic technology attached to his wrists, and if enemy destroys it then the Spider in him is gone and he becomes just another dude with no power.
Then there’s Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, “the organic spider” whose webs comes straight out of his body. But! He drains himself out of web if he overuses it. Poor spidey has to wait until his webs are back again and he gets the title of ‘Spider-Man:Out of Stock’
So when it comes to stability and technology Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is definitely taking the crown.
Spider sense, Strength, Speed and Durability
The OG Spider-Man Tobey’s strength > Tom and Andrew
Spider-Man (2002) is basically a blueprint for the rest of two. Tobey’s strength is unmatched and his fans believes that he is the strongest Spider-Man by far. Well these claims stands true as we recently saw in a fight scene with Doctor Octo in ‘No way home’ Tom struggled to even touch Dr. Octo with his Iron Spider suit while Tobey on the other hand consistently defeats Dr. Octopus without any high-tech suit. In No way home, there’s even a moment of face off between Tobey and Tom where Tom clearly couldn’t stand against Tobey’s power.
Above all, how can he not stand as the most powerful Spider-Man when he was able to hold back a whole artificial Sun while pulling MJ out of it and managed to stop a train? Tom’s Spider-Man would have died if Tobey didn’t save him. Tobey has some insane combat skills. Remember when he was fighting with Goblin, he would’ve ripped his head apart, the same Goblin who was laughing at Tom’s punches. Clearly Tobey wins when it comes to strength.
Strength score:
- Tobey: 9.6/10
- Andrew: 8/10
- Tom: 8.5/10
Andrew Garfield in Speed > Tobey and Tom
The Amazing Spiderman’s true power lies in his speed and durability. Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man has proven this everytime. He took the power of the entire New York city to his body while he was fighting with Harry. The scenes where we saw him dodging Electro’s attacks was faster than the light. In the Amazing Spider Man (TASM 2), he reacts instantly when Lizard started tossing the cars into the river. He webs multiple webs in the air to keep them suspended above the water. While saving the child trapped inside, he holds the car with his web, takes the child with his one arm. That’s some insane speed and durability.
Speed score:
- Andrew: 9.6/10
- Tobey: 9/10
- Tom: 8.7/10
Tom’s Spidey Sense > Andrew and Tobey
While Tom’s Peter is based more on the modern technology, he stands no less powerful than the above two. He is the definition of intelligence and his spidey sense is way better than the rest. He survived Mysterio’s illusions because of his spider sense alone. His spidey sense grew stronger with time. In Spider-Man: No way home, he sensed Norman Osborn’s personality without any word or movement. He can even hear the heartbeats of people around him!
Spidey sense score:
- Tom: 9.8/10
- Andrew: 9.2/10
- Tobey: 9/10
Who wins the final battle?
In conclusion, Tobey has the strength, Andrew has the speed and Tom has the high tech suits. So, Peter Parker clearly won against the Peter Parker and Peter Parker.
- Tobey defined Spider-Man,
- Andrew redeemed Spider-Man,
- Tom evolved Spider-Man.
All three together show why Spider-Man isn’t just one hero, he’s a symbol that changes with every generation.
Written by: Supriya