Spider-Man of Marvel Comics has consistently made massive audiences flock to theaters, for multiple different studios. For the purposes of cutting down on the current most popular portrayals of Peter Parker, let’s keep it to the last three, two of which are under Sony Studios (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield) and one under Disney (Tom Holland). 

Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man debuted in 2002 with “Spider-Man” directed by Sam Raimi, known also for The Evil Dead and Army of Darkness franchises. For most pre-Generation Z Webheads, Maguire is considered a fan favorite, cited as being able to “capture the nerdy side of Peter, the humour, the awkwardness and the vulnerable side too.” It’s sequel, Spider-Man 2, contends as one of the highest rated Spider-Man films, with a rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the third installment in the series is not as beloved, as many fans had issues with the film having “too many villains”.

The second Sony Spider-Man, played by Andrew Garfield was for a long period considered the least-liked Spider-Man, debuting in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) directed by Mark Webb. Most fans disliked that Andrew’s portrayal of Peter Parker was “too cool”, and he was considered a better actor for Spider-Man than Peter Parker. The Amazing Spider-Man series is unique in that the main love interest is Gwen Stacy, not MJ Watson. The second film in the franchise is the lowest rated Spider-Man film, with a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The current run of Spider-Man, being Tom Holland’s, is under Disney’s Marvel Studios, meaning it’s canonically part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This version of Peter Parker debuted in Captain America: Civil War, and was given his solo film Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016. This was followed up with Spider-Man: Far From Home, and the latest installment Spider-Man: No Way Home, which features all three versions of Spider-Man.