Why Andrew Garfield Is The Best Spider-Man

Do You Agree?

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • 4 min read

There has been a lot of chatter about which characters may appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home. It looks like it is going to be one of the biggest movies of the year. It would be fantastic if all the rumors are true and previous iterations of Spider-Man were to return. Personally, I think The Amazing Spider-Man series really defines who the character is as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

That job fell heavily onto the shoulders of Andrew Garfield, coming in just after Tobey Maguire's run ended on a very sour note critically. In the eyes of many, he had big shoes to fill. In my eyes, those shoes were not as big as most thought they were. Spider-Man (2002) was a very good movie but the series as whole did not capture Peter Parker very well in various ways. The most immediate way Andrew captured me as Peter was how he portrayed the quirky side of the character. Tobey started out that way in the first film, but would lose his way in that regard in later films. Andrew showed you Peter’s intellect by creating his own web shooters, and just by being an oddball right from the beginning. Andrew also had that lovable charm to him that I found translated well to the role of Peter Parker.

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man was a massive hit because it brought these characters to life whereas Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man focused more on getting these characters right. Andrew had a much more engaging chemistry with his leading lady in Emma Stone and we got to see Peter dealing with young love as well as grief and loss. He was the awkward, introverted teenager that was more believable. Tobey seemed more like the everyday man, someone we could believe in as a hero. Andrew definitely felt more like Peter Parker, and more like Spider-Man as well with his witty banter with the villains and the origin story surrounding his parents adding a shroud of mystery that was hanging over the entire series.

Spider-Man: Ahem. You know, in the future, if you're going to steal cars, don't dress like a car thief, man.

Car Thief: Who are you? Are you a cop?

Spider-Man: Really? You seriously think I'm a cop? Cop in a skin-tight red and blue suit?

It also seemed to me as though there was less predictability with where this story was going. This helped add to the level of complexity that Andrew had to bring to the role. His first villain was The Lizard who was a very cool villain in his own right, but Andrew Garfield was tasked with providing enough credibility in his role as Peter that you believed in that altercation in the end. It was up to Andrew to add nuances to the performance that made you believe it was not just a plot device but a plausible story. Now it is fair to see that not everything was perfect over the two movies Marc Webb did get. I just don't think any of the issues fall directly on Andrew Garfield or the way his version of Peter Parker was written.

There were a few scenes in The Amazing Spider-Man that pointed to why Andrew stood out. The first one was the scene in the hallway at the school when Uncle Ben embarrassed him. It established his relationship with his uncle. It was also just a hilarious scene where Andrew got to play up the quirky aspect of Peter.

The second scene was at Dr. Connors's house where he solved the equation, and Connors asked him how. Peter just clicked his tongue and tapped the pencil against his forehead. It added that intellectual side to Peter and reminded us that he was, after all, a teenager with unlimited knowledge. He was not an adult. His choices were not perfect. He often was not the most responsible of people because he just wanted to be seen and heard.

The final scene that really drove home the introverted side of Peter was the dinner/rooftop scene with Gwen. It was his nature to argue and defend himself as well as be antsy to share his big secret with her. It added layers to the character with how he was struggling with being this hero and no one knew that secret or the true reason behind his actions. The small subtle things like his mannerisms when shaking his head, and the way he looked at Gwen Stacy really made Andrew Garfield stand out in the role.

As a fan of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, I feel that his series did not receive a proper conclusion. We were never able to see how he processed the loss of Gwen Stacy, and how he moved on from that. Even though Andrew has sworn that he is not in No Way Home, I think he is the one who needs to make an appearance the most. That way, fans can finally get some closure.

Written By Kenneth Belliveau

Syndicated From Culture Slate

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