Many Marvel fans recognize the name Spider-Man. Over the years, the character has gained a lot of popularity since Tobey Maguire played him in the famous trio of movies, fighting against the Green Goblin, Otto Octavious, and of course, Venom. Despite not being the first live action Spider-Man actor, Maguire still is by far one of the most popular Spider Man actors, and is considered as, to some, the person who ‘really got Spider Man out there.’ 

Until Tom Holland came along, that is.

Another familiar face among fans, Holland has been in five films, including one of the most popular movies we’ve seen in this generation: “Avengers Endgame”, which has been placed in the top two slots on multiple 2019 movie charts. He first appeared in “Captain America: Civil War”, and despite not being the main star he still clearly caught fan’s attention.

Over the years however, there have been around five live action Spider Man actors, being the actor from the original 1967 series Nicholas Hammond, Shinji Todo who starred in a movie in Japan, Maguire with his three films, Andrew Garfield from his two Amazing Spider-Man films, and then of course, more recently, Holland with a current total of five films. 

According to websites like Insider (“Every actor who has Played Spider-Man in a movie, ranked from worst to best”), Collider (“Spider-Man Movie Actors Ranked: Who’s the Best Webhead of Them All?”), and Men’s Health (“The Complete Ranking of Spider-Man Actors”) chose Holland, whereas sites like whatNerd (“All the Spider-Man Actors, Ranked: Who is the Best Spider-Man?”), CBR (“Tobey Maguire Vs. Tom Holland: Which Spider-Man Wins In A Fight?”), and SyFy Wire (“Debate Club: Here’s How We Rank The Many Spider-Man Actors”) chose Maguire. Despite the large number of fans from both sides, there appear to be more leaning in favor towards Holland. 

In support of this, according to a student survey at the Fruita Monument High School, Holland was by far the most popular actor, with Maguire in second and Garfield tailing close behind. Hammond and Todo, however, didn’t even make it into the running.

This really concludes that most teens (at least, in the area) will likely choose Holland or Maguire if asked which actor they preferred as Spiderman. Likewise, most of the surveyed teachers also chose Holland over Maguire as well.

Although, what was it overall that drew viewers to Holland?

“Tom Holland does a better job of playing the teenage role,” explained Spanish teacher Clint Davis. “Tobey Maguire was pretty good too, but his character felt too mature to be a believable teenager.”

Many students and teachers agreed. Therefore, overall, we can at least assume that the appeal towards Holland is that of believability, and, for teens, relatability for a good portion.

 It could also be due to familiarity. Some people have never even heard of Tobey Maguire, let alone seen him, whereas they have heard of Holland. 

Despite the fact, many fans still fairly enjoyed both film versions portrayed with this character, and continue to watch both still. And, we could still say that when it all comes down to it, both have left their mark upon the fandom .