#204 – Three Spider-Men: Heart, Spark & Destiny

Welcome back to Marvel Maniac and MCU After Show. This is your host, Eric Cicada, aka Mr. Honest. And today we're swinging into something that feels less like ranking and more like a reunion. A study of three eras, three destinies and one legacy that refuses to fade. We're talking Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland. The the three Spider man who shaped three generations of fans, including all of us listening right now. And this isn't about who's the best, not by any means. It's about why each one worked, what each one carried and what each one has suffered. How their meaning in no way home felt less like fan service and more like destiny. Spider man isn't just a character you recast. He's a character who reincarnates. Each of these characters. Peter Parker from Andrew Garfield, Toby McGuire, Tom Holland share DNA, but they all bring a different style and format to the Spider man series. You can watch each of their movies separately in their own timelines, working for them in their own way. I never had. Okay, I have favorites and I'm a little biased, but I. I also am not going to tell you which one is my least to most because it's irrelevant because I like them all in their own ways. And we're going to talk about how all these stories of theirs come full circle in no Way Home, where all of their stories culminate. Before we separate them, let's honor what binds all three. Number one, responsibility that crushes and shapes them. Every Peter learns the hard way. Every version carries guilt and every version sacrifices what they want for someone else. Two, putting others first. Always. It's the most dangerous part of the job and it shows how much each of them care. Number three, isolation as a second identity. Behind the jokes and the quips and the swinging, the triumphs, each Peter is alone more often than not. It's that mix of heartache and heroism and that makes all three spider men everything else, Flavor, texture, interpretation. On the Internet, I believe it said Toby is the ideal Peter Parker. Garfield is the ideal Spider Man. Tom Holland is the best of both worlds. Not my idea, but I think it really works. And we're going to dive into that mindset a little bit. Starting with Toby Maguire is the best Peter Parker because he embodies the thing that Peter was born from. Earnestness, awkwardness, financial struggle, moral gravity and genuine vulnerability. He looks like someone carrying the weight of the world before he ever puts on the mask. He's not cool, he's not polished. He's pure. And I do love his narrations in his movies, it brings us into his mind a little bit more. His strengths specifically are sincerity that feels hand carved, the moral compass that never stops shaking, that shaky smile that says, I'm hurting, but I'm still here. Also, when he becomes emo Spider man In Spider Man 3, I really like that moment. His differences that work for him. Toby's Spider man moves slower, heavier and more burdened because his films are operatic tragedies. Raimi's world requires big emotions, big framing and big heart, and Toby gives it. Toby plays Peter like a kid who never stops trying to make Uncle Ben proud. Every time I rewatch the first Spider man, that moment with Uncle Ben delivering with great power comes great responsibility to Peter. The mindset he's been in. We've all had that kind of moment where we lash out at our parents or parental figures. And usually later in the day or the next day, you get to kind of apologize and think on it and say, you know what, Uncle Ben, I'm sorry, you know, I was really rude to you. That was actually a very profound thing that you said. It's just this tragedy that we know Uncle Ben loved Peter to the very end. And I would go to say that this, this Uncle Ben from the original Spider man, he knew that it would come around to Peter talking to him about this like a man. It just never got to happen. And it was cut so short and it's just so that much more heartbreaking that that's the note that they left it on, that we feel that anger that Peter carries, something that he kind of tones back once he starts to process the phrase that very night after he loses his uncle. With great power comes great responsibility and he lives by it. Toby Maguire's Spider man trilogy is completely epic. Every movie goes right into the other with through line stories that that carve the whole masterpiece as one full comprehensive story. His rivalry with Harry Osborne Osborne getting the short end of the stick, the end of the first movie, losing his father, not even knowing that his dad was the Green Goblin up until he becomes a super villain himself to do what his dad couldn't to take down Spider Man.

I like seeing that come around full circle by the end where he realizes he's not his father and he ends up losing his own life because, well, he decides to go out like a hero, realizing that Peter Parker, his best friend from high school, would never purposely take his father away from him. And when his butler, I believe it is, tells Harry that his father was killed by his very own glider, finally Harry, by the end of this series, sees Peter for who he is and joins him in saving mj. Putting everything beside the fact that he loses his life brings more tragedy similar to the Uncle Ben death that we know that Toby Maguire Spider man will always have to handle and deal with in his own way. And I'm very interested in seeing where that story can technically take Peter Parker from this universe, the ray verse and how stories can further be told. Personally, I would love to see that Spider Man 4. I just it was planned. We are, we are in the Spider Verse era. There's no better time than to make a different Spider man movie with different Spider man still making other movies in the background. We'll go see all of them. Will there be a bad one? Maybe I wouldn't want a bad Spider Man 4, but I think it's worth the the risk. The nostalgia factor is too big. Raimi wants to do it. We know Toby Maguire is down. Let's see Spider Man 4. Now let's move on to Andrew Garfield, Spider Man. Andrew is the best Spider man because once he puts the mask on, he becomes electricity. He's witty, agile and expressive. He fights like a break dancer and quips like someone using humor to survive his own pain. His strengths. He's the smoothest, sharpest and quippiest Spider Man. The most emotional vulnerability and the chemistry with Gwen that he shares that elevates the entire universe that he is in. Where Toby is the heart, Andrew is the nerve. Raw, exposed and crackling. His differences that work. While Andrew is too charismatic to be the classic awkward Peter. But the coolness makes his Spider man sing. And that grief of losing Gwen, that becomes his defining arc. The wound that reshapes a hero. Because the moment Captain Stacy warns him to leave Gwen out of his vigilante lifestyle, Peter ignores it. In Film two, he just does. And Gwen dies because of the world he brought her into. I mean, that's dark. He has to live with that off screen in our imagination for years. And we imagine a darker, angrier Spider Man. A Peter who admits in no Way Home. I sort of start, I sort of stop pulling my punches, he says. That is a chilling line and also a confession now. Tom Holland Spider man is the best of both worlds. The synthesis, youth, heart, humor, intellect and tragedy all wrapped into one MCU woven arc. He's the only Peter who started as a kid in a world of gods. He forms a father son bond with the Tony Stark. He carries the innocence of a neighborhood hero with the expectations of an Avenger. Lighter tone in movies. But he takes a longer story to get to that sacrificial ending where he becomes the truest hero he was born to be. His strengths, believable genius, but perfect comedic beats. The most complete coming of age arc and the biggest emotional evolutions. Homecoming to Far From Home to no Way Home. His identity isn't shaped by Uncle Ben on screen. No, it's shaped by Tony, by the Avengers, by the world. Watching him grow up in real time, from civil war all the way to no Way Home, we get so much Tom Holland that it brings us into new Spider man territory that we never got to see on screen before. And now after no Way Home, he cuts himself off from everyone he loves. He's back to broke. He's back to alone. He's back to anonymity. Only thing, the only thing of his past life that people remember is Spider Man. They don't know who he is, but that's who's remembered in his movie. A brand new starting line no Spider man has ever had. This Peter is entering his second trilogy, his darkest chapter. And he is a Peter forged by sacrifice.

Now we get to the soul of this episode. Spider man. No Way Home didn't just bring three actors together. It brought three unfinished stories to one moment of cosmic closure. Toby's return. We see a Peter who made it older, wiser, still saving his world. A subtle reassurance that his story didn't end with pain and it continued with purpose. Fans walked out wanting Spider Man 4 without even needing a trailer. Andrew's redemption. This is the emotional apex. Andrew Garfield's Peter carries the heaviest grief. He lost Gwen in a fall that mirrors the comics very beautifully, by the way. And when MJ falls the same way in no Way Home, he reacts instantly. Not as Spider man, but as a man whose heart remembers the exact moment he failed. He saves her, he breaks down. And when MJ asks, are you okay? It's the moment we finally get to exhale with him.

See, it makes me exhale right now. It's not Gwen. It doesn't erase what happened, but it honors her. And it shows growth. It heals a part of him that's been bleeding for years.

The door to the Amazing Spider Man 3 swings right open here. And I will go see it in theaters and I think you guys would too. They should make all of these movies. For Holland's Peter, no Way Home is a rebirth. He loses everything, literally everything. Identity, relationships, belonging. And chooses it anyway. He chooses to protect the others over being remembered. That's Spider man distilled and now we get a Peter starting from scratch, square one from the dirt. With the experience of an Avenger in his bones. A darker, lonelier Spider man with a whole new saga ahead.

Personally, no Way Home for me wasn't a crossover. It was a coronation.

Where they put Peter Parker, Tom Holland at the end of this story really sets up so much and a whole new saga for him. Plenty of people complain. Iron man junior he's always having to team up with other heroes and I. What else? Personally, what else would you want? I love the team ups. That is why we love the mcu. That is why we're here right now. Because of the mcu. Spider man getting introduced in the MCU and the way they incorporated him into in Civil War and gave us a brand new trilogy intertwined with the Avengers movies. It was like nothing else on screen with any of the Spider Men. And it is so damn cool. That's what's so great. It's just so cool. Spider man is so cool in the mcu. And they did a fantastic bang up job with Tom Holland Spider Man. They didn't throw the other movies aside. They paid homage to them and, and they brought them in full circle because the spider verse exists. And when that existence comes to realization and across the spider verse all the Spider men are out there in the different universes having their Uncle Ben moments. For Peter in no way home it was Aunt May who delivered the Uncle Ben moment. With great power must come great responsibility. That always is a key theme. But it always has to be said no matter who it comes from. We don't know much about Uncle Ben but the fact that we know from that moment that he wasn't delivered that line from Uncle Ben personally, I don't think he had the same close relationship as the other two Peters with Uncle Ben had. He was probably a younger man that Uncle Ben and he was his uncle. But I don't know. I'm not going to say that they won't dig into that and tell us a little bit of backstory about the Uncle Ben that May from this, the Tom Holland MCU version. What happened to him, maybe that does have a part in his character that he will address going forward. However, Aunt May's death by the Green Goblin. Oh my goodness. What a cinematic wretched moment to see William Defoe like cause so much more destruction as the Green Goblin. I mean to this day it feel, it feels surreal that he comes into the MCU and becomes a main bad in our universe as well. That is multiversal Storytelling and at its best. So in closing, Toby is the heart. Andrew is the spark. Holland is the balance. Three Spider men. One truth. Each one revealed a different facet of Peter Parker. And together the most complete portrait we've ever had. This wasn't nostalgia. This wasn't just multiversal chaos. It was destiny. Three stories converging to honor the character who taught us that pain can be purpose, loneliness can be heroism, and mistakes can still become redemption. Spider man isn't one man. He's a legacy that we grow with. I really, truly can't tell you how much I love the MCU Spider Man. I didn't think I'd be as more as, or maybe more invested than Toby Maguire's Spider man ever. But the fact that they brought him into a universe that I love, a living, breathing Marvel world having its own version of him alongside the characters we've grown to love over all this time, like Tony and Captain America and Underoos, and all these moments coming together.

All that interwoven into the world that we love, it makes me feel like. Like he is my favorite Spider Man. It doesn't take anything away from the other two. And I think they can still do amazing things with the other two. Spider man, as I said here today, I remain extremely grateful that we do get to see these stories played out. Spider man taking a little bit of inspiration from each of his heroes in every movie. And the culmination of no Way Home sets every Spider man up for a brand new path if the studios want to do it. It has been a thrill just getting to talk to you about Spider man today. Yes, Spider Men. I hope these three come together in secret wars. I imagine they will. Something about their chemistry on screen and how amazing that is to see all of our heroes from across the decades come together and be a spider team. I love Spider man. One, two and three. Al together. Toby, Andrew and Tom. The way they made that happen, it's still golden to this very day. And I am gonna root for every Spider man movie to come out. Unless it's a fourth new Spider Man. We don't need you. Unless you're the insomniac PlayStation Spider Man. Where in that case, yes. That is the perfect fourth spidey. If you ask me. The Spidey. You get to sit in his shoes. Should we do an episode about that? I think we will. And I will do more breakdowns on the Spider man movie. I haven't broke down Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield's movies individually and that's something I'D really like to do, at least before Secret wars, which is a long time down the way, maybe even much earlier than that. And that's where I'll leave it for today. Three Spider man, three destinies, one legacy that somehow keeps growing with us. I love these characters and I love talking about them. And if you're here at the end with me, I love that you love this show enough to see it through. If you enjoyed this episode and you want to help Marvel Maniac keep growing, the best thing you can do, truly, is leave a rating and a short review wherever you're listening. It takes 10 seconds and it helps way more than you know. Every little bump tells the algorithm, hey, people care about this and it goes a long way for an independent show like this one at least. And who knows, if you write something fun or heartfelt, I might just read your comment on the show. I love doing that. If you want to support the podcast even further, you can join the Marvel Maniac Patreon patreon.com Marvel Maniac. You'll get bonus minisodes every Saturday at 5am behind the scenes thoughts and early looks at episodes as I work on them. It's a small way to help keep this passion project alive and it means the world to me. Thank you for being here, truly. And thank you for listening, sharing episodes, and tweeting about them and everything. This show exists because you show up and that is all I got for you today. Until next time, Avengers disassemble.