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Spider-Man is undoubtedly one of the most popular superhero characters out there. The friendly web-slinging neighborhood superhero has been a favorite among fans even before his on-screen days. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character made his debut in the 1962 comic book Amazing Fantasy #15.
One of the most important reasons behind the character's popularity was his backstory. The creator Stan Lee made Peter Parker a very relatable character who had issues that were as minimal or as impactful as any other person. The high school student turned superhero instantly became everyone's favorite.
The popularity of the character in comics was a huge reason for adapting it to the large screen. Even before the 21st-century productions under Sony's licensing rights, other Spider-Man movies were also made in the late 1970s. However, Sony ushered in a new age for the character, with revolutionary animation and graphics.
Since then, the character has been adapted multiple times into multiple franchises, with each of them featuring its own unique charm. This article explores all the Spider-Man movies that have been made and rank them from worst to best.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's own opinions.
Sam Raimi, Marc Webb, and MCU - Ranking all the Spider-Man movies from worst to best
10) Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Spider-Man 3 is the third installment of Sam Raimi's trilogy. The film was released in theaters in 2007 and became the film that literally ended the series single-handedly. With direction by Raimi, the screenplay was written by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent.
The cast featured franchise regulars like Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, and J. K. Simmons reprising their roles. Meanwhile, James Cromwell, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, and Bryce Dallas Howard join as new members.
The film picks up after a year after the events of its predecessor and follows Peter Parker as he struggles to balance his personal and superhero-vigilante life. When an alien symbiote attaches himself to Peter, his powers amplify but make him more aggressive. This, in turn, reflects on his relationship with Mary Jane, who is going through her own career problems.
Peter has to fight his inner demons, new enemies, and the threat of losing his love in the film. The film also introduced the comic-inspired characters of Black Spidey, Venom, and Sandman, which attracted a number of fans and earned the film a whopping $895 million.
However, the film received critique for being poorly done, or just too much cluttered, and is to this day considered to be the worst Spider-Man film.
9) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the second installment to Marc Webb's franchise, that ultimately pulled the curtain on the film series. Released in 2014, the screenplay was written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner. The franchise was originally supposed to have more sequels but got canceled after Sony's deal with Marvel in 2015.
The film starred Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Sally Field, and Paul Giamatti in pivotal roles. The film was a commercial success, earning $709 million worldwide although it did not fair very well among critics and fans. The screenplay received criticism for bringing in too much, while Foxx's portrayal of Electro was met with a mixed response.
Set two years after the events of its prequel, the film follows Peter navigating life as a college student while being the web-slinging vigilante of New York City. His relationship with Gwen becomes complicated while he investigates the mysteries that shroud Oscorp.
The film introduces the character of Electro. He is a disgruntled former Oscorp employee seeking revenge on those who he thinks wronged him, Harry Osborn and his alter ego, Green Goblin. One of the highlights of the film was when Peter lost Gwen while trying to save her during the climactic fight.
8) Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Far from Home is an MCU offering that concluded Phase Three of production. The movie was released in 2019 as the sequel to Homecoming and maintains continuity with Avengers: Endgame.
The film featured Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Marisa Tomei, and Jake Gyllenhaal in pivotal roles. The film grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, becoming the first Spider-Man movie to do so. However, it received flak for not doing justice to the character, making Spidey to be an Iron Man underling.
Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, it shows Peter as he settles back into his college-student life and prepares for a school trip to Europe. However, his dreamy vacation with MJ takes an unprecedented turn when he is recruited by Nick Fury to fight alongside Mysterio against elemental creatures wreaking havoc in Europe.
Dealing with the loss of his mentor, Tony Stark, and feeling overwhelmed by the immense responsibility upon him, Peter gives Mysterio control of Stark's tech, unaware of the latter's plans. Peter finally has to confront the evil in front of him and save the world from Mysterio's lies.
7) Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming is the first film for MCU's very own rendition of the character. The film gave MCU Spider-Man his own solo film after introducing him in Captain America: Civil War. With direction by Jon Watts, the film starred Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, and others in pivotal roles.
Released in 2017, the film grossed over $880 million and was a commercial success while garnering public praise for the light tone. The film was also praised for Holland and Keaton's performances and Spider-Man's more comic-accurate portrayal. However, it did take time to sit well among fans who had seen the previous generations.
Spider-Man: Homecoming follows New York teenage superhero, Peter Parker, who debuted during the fight between the Avengers regarding the Sokovia Accords. However, his mentor, Tony Stark, forces him to stay and continue school instead of pursuing crime-fighting vigilante life.
However, when an overeager Peter tries to confront the Vulture, a mechanized supervillain, he falls short. Instead of the new Iron Spidey suit, Peter dons his old homemade costume and goes back to his roots, his responsibility, and his wish to save his city from crime and injustice to finally take down the Vulture.
6) The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man is the first film from Marc Webb's adaptation of the comic superhero. Released in 2012, the film was directed by Marc Webb with a screenplay from James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, and Steve Kloves.
The cast of the film featured Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, and others in pivotal roles. This film rebooted the Sam Raimi series but wasn't an instant favorite among fans who considered Tobey Maguire's portrayal to be iconic.
The plot received criticism and was compared to the likes of Green Lantern. It was also criticized for how it was less of a superhero action flick and more of an emotional drama. The film revolves around Peter Parker and his origin story of becoming Spider-Man after being bitten by a genetically-altered spider at the Oscorp facility.
While delving into his father's past, Peter mistakenly puts too much trust in Dr. Connors, who ends up becoming the Lizard. He finally fights his foe, contains the threat, and in the process completely embraces his life to be that of a hero and its responsibilities.
5) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a graphics-animated film from the house of Sony Pictures releasing. Released in 2018, the film was directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman with a screenplay co-written by Phil Lord and Rothman.
Actors like Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Bryan Tyree Henry, Mahershala Ali, Jake Johnson, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Vélez, Nicolas Cage, Liev Schreiber and others lent their voices to pivotal characters in the film.
The first of the animated film series, Into the Spider-Verse, garnered critical acclaim and love from the audience. They loved it for its outstanding animation, well-written story, and new portrayal of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. The film follows Miles Morales, a Brooklyn teenager who gains superpowers after getting bitten by a radioactive spider and tries to settle into his newfound identity.
He soon discovers the existence of the Multiverse and the existence of other Spider-people. They team up together to take down Kingpin, who wants to access the multiverse to bring back his dead wife and son. Into the Spider-Verse is the first film that brought together multiple Spider-people onscreen at the same time.
4) Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Spider-Man 2 is the second installment under Sony's original Sam Raimi-directed trilogy. The 2004 film was directed by Sam Raimi with a screenplay from Alvin Sargent and is often considered to be among the better offerings. The film starred Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, and Donna Murphy in pivotal roles.
The film received positive reviews from both critics and audiences. Fans especially loved the well-adapted and well-written villain in Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus and the film's visual effects. The film went on to earn over $789 million worldwide, becoming a box-office success as well.
Set two years after the events of the original film, the film follows Peter Parker as he finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. From a spark-less relationship with MJ, to a complicated friendship with Harry Osborn and Aunt May at the edge of eviction, Peter has a lot to deal with aside from his superhero responsibilities.
When a fusion experiment goes awry turning Dr. Otto Octavius into his villain alter-ego, Doctor Octopus, Peter has to prevent him from doing further damage. The cumulative stress of all these things even strips Peter of his powers. Finally, he has to gather up his courage, realize his responsibility and resume his mantle of the web-slinging friendly neighborhood superhero.
3) Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home is the third installment in MCU's franchise and directly follows the events from Far From Home. With direction from Jon Watts, the film was released as part of MCU's Phase Four titles, which introduced the multiverse saga.
The cast returned Marvel regulars like Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Benedict Wong. It also has Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Church, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire reprising their roles from their own respective franchises.
Set right after the events of Far From Home, Peter's life is turned upside down when Beck exposed his identity to the world and framed him for his death. With the whole world against him and his close ones, Peter seeks help from Dr. Strange to make everybody who knew his identity forget it. However, when the spell grows out of control, it opens up the multiversal paths, letting in people from other universes.
The story brings in the antagonists from other franchises along with their respective Spider-Mans. The movie culminates in a climactic battle between three Peter Parkers pits against their enemies. No Way Home especially garnered a lot of attention because of bringing together Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland together in one film, fighting side by side.
2) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the latest movie of the favorite masked wall-crawler. The computer-animated film arrived in theaters on June 2 and has quickly become a favorite among critics and fans. The film Is co-directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson.
The film received a lot of critical acclaim for its dazzling visuals and plethora of comic-accurate characters, easily taking it to the top of the list. The voice cast includes Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzmann, Isa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, and Oscar Isaac among others in pivotal roles.
Across the Spider-Verse tells the story of Miles Morales, the teenage Spider-Man on Earth-1610, who is gradually settling into his role of the masked superhero of Manhattan. However, balancing his personal and superhero life proves to be more of a challenge than he expected.
When Peter crosses paths with Gwen again, he teams up with her to set off on a multiversal adventure to catch the Spot, the multiversal villain. He is also introduced to the society of multiversal guardians, the Spider-Society, led by Miguel O'Hara. Instead of finding Everlong allies, Miles finds himself at odds with the Spider-Society.
1) Spider-Man (2002)
Spider-Man is the original film that started it all back in 2002, starting off Sony's first franchise. Sam Raimi directed the movie with a screenplay from David Koepp and made it into the success that it was. The film starred Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, and Cliff Robertson in pivotal roles.
The film follows Peter Parker, a high school student who gains extraordinary powers after getting bitten by a genetically enhanced super-spider. With the help of his new powers, he becomes Spider-Man, the masked web-slinging vigilante of New York City. When Norman Osborn's alter ego takes over him and becomes Green Goblin to terrorize the city, Peter needs to stand up to him and protect the ones he loves.
The film can be considered to be the best of the list as this was the one that introduced the web-slinging hero to the audience with Tobey Maguire's portrayal still considered to be the iconic one. This was also the first proper superhero movie since Superman and made the film the only one of its kind at the time.
While this is just one list that ranks the Spider-Man movies from over the years, fans may have differing opinions and can share those in the comments. That being said, since his introduction as the teenage hero, Spidey has constantly entertained people as he made his way across the city slinging his web.
