So I finally got myself to watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (and boy, did it bomb), and with it I have completed the entire Spider-Man movie series. The very first Spider-Man movie will always have a special place in my heart, Spider-Man 2 is my choice for one of the best superhero movies of all time, Spider-Man 3 dumb, The Amazing Spider-Man was alright again, and then The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was terrible. (other than the statement at the end with the kid boldly standing against Rhino, there was NOTHING good about that movie, lol)

So now, I feel I can make a 'good' judgement on who gave the 'better' portrayal of Spider-Man. I gave it some thought, but I'm very certain. My pick goes to Tobey Maguire's performance, hands down. I'm not hating on Andrew Garfield's portrayal, but Tobey easily did the better job, IMO. Here's why:

With Tobey Maguire's performance, it was much more obvious that Spider-Man was an 'alter-ego' to Peter Parker. Peter was an awkward, nerdy kid whom nobody wanted to be friends with, but when he becomes Spider-Man he becomes this cool and confident guy. Tobey Maguire played two completely different characters. Andrew Garfield's character was much more consistent. His portrayal of Peter Parker was always a cool guy. Skater, good with the ladies, riding his skateboard through the school hallways, etc. His cockiness as Spider-Man was very convincing, but it was much more in the same line as what his Peter Parker was like. This makes it very easy for me to decide as to who was the better Spider-Man. From the two actors who did Spider-Man, there's only one who managed to create an 'alter-ego' like he should be towards the highschool student. Tobey Maguire takes the cake.

At the end of the day, there's still only one Spider-Man.

I'm split on my thought's about the actors. I've always thought that Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man persona was pretty good. I loved the attitude he brought to the character when he was wearing the mask. I don't like his Peter though. Like you said, it's just too similar to his Spider-Man. 

On the flip-side though, I think Tobey Maquire's Peter Parker was far better. He wasn't this cool guy with his skateboard. And I feel that Tobey's Parker is more like the 616 comic version. The nerdy guy who was bullied in school, but had more confidence when he was Spider-Man.

It's really hard to say. After the Amazing Spiderman with Garfield I was pretty sure that I liked him a lot more than I liked Maguire...but then the sequel happened, and it wasn't nearly as good as the first one so I am sort of torn. I liked both actors at times playing spiderman, but then at other times they bombed. So I guess in the end for me it would be basically up to a coin toss.

OrdannonsX :  I actually think Garfield is a much better actor than Maguire.  I watched the Maguire version again after seeing both the Amazing Spider-Man movies and Toby IMHO is a bit more cheesy and "plastic" in his performance.  



What I do agree with though is that with the Maguire version, Peter Parker is truly a hapless geek that turns 180 when he puts on the Spidey suit.  Garfield's Spider-Man and Peter Parker portrayal is indeed more consistent.

So who would you cast as the next Spider-Man / Peter Parker and why?

I think that each actor was chosen for the target audience their movies were designed to reach. Garfield's Peter and Spidey were definitely geared toward college-age kids in our specific culture. With that goal, Garfield was absolutely a huge success.

However, Toby's Peter/Spidey was geared toward a totally different target audience. They both succeeded, they just succeeded at winning over entirely different groups of people.

Personally, as Jordan said, I liked and disliked various parts of both characters. I wouldn't say that I like either of them better than the other, but that I view them as separate versions of the same story. Both were good to watch, but both had downsides.

SoL@R : Not a professional movie-caster... My pick would be Michael Cera. He's had a lot of geeky roles so far and he's been doing really well, and he definitely looks the right age.

I feel like its the same as the joker situation. There are many different portrayals of characters like the joker. Each joker is different. Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson both created a different character yet they are both the joker. Same with spiderman. I think toby was good, and andrew is just a different version of the spidey we remember. Thats what I think honestly. I liked The Amazing Spiderman 2 because it delivered alot of amazing scenes with alot of great actors, and the emotions I felt when watching were outstanding. If I had to rank them from worst to best:

5. Spider Man 3
4. The Amazing Spider Man
3. Spider Man 1
2. The Amazing Spiderman 2
1. Spider Man 2

I feel both the sequels improved on the first movie, especially since the amazing spider man wasnt so amazing. I loved electro, and I loved the darker Harry. As well as Doc Oc in Spider Man 2, I felt he was a likeable character. He was driven insane by his desire just like electro and harry. And I think Spider Man 2 was the best of them all. Especially with the fight scenes and dialogue.

Tobey Maguire, in my opinion, was the worst part of the Spiderman trilogy. Although I didn't particularly like any of the Spiderman or Amazing Spiderman movies, I did find the first trilogy better than the "Amazing" movies. In other words, while I like the Original trilogy better, I prefer Andrew Garfield, I find he has a lot more character, though that is also because of the writing.

I have to say Tobey Maguire is the better Spiderman. His Peter Parker is ridiculously good. I really enjoyed the scenes where he was discovering his abilities. The best part is when he tries to jump from one building to another as he is losing his abilities and comes up extremely short and lands right on the top of a car. Hilarious. 

I feel like it's worth saying Tobey Maguire was based on the original comic book Peter Parker, being awkward, geeky, lovable archetype. While Andrew Garfield was based on The Spectacular Spider Man, which was intended to be cooler, relaxed and outgoing. So obviously Andrew Garfield is going to get the point in coolness factor. That doesn't make a better Peter Parker, nor does it make Tobey a worse one.

While both did an amazing role, it's the reason I can't decide.
I'd say I prefer Andrew as Spider-Man,
But I prefer Tobey as Peter Parker.

I honestly liked Andrew Garfield as Spiderman more than I did Tobey Maguire.  While Tobey did play a good Peter Parker, I just liked Andrew Garfield's character and humor while he played Spiderman. I remember laughing a lot more with the Amazing Spiderman than I did with the original ones. I'd also agree with the statement that Garfield's portrayal of Spiderman was more consistent than Tobey's was. One can argue that each of them had their strengths and flaws, but ultimately, I like Andrew Garfield as Spiderman significantly more. I also liked Emma Stone as Gwen as well. 

They were both good Spidermen. Perhaps the greatest Spidermen this world will ever know...

Actually, I agree with maguc here. Andrew was a good Spiderman, and nailed the fast thinking, and constant joke cracking while fighting. But Tobey was a better Peter Parker. He really got the "Geek nobody really notices" guy down. And since there will most likely be a THIRD Spiderman since Marvel got him back, let's hope the new one will somehow be good at both.