With the recent Into the Spider-Verse review said and done, “Spider-Month” is on the verge of coming to a close. Before that, though, there’s tribute to pay for the science major that started the line of spider-men (and women, and pigs). And what better way is there to give the original his dues than looking at some of the best portrayals in all of media? Seeing as how Into the Spider-Verse is proof positive of countless successors to the original web-slinger, I thought I’d have some fun to cap off “Spider-Month” with a top 10 list of the best non-comic portrayals of Peter Parker. For this list, I’ll be ranking portrayals of the original Spider-Man in major motion pictures, video games, and animated series, based on the performances of the actors, their resonance with the character himself, and the quality of the film, show or game he stars in. Sadly, comic book takes on Parker are so numerous that I’m streamlining it to the examples in other media. That said, welcome to the end of Spider-Month. The #10 slot goes to…
10. Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man movies, 2012-2014)
…Someone who really deserved to be in better movies. Though I’ve had more than simply mixed thoughts about the way this take on Peter was written, I can never take away from the performance itself. When he’s allowed the opportunity, Andrew Garfield manages some funny lines while donning the Spider-suit, and even manages some tender, humanizing moments during his interactions with civilians (especially children). Even in the second “Amazing” movie, where everything good about its predecessor was completely removed, Garfield managed to be an unambiguous silver-lining, due to some of the quips coming much more naturally to him. A good actor can even earn compliments under a bad script, and for giving it his all at making a relatable take on Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield hangs on tight to this countdown at #10.
9. Sean Marquette (Ultimate Spider-Man, 2005)
The #9 entry goes to a more obscure entry in a long line of “Spider-Man” video games. Much like the comic after which it was titled, the PlayStation 2 game Ultimate Spider-Man is framed as a soft reboot of the character and his origins, and so this Peter Parker starts out in his teenage years once again. To this end, voice actor Sean Marquette gives the young hero a peppier, youthful voice befitting a superhero with just a couple of years under his belt. One can even hear him channeling his character Mac from the animated series Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, which fits Peter’s characterization here as a beleaguered bookworm character. What really surprised me, though, was his ability to convey stress and occasional rage that comes with the superhero territory. While Marquette doesn’t light the world on fire with any sort of new approach to the boy who would be Spider-Man, he certainly knows how to carry the drama (much of it Venom-related) of the game’s story, and for managing to stand out among many a voice actor for many a Spider-Man game, he definitely earns a place on this list.
8. Drake Bell (Ultimate Spider-Man, 2012-2017)
There’s not much to explain about this entry, except for me to say that Drake Bell is just funny as Spider-Man. The animated series Ultimate Spider-Man is something of a mixed bag due to some basic humor and an overabundance of Marvel character cameos, Spider-Man himself is fairly well-written and energetically voiced by Drake Bell, and while the show leans more on the comedic side, Bell also manages some heartwarming and endearing moments whenever Peter begins to question his spot in the greater Marvel pantheon of heroes. Listening to Peter’s energy and snappy dialogue, you’d probably get the sense that Drake Bell had a lot of fun recording for the character, and for making an otherwise okay show all the more engaging, he more than earns a spot on this list.
7. Christopher Daniel Barnes (Spider-Man: The Animated Series, 1994-1998)
I know there’s a lot of nostalgia for the 90’s Spider-Man animated series, but there’s a lot of flaws to it (namely in the way of animation and accidentally campy presentation). Sadly, I don’t think that Christopher Daniel Barnes is free from those flaws, either. In fact, he gives a relatively low-key, everyman voice to this show’s Peter Parker which, while not necessarily bad, fails to truly be remarkable in comparison to higher entries on this list. Still, that’s no fault of Mr. Barnes, who nonetheless manages to be fairly believable whenever Peter is out of his spider-suit. In fact, while his delivery as Spider-Man is somewhat stilted in more dramatic episodes, his handling of the quips Spider-Man is most famous for seems to be channeling the likes of Dan Gilvezan from the old cartoons, which is something to be admired. Similarly, later entries on this list seem to be channeling his take of the character, so Christopher Daniel Barnes makes this list out of historical significance more than anything. Special mention should also be made of his performance as the “Noir” Spider-Man in the Shattered Dimensions video game. Truly, his history with the franchise runs deep.
6. Neil Patrick Harris (Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, 2003)
On the opposite end of the spectrum from the #8 entry is a Peter Parker performance from a much, much darker animated series. Billed as a sort of tangential sequel to the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series is nonetheless a darker take on the Spider-Man mythos, with iconic villains offer suffering more permanent, costly defeats than in previous adaptations. Thus, Neil Patrick Harris had no easy task on his hands: present a more grounded and troubled Peter Parker without losing the character’s inherent charm both in and out of the costume. Thankfully, Harris has proven numerous times that he has the natural charisma to strike an almost perfect balance between those two sides, and his voice work creates the idea that Spider-Man’s impish, wisecracking charm and Peter’s dry, yet reserved sense of humor are essentially one in the same. Actually, : “natural” is the best way to describe his performance here- Neil Patrick Harris is neither too theatrical nor too wooden as Peter or Spider-Man, and his might actually be my personal favorite take on the character. Pretty much the only thing keeping him from being higher on this list is that the show he was in was as short as it was. Still, there’s an actor just as good as him in the role of Peter Parker, and he’s had more than enough material to demonstrate that…
5. Josh Keaton (The Spectacular Spider-Man, 2008-2009)
As far as portrayals of the traditional Peter Parker go, Josh Keaton’s take on the character in The Spectacular Spider-Man may truly be the best in terms of performance, writing, and tonal approach. Though the story of Peter’s spider-bite, loss of Uncle Ben, and rise to heroics aren’t modified too much here, their execution is as meticulous and well-handled as an animated series could hope to be, and Josh Keaton’s experience with youthful, cocky characters makes for a spot-on and endearing performance. It’s not all fun and games here, either. Sure, Keaton does well to make Spider-Man’s quips funny, but he’s got just as much of a grip on the character’s vulnerability in the face of his tougher foes and everyday adversities. A personal highlight of mine is his voice acting during the Venom arc, and Keaton is perfectly on-point when Peter attempts to shake Eddie Brock loose from the mental grip of the symbiote that once formed the black suit. This show was also cut short fairly quickly, but it’s easily the best written and acted for a show of its length, and thanks to its focus on the already well-performed Peter Parker, ranks high up as one of my personal favorite “Spider-Man” media.
4. Jake Johnson (Into the Spider-Verse, 2018)
The latest “Spider-Man” film took a reverent approach to Spider-Man as a symbol of accessible heroism, which makes its approach to Peter Parker himself all the more remarkable for how deconstructive it was in its portrayal of him. This Peter Parker is more or less the one we know, albeit one suffering from a sort of twilight period of his career: he vehemently fears commitment to his recently-divorced wife Mary Jane, and his current, lonely run as Spider-Man was a direct result of his fear of having children. What makes portraying this Peter so difficult, though, is the task of naturally conveying his growth into a different role: that of a mentor to Spider-Man newcomer Miles Morales. Jake Johnson, however, gives a hilarious and nuanced performance that effortlessly evokes the kind of regret that needs to be glimpsed through the snide remarks and laid back approach to danger. Self-aware as this portrayal is, however, he still very much is the Peter Parker we know: cocky, resourceful, and ultimately heroic. I’d talk at greater length about Jake Johnson’s spot on work for this Peter’s character arc, but I’d rather just tell everyone to go see Spider-Verse. So go see Spiderverse after this list.
3. Tobey Macguire (The Sam Raimi Trilogy, 2002-2007)
Yes, Tobey Macguire’s performance as Peter Parker can hardly be described as nuanced, or subtle, or technically good, in harsher eyes. That doesn’t change the fact that this Spider-Man was a standard-setter for future Spider-Man movies, or the fact that Macguire is still engaging in spite of that engagement sometimes being for the wrong reasons. His Spider-Man dialogue does go overboard in terms of cheesiness several times, but as Peter Parker, he never ceases to be endearing or relatable in his own ways. In Tobey Macguire, we see a perfect reflection of one of the most forgotten aspects of Spider-Man: he is an everyman and a wallflower, powers or no powers. He might not be the perfect Spider-Man, but he is the perfect Spider-Man for the kinds of thematic elements and stylistic choices the Sam Raimi movies wore on their sleeves. In fact, I’d say that this was the best live-action Spider-Man in terms of being the most “human” had it not been for…
2. Tom Holland (The Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2016-Present)
He might be fighting for screen time with the rest of the sprawling cast of the “Marvel Cinematic Universe”, but that should never take away from the fact that Tom Holland has turned in veritable tour de force performances as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Infinity War. For quite a while, he unquestionably had the number one spot in my eyes, since his seemingly effortless balance of wallflower insecurity and witty charm struck me less as “acting” and more as “channeling the character into reality”. Holland’s is a performance I consider pretty much perfect, and that extends to little elements, such as his subtle New York accent and his slightly stammering, Bob Newhart-esque delivery. Never once does he let the man or the mask eclipse each other, and my complaint that there isn’t enough of his seems to be a short-lived one with the announcement of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Though I can’t wait to see more of Holland’s Spider-Man, though, only one can top the list, and what’s so remarkable is how the final entry encapsulated the essence of “Spider-Man” so perfectly… in something I just reviewed a few months ago.
1. Yuri Lowenthal (Marvel’s Spider-Man, 2018)
Oh, how the internal debate raged within me about whether Tom Holland or Yuri Lowenthal deserved the number one spot. After all, the voice acting juggernaut could be described with every adjective that Holland’s Peter Parker encapsulates: hilarious, inspiring, entertaining, and above all, painfully vulnerable. What Mr. Lowenthal has working in his favor, though, is the screen time his Peter is given, and the weight of Spider-Man’s themes as conveyed by the interactive medium through which he portrays him. Playing the Insomniac “Spider-Man” game means a lot of things: having a blast with the web-swinging, facing off with iconic villains, and hearing every quip and observation that Peter has for every occasion. That last point, however, is what really matters, because more than any of the previous Peter Parker’s, we get to see firsthand what goes through his mind as he juggles the weight of his heroics and his relationships. From the gameplay’s channeling of Spider-Man’s spirit to the writing and acting’s perfect capturing of Peter Parker’s strengths and weaknesses as a hero and as a human being, the recent Spider-Man game has given us the most vivid picture of New York’s hometown hero, and that rings especially true of Yuri Lowenthal’s voice work. I’m glad, too, that I was able to end Spider-Month on such a high note. More on different movies next time.
Rich Reviews 