The highly anticipated film ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ is all set to release in Indian theatres tomorrow. The post-2k era has seen nine major Spider-Man movies until now. And for this article, we have compared and ranked all major Spiderman films that have come out since Sam Raimi’s trilogy starring Tobey Maguire followed by films featuring Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland as the titular web-slingers and the highly rated animated film ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’. We have also mentioned where you can watch these Spider-Man movies on Indian OTT platforms.
9. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 2014 (Streaming on Netflix)
This sequel to the 2012 film starring Andrew Garfield in the titular role is subjectively the weakest of the lot. Though the film’s performances and production values were top-notch, the weak part was the film’s comparatively less engaging narrative. Like its predecessor, it was directed by Mark Webb (his surname is an amazing coincidence). The film featured Jamie Foxx as the villain Electro.
8. Spider-Man 3, 2007 (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLIV)
The film is well known for Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man face-off with a now fan-favorite anti-hero Venom. However, the film suffered from almost the same setbacks as ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ – visually delightful with decent action but rather marred by a relatively sub-par plot and storytelling. Besides Venom, other villains that featured in the film were Sandman and the new Goblin (James Franco).
7. The Amazing Spider-Man, 2012 (Streaming on Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar)
This was Andrew Garfield’s first outing as Peter Parker / Spider-Man and certainly an enjoyable one, deftly directed by Marc Webb. The film also featured eminent Indian actor Irrfan Khan as an Oscorp executive. Spider-Man’s adversary in the film was The Lizard.
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2017 (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLIV)
The Job Watt film was Tom Holland’s solo outing after Spider-Man’s integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The story was set after the roller coaster events of ‘Captain America: Civil War’. The plot revolved around how Peter Parker balances his life alongside proving himself to be an asset to his mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Spiderman’s adversary in the film was The Vulture (Michael Keaton).
5. Spider-Man: Far from Home, 2019 (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, SonyLIV)
Also directed by Jon Watts, the story takes place after the emotionally stirring events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’. Peter Parker goes on a school summer field trip to Europe where he is unwillingly forced to encounter the Elementals with some ‘help’ from a mysterious person Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal).
4. Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021 (Streaming on Netflix)
The film’s underlying plot follows a botched-up magical spell by Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) while attempting to conceal Peter Parker’s secret identity as Spider-Man from the public. But Peter Parker must deal with the repercussions when the spell eventually results in various supervillains (Electro, Green Goblin, Sandman, The Lizard, and Doc Ock) from alternate realities somehow entering his universe.
3. Spider-Man, 2002 (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLIV)
Sam Raimi’s masterly filmmaking and storytelling skills were stamped all over this Sony’s Spider-Man movie. It’s still remembered as one of the finest on-screen superhero origin stories. Tobey Maguire battled his formidable nemesis the Green Goblin (played by Willem Dafoe) in the film.
2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2018 (Streaming on Netflix)
The 2018 film broke new ground for the superhero animated films genre. The taut story followed a teenage Spider-Man, who teams up with multiple spider-powered superheroes from other universes to fight a common enemy – the supervillain Kingpin. It’s regarded by many fans as one of the best Spiderman films ever.
1. Spider-Man 2, 2004 (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLIV)
Choosing between Sam Raimi’s deftly executed second Spider-Man movie and ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ and other films will always be a matter of debate as both films are blessed with their huge and loyal fan following. ‘Spider-Man 2’ was a fine blend of emotional elements combined with some riveting action scenes including the brilliant train stopping sequence. The film also featured the eccentric scientist Dr. Otto Octavius, more popularly as Doc Ock, reprised his role in Tom Holland’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’.
And now, it would be super interesting to see where the upcoming Spider-Man movie ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ would rank among all the above films. We have a feeling it would end up somewhere on the top three spots. Verdict will be out tomorrow.