Who's the Better Peter Parker?

                                         

Who’s the Better Peter Parker? 

As we know, there are many Spiderman movies with all different villains and love interests but one thing they all have in common is that some version of Spiderman is always the main character.  Each movie, whether it’s the 2002 Tobey Magure movie, Andrew Garfield 2012 film, or the 2017 Tom Holland movie, all of them surround the idea that Peter Parker must try and live a normal life while fighting crime as spiderman on the side, keeping his second life a secret from everyone. I will be focusing on Andrew Garfield’s movie, “The Amazing Spider-man,” and Tom Holland’s movie, “Spider-man: Homecoming,” to see which movie has a better portrayal of Peter Parker. 

Portrayal of age

Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker is 17 while Tom Holland’s Peter is 16 but are both

in high school at the start of their movies. Garfield's Parker is displayed as more of a cocky/ confident person who would stand up for the kids that were being bullied. Holland’s Parker, on the other hand, is introduced to the audience very quickly as an “outcast” or a “loser” even going as far as to call himself and his friend Ned losers. In Garfield's movie, his age really shows when his aunt and uncle control where and when he can go outside, asking him to pick up eggs from the store and him getting in trouble for forgetting really highlights the fact that he is 17. Holland’s movie uses his behavior as a way to show his age and Andrew Garfield's movie uses his lack of freedom to show that he is a teenager. Tom Holland puts more of an awkwardness into the role then Garfield does, and for that reason I think Hollands Peter Parker is the more convincing teenager. I also think it’s important to add that in Andrew Garfield’s movie he has an uncle whose name is Ben and an aunt whose name is May, both of his parents died. In Tom Holland’s movie his parents also have died but he only has an aunt may, his uncle died before the movie takes place. Overall, I think Holland’s character is a better reflection of a teenager and is more accurate. 

Confidence

As I watch the 2017 Spider-man: Homecoming, it’s very clear that Peter is desperate to prove himself, whether it’s to Tony Stark, his aunt, or the girl he has a crush on, he is always wants to seem “cool”, but never shows his powers or uses them unless he needs to.  On the other hand, when watching Garfield’s 2012 movie, he will use his abilities to stand up to a bully named Flash in order to help other people.  There are scenes in both movies that highlight both of my points: in the 2012 movie Peter Parker watches as Flash messes up someone's project in the gym while playing basketball. Parker uses his abilities to grab the basketball and humiliate Flash in front of everyone, which I believe is deserved. In Tom Hollands movie, him and Ned are invited to a party hosted by the girl Peter has a crush on and Flash (who is the bully in both movies) overhears. Ned states that Parker is friends with Spider-man, and Flash doesn’t believe him but tells Parker to invite him to the party.  Peter argues with Ned that Spider-man isn’t some party trick that he can use to seem “cool” but still brings the suit just in case. I believe Andrew Garfield's Parker is a lot more sure of himself and doesn’t feel the need to use his powers to seems cool.  

Relatability

Tom Hollands Peter is relatable to most people in the way that he has the awkwardness of a high schooler, so people who are either in high school or remember what it felt like will feel a connection to how his character feels. In Andrew Garfield's movie it spends more time focusing on his home life and what it’s like to have to lie to his aunt and uncle about being Spider-man. People can relate to him, feeling misunderstood by his family and the need to lie to them for their own good. While no one in real life has to hide the fact that they have superhuman abilities, people do have secrets that they feel they have to hide from their parents/ gradians and how difficult it can be so many people in the audience feel a connection to that part of the character in both films. Both movies have very relatable characters that can resonate with anyone who is watching/ feels like they somewhat understand what Peter is going through, and it depends on the person to see who they relate to more.  

Humor

Peter parker/ Spider-man is known for his ability to joke around, either is series situations or not, it’s very important to the character.  Both actors incorporate humor very well into the character but in different ways, Tom Holland leans more into awkward jokes that surround the situation he’s in while Andrew Garfield uses more sarcastic and quick jokes, showing his confidence.  When interacting with other characters Holland’s uses Peters humor most when talking to friends, or making movies references to Tony Stark, but gets too shy to act the same way around the girl he has a crush on. On the other hand, Andrew Garfield uses Parkers’ humor to everyone, especially when dealing with the criminals he’s fighting, or making conversation with his crush Gwen. While Holland’s Peter still uses humor when fighting, it’s nowhere near the amount Garfield’s does, which leads me to believe that Garfield portrays the humor of Peter Parker in a more efficient way. 

Body Language

There seems to be a pattern in the differences between both actors' versions of Spider-man, and their body language really highlights this. Garfield's moves with more confidence and reassurance, sometimes even taunting his villains. When he interacts with other people, he’s pretty laid back, doing things like crossing his arms. Holland’s Parker is kind of jittery and anxious, in scenes where he is talking to his crush Liz, he purposefully tries to look relaxed and chill when he is anything but that. When talking to Tony Stark, he is very nervous and wants to impress him but still wants to come off as someone who is relaxed and calm. When both of them put on their Spider-man suits this totally changes, Tom Holland’s Peter becomes extremely confident and sure of himself. He tends to make more jokes instead of pretending to be confident; he actually is. Garfield tends to turn into a slightly more confident version of Parker, but there isn’t too much of a difference between him in the suit and just being a regular teenager. The body language obviously changes when they both put on the suit because they can show how flexible they are, especially when fighting. There is definitely more off a difference in how Tom Halland’s Peter Parker acts when in the suit compared to Garfield’s Parker. 

Difference In the World

If I am going to talk about the differences between these movies, I have to bring up how different the world is in each movie. Holland’s movie has a lot more technology which benefits him and gives him more advantages in fights. It also helps him as Peter Parker because he can do a lot of planning using the AI in his mask. He doesn’t have to “turn into” Spider-man and follow the bad guys around to see their plan, he can just ask his AI in his suit to help him either track them down or find where they plan to be. In Andrew Garfield's movie, he has to fully put on his suit and go out to watch the bad guys and see what their plan is, or if he can stop them, he is not able to get help from his suit.  

Intelligence

Another very important thing about Peter Parker is that he is very smart, but both movies show it in different ways. In Garfield’s movie, Peter makes his own suit through lots of trial and error, in Tom Hollands’ movie his Peter makes a suit, but it’s not a great one. In the movie it gets described as pajamas; he had baggy red and blue clothes with black goggles.

The suit that Garfield’s Parker made was skintight and around the same as one that Tony Stark makes of Holland’s Peter, minus the AI, (very clean and sleek looking with webbing details all over, using the colors blue and red). Garfield’s Peter was able to make a better suit without the help of someone else. I feel that Andrew Garfield’s Parker comes off as smarter because of the story writing in both movies, which doesn’t give Holland’s Peter a real chance to demonstrate his intelligence. 

My Opinion

There are many things that go into playing a very complicated and loved character, trying to make sure that the audience receives it well and that you are proud of your work. Both actors do a great job playing Spiderman/ Peter Parker, and both are good at what they do. With that being said I do believe that Tom Holland plays a better Petter Parker. All in all, I think he is a more convincing teenager, which plays a huge role in being Peter Parker. Some things are out of their control, like the writing which I believe adds to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker coming off as more of a teenager than Garfield’s does. In my opinion, Andrew Garfield’s Peter is just a bit too confident and sure of himself to be the most convincing version of a teenager. If you would like to see for yourself, go ahead and give the movies a watch, they are very entertaining.