As a Spider-Man Fan, Here’s How I’d Rank All 11 Movies in the Franchise

I love Spider-Man. I’ve been a fan of his since before I can remember, and he’s been part of my life ever since. With this in mind, it should make sense that I truly adore the Spider-Man movies. There isn’t a Spider-Man flick that I don’t like watching. Are some bad? Yes. Very. Yet, somehow, each movie has incredible highlights that make them an enjoyable watch in one way or another.

How do I rank these films, though, you may ask (I’m just going to assume you did)? It’s a truly tough kind of thing to rank, especially given the fact that the Spider-Man fanbase is lethal and will rip you apart should you have an opinion different from the norm—whatever the norm actually is. I want to talk about how I personally rank these movies, because I think that while I’ve got some hot takes that I’m sure will ignite the comments section, I have something positive to say about every single project, and I love talking about them. So win-win, right?

11

‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ (2014)

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Wow, big surprise, am I right? Look, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has a lot of flaws, but I’ve heard them sung to the heavens time and time again, so I’d really like to take a moment to acknowledge the genuinely great parts of this film. Outside of the studio interference that totally screwed Marc Webb and co. over, there’s a movie hidden in the released product that is genuinely awesome and captures the heart of Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) incredibly well.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 attempts to tell the story of… well, it attempts to tell a lot of stories, which is the biggest problem. Not only does it have the amazing Andrew Garfield, though, but it’s got one of the best on-screen Spider-Man suits of all time. When the movie transitions to scenes that were clearly wanted by Webb, it thrives. The montage in the first act of the film displays and captures the soul of Spider-Man very well. The thematic potential behind Electro (Jamie Foxx) and his personal character arc—paralleling with Peter Parker’s own story—is profound and when it works, it works very well. It’s also got one of the most well done death sequences in any superhero movie. The death of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is heart-shattering and executed excellently.

10

‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019)

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Before you rip me to shreds, hear me out on this one. I still love Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s a great movie. The first and third acts of the movie are phenomenal—some of the best Spider-Man film content out there. Peter’s (Tom Holland) struggle with loss post-Avengers: Endgame is done very well and when Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) turns to show his true colors, audiences are treated to one of the better third acts in the Spider-Man franchise. The Mysterio fights are beyond excellent, being some of the most thrilling and visually stunning Spider-Man fights ever.

Where I find issues with Spider-Man: Far From Home, however, is the second act and the total lack of Jon Watts‘ directorial vision. All of the unique sauce that he displayed in Spider-Man: Homecoming is found minimally in this one. It really focuses on being more of an Avengers: Endgame sequel than anything else. Marvel Studios’ executives’ hands are felt all throughout this movie—scenes like the “baby mountain goats” scene are proof of that. The Brad Davis (Remy Hii) subplot also truly amounts to nothing, and the movie could lose it, and still hold the core plot in place. Not to forget, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), who was extremely important in the movie prior, is all but useless here. He truly does nothing, and it really kills all that was built up with their friendship in Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s still a great movie, but suffers a lot in the middle.

9

‘Spider-Man 3’ (2007)

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I know how this looks, but, I too, was once on the Spider-Man 3 hate train. Upon rewatching it in recent years, though, I found that this movie has far more style and vision than, honestly, a good handful of MCU films. The cinematography is beautiful, the action sequences are thrilling, and while people give the Venom (Topher Grace) subplot a lot of hate, the Symbiote is actually a great addition to Peter Parker’s (Tobey Maguire) character arc of learning to kill his ego.

Not to mention, the Venom issues at the end of the movie—with how rushed he was as a villain—is far shorter than I remember, and really didn’t ruin the entire experience for me. It’s still bad, though, trust me on that. At the end of the day, though, what Spider-Man 3 has above Spider-Man: Far From Home, is the fact that the style and substance are simply way more tangible. Despite being rough-around-the-edges, Spider-Man 3 is a Sam Raimi movie through and through, and that gives it more identity than a lot of modern-day superhero flicks.

8

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021)

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Spider-Man: No Way Home does not get the credit it deserves for what it did to help bring people back to movie theaters during the end of the pandemic. It was the first movie I personally went to go see post-pandemic, and my theater was packed and excited. This was like an Avengers: Endgame-level event movie. It wasn’t just a film filled with cameos, hype moments, and aura, though. Spider-Man: No Way Home defied all expectations when it came to this. This third Tom Holland-led flick does things that no other Spider-Man film has done before, most importantly, the fact that Peter’s identity has been revealed to the world, and director Jon Watts (with way more directorial control/vision this time) explores the ramifications of that. This is also the first movie to kill his beloved Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).

Aside from the two villains with little to do — Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and, especially, the Lizard (Rhys Ifans) — the appearances and presence of the multiversal characters in this movie have genuine reasons to be there, adding to the plot, and enhancing Peter’s character arc. The characters that everyone thought would suffer from this, Peter #2 and Peter #3, didn’t suffer from typical cameo issues, either. Each Peter Parker adds something to MCU Peter’s character arc that leads to him sparing the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). Nothing that should have felt cheap or hollow in Spider-Man: No Way Home did, and it all leads to one of the best endings in a Spider-Man film, ever. It’s bittersweet, but it perfectly captures the sacrifice of Spidey’s responsibility.

7

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (2017)

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After his big introduction in Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was the talk of the town, and I, along with every other Marvel fan on the planet, was so excited to see him star in his own solo film one year after the crossover movie. Marvel Studios made a promise with Holland’s iteration that, unlike the other franchises, he was going to stay in high school for a while, rather than phasing him out of it after movie one. Things got even better when it became very clear that director Jon Watts made it clear that Spider-Man: Homecoming was going to take massive inspiration from classic legendary high school films like The Breakfast Club, really honing in on Peter’s high school life, rather than it being a backdrop to everything else (something Raimi’s Spider-Man does). The great performance Tom brought in Captain America: Civil War was back, and the new characters introduced to surround Peter in his social life were dynamic and mostly hadn’t been done in franchise movies prior. The new villain, The Vulture (Michael Keaton), is one of the most badass and enjoyable Spider-Man movie villains of all time. Brought to life by the iconic Michael Keaton, Adrian Toomes is not only a great villain for the hero’s life as Spider-Man, but brings one of the biggest twists in a Spider-Man movie, when it’s revealed that he’s also Liz Allan’s (Laura Harrier) dad — Peter’s love interest. Immediately with this one, Jon Watts showed off his directorial style and made this Wall-Crawler feel unique and special.

I also need to clear the air, because I find that most people do not clock the character arc in this movie and how actually well-done it is. Audiences initially gave the movie criticism for being “Iron Man Jr.,” thanks to how much he relied on and idolized Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in the movie. However, the entire arc for Peter was about moving past this and becoming a hero of his own. Just because he relies on the Avenger for a good portion of the film doesn’t mean that’s who his character is going to be moving forward. He’s consistently denying and defying Stark, not listening to him, and when he gets the suit taken from him, he continues to do so and goes out all on his own to stop The Vulture himself. The movie also ends with him declining an offer to be an Avenger, something he clearly wanted very much at the beginning of the movie. Just because the arc gets ruined by Avengers: Infinity War (where all these things are undone), doesn’t mean it isn’t a good arc in this film.

6

‘Spider-Man’ (2002)

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The film that started it all, Spider-Man, is genuinely a huge landmark not just in superhero movie history, but movie history in general. Sam Raimi brought one of the most spectacular and popular superheroes on the planet, a massive weight on his shoulders, and did so with grace and an epic manner. He made people fall in love with Peter Parker immediately and showcased the Web-Slinger in a way that people still try to emulate to this day. The first ten minutes of this origin flick establish and execute everything important to Peter’s origin wonderfully, without rushing it. This is a great reflection of the pacing of the film. It is everything the first theatrical appearance of the Wall-Crawler needed to be. It is fast-paced for a good amount of the time, in the best way, still slowing down to truly sit in important moments in Peter’s arc.

There’s a reason that Sam Raimi’s trilogy is so world-renowned. This movie, alongside X-Men, kicked off the 2000s era of superhero film that led to where we are now with the MCU. It’s because of the quality and success of this project that superhero movies have become what they are today. The way that Raimi used CGI, realizing how limited it could be at the time, helps it work so much better than one would expect for 2002.

5

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ (2012)

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I am going to get so much blowback for this one, but when it comes to objective storytelling for origin stories, I truly believe that, of the live-action Spider-Man movies, The Amazing Spider-Man does it best. For an origin movie, The Amazing Spider-Man decides to keep things slow for a bit, really letting viewers experience Peter Parker’s day-to-day life before he becomes Spider-Man. This does a lot for the emotional arcs of the movie, especially when it comes to Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen). While audiences primarily feel sad for Peter in Spider-Man, they feel sad with Peter in The Amazing Spider-Man. Fans get to spend a lot of time with Uncle Ben in the first act of this reboot, and it not only makes his ending feel heartbreaking but also adds a plethora of emotion to the teenager’s character arc. This movie is not perfect. Everyone knows that. However, the way this movie brings the beginnings of Spider-Man to life is better than any other first film in the live-action Spider-Man franchise.

It also can’t be looked past that Andrew Garfield is the majority of fans’ favorite actor for Spider-Man, for a very good reason. He brings such a great performance here that makes his version of the character beyond compelling. The third act of The Amazing Spider-Man is its weakest part, but the first two make up for it tenfold. His costume may be different, but it is also a great example of how to do a good redesign of the classic red and blue. Despite being all-new, you can still clearly tell that it is Spider-Man at first glance. While some people weren’t privy to it at first, it fits the tone of this story far better than, say, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 would.

4

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (2026)

The newest installment in the Tom Holland Spider-Man series, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is a certified smash hit. This fifth movie jumps back into the more grounded, street-level vibe for the hero. This is also the saddest he’s been since the Raimi trilogy, which people love to see. The plot at hand by director Destin Daniel Cretton and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers is phenomenal and everything that an MCU Spider-Man movie has needed to be for quite some time.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day also contains one of the MCU actor’s best performances as the superhero. Audiences note the amount of practicality at play, especially for an MCU Spider-Man movie — of which older movies used to paint over the Spidey suit in CGI and lacked a lot of practicality — as an incredibly good thing. If anything has become clear since the project came out on July 31st, it’s that the Wall-Crawler has entered a whole new era that everyone is extremely excited about. The story here is complex and layered, the performances are stellar, the filmmaking is well-executed, and the score from the returning Michael Giacchino all come together to create one of the best Spider-Man projects of all time.

3

‘Spider-Man 2’ (2004)

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With the extended cut of the movie, Spider-Man 2.1, coming to theaters for the very first time this month, Spider-Man 2 is back on people’s minds — like it had ever left. Spider-Man 2 is not only hailed as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time, but one of the best sequels of all time, too. It quite easily tells the best Peter Parker story in a Spider-Man film. Doctor Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), Doctor Ock for short, is also an astoundingly compelling and badass villain. He’s one of the best in superhero films, period.

On top of all that, it has some of the greatest action sequences in a superhero film, too. The best example of this is the train fight in Act 2 that people still talk about to this day. Aside from the obvious, though, it also features a bank fight, the two enemies fighting on the side of a building, and an actively collapsing warehouse. Spider-Man 2 is about as compelling as Peter Parker has ever gotten in live-action Spider-Man films. There’s simply not too much to be said about this sequel that hasn’t been sung to the heavens already. It’s as good as live-action Spidey gets.

2

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ (2023)

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After Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse completely took over the planet (more on that in a minute), the second project in the series had some of the largest weight on its shoulders that a superhero movie has ever had. How does one pass up such a widely beloved and genuinely groundbreaking movie? People were pondering if it was even possible to stick the landing. Even if it was just good, audiences might be disappointed because of how legendary the first one was.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse did more than just stick the landing. The movie borderline, in some people’s opinions, surpassed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. After the first film established the rules and characters of the multiverse, this movie followed up and expanded on them, while introducing new things to the fold. Bringing both Spot (Jason Schwartzman) and Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) as the antagonists was a great idea. Not to forget, Miles Morales’ (Shameik Moore) here is heartbreaking and super engaging.