For many fans, Tom Holland's Peter Parker/Spider-Man is the first live-action iteration of the superhero that feels like a true version of the original comic book character. A product of a groundbreaking deal between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, Holland's version of the character is allowed to exist within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and interact with some of the most popular Marvel characters onscreen that he never had been able to before. He's also the endlessly talkative, nervous kid that many feel none of the previous Spider-Man actors were really able to bring to life in the same way.

As a result, the introduction of Holland as Spidey in Captain America: Civil War was met with widespread praise and acclaim from both critics and fans alike. Holland is now set to follow his brief role in Civil War with his first standalone film turn as the character, Spider-Man: Homecoming - a film that will also feature the appearance of certain other prominent MCU characters.

Now, just because Holland's character is widely touted as the best onscreen iteration of Spider-Man yet, that's not meant to discount the work of both Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire: the two other actors to play the character onscreen before Holland. Still, when asked in an interview by Short List Magazine (H/T CBM) who he thought would win in a fight between those three versions of Spider-Man, Holland seemed to have a pretty clear idea in mind:

"Me. Absolutely. Hands down."

Spider-Man - Tobey Maguire & Andrew Garfield

Now, there's no telling which of the three live-action Spider-Mans are actually the strongest, since all three versions show their character's strengths in various, equally challenging ways in their respective films. It's also hard to determine who would actually win in a fight between them; though, both Maguire's and Garfield's older, more mature age could give them an upper hand. Moreover, setting the praise for his brief role Civil War aside, there really can't be a final verdict given on Holland's iteration of the web-slinger until fans get to see how he holds his own in Homecoming.

Neither Garfield nor Maguire gave poor performances as Spider-Man by any means either, and in fact, both actors were met with praise for their individual performances. It's just that both actors' runs as Peter Parker ended on sour notes, thanks to the disappointing results on both 2007's Spider-Man 3 and 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Luckily, with Marvel Studios making most of the creative decisions with the character now, and Sony seemingly content to let them, it doesn't seem like Holland's Spider-Man will be the victim of those kind of circumstances, especially as his role in the MCU should only continue to grow in its importance and notoriety over the next couple of years.

Source: Short List Magazine (via CBM)

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