Both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield stepped away from their role as Spider-Man following disappointing sequels. However, they made a triumphant return together in Spider-Man: No Way Home which gave the thrill of seeing them sharing the screen while also showing how each take on Spider-Man differed.
Given that they share this iconic role, there are obvious similarities between the two versions. But from the approach each of the actors took to where each of the franchises takes the character, the result is Maguire and Garfield having two very different iterations of Spider-Man.
His Parents
In just about every version of Peter Parker, he learns the lesson of loss early with the death of his parents. For Maguire's Peter, that loss seems well in the past and Uncle Ben and Aunt May feel like his parents for the story that is being told.
Richard and Mary Parker play a much more important role in the life of Garfield's Peter. After witnessing them leave when he was younger, he remains obsessive about learning the truth and discovering that they were a part of some wider conspiracy.
Coolness
Another universal aspect of Peter Parker is that he is a bit of an outsider. He is usually depicted as being bullied and ignored at school for being a geek. Garfield's Peter, however, is much cooler than the character usually comes off and it is his brooding nature that makes him something of an outsider.
On the other hand, Maguire's Peter is undoubtedly the unpopular kid in school. He is constantly teased and pushed around. Even after he becomes Spider-Man, he is seen being mocked by other science students.
Romance
Both of these versions of Spider-Man have a romance with a girl they secretly pined over for years. Maguire's Peter was in love with Mary Jane despite the fact that she barely knew he existed at first. Ironically, she falls for Spider-Man before discovering her feelings for Peter.
The romance between Peter and Gwen Stacy is integral to Garfield's Spider-Man movies. In that case, the affection Peter has for her is mutual and she falls for him long before Spider-Man enters the picture.
Web-Slinging
One of the funniest gags in Spider-Man: No Way Home was the reaction Garfield and Holland's Peters had to learning that Maguire's Peter doesn't use web-shooters. Indeed, Garfield's Peter is shown developing his own webs and experimenting with them once he gets his powers.
Maguire's Spider-Man has webbing as part of his many spider abilities. It was a big departure from the Spider-Man comics, but overall fans seemed to see it as an acceptable change and one that worked overall.
Relationship With Harry Osborn
Though Harry Osborn hasn't appeared in the MCU yet, he plays a key role in both of these Spider-Man franchises. Harry is introduced as the best friend of Maguire's Peter but their friendship grows tenser over the course of the movies until Harry becomes the full-blown villain in Spider-Man 3.
For Garfield's Peter, Harry was an old friend who he lost touch with. Though he also turns into the villainous Green Goblin, he and Peter are never shown to be particularly close so Harry's turn comes off as much less tragic.
Dark Side
It seemed clear that The Amazing Spider-Man movies were going for a darker and grittier take on the web-headed hero. Part of this was through Spidey's more vengeful side which is shown when he hunted Uncle Ben's killer. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Garfield's Spider-Man admits that he's grown more bitter and violent as a crimefighter.
By contrast, Maguire's Spider-Man was much lighter and more noble. He does have a brush with the dark side in Spider-Man 3, but that is due to him being corrupted by the alien symbiote. At his core, he doesn't have those darker sensibilities.
Hiding His Identity
The fact that Maguire's Peter has to hide the fact that he is Spider-Man results in him being a surprisingly lonely hero. He has loved ones in his life, but hiding that aspect of his life leaves a distance between them until Mary Jane learns the truth.
Garfield's Spider-Man decides to avoid that whole complication by simply telling Gwen Stacy the truth almost immediately. It cements a quick bond between the two though they still face plenty of struggles in their relationship.
Balancing Superhero Life
Despite the fact that Garfield's Spider-Man revealed his secret identity to the woman he loved, he still had a lot of difficulties balancing his superhero life with the rest of it. His main struggle was the feeling that he was putting Gwen in danger by being in her life.
Not surprisingly, Maguire's Spider-Man doesn't have as much foreboding doom in his attempts to balance things. Instead, he is made to be a more relatable hero as he struggles to keep a job, get his classwork done, and have a social life because of his responsibilities as Spider-Man.
Tragedy
Both versions of Spider-Man deal with the tragedy of Uncle Ben's death, but it also sets one of them on a much more tragic path. Maguire's Spider-Man learns the lesson about responsibility from losing his uncle and becomes a better hero.
Garfield's Spider-Man is similarly devastated and becomes withdrawn for a time. Then he suffers an even more painful blow when he loses Gwen and is overcome with guilt. It is a moment that changes him as a hero and almost moves him to abandon Spider-Man for good.
Origins
By now, Spider-Man's origins are so well-known that the MCU didn't even bother rehashing all of it. But it was thrilling to see Maguire's Peter Parker being bit by the genetically enhanced spider and discovering his new powers.
Things play out similarly with Garfield's Spider-Man but it is eventually revealed that his origins are tied to a bigger conspiracy. Instead of being randomly bitten, it is revealed that Richard Parker's research for Oscorp using his own DNA made it so his son would be the only one who could gain the spider powers.