Very few superheroes have as many solo feature films as Marvel’s Spider-Man, and for good reason, audiences worldwide love the wall-crawling hero. Ever since Sam Raimi’s original movie the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has ruled the box office. Even when the Spider-Man series gets rebooted it has found a new audience, which ultimately lead to 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and even gave us the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Though there may be weak links, it’s hard to go wrong with the ten Spider-Man movies.
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Spider-Man is easily one of the most popular comic book characters of all time, so it makes sense he’s starred in so many different movies. That said, not all Spider-Man films are created equal. Some don’t quite hold up as well as we might want them to, while others continue to get better over time.
So, which Spider-Man movies stand out above the rest? You can check out the ranking of all 10 Spidey films below, ordered from worst to best.
10. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man isn’t exactly a “bad” movie. It’s competently made and gets the characters right. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is easily the most bland and forgettable of all of Peter Parker’s big screen adventures.
Andrew Garfield is spectacular as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and Emma Stone is a wonderful Gwen Stacy, but they can only do so much on their own. The Amazing Spider-Man, unlike its sequel, plays things incredibly safe, resulting in a movie that doesn’t offer much in the way of excitement.
9. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home left fans with a ton of excitement, as its ending both revealed Peter Parker to the world of the MCU and brought back J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. Those final few minutes leave you with a wonderful energy, and it’s easy to forget the rest of the movie is just alright.
Jake Gyllenhaal is an inspired choice for Mysterio, bringing his A-game in every scene, and Tom Holland delivers another great turn as Peter. But this is the least Spider-Man Spider-Man movie of all time. The change from New York didn’t add anything to the character and the film was far more concerned with the grander MCU franchise than any real growth with Peter. The biggest criticisms facing the MCU edition of Spider-Man are front-and-center with Far From Home, making it one to be easily frustrated with once you know the ending.
8. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 continues to get better with age. Yes, it is an absolutely over-stuffed movie filled with some over-the-top dialogue and entirely too much emphasis on setting up a Sinister Six spinoff. That doesn’t mean it’s not an absolute blast.
Spider-Man: Far From Home gets more frustrating on a rewatch because you already know how it ends, and the film leading to the ending isn’t too exciting. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has the opposite effect. People were frustrated when it first came out because of all the things it did and didn’t do. Now, however, you can watch the entire movie in a vacuum and simply enjoy its zany antics.
Jamie Foxx brings a lot of energy to his turn as Electro, even if his on-screen look wasn’t great, and Garfield again proves just how perfect he is as Peter Parker. We should also pour one out for Paul Giamatti’s Rhino; it sucks we’ll never get to see him in all his glory.
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Tom Holland’s first full outing as Spider-Man established a new generation for the beloved hero and got the story off to a solid start. Holland wasted no time proving that he’s the perfect guy for the role.
The cast of Homecoming is excellent, top to bottom, but it’s Michael Keaton that unsurprisingly steals the entire show. His take on Vulture is extraordinary; easily one of the best villains in the entire MCU. He’s also just a perfect foe for Peter Parker, as a working man who simply wants to provide and keep the rich from getting more power. That reveal of Keaton before the big dance? Flawless.
Homecoming has one big downside, however, and it’s name is Tony Stark. The relationship between Tony and Peter throughout the MCU has been one that was meant to be touching, but works directly against everything we know about who Peter Parker is. Having the young hero’s sole goal be to impress a billionaire superhero takes so much away from his whole “friendly neighborhood” mentality. The film’s final battle is just Spider-Man putting his life on the line to protect a rich guy’s stuff from being stolen, and that will never quite sit right with me.
6. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
There are two very distinct sides to Spider-Man 3. On one side you’ve got an overstuffed franchise sequel just oozing studio notes. On the other there’s a brilliant story of morality on par with Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man films.
This is clearly not the movie Raimi set out to make, but its chaotic energy and the balancing act of two wildly different villains has actually helped it age better than you’d expect. This film is arguably even more fun and enjoyable now than it was back in 2007.
The Venom storyline is definitely wonky, but there’s a charm to it that could only exist in a mid-2000s blockbuster from the guy who made The Evil Dead. The Sandman storyline though? That’s some of Raimi’s best comic work to-date. Thomas Hayden Church delivers a compassionate, compelling rogue that terrifies you while capturing every ounce of your attention. Sandman carries a lot of this film on his shoulders and is a big reason why it has stood the test of time.
Of course, you can’t talk about Spider-Man 3 without talking about the emo Peter Parker dance. Emo Peter Parker is genuinely hilarious and a perfect depiction of Spidey trying to be a hard-ass. It’s amazing now and it was amazing then. I’ll be taking no further questions at this time.
5. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Getting all three live-action Spider-Men into one movie had to be a difficult task. Getting them all to have substantial screen time and meaningful stories in the same movie seemed nearly impossible. But Spider-Man: No Way Home found a way to pull it off.
What Jon Watts lacks in innovative direction in No Way Home, screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers make up for in their dazzling script. The duo miraculously find ways to make the returns of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire feel relevant and important.
That said, it’s all about the three Spider-Men here, and they all deliver. Maguire is still very game, more than a decade after his franchise ended. Holland offers up the best performance of his Spider-Man tenure. And then there’s Garfield. What more can be said about Andrew Garfield in No Way Home that hasn’t already been said? He brings every ounce of A-game he’s got and reminds everyone that he didn’t have nearly enough time to craft something special with Peter Parker. The best parts of the entire movie are when the three Peters get to share the screen together, revealing a chemistry that makes them feel like old friends, not three guys who played the same comic book character across three different decades.
4. Spider-Man (2002)
Spider-Man’s first major trip to the big screen still remains one of the character’s best feature films to-date. Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire were a match made in heaven, perfectly representing their time in history and delivering a Spider-Man tale that would become the definitive superhero standard for years.
There are a lot of movies about superhero heroes out there, but very few true superhero movies. Spider-Man is one of them. Raimi followed in the footsteps of Richard Donner, using 1978’s Superman as his blueprint. Spider-Man is focused on the heart of a hero who isn’t sure of his own heroism, and how someone who wants to do to good fits into a world that can be so terrifying.
Then there’s Willem Dafoe, who set a new standard for comic book villains with his portrayal of the Green Goblin. The character has such a goofy, outlandish premise, but Dafoe brings him down to earth, making him believable and sending chills down your spine on more than one occasion.
3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Of all the movies on this list, Across the Spider-Verse feels like it has the most potential to move even higher as time goes on. There’s so much going on in this movie, it’s hard to really process it all after just one viewing. On top of that, it’s very much the first half of a story. That’s not a bad thing by any means, the cliffhanger ending is phenomenal, it’s just hard to judge at this point because there’s no telling how everything is going to shake out.
All that to say, Across the Spider-Verse is a spectacular achievement from Sony Pictures Animation. It goes to lengths you never expect it to, while never abandoning its emotional core about a family in Brooklyn. And visually, this movie is an absolute stunner from start to finish.
Across the Spider-Verse is also the new standard-setter for how to knock cameos and Easter eggs out of the park. Not one big surprise in this movie feels out of place or like it was done simply to get a reaction. It’s a bigger, better love letter to all things Spider-Man than No Way Home, cementing Spider-Verse as the definitive Spidey franchise of this generation.
2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Spider-Man 2 remains the best live-action Spider-Man movie. Personally, I don’t think it’s that close. Sam Raimi somehow found a way to improve on an already good comic book movie, delivering one of the genre’s all-time greats.
Tobey Maguire’s second outing as Spider-Man takes away what little the character already had, forcing him to reckon with how much he values the lives of strangers at the expense of his own. It’s a movie that doesn’t paint the superhero life as an exciting or desirable one, but one that actually takes sacrifice and character. This is where we get to find out who Peter truly is.
And you can’t have this evolution of Peter without a villain that shows him both the best and worst parts of himself. Alfred Molina’s Otto Octavius is all that, and then some. Raimi gets the chance to show off his spooky chops, using Doc Ock’s tentacles to dive into some twisted body horror sequences that are just as chilling now as they were 20 years ago. It helps that Raimi’s sleek style and visual effects are proving themselves to be timeless.
Spider-Man 2 also deserves a lot of credit for being a thoroughly New York movie. This movie shows us exactly where Spider-Man belongs and who his people are, serving as a direct and very moving response to 9/11.
1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
When I sat down to write this list, I didn’t think for one second that I’d put anything above Spider-Man 2. But Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of those movies that only gets better the more you think about it, and I’ve realized that I think about it all the time.
It’s impossible to overstate just how influential Into the Spider-Verse is, both as an animated film and as a superhero blockbuster. In less than six years we’ve already seen every major animation studio try to create their own version of the eye-popping, comic-inspired visuals of Spider-Verse. The movie changed how the industry approaches and entire medium almost overnight.
The visuals of this movie are impressive no matter what’s actually happening in the story, but the fact that the script and characters are even better than its animation is what’s truly mind-boggling. Miles Morales shines in his long-awaited feature debut. Gwen Stacy is the hero we all want to be. Peter B. Parker is a shining example of what a hero can look like when things don’t actually go their way.
Into the Spider-Verse hits on an emotional level that few (if any) comic book movies can dream of. Each line of dialogue and character beat is so meticulously crafted, all serving the greater story and creating something that makes us feel like we’re actually a part of it. The joyous moments send your spirit soaring. The heartbreaking moments leave you in shambles. Everything about this movie, from top to bottom, is as close to perfect as you can get.
