Now Spider-Man is swinging into theatres for the sixth time, it's time to ask where this latest offering ranks among its predecessors. Here is our ranking of all six Spider-Man movies:
1. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
For now it's still our top Spidey-flick, taking its cue from the "Spider-Man No More" storyline of 1967's Amazing Spider-Man No 50. Tobey Maguire plays a frustrated Peter Parker who decides he'll no longer allow Spider-Man to get in the way of his love for Mary Jane Watson. Harry Osborn discovers that his best friend, Peter, is secretly Spider-Man and, convinced Peter killed his father, Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin, Harry goes down the dark path of becoming a Goblin of his own. Alfred Molina is compelling as classic Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus, and composer Danny Elfman gives us one of the greatest superhero movie scores.
Spider-Man is finally home where he belongs: Marvel Studios. This almost magically feels like a brand new Spider-Man movie, despite being the sixth one. Tom Holland's Peter Parker leads a young cast of high school supporting players. Michael Keaton gives an all-time Spider-villain performance as the Vulture (we shouldn't be surprised, the guy was Batman) and Spider-Man has never looked better, with a suit that's a nod to the Spider-Man art of the 60s and 70s up top with its webbed wings, mixed with some high-tech, Iron Man-like magic. Homecoming takes Spider-Man out of the previous movies' dark shadows and shows it can be fun to be Spidey.
Tom Holland stars as web-slinging superhero in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
3. Spider-Man (2002)
If you have superhero movie fatigue, you can thank the first Spider-Man film. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man was the first superhero movie since 1989's Batman to feel like a worldwide pop-culture event. Perhaps its only flaw was a silly Green Goblin suit - William Dafoe was actually much more menacing outside of it as he went to war with Maguire's Spider-Man while slowly going insane. A classic upside-down kiss with Mary Jane may be this film's most memorable moment, and the web-swinging in New York, when seen for the first time, had a Christopher Reeve/Superman flying for the first time feel to it. Spider-Man feels a little dated in this new era of superhero movies, but is still an undeniable classic.
4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Back in darker times, when we were all convinced Spider-Man would never be a part of Marvel Studios, this was the best we thought we would get from a Spider-Man film post-Sam Raimi. Andrew Garfield was a pretty good Spider-Man and an even better Peter Parker, if for no other reason than he looked as if he was drawn by classic Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley. We get a well-put-together Spider-Man suit influenced by the big-eyed comic-book versions of the 90s, which makes up for how bad all the villains look. Hipster Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) works well as a friend from Peter's past but not as the next Green Goblin. Jamie Foxx's Electro takes on a nerdy, Jim Carrey/Riddler personality that feels too comic book-ish and Paul Giamatti's Rhino isn't even worth mentioning. Not even the chemistry of Garfield and Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy can save the Sony franchise that ended with this instalment. This movie gives us a beautifully executed Stacy death scene, one of the most powerful moments in the history of Spider-Man comics, and it wasn't enough.
Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone star in Columbia Pictures' "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."
5. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Making a movie when you've got a great idea is one thing. Making a movie because you don't want to lose the rights to one of the most popular superheroes ever is another. Raimi and Maguire walking away from Spider-Man 4 gave birth to The Amazing Spider-Man, a good movie that exists because Sony thought it had to, not because fans were clamouring for it. Garfield shows some decent Spidey-potential as a New York accented, joke-cracking version who's likeable but working with a not-so-great Spidey suit and perhaps the least thrilling Spider-Man movie villain ever, Rhys Ifan's Lizard.
6. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
The Spider-Man movie that must not be named. Raimi got a villain and a plot line he was rumoured to have wanted no part of (Venom and his black, alien suit that takes over Spider-Man for a bit) and we're given a Spidey-movie that looks like something no one wanted to make. Once Maguire starts dancing, we know this is not going to be one of the great Spidey-films. The love story of Peter and Mary Jane seems to all but disappear amid drama. Venom, perhaps the most intense, imposing Spider-Man villain of all, is played by someone from That 70s Show.
