Best Spider-Man Movies and Big-Screen Appearances

Marvel places Peter in a recognizably awkward high-school comedy and keeps the stakes close to Queens. Michael Keaton's Vulture connects the villainy to class resentment rather than another world-ending plot.

Peter's school trip becomes a fight over Tony Stark's technology and legacy. Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio gives the film clever illusion sequences even when the franchise machinery crowds the story.

Miles Morales gets a complete coming-of-age story inside an animated film that rewrites the visual grammar of superhero movies. The comic-book textures and elastic movement still look genuinely new.

Peter Parker loses his powers while trying to balance work, love and responsibility. Sam Raimi gives the action real scale, but the ordinary pressures are why it remains the best live-action entry.

The sequel expands the animation into several distinct visual worlds and makes each Spider-person's style part of the storytelling. Its cliffhanger frustrates, but the craft and character work are extraordinary.

Tom Holland's Peter faces the consequences of exposing his identity and asks Doctor Strange to repair the damage. The multiverse casting works because the film gives each returning Spider-Man an emotional function.

Raimi treats Peter's origin with comic-book sincerity, from the wrestling match to the upside-down kiss. Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin gives the bright, earnest film a genuinely threatening antagonist.

Tom Holland enters the Marvel universe through one economical airport sequence. His nervous jokes, physical confidence and immediate chemistry with the older heroes establish the character faster than another origin story.

Peter joins the fight against Thanos and ends up stranded in space. His enthusiasm turns to fear in a few scenes, giving the enormous crossover one of its most human losses.

Destin Daniel Cretton brings Peter back to street-level problems after the multiverse films. The smaller scale and renewed focus on daily responsibility are exactly what the character needed.