The debate over who the best Spider-Man is will last until humanity’s extinction, but for now at least, there’s certainly no denying that Tom Holland‘s iteration of Peter Parker is the most well-traveled Spidey; a distinction that perhaps comes naturally with being the webslinger of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Indeed, beyond his trio of solo outings in the MCU, Holland’s Spider-Man has branched out to Avengers movies, Sony films, and even some video games. Here’s the definitive, chronological list of where Tom Holland has reared his head as everyone’s favorite wallcrawler.
Captain America: Civil War
Tom Holland first donned the webhead mantle in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, where he sided with Tony Stark after the Avengers became divided over the Sokovia Accords. His bumbling, wet-behind-the-ears ethos — while charming — didn’t take long to give way to the weight-of-the-world demeanor we all know the hero for.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Holland’s inaugural solo film followed shortly after his debut, with 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming putting him up against the dangerous arms dealer Adrian Toomes (aka Vulture). He would proceed to get wrapped up in a battle with universe-spanning stakes shortly after; indeed, it was out of the frying pan and into hell itself for Holland’s Spidey.
Avengers: Infinity War
That aforementioned battle, of course, was that of Avengers: Infinity War, where he aided the rest of Earth-199999’s champions in a battle/race against time versus Thanos; the phrase “I don’t feel so good” has never been the same since.
Avengers: Endgame
As if his death wasn’t devastating enough, Holland’s Peter Parker returned in Avengers: Endgame to participate in the final battle against Thanos and his menacing CGI army. The up-and-comer’s last moments with Tony Stark were some of the hardest-hitting moments in a film littered with emotional beats, and proved to be the wallcrawler’s first big wakeup call about what it means to be a superhero.
Spider-Man: Far From Home Virtual Reality Experience
Prior to facing off against Mysterio on the big screen, Holland loaned his voice to the Oculus Rift’s Spider-Man: Far From Home Virtual Reality Experience, where players got to fulfill their wildest Spidey dreams such as scaling skyscrapers, swinging through New York City, battling powerful foes, and feeling the crushing weight of martyrdom every waking hour.
Spider-Man: Far From Home
After his father figure died, Holland’s Spider-Man decided it would probably be a good idea to start pursuing romance, which ended up being his second-largest plight in Spider-Man: Far From Home, where he also wound up contending with the aforementioned Mysterio and the pressure of his encroaching responsibilities as Earth-199999’s Spider-Man.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
To this day, Spider-Man is nowhere to be found in Sony’ Spider-Man Universe, so they borrowed Tom Holland instead. In the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, where Eddie Brock and his subtextual alien husband get beamed to the MCU, the symbiote catches a still of Holland’s Spidey on television, and it appeared suspiciously familiar with the red and blue jumpsuit. Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock has since been sent back to the SSU, but not before a piece of Venom’s symbiote detached itself and began hunting for a new host in the MCU.
Fortnite: Battle Royale
With the cultural event that No Way Home ended up being, it would have been more surprising if Holland didn’t get involved with Fortnite, where he loaned his voice and likeness for the two Spider-Man suits that were part of the game’s Battle Pass for chapter 3, season 1.
Released on Dec. 16, this cameo came slightly after No Way Home‘s world premiere, but slightly before the film’s official release, so we’re putting it just above the MCU’s third-greatest crossover event ever.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
That title, of course, belongs to Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Holland teamed up with fellow webslingers Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to battle an entire legacy’s worth of live-action Spider-Man villains, the tribulations of which definitely didn’t compare to the death of Aunt May, nor the soul-crushing aftermath of being forgotten by everyone he ever loved.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
And after that deeply depressing turn, it’s probably for the best that we end things on the lighter side; Holland’s most recent appearance as Marvel’s premiere babyface was in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, where Miguel O’Hara used Earth-199999 Parker’s grief over Aunt May as a teaching moment for Miles Morales about what it means to be Spider-Man; spoiler alert, Miles wasn’t convinced.
Published: Jun 6, 2023 10:43 am