“Who Are You, Masked Mystery Man?”
Whether it’s the world-building or characterization, no Spider-Man movie series thus far can claim fidelity to any sole run. As stated earlier, Tobey Maguire’s portrayal hews closely to many traditional Spidey tales. However, in a break from comic book lore, this Peter is more insecure, doesn’t quip and rarely applies his scientific acumen practically, such as in the creation of synthetic webbing, since his is organic.
Conversely, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man retains the comic book garrulousness of both his Ultimate and classic counterparts. Peter additionally demonstrates his intelligence through his manufacturing of artificial webbing, along with his manipulation of Stark tech. But on the flip side of this, the guilt of Uncle Ben’s death, and Pete’s inner conflicts and heartaches haven’t been as detailed (so far) and thus, people aren’t happy.
It’s clear that the filmmakers learned from the lessons of Marc Webb’s series. All of the trailers promised an “untold story,” but Webb’s pics retread much of the same ground as Raimi’s trilogy, such as Uncle Ben’s tragic lesson. As such, they were lambasted upon release.
Again, audiences crave a “complete” cinematic version of our favorite web-slinger, but it’s unlikely that it’ll ever occur. In this way, the MCU’s Spider-Man gains a lot of criticism for its deviating depiction of Peter Parker. But the filmmakers had to make these changes to Homecoming so that it differed from what came before. It was at a disadvantage before production even started.