Since 2002, we’ve been treated to a whopping seven feature films starring Spider-Man. And that doesn’t include the wall crawler’s three appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe outside of his solo movies. While most of them were well received by critics, fans kind of have a love/hate relationship with them.
That’s because the movies all have made us cheer and yet somehow also feature some of the most groan-inducing moments in comic book movie history. To qualify for this list of instances, the moment has to be from a solo Spider-Man movie. That means none of his great moments from Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame are included.
Loved: Spider Gathering
2018’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse took over the crown as the best Spider-Man film in history for most moviegoers. Many praised the way they managed to introduce and balance so many iterations of Spider-Man. At this point in the movie, we already know Miles Morales, Peter B. Parker, and Gwen Stacy as Spider-Gwen.
The trio head over to Aunt May’s house where they meet three other “spider people.” There’s Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham, and Penny Parker. All three characters are fantastic on their own, but getting to see them alongside the rest of the gang is something comic book fans couldn’t help but gush over.
Didn’t Like: Air Spidey
There’s no shortage of cheesy moments in the first Spider-Man movies, but this might take the cake. In The Amazing Spider-Man, shortly after Peter gets his powers, he wants some fun revenge on Flash Tompson. To do this, he uses his new agility and quickness to embarrass him on the basketball court.
On its own, that is pretty lame. But then they make it so much worse. To cap it all off, Peter goes and does one of the most absurd looking dunks you can imagine. It is corny as hell and makes no sense. People would question how a human being can jump that far and when a superhero starts pulling off stunts like that in public, Peter would be a prime suspect.
Loved: Gwen’s Death
It sounds mean to say that we loved the death of Gwen Stacy. When we say that, it’s because we appreciated how well this scene was done. One of the best aspects about the Andrew Garfield led The Amazing Spider-Man reboot was the casting of Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. She helped popularize the character for modern audiences.
Sadly, when Gwen Stacy is concerned, the character’s end has to be tragic. Watching The Amazing Spider-Man 2, you’re all but waiting for her death to come. Marc Webb did a wonderful job directing the scene. She falls in slow motion as Peter frantically tries to save her. His web reaching out like a hand was emotional and just when you think he saves her, she hits the ground and her back snaps. It’s hauntingly beautiful.
Didn’t Like: Chasing Rhino
An early scene in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 sees our hero chasing down the future Rhino as he drives into and destroys other cars and pedestrians. Peter catches up to him pretty quickly, but instead of stopping him, he tells jokes and generally messes around for a few minutes.
Understandably, this reboot wanted to make Spidey more of a sassy quipster but this was the wrong time to do it. As he wastes time being funny, innocent people are dying. Peter shows no regard for any of the civilians in danger because he wants to have a laugh. Spidey should be funny, but he needs to care about being a hero too. Also worth mentioning is the second fight against Rhino right at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, after the film rushes through Peter’s grief over Gwen’s death.
Loved: Upside Down Kiss
The original Sam Raimi trilogy was held in high esteem by most fans, but it certainly had problems. One thing that never worked for a lot of fans was the chemistry between Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst as Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. However, for one magical moment, it all came together.
Spider-Man saves Mary Jane from a bunch of muggers in a dark alley. He does it without his mask, so when she goes to thank him, he runs away. Peter returns with his mask by dangling upside down in front of her. Mary Jane pulls his mask halfway up and plants a kiss on him, never seeing his face. It’s the most iconic moment from the series and the best thing we ever got from these two characters.
Didn’t Like: Hidden Subway Station
Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man movies are taking quite the hit here. In the second installment, we’re treated to a terrible scene that makes no sense. Fresh off a fierce battle with Electro and a fight with Gwen, Peter randomly decides to search for answers about his father at the most inopportune time. What does he find? A bunch of old subway tokens hidden in a calculator.
That already is illogical. But when Peter uses the tokens at an abandoned subway station and a train literally comes out of the floor, it crosses over into awful territory. All of this was done to see a video of Peter’s dad admitting to creating the radioactive spider, which we already knew, making this whole thing a stupid waste of time.
Loved: Trapped
There are several scenes from Spider-Man: Homecoming that could’ve made this list, including the battle on the ferry and the Washington Monument rescue. But the highlight had to be the incredible homage paid to a famous comic book moment from The Amazing Spider-Man #33.
At his lowest point, Peter is trapped by the Vulture under a massive amount of rubble. Earlier, Peter suggested that he was nothing without Tony Stark’s suit, to which the creator replied that Parker didn’t deserve it if that was the case. Peter thinks about that and musters up all of his strength to lift the rubble and rise to his feet, proving he’s a hero on his own. It’s an uplifting scene that is the best for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man so far. For a somewhat similar moment, Spider-Man 2’s train scene deserves an honorary mention.
Didn’t Like: The Butler
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 was met with plenty of criticism when it came out. It tried to juggle too many plotlines and things got muddled. One storyline followed Harry Osborn’s quest for revenge against Peter for killing his father. They battle it out and Harry ends up scarred from the fight.
Peter comes to him for help but gets rejected near the end of the movie. That’s when the family butler makes the most random of appearances to tell Harry that his dad accidentally killed himself with his glider, so he should forgive Peter. How does the butler know this? More importantly, why did he wait for two whole movies to tell Harry? It’s a huge mess.
Loved: Leap Of Faith
Miles Morales’s internal struggle is a central conflict in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. He is unsure of himself and gets told by Peter B. Parker that nobody knows when they’re ready to be a hero because it’s a leap of faith. As the other spider heroes go out to save the day, Miles is left behind because he is not ready.
Miles steps up to be Spider-Man. He gets a suit from Aunt May, spray paints it to his liking and climbs a tall building. He does a literal leap of faith in his new duds. The shot is gorgeous as we see him falling, but the upside-down camera angle makes it look like he’s going upwards. It’s his ascension to Spider-Man and it’s glorious.
Didn’t Like: Emo Peter
A Spider-Man 3 moment so infamous that it was parodied in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Peter gets taken over by the symbiote, but it doesn’t turn him bad or make him do anything evil. It just oddly turns him emo. He wears his hair differently, sports eyeliner, and becomes more arrogant.
Peter’s dancing is the real culprit in this scene. First, he shows off some terrible moves on the street that are laughable. But then he takes it up a notch by bringing Gwen Stacy on a date to where Mary Jane was performing. He goes up on stage and starts a dance number that somehow ends up in a fight with security where MJ gets hit. It is the epitome of bad Spider-Man moments.
