#1 Spider-Man: Homecoming is the MCU’s first stand-alone movie for Marvel Comics’s most popular character. He made his scintillating debut in Captain America: Civil War, after a few years mired in the mediocrity that was Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man franchise.
The only knock that I have against Homecoming is the “Iron Man, Jr.” dynamic between Peter Parker and his mentor Tony Stark/Iron Man. Despite this knock, the film otherwise rocks. It splendidly captures the coming of age story of the young Parker– going through a “Ferris Bueler-like” high school journey filled with budding romance, brooding bad guys, and teenage insecurity/self-doubt.
It’s my favorite Spider-Man film.
#2 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: A case can be made that it is the greatest Spider-Man movie of all-time. I prefer the live-action format over the animated one. This fact is one of the reasons that this isn’t my top selection.
However, between its unique animation, the “true-to-the-comics” characters, and one of the hippest, coolest superhero movie theme songs–Sunflower, “Into the Spider-Verse” may go down as the most memorable Spider-Man movie. Thank you Miles Morales!
#3 Spider-Man 2 is getting lost in the shuffle when I rap with my buddies about the greatest superhero movies ever. But not to me.
When it came out in 2004, it raised superhero storytelling to heights that we hadn’t seen since the Superman franchise in the 1980s. Who can forget Peter Parker’s identity crisis? He is juggling becoming a young man and a superhero at the same time. The villain, Doctor Octopus, is excellent and multidimensional.
But the thing that will always resonate with me about this film is arguably the greatest comic book movie quote of all time, when Peter Parker proclaims,
This quote summarizes the number three Spidey movie on my list, but it is also resonates throughout all Spider-Man movies to-date.
