Fans Make It Clear How They Really Feel About Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man
"Spider-Man: No Way Home" managed to speak to multiple generations of fans. Director Jon Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers managed to create a story that gave reason to bring back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their versions of Peter Parker, and critics and audiences responded in almost unanimous positivity (via Rotten Tomatoes). Maguire and Garfield don't just appear as a cameo either — they get quite a lot of screen time alongside Tom Holland's current portrayal of the character. Nearly half of the movie features the two previous Peters assisting Holland's Peter in handling grief, growing up, and sending the villains back to where they belong while also healing them.
Garfield's character in particular receives nice progression and answers to his story as Spider-Man that were sort of left open or unaddressed in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" since the future movies that Sony had planned were canceled (via Collider). His version of Peter empathizes with Holland's Peter, explaining his loss of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and the rage that came with it. He then receives a beautiful redemption by saving MJ (Zendaya) from falling to her death similar to Gwen. Garfield has said this scene specifically helped get him to agree to take on the role of Peter again (via Variety).
All the attention on Garfield and his moments as "Peter 3" have not only started fan support for "The Amazing Spider-Man 3" (via Twitter) but also reignited a conversation about how they feel about his portrayal of Peter Parker overall.
Fans love Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man but feel his movies didn't do him justice
Fans initiated a conversation on the r/Spiderman subreddit about how Spider-Man fanatics feel regarding Andrew Garfield's portrayal of the character. Many responded that they love Garfield's version of Peter Parker and Spider-Man — they just feel that the "Amazing Spider-Man" movies cost the actor. Redditor u/Arvii33 explained, "I love him! I love the suits and the web[-]swinging from his movie and I believe he's an amazing Spider-Man. He was so good and natural, it didn't feel like he was acting. Too bad his script [did] him dirty."
Redditor u/cam52391 also attributed bad writing in the "Amazing Spider-Man" movies to most ill feelings toward Garfield's version of the character. They said, "I was just talking about this with a friend tonight that we've both always loved him and it was really just bad writing that screwed him. I hope we get to see more of him." Redditor u/Dragunslayer276 even noted Garfield would have been a better Spider-Man in the hands of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "I honestly believe Andrew was a great Spider-Man. The writers were not the best but he embodied the character very well. Unpopular opinion but I think Andrew would probably be a better Spider-Man if [M]arvel had him at the time," they said.
It is true that "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"received poor critical reviews (via Rotten Tomatoes), with some, like Comic Book Movie, attributing it to the writing. However, there are rumors that Garfield has signed a new "Spider-Man" deal with Marvel, so fans may get to see him back in action soon enough (via Giant Freakin Robot).