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Whereas in the Sam Raimi films, he’s just a bully with no other characteristics. Which not a bad thing, it fits the movie it was in. However, for me it feels way more removed than Webb’s version of Flash.

Those were the type of kids I went to school with.

Nerds weren’t pocket protector wearing, taped glasses, small little dweebs. They came in all shapes and sizes and some of them looked like Peter Parker.

Or felt like Peter.

Like me.

Never quite fitting in anywhere.

While I was never bullied like he was, I painfully understand how it feels to be in school and feel utterly alone. That no one understands you, because they don’t. Your different in a way you can’t explain and when you try, it actually makes you feel more alone because your friends look at you like you’re crazy.

Until you find one person who doesn’t.

Like Peter finding Gwen.

Or me with another outsider, we didn’t get people or even each other, but it was nice to be around someone who never judged you. They didn’t need to understand me to be my friend or vice versa.

This version of Peter struggles as an outsider, not as a nerd. Because as Hardison of Leverage would say, ‘Age of the geek, baby.’

Nerds are no longer the outcasts they once were. Brains don’t separate you like they used to. Those stereotypes are just that now. A lingering thing we see in movies, but not in real life.

Or at least, not in my schools.

I loved that about Andrew’s portrayal. I also loved how truly alone he felt during a portion of the movie. He has no one to talk to about his problems until Gwen pursues him. She notices and understands him.

Something I wanted at the time.

Something I didn’t find in high school, but years later with friends I found at work. People who got me like no one else ever had and I had a newfound appreciation for Gwen’s role in the movie. Her ability to connect with Peter Parker. To understand him. To see his pain and be there for him.

I loved that.

This movie is one I’ve gone back to as life evolved for me.

Getting my first job after struggling to make ends meet. How much I needed to see Peter getting up even when it felt impossibly hard. I’m not sure why this version resonated with me more because Tobey’s version suffers a lot of money issues as well.

Visibly more than Andrew’s.

I think – maybe – it’s because even when things are at their worst, he keeps trying.

He doesn’t run from his mistakes. He owns them, painfully so. He gets embarrassed by not having enough money. Angry at the world for taking his uncle. He’s human through every moment.

I went back to this movie after losing my Nana who I grew up with.

How painful it was. How horrible it was to deal with life after she was gone. That the world carried on while you were in pain.

Tobey’s version hits on it and then moves to the next story beat pretty quickly with a few moments scattered in for their grief. Uncle Ben’s loss is felt throughout The Amazing Spider-Man. Informing Peter’s initial actions as Spider-Man until he realized that he could do more good helping people than hunting down his uncle’s killer.

For me, I always wondered when you lost someone, how do you smile again?

Andrew’s portrayal was a fine moment to how it sucks even when life moves forward. Back to school. To work. Living in a new dynamic at home because things are permanently different now. His aunt sleeps on the couch. He’s supposed to pick up the eggs but keeps forgetting.

Maybe it wasn’t his responsibility before.

Things changed without Uncle Ben.

Maybe he eats more take-out. Maybe he’s home alone more often because his aunt is working extra to provide for both of them now.

It creeps into everything when someone is lost.

I love that even as Andrew’s Peter starts to move on, grief remains. Because even as you smile and laugh and joke and feel more like yourself, the grief is part of you.

Even without having lost someone to inform his performance, I loved this detail. Because we always have characters who lose someone and the next scene, they’re fine or they’re never fine again. Neither of those are real.

Grief follows you. You just learn to live with it.

In times of struggle for me, I return to this movie more often than not. As a reminder to always keep trying. Maybe you won’t get it right on the first try or the second. But doing your best every time is more important than sitting still.

On a less heavy note, I loved his quips in this movie.

Tobey is funny, but Andrew is way funnier.

Also, I can’t talk about Tom Holland in any shape or fashion. I have seen all his movies in the MCU, yet they’ve been so forgettable to me, that I can’t speak to them in any degree. On the other hand, I have the other two’s movies completely memorized.

“You found my weakness, it’s small knives.”

“I’m swinging here, I’m swinging here!”

“Uh oh, someone’s been a bad lizard.”

Even though this is not a quip, he delivered it so dryly that it still makes me laugh. “I’m going to throw you out the window now.”

Combined with Emma’s little confused, “What?”

Perfection.

His physical comedy gets me too. The entire bathroom scene after getting his powers and the fight scene are just absolutely amazing.

The toothpaste on the mirror. His confusion about the toothpaste and then just sort of rolling with it. Then all hell breaks loose as the situation spirals beyond his control.

The little details make the movie. His gentle turning of the knob after breaking one doorknob. Him sitting on his bed holding the unused toothbrush and the broken doorknob. His face of complete panic and trying to tamp down the freak-out as his computer keys stick to his fingers.

The whole subway scene as he has no idea how on Earth he’s managed to take out like four guys with minimal effort.

His absolute embarrassment at ripping off the woman’s shirt as he turns away freaked beyond all reason. His face when he sticks to the ceiling.

I love that his Peter is perfect at anything right away.

Even though he manages to kick their asses on the subway, his gets stuck on the bar, and ends up breaking it because he flipped over it wrong. He still crashes out on his skateboard. He wrecks the tables trying his web shooters for the first time.

His web shooters blow up in his face.

He learns from his mistakes. Researches, improves, and evolves as he goes. His mission evolves with him as well.

The tiny details that Andrew adds to the character are added with the same kind of love that built Marvel’s Spider-Man video game from Insomniac.

The only negative I really have is that we didn’t really get enough of his version. Even with a second movie, he almost feels sidelined to set-up other things rather than have his own movie. Andrew certainly did not get enough time to shine as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and I think that is a shame.

Andrew captured the playfulness of Peter with the mask on, and the pain Peter feels about his parents and the loss of his uncle. The absolute humor in his newfound powers. The innocence of falling in love for the first time. His use of his brain to make his suit and web shooters, not to mention to save the day. He knew where the antidote was to have Gwen make it.

His willingness to sacrifice himself for others.

To reveal who he is, if saving someone’s life is more important than keeping his secret.

Such as revealing it to Jack or to Captain Stacy to save Gwen.

These little moments add so many layers to his character. He’s still a teenager trying to figure out what the right thing is. He’s going to get it wrong. He’s going to be angry and let it get the best of him from time to time. He’s going to let love blind him to all reason. He’ll make stupid promises he shouldn’t. He breaks promises he knows he can’t keep. He makes mistakes and he tries to correct them the best he can.

He’s as human and flawed as I am.

He’s a flawed person that I related to as a teen, a young adult, and even now as a 30 something year old because Peter Parker is timeless.

His flaws and his everyman personality make him understandable to all people. Which is why Tobey’s performance might speak to you better than Andrew’s or Tom’s. Why the 90s animated series might be your favorite or Spectacular Spider-Man.

Every version of Peter is a little different, but ultimately an ordinary guy given extraordinary gifts trying to navigate life and all its problems.

When I struggle this is the character I turn to, because I feel less alone when I watch Peter Parker.

When I need hope, I watch Superman because he reminds me that every day we strive for a better tomorrow.

But Peter reminds me of why we strive for that tomorrow today, because today is trying to beat me. Today is hard and painful, but I can keep going. I will keep going. Just like Peter.

I think that’s something we all need to remember. Surviving every day is a win. Especially in the world today.

Thanks for reading! See you next Sunday!

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