How To Watch Every Spider-Man Movie In Order

Directed by Sam Raimi, Spider-Man came two years after superhero movies officially broke onto the big screen with X-Men (2000). Rather than lean on darker themes, Raimi allowed Tobey Maguire to embody a classic version of Peter Parker in a colorful, eccentric world.

There's so much to love about this film, from its classic quality, cultural impact, and, of course, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin. Even several decades later, it's one of the greatest Spider-Man movies of all time, and has some of the character's most memorable moments—including the upside-down kiss scene with Mary Jane, J.K. Simmons's perfect portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson, and a comic-book-accurate retelling of Uncle Ben's fate.

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man is a feat for superhero films and special effects, and remains a great film every superhero fan must see at least once.

Although Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie set a very high bar, Spider-Man 2 completely lives up to its predecessor's quality. The movie, which sees Tobey Maguire return as Peter Parker, is hailed as one of the best superhero sequels ever made—and with good reason.

Spider-Man 2 adds to what came before, expanding on Peter's arc, his abilities as Spider-Man, and his struggles with life and love. The thing Spidey fans remember most from this film, though, is Alfred Molina's portrayal of Doc Ock, a performance so great that another version of the character has never been attempted in live action since.

With some of the most brilliant fight sequences of any Spider-Man movie (particularly the iconic train scene) and unforgettable performances from new and returning actors, Spider-Man 2 is a perfect sequel.

The last film of the Raimi era, Spider-Man 3, has a plethora of villains for Peter Parker to deal with throughout the movie, including Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), a bitter Harry Osborn (James Franco), as well as the symbiote and Venom (Topher Grace).

While Raimi's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 were both critical and commercial hits, this movie wasn't as well-received. At the time of release, it was heavily criticized for adding too many villains and storylines to one movie. While this is hard to disagree with, the movie also has a charm of its own—becoming easily the most memed Spider-Man movie of all time.

Despite so much going on, the movie never loses the spirit of what made the franchise great in the first place. For all of the narrative missteps, the spirit of the character is kept alive. It did, however, mark the end of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man tenure.

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 never got off the ground, so the Spider-Man franchise was completely rebooted with Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. While the previous trilogy mostly took place after his high school years, The Amazing Spider-Man centers on Peter's high school days once again. It shows Peter as an awkward teen, with a heavy focus on his interest in science. The movie also introduces fans to another classic villain, The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), for the first time in live action.

Andrew Garfield's run as Spider-Man is often the criticized, but The Amazing Spider-Man actually accomplished a lot more than it gets credit for. For example, this version of Spidey cracks jokes in a way that's closer to the comic book source material, and Peter even has mechanical web-shooters. The movie also has some amazing web-swinging sequences you won't want to miss, and Emma Stone shines as Peter's love interest, Gwen Stacy.

Andrew Garfield's take on Spider-Man was successful enough to warrant a sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2—which sees Emma Stone return as Gwen, and Jamie Foxx take on the villainous role of Electro.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a divisive movie. Like Spider-Man 3, it was overstuffed with villains, with a line-up that included Electro, New Goblin (Dane DeHaan), and a small appearance from Rhino (Paul Giamatti). In addition to all of this, there's a fairly convoluted arc tied to Peter's past. That said, for all of The Amazing Spider-Man 2's missteps, it did a lot right. It features one of the best Spider-Man suits from any Spider-Man movie, a few more memorable web-swinging scenes, and a perfect interpretation of a famous Gwen Stacy storyline fans will never forget.

Ultimately, this turned out to be Andrew Garfield's final movie as Peter Parker in a leading role.

Before this point, Sony's control of the rights to make Spider-Man movies meant that the character had nothing to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But after a historic deal between Sony and Marvel Studios, the two studios devised a plan to introduce a brand new Spider-Man into the MCU.

Captain America: Civil War (2016) is the first appearance of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in the MCU. He is introduced as a teenager who already has abilities, bypassing his origin story and diving straight into his web-slinging teenage years. While he's only a relatively small player in Civil War, the movie does outline how he's recruited by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who fits him with a new suit.

Civil War doesn't feature too much of Tom Holland's Spider-Man, but when he appears, he's thrown into the deep end. It's a great introduction and a perfect way to see how he's different from past iterations, so I recommend watching it before Spider-Man: Homecoming.

After a brief appearance in Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming marks the character's first solo adventure in the MCU. While we've seen Peter in high school before, this film makes sure we get the full experience, and it's great.

The movie has a completely different tone to previous Spider-Man movies, with influences from John Hughes movies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) and Sixteen Candles (1984). Facing down a villain like the Vulture (Michael Keaton) while trying to make a name for himself makes this Spider-Man incredibly unique because even if he's close to Iron Man, it doesn't mean life is easier.

Homecoming is the start of an ongoing journey, and it's a fun beginning for Tom Holland's Peter Parker that stands out for its levity, humor and likable characters.

In stark contrast to the street-level stakes seen in Homecoming, Spider-Man's next MCU appearance sees him take on an Avengers-level threat (and go to space) in Avengers: Infinity War.

When Thanos finally begins his plan to get all of the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man shows up to aid Iron Man and Doctor Strange against the Black Order. This eventually sees him get the Iron Spider suit—which we briefly see at the end of Homecoming.

Spider-Man bravely takes on Thanos in the movie, but his biggest moment comes shortly after. It's a huge spoiler, but it might still be Tom Holland's greatest and most emotional scene as Spider-Man to date.

Although he's not part of the main ensemble, Spider-Man appears once again in Avengers: Endgame. You might not get as much web-slinging in the movie, but it's an essential watch to see how The Infinity Saga concludes—and how Peter Parker returns to help fight Thanos.

This film might not be a classic Spider-Man story, but it informs all of the Spider-Man movies in the MCU released after it.

Spider-Man: Far From Home continues Peter's MCU journey, as he deals with the traumatic events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. It begins as Peter and his friends prepare for a school trip across Europe, which also doubles up as Spider-Man's first ever international mission on the big screen. He is contacted by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and meets a new character known as Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Taking place very far from New York, Far From Home feels less like a Spider-Man movie than other instalments, but it still features plenty of moments that are important milestones for Peter Parker. We finally see his spider-sense in action, and Mysterio is perfectly played by Gyllenhaal. It's also interesting to see Spidey's powers used across famous cities that aren't known for their skyscrapers. By far the best part, however, is how the story sets up the final movie in Spider-Man's first MCU trilogy.