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Francisco Perez Green

Professor Gardiakos

ENC 1101

16 September 2021

Unit One: Rhetorical Analysis

Have you ever wondered why there were multiple actors playing in spiderman in the

spiderman movies? So far we have seen three actors that have played the spider man roles in

theaters. The first is Tobey Maguire, then Andrew Garfield, and the current spiderman Tom

Holland. Each of these actors performed the role very well and all brought different traits to the

table when acting the role of spiderman. When Tobey Maguire played the role in his movies, it

was very similar to how spiderman was in the comics. Although he was the oldest amongst the

actors he was still able to play the nerdy and timid Peter Parker that we all know and love.

Andrew Garfield respectively has had prior experience in his acting career and it showed in his

spiderman movie. The cast of the Amazing Spider-man said that Garfield acted so well that it felt

like it was real and not acting. His style of spiderman was more comical than the rest by making

jokes at the antagonist in the movie. Tom Holland, the youngest out of the three, has the perfect

age and physique to play the Spiderman role. With Holland’s prior experience as a dancer and

gymnast, he is able to make the landings seem more heroic and allows him to participate in more

stunts. Despite what most fans say about who is the best spiderman, all three actors played their

part very well. While comparing the three actors under their influence and how the rhetorical

strategies used in the film helped shape the actor to be a better spiderman or a bad one.

Before we go in-depth into who is the best spiderman we must talk about the rhetorical

reasonings for what caused these opinions to flourish. Since we are comparing three different
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actors playing spiderman there were also three different interpretations of spiderman. Since the

movies are a bit different, the films all had different rhetorical strategies that were used. We are

going to see how the rhetorical ecology is swayed by the audience because of spiderman being

played by different actors. The canons of rhetoric are also going to be very different since the

screenwriters, directors, and actors are all different. The original spiderman’s story played by

Maguire is very different from Tom Holland’s spiderman. Not only will the ethos, logos, and

pathos be different between the actors but also by the audience. Depending on how they enjoyed

the film, their opinions are the final decision in declaring which spiderman is better. As we can

see, they will be similarities in rhetoric between the actors and their respective movies; but we

will see how the differences create a spiderman that is better than the others.

First, we begin with the original and most iconic Spiderman, Tobey Maguire. Some

examples of Maguire’s performance being so iconic is the Spider-man 2’s “Pizza time” opening

which remains one of the most entertaining superhero movie intros to this day. We see in that

scene that he desperately tries to beat the clock, despite his best efforts he’s a few minutes late

and as the audience we see him accept his fate of being late to his second job. From this scene

we see Peter’s values being challenged since he is trying to live two lives. As the audience, we

feel pathos since we can connect to him emotionally. The audience knows that Peter is always

trying to do the right thing and it is hard to live a double life. The screenwriter and director of the

Spiderman movies with Maguire created a lot of Ethos by creating one of the most iconic

superhero movie intros. With their credibility, they were able to successfully release three

movies with Maguire as Spiderman to continue Peter Parker’s story. Maguire out of the other

two actors seemed to have the best romantic act in the movies since the screenwriters were able

to evolve the story over three films. After Peter longs for MJ throughout the entirety of Spider-
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Man, she finally offers herself to him in the end but he rejects her, choosing to protect her from

his life as Spider-Man(Davis, 2020). We see Spider-man two that Peter’s inability to be

spiderman but also a reliable friend for MJ. Peter eventually gives up being spiderman to be with

her until Doc Ock kidnaps her which eventually MJ finds out about Peter being spiderman. In

Spider-man 3 we see MJ and Peter’s love torn apart again from Harry and Peter’s Hubris(Davis,

2020). The character and romance development throughout the films really highlight Maguire’s

spiderman better than the other romance arcs in the other spiderman films. Through the character

development, we see the Logos behind it. The thought behind delaying the love between MJ and

Peter in the movies is important because the fan’s emotions build up the relationship between MJ

and Peter. We also see aspects of the Canon of Rhetoric. The invention of the ideas that are

created through the spiderman movies created Maguire to continue as an iconic spiderman. The

arrangement and style of the movie create a well-developed story that is delivered to the

audience in a positive way. The delivery makes or breaks a movie, but the memories that were

taken away by spiderman fans after watching the spiderman movies are irreplaceable. By

allowing Maguire’s Peter Parker’s face during the film’s climax connected more towards the

audience because we could see how he was feeling through the fight through his facial

expressions. Maguire’s ability to create a face that shows kairos is amazing because he shows

that the situation is out of his control. As the audience, we create a sense of Mythos and come

together to understand Spiderman’s emotions in difficult situations. This also relates to the

comics because spiderman’s face is seen through his broken masks in the comics when fighting

powerful villains.

Second, we talk about the most experienced actor between all of the spidermen, Andrew

Garfield. He has the most experience because he has performed in other films such as hacksaw
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ridge which was reviews very well by the audience and heavily rated. By Ethos, Garfield has a

lot more credibility than Maguire and Holland. The credibility and outstanding performances

from other films give him an edge when he acted as Spiderman in the Amazing Spiderman. From

this alone, we can tell that Garfield is a stunning actor. When being emotional in spiderman

Garfield swept the floor in this category. “Garfield brings a particular vulnerability to his

performance that allows the audience in on the pain and growth he’s experiencing”(Davis, 2020).

The way Garfield is able to connect with the audience shows his experience and performance as

spiderman is an incredible example of pathos. Not many actors can create a sense of Pathos and

connect with the audience without trying too hard to act the part. He is also able to act in the

most realistic matter. Garfield is able to capture the awkwardness and teenage nerd of Peter

Parker while also nailing the superhero feel and look. Garfield is able to portray Peter’s values

through his acting. He is also able to portray mythos by showing his deepest beliefs. Some of

Peter’s beliefs are to stand up for those who can’t and Garfield does a great job in portraying it.

When watching The Amazing Spiderman, Garfield is able to look like he is living through the life

of Peter Parker instead of pretending to be Peter Parker. The significance of being to act and

making it feel so real is really hard to pull off, but Garfield kills it when he played Peter Parker.

The style that Garfield plays in The Amazing Spiderman is very relatable to the comic because

Spiderman often sarcastically taunts the criminals and brings in humor. The way that The

Amazing Spiderman relates to the comics is a representation of the canons of rhetoric. The idea

of relating the comic in the movie is warming to fans of the spiderman fans. Despite Garfield’s

outstanding performance as Spiderman, he was able to save negative views on the Amazing

Spiderman movie.
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Third, we talk about the youngest and current spiderman, Tom Holland. Although

Holland doesn’t have as much acting experience as Maguire and Garfield, Holland had a

gymnast and dancer background. Since Holland is so young, he is seen as the best to look the

part as Peter Parker. His youthfulness is an example of Ethos because he has the credibility to

play the teenage and socially awkward Peter Parker that superhero fans love. Due to Hallands

Physique, he is able to embody the physical and superhero landings better than the other actors.

This is an example of Logos because of Holland’s background as a dancer and gymnast, it only

makes sense that he would be able to perform flexible feats as spiderman. His age is a major

point of interest to the younger interest because he could connect to them more than Garfield and

Maguire. Holland’s style of playing spiderman makes him very entertaining. As a canon of

rhetoric, Holland’s style to connect to appeal to the younger audience made him a more relatable

actor. Unfortunately, the lack of independence that Holland was portrayed in the movies was

very disappointing. Fans didn’t like the idea of Spiderman following Iron Man’s shadow but

hopefully, in future movies we see Holland grow his character and make his own version of

spiderman that is iconic like Maguire. Holland’s performance of spiderman was positively

viewed and is most people’s choice for the best spiderman because he is the most well-rounded

out of the three because of his background and age(). The delivery of Holland’s spiderman is

well known because of his style and how relatable he is to the audience.

Although all three of these actors are different there are some similarities. For example,

their spiderman suits all had the same colors and pretty much looked the same. Their suits also

created a culture for fans to follow and dress up as spiderman for Halloween or even for show

and tell. Another similarity is that they all had to fight villains in the climax of their films. They

also created a sense of place for the audience who went through the same problems they are
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going through in school. Some examples of similar problems could be living a double life or

being socially awkward in school. The most important trait that all actors had in common is that

they created a memory for the audience to remember and relate to.

Despite their similarities, they all had their differences. While Maguire was the oldest of

the other actors he created the most memorable and iconic moments in superhero history. An

example of this is when he stopped the train in Spiderman 2. Garfield was the second actor to

play spiderman, but he had the most experience going into the role compared to Maguire and

Holland. Holland, on the other hand, is the youngest and less experienced actor. When he first

began playing spiderman he often used to leak out information in future movies. At first, it was a

problem but it eventually became a running joke. All of the actors had different styles. The

difference in their styles, created different memories for the audience to take away after watching

the films. If it weren’t for the fan’s perception of the actor’s rhetoric in the spiderman movies

then there wouldn’t be a debate about who played spiderman the best.

While all the actors did an amazing job, the rhetorical ecology of the movies has been

perceived by fans differently. This is why there is a running debate about who is the best

spiderman. The different views between the audience are important because it shows how

important the actors have influenced the fans through their performance in the Spiderman films.

The purpose of seeing the difference between the spiderman actors is to go through all the points

of view that the audience had perceived the actors as individuals. Through all the rhetorical

strategies that have been debated, it is proven why one spiderman is better than the others. While

the question of “Who is the best Spiderman” is a rhetorical question, the rhetorical strategies and

the audience’s perceptions that have been created because of the films created this question.

Everyone has experienced different and similar experiences, but the way that spiderman has
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connected to the audience is important in choosing which spiderman is their favorite. At the end

of the day, everyone has their opinions and reason for making decisions. But, the main dictators

in making someone feel this way is the rhetorical strategies that are seen throughout each of the

films and through the actor’s performance.

References

Downs, Doug. “Rhetoric: Making Sense of Human Interaction and Meaning-Making” Writing

About Writing, edited by Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs, Bedford/St. Martin’s,

2014, pp. 457-483. Print

Davis, T. (2020, November 29). Which spider-man is best? How each actor excelled at

the role. ScreenRant. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from [Link]

spider-man-is-best/.

Marvel/DC: Comic Movies. (2020). Who Is The Best Spider-Man? - Tobey Maguire vs.

Andrew Garfield vs. Tom Holland. YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved September 17, 2021,

from [Link]

%3AComicMovies.

Simpson, C. (2021, March 8). Cole Simpson. Greenville University Papyrus. Retrieved

September 12, 2021, from [Link]

man/.