Spider-Man: Which Peter Parker Has Suffered The Most Over The Years?

Sony began this path in 2002 with Tobey Maguire and Spider-Man. From there, Sony would add 4 more live-action movies to the Peter Parker Saga with 2 more Maguire movies then another 2 more with Andrew Garfield taking over the mantle as the Amazing Spider-Man. And just when you thought they were done, Marvel came knocking with Tom Holland and a new trilogy and guest appearances.

But with three Peter Parker’s carrying the mantle, it begs the question, which of the three Parker’s have endured the most pain over the years?

With Spider-Man: No Way Home now in theaters, the answer to that question has become clearer. Maguire endured his fair share of pain beginning with the death of Uncle Ben. That was then multiplied with the heartbreak of losing MJ to not only another man whom she was set to marry but MJ also dated Harry Osborn as well. Parker refused to tell MJ the truth and that drove a wedge between them.

The pain of losing Uncle Ben and MJ was tough but he also lost his best friend Harry twice. First, Harry wanted to kill Peter for thinking he killed his father Norman Osborn, and then when Harry fought beside him. Countless fights can never add up to losing the ones close to you. While he did fix things with MJ, the loss of Harry and Uncle Ben was a crushing blow to the once upbeat kid from Queens.

Fast forward to the Garfield-led Spider-Man movies and his hurt mirrored those of Maguire’s. Uncle Ben was lost and while that was crushing in itself, it would be the death of Gwen Stacey that would change Parker forever.

Related: Movies: Who Is The Best Spider-Man?

There was no saving Uncle Ben, but Gwen, there was a chance. Parker was right there but just couldn’t pull it off. He was forced to not only watch Gwen die but to live with the fact that his powers couldn’t save her. How does one regroup after that?

Then we come to the Holland-led movies.

It’s easy to view him as a kid but after watching No Way Home, you realized how far this young Peter Parker has come. There was no Uncle Ben to mourn like the others. For the most part, all he had was Aunt May. But he met Iron Man and his life would never be the same.

He became an Avenger and when this should have been the highlight of his life, it’s been nothing but heartache since. Let’s look at his low moments. Parker died, blipped, vanished, or whatever you want to call it in Avengers: Infinity War. What other Spider-Man can say they vanished for 5 years?

If that was not enough, he comes back only to lose his mentor Iron Man. To add more salt to the wound, he had to watch him take his last breath. Oh wait, there’s more. His identity was no longer a secret which brought on more criticism and troubles than any of the other two had to deal with.

But we’re not done yet. Peter would go on to lose Aunt May as he watched her take her last breath as well. But wait, there’s even more pain. Parker is still a kid with a best friend and girlfriend. However, in order to save everyone, Doctor Strange had to erase everyone’s memory of him. Meaning, Ned and MJ would no longer know who he is. Not just on the Spider-Man front but it’s as if Peter Parker never existed. Well damn, that’s pretty harsh.

While each Peter Parker dealt with some form of an obstacle, it was the Tom Holland version who has dealt with the most pain. Death has hit all three but no other Peter has had to deal with more death than Holland’s Spider-Man.

All he wanted to do was be a kid, that’s gone. He wanted to be an Avenger, that’s gone. He wanted to be a great friend, that’s gone. He wanted to be in love, that’s gone as well. Imagine losing your mentor but still having his close friend (Happy) help guide you and now he doesn’t even know you exist.

Hats off to every Peter Parker who has donned the Spider-Man suit. But if we’re talking pain, then Holland’s version has suffered the most out of the web slingers.

Mark Wilson

Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.