With Spider-Man: No Way Home — The More Fun Stuff bringing more Spider-Man to movie screens once again, it's only right to reminisce on past Spider-Man iterations, especially Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker.
As the first major appearance of Spider-Man in live-action films, Maguire established his place in the hearts of many Spidey fans as the ultimate Peter Parker. Yet as beloved as these films are, They have their cringe-worthy moments. Some moments were always cringey but fans love them for it. Other moments have become more cringey over time because of how dated they seem 20 years later.
“Go, Web, Go!"
Spider-Man (2002)
After shooting webs in the school cafeteria and launching a lunch tray at Flash Thompson, Peter realizes he needs to gain control of when he shoots webs because he can’t allow things like that to continue happening.
Setting high stakes for himself, Peter jumps across rooftops before deciding he wants to shoot a web and swing across the gap between buildings. Peter tries a stream of catchphrases — Go, web! Shazam! Tally-ho! — to make more webs come out of his wrist, but to no avail. While this is a beloved scene, watching it inspires a lot of second-hand embarrassment among viewers.
"Pizza Time!"
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
While Spider-Man 2 has one of the best superhero movie endings, it also has one of the most iconic beginnings. In part, the beginning has become everything it has because of how awkward it is to watch Peter Parker try to deliver a pizza on time only to culminate in him showing up late, saying “Pizza Time!” Everything about this phrase leaves the audience laughing and embarrassed for Peter as his job forces him to say it, and his face tries to sell it as much as possible, but he just can’t.
The Early 2000s Style Of Film Bullying
Spider-Man (2002)
As one of the best movies turning 20 in 2022, Spider-Man has a lot of aspects that continue to hold up. However, one of the things that don’t hold up as well as other parts of the movie is the way other students bully Peter throughout his time in high school. One part that feels played out after all these years is Peter chasing after the bus multiple times. Once he makes it on the bus, every other student sneers while he searches for a seat. These interactions feel too exaggerated and typical for films of the time period.
MJ Recreating Her Spider-Man Kiss With Her Fiancé
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
In one of the more uncomfortable scenes to watch, Mary Jane tries to sort out her feelings for Peter by recreating her Spider-Man kiss from the alley in the first film with her current fiancé. The audience having to witness MJ in real-time compare her current fiancé to Peter and Spider-Man is not a fun experience.
Asking Jon to lie on the couch, Mary Jane kisses him over the arm of the couch, trying to find the spark she felt with Spider-Man. Knowing how important this kiss was to Mary Jane, especially given her negative response to Spider-Man and Gwen Stacey’s kiss in Spider-Man 3, it’s tough to watch this kiss with her fiancé.
The Attempted Proposal
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
The Sam Raimi trilogy introduced some of the best love interests depicted in Marvel movies, and one of the most awkward scenes to watch is the dinner where Peter wants to propose to Mary Jane.
However, MJ walks away from the table after meeting Gwen before Peter can pop the question. All of this culminates in something so horribly embarrassing to watch as it’s revealed he planned to propose to her with the song she just got fired from singing on Broadway. This was a disaster that the audience wanted to stop watching but couldn’t.
Harry Hates MJ's Outfit To Meet His Father
Spider-Man (2002)
In one of the worst moments of MJ and Harry’s relationship, she’s criticized for wearing a red dress to meet his father, one of the richest villains in the MCU. Harry insists MJ should have worn black because she knew that would be more impressive to his dad. His need to control MJ’s outfit was highly uncomfortable for the audience. Even worse, this argument sticks with MJ as she spends the rest of the series wearing black dresses at major moments of her relationships, like Thanksgiving, her engagement with John, and the dinner Peter wanted to propose at.
“I’m Gonna Put Some Dirt In Your Eye.”
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
One of the best Tobey Maguire Spider-Man quotes can be considered such because of how ridiculous it sounds and how it’s delivered so matter-of-factly. Peter can’t help but threaten aloud to himself that he’s going to put dirt in Eddie Brock’s eye after he discovers Eddie stole Peter’s photo and edited it for the front page of the Daily Bugle. This quote elicits at least a small chuckle from the audience, and with Peter’s new threatening and aggressive aura thanks to the symbiote, it’s even more awkward that the biggest threat he can make is throwing dirt.
“My Spider-Sense Is Tingling, If You Know What [I Mean].”
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Before Venom became one of the best characters from Sony’s Spider-Man universe, Topher Grace brought Eddie Brock to life in Spider-Man 3. In the huge final battle of the movie, Venom grabs Mary Jane and antagonizes Spider-Man by making this inappropriate reference and hand gesture to go along with it. Eddie feels way too proud of himself for his innuendo, making this one of the moments it’s most difficult to look at the screen while watching the entire movie. The way Eddie talked about Mary Jane on top of the gesture he made was too far.
Evil Peter Dancing Down The Street
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
One moment that was hard to watch in 2007 and still creates that same feeling in the audience is when Peter starts feeling himself after interacting with the symbiote and dances down the street for all ersby to witness.
The scene is supposed to elicit a large amount of secondhand embarrassment. This is difficult to watch between the repeated finger guns at women walking past and the hip thrusts on the sidewalk. These feelings are heightened in the audience as they see others in the scene responding the same way they are.
“Now Dig On This,” aka The Jazz Club Scene
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Inspiring the audience to physically turn their eyes away from the screen while watching the movie, this scene is the most difficult to watch as Peter takes Gwen on a date to the jazz club Mary Jane works at. As if the date’s circumstances weren’t bad enough, Peter whispers to Gwen, “Now dig on this,” before taking the stage, interrupting MJ. By dancing with Gwen in front of the entire club, Peter uses Gwen to get closer to MJ. With the entire audience’s attention on him instead of MJ, this scene creates secondhand embarrassment like no other.
