10 Best Pre-MCU Superhero Films

All respect to Tom Holland, but to some of us, Tobey Maguire just is Spider-Man and this film is the reason why.

The original (and best) cinematic offering of the Web-slinger's origin story, Sam Raimi's take on Spider-Man gave us, amongst other things, Willem Dafoe's sneering Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson, and of course Maguire's Peter Parker; all of them believable and sincere renditions, whilst still allowing room for some juicy comic book extravagance (especially thanks to Dafoe). Plus, we got Bruce Campbell and 'Macho Man' Randy Savage cameos - an element sorely missing from other Holland or Garfield's Spidey outings. That and J.K. Simmons' J. Jonah Jameson, which could very well be the standout performance amongst stiff competition.

There are only a few films that have legitimate claims to having changed the industry itself, but Spider-Man is one of them. It is the film responsible for the BBFC's creation of the '12A' certificate, allowing children under 12 to see the film when accompanied by an adult. You can thank your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man for that.