Every ‘Spider-Man’ Movie Couple, Ranked
Spider-Man may be all about the action, but we keep coming back for the romance. We’ve seen versions of Peter Parker fall in love with various love interests over the years, from the classic Mary Jane Watson to Gwen Stacy. Heck, we’ve seen MJ have relationships with quite a few people other than Spider-Man, thanks to the Sam Raimi movies.
Sony’s latest take on the superhero movies isn’t without romance, either. Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker has an epic love story with Zendaya‘s MJ, and the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day will see it take a tragic turn. Peter has to watch MJ get a new boyfriend (Eman Esfandi) after her memories of Peter were erased in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
It’s a deliciously romantic premise, sad as it is. It got us thinking about all of the romances we’ve seen in Spider-Man movies so far over the years, from Raimi’s trilogy to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Not all Spider-Man couples are created equal, obviously, so we’ve ranked them by the actors’ chemistry and how romantic their storylines are. Scroll to find out where all 10 relationships fall, and tell us if you agree with our order in the comments!
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, In Theaters, July 31
10. MJ Watson & Harry Osborn, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man universe
Let’s face it: The Sam Raimi movies have a lot to offer, but they don’t really deliver on the romance front. Before we get into the MJ (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Tobey Maguire) relationship, we have to delve into the many fleeting relationships the series (unnecessarily) gives MJ. She starts the movies by dating Harry Osborn (James Franco), and they’re both never really in it for the right reasons. Admittedly, it makes sense, because they simply aren’t meant to be. Even though Harry gets his redemption arc with his death in Spider-Man 3, which is fueled by his feelings for MJ, it’s just too messy and toxic for us to ever get behind. Harry’s just another tool to keep MJ and Peter apart.
9. Peter Parker & Gwen Stacy, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man universe
Another fleeting relationship that isn’t given much development is Peter and Gwen’s (Bryce Dallas Howard) in Spider-Man 3. To be fair, Peter is infected by the evil alien symbiote Venom, so when he asks Gwen — who he meets as his lab partner at college — on a date to the jazz bar where MJ works, it’s solely for petty purposes. Their spot on the list is no fault of Gwen’s: She’s actually a decent character. She calls Peter out and apologizes to MJ and ends whatever was going on between her and Peter. (Not before Peter’s horrible dance, unfortunately.) It hardly qualifies as a romance, but because we like Gwen, we won’t put them last.
8. Liz Allan & Peter Parker, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man: Homecoming
The more recent Sony Spider-Man movies aren’t without their stepping stone love interests. Holland’s Peter is crushing on Liz (Laura Harrier) when we meet him in Spider-Man: Homecoming. She’s bland, likable enough, and fairly harmless throughout the movie, and the pre-Homecoming dance reveal that her father is the villainous Vulture will never fail to gag us. (Let’s be real, that’s her entire purpose in the movie.) After her dad’s arrest, Liz leaves town before anything can really happen between her and Peter. However, we learn in Spider-Man: No Way Home that Liz actually sucks. Once Peter’s identity is revealed, Liz is interviewed by a magazine and calls Peter a liar. For that, we can’t put her any higher on the list.
7. MJ Watson & John Jameson, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man universe
We weren’t kidding about those fleeting love interests. When she gets fed up with Peter distancing himself from her, MJ quickly moves on with astronaut John Jameson (Daniel Gillies) for some needed stability. He, too, is purely a plot device to keep them apart in Spider-Man 2. She leaves the poor guy at the altar because she’s still in love with Peter (obviously) by the end of the movie. So, they’re another not-quite romance, but John is a hot astronaut and a total catch. For that, they shouldn’t come in dead last, despite MJ doing him dirty.
6. Happy Hogan & May Parker, Spider-Man: No Way Home
Do Happy (Jon Favreau) and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) qualify as a romance? Not really, but they’re sweet and funny enough before things take a tragic turn. Spider-Man: Far From Home gives them a flirty, unserious dynamic, and it becomes clear that Happy’s feelings for May are much deeper than hers are for him. Hence May (iconically and hilariously) breaking it off in the first moments of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Still, Happy’s devastation in the wake of May’s death later in the movie is heartbreaking. We wish we got to see more of them than we did, though we understand why we didn’t. It would have felt a little distracting from the plot. The middle of the pack is a solid spot for them.
5. MJ Watson & Peter Parker, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man universe
Honestly, we debated putting MJ and Peter of the Raimi-verse lower. As you can probably tell based on the amount of love interests they went through before they could finally be together, they’re not exactly a picture of a healthy relationship across the trilogy. We understand putting obstacles in the way to drive the plot forward, but they face so many that it has us questioning if they even should’ve been together at all. However, they have enough chemistry and enough iconic moments — upside down kiss, anyone? — that we can give them a little leeway.
4. MJ Watson & Peter Parker, Sony’s Spider-Man universe
Sony’s Spider-Man universe takes a big swing with MJ — known as Michelle Jones here — by holding out on revealing her identity. It’s a great plot twist when it happens at the end of the first movie. She doesn’t have much to do with Peter until then, but their romance becomes sweet enough in Spider-Man: Far From Home... But their romance feels a little bit like a rushed afterthought. Admittedly, their chemistry is on point (which may be helped by the fact that Holland and Zendaya are married in real life). And the rushed-ness of it all doesn’t make it any less devastating when MJ has to forget her entire history with Peter in the third movie. Still, we can’t put them any higher than #4.
3. Miles Morales & Gwen Stacy, Spider-Verse universe
We know that Miles (Shameik Moore) and Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) haven’t dated at this point in the Into the Spider-Verse movies, but they’re such a strong ship that we had to put them on the list. What can we say? We love that slow-burn, friends-to-lovers arc. They get each other in a way that no one else does, since these movies make Gwen a fellow Spider-Man (or Spider-Woman, shall we say). And the fact that they’re separated by dimensions, making them star-crossed? Even though Gwen keeps secrets from Miles in the second movie, she does it out of the desire to protect him. We could go on, but you get the idea. They already have one of the strongest romances, even if it hasn’t happened yet.
2. Uncle Ben & Aunt May, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man universe
We don’t really get to see much of Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) and Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) in any other Spider-Man movie besides Raimi’s, but they may be the healthiest relationship out of all the Spider-Man couples. Their love for each other and Peter is what shapes Peter into such a great hero. Maybe they’re so great partially because we don’t get to see any cracks in their relationship before Uncle Ben tragically dies, but it doesn’t change the fact that their love is stable, unlike Raimi’s Peter and MJ.
1. Peter Parker & Gwen Stacy, The Amazing Spider-Man universe
The Spider-Man couple to end all Spider-Man couples is Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone‘s Peter and Gwen in The Amazing Spider-Man universe. Say what you will about the quality of the movies overall, but no one can argue that Peter and Gwen’s chemistry is off-the-charts. They blow all Peter and MJs out of the water. The relationship pacing is perfect, and it actually feels real (again, which was probably in part due to the fact that Garfield and Stone were dating in real-life at the time). The playful banter is there, as is the heat. We felt like our hearts were ripped out of our chest when Peter doesn’t save Gwen from that fatal fall. Honestly, these movies are better when you categorize them as romance instead of action. Of course, this version of Peter and Gwen have to take the top spot.
