Even before the 2000s rolled around, Spider-Man was up there with the most popular and recognizable of all superheroes. He emerged during the Silver Age of Comic Books, therefore not being as old as those who debuted during the Golden Age (like Batman, Superman, and Captain America), but caught up to those quickly within pop culture at large. Owing to his youth and status as an underdog character, there's something inherently likable and even relatable about Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and these qualities have transferred to the character's films.

It took a while for the character to get movies that did him justice, but from 2002 onwards, the movies that carry Spider-Man's name have largely been hits. With a rich history of comic books to mine material from (dating back to the early 1960s) and also build off of, the writing has generally been strong across the 10 Spider-Man films released in the 21st century so far. Not all these are created equally, but all have at least a handful of memorable lines - be they emotional or humorous - with the arguable best quote from each film shown below, in chronological order.

10 "Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: 'With great power comes great responsibility.' This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-man."

'Spider-Man' (2002)

Like Ron Burgundy with his leather-bound books and apartment smelling of rich mahogany, 2002's Spider-Man was kind of a big deal. Alongside 2000's X-Men, it helped show how to make a comic book movie with mass appeal, reverence for the comic characters, and with a balance of humor and heart. It is a very funny and oftentimes campy movie, but Spider-Man does still treat the titular hero with respect, and showcases the heartbreak inherent to his origin story.

The ending certainly packs a punch, and works to highlight both the highs and lows of being a young man blessed/cursed with spider-like powers. Peter Parker monologs to the audience, given his identity remains secret and he can't really confide in anyone else, all after battling the now-dead father of his best friend and turning down Mary Jane - who's just admitted her love to Peter - to protect her. Peter embraces both the good and the bad of being Spider-Man, confidently asserting his identity in a way that wraps up his origin story while leaving plenty unearthed narratively for future sequels to explore.

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9 "Pizza time!"

'Spider-Man 2' (2004)

For as great as Spider-Man was, 2004's Spider-Man 2 ended up surpassing it in quality in just about every way, in turn becoming one of the definitive all-time great superhero movies. It's certainly a funnier and more stylish movie than the first, embracing camp/comedy even more (which dials up how entertaining it gets) while also having more serious elements; genuine obstacles for Peter Parker/Spider-Man to overcome, alongside a great villain in the form of Doc Ock.

Spider-Man 2 puts Peter through the wringer in so many ways, with the character's continual bad luck being played for laughs and drama. It's all about the balance, and this sequel gets things right, meaning lines like "Pizza time" and "Whoa... He stole that guy's pizza!" can sit neatly beside a tragic villain arc for Doc Ock, as well as numerous exciting special effects-heavy action sequences that still hold up well 20 years on from release.

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8 "Oh. Look at little Goblin Junior. Gonna cry?"

'Spider-Man 3' (2007)

Though it bit off more than was chewable, Spider-Man 3 still has its charms as a movie and a conclusion to the first Spider-Man trilogy. Even those who might not find it to be on the same level as the previous two Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies will likely take comfort in the fact that it's highly meme-able, rivaling the likes of the Star Wars prequels and The Lord of the Rings trilogy when it comes to memorable lines/moments that have received a second wind on the internet.

Spider-Man 3, after all, is the movie that gave the world Emo Peter Parker, later dubbed "Bully Maguire." For better or worse, any scene revolving around this laughably mean, angsty, sarcastic, and dance-happy version of Peter showcases the film as its most memorable, with no line summing up this infamous direction for the character better than the immortal "Gonna cry?" directed at friend-turned-enemy Harry Osborn.

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7 "I'm gonna throw you out the window now."

'The Amazing Spider-Man' (2012)

Even though it wasn't a terrible movie by any means, The Amazing Spider-Man did probably come out a little sooner than needed, being a reboot for the titular character just five years after Spider-Man 3, and telling a comparable origin story to Spider-Man, which was only a decade old in 2012. At least it makes describing the plot easy: it's Spider-Man again, with the villain being the Lizard instead of the Green Goblin and the love interest being Gwen Stacy instead of Mary Jane Watson.

At least The Amazing Spider-Man gives Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone a chance to shine, and both are very good as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy respectively. They're not given the most interesting material to work with, but both elevate their characters and a good chunk of the screenplay; Garfield even manages to sell a moment where he tells Gwen (as Spider-Man) that he's "gonna throw (her) out the window now."

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6 "You're wrong about us being on different paths. We're not on different paths. You're my path. And you're always gonna be my path."

'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' (2014)

Two years on from The Amazing Spider-Man came The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but the series stopped following the trajectory established by the prior Spider-Man trilogy, and ended here, effectively. Garfield would return in another Spider-Man movie some years later, but for now, this film marked the end of the somewhat messy attempt at a live-action Spider-Man reboot. Tom Holland's turn in the title role was just a couple of years away, and those later films did end up being more successful critically.

But just as Garfield and Stone charmed at some points during The Amazing Spider-Man, so too did the pair do their best to make the more romance-heavy parts of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 work. It's a movie that's so all over the place that it's slim pickings when it comes to genuinely memorable quotes, but Peter's rambling about paths and his love for Gwen kind of works... emphasis on the "kind of."

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5 "Can't you just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?"

'Spider-Man: Homecoming' (2017)

Just a few years on from The Amazing Spider-Man, there was another attempt at rebooting/revitalizing the character, but it worked out a little better here, with Tom Holland debuting in the MCU as the character during Captain America: Civil War. Just as that movie set up Black Panther, so too did it help establish a new Peter Parker ahead of a solo movie, with the first of these coming one year after Civil War: Spider-Man Homecoming.

Homecoming isn't quite an origin story, but sort of a coming-of-age story for Peter Parker, with this iteration of the character feeling particularly young and in need of guidance, getting it in the form of a reluctant mentor: Tony Stark/Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. seems a tad checked out, and isn't in the film a great deal, but does inject some life into things and help further establish Spider-Man's place in the MCU, all the while highlighting that he's not quite a "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," owing to his introduction being in the middle of a Civil War (and just before an Infinity War) and all.

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4 Miles Morales: "When will I know I'm ready?" Peter B. Parker: "You won't. It's a leap of faith. That's all it is, Miles. A leap of faith."

'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (2018)

The mid to late 2010s was a particularly great time to be a Spider-Man fan, with 2018 being especially great. Peter Parker/Spider-Man played a pivotal role in the monumental Avengers: Infinity War, and then later that year, Miles Morales got his big-screen debut with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. And, with this ambitious sci-fi/action/comedy movie being about the multiverse, Peter Parker and a whole host of other Spider-People are in this, too.

It introduces the multiverse well, and is also breathtaking as a work of animation, but the heart of the movie lies with Miles and his origin story, which is notably different from Peter's in enough ways to keep Into the Spider-Verse feeling fresh. It's a movie that builds toward the iconic "leap of faith" sequence, in many regards, a moment that's set up well by a heart-to-heart conversation between Miles and his reluctant mentor, Peter B. Parker, who knows a thing or two about being Spider-Man.

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3 "Everywhere I go, I see his face. I just really miss him."

'Spider-Man: Far from Home' (2019)

After being one of the many who were dusted at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Peter Parker was brought back (alongside just about everyone else) in 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Still, for all the victories achieved in that movie, Endgame also saw a couple of key characters die heroically, including Tony Stark/Iron Man, whose death understandably hit Peter particularly hard.

Released the same year as Endgame, Spider-Man: Far from Home showcased Peter coming to terms with Tony Stark's death and the way the world was changed by the events of Infinity War and Endgame. It's actually relatively light, compared to the Avengers movies that preceded it, but Spider-Man: Far from Home does still find room to let some of the heavier moments breathe, such as when Peter says things like, "Everywhere I go, I see his face."

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2 Peter Parker 2: "Are you okay?" Peter Parker 1: "Oh, my back. It's kinda stiff from all the swinging I guess." Peter Parker 2: "Oh yeah, no, I got a middle back thing too."

'Spider-Man: No Way Home' (2021)

Once upon a time, the plot of Spider-Man: No Way Home was kept as something of a secret, but in time, it came to be known as that live-action Spider-Man movie with three Spider-Men. And sure, that's not as crazy as the multitude of Spider-People seen in the Spider-Verse movies, but given people's attachment to the Peter Parker/Spider-Man iterations played by Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker 1) and Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker 2), seeing them reappear and star alongside Tom Holland was undeniably thrilling.

The trio find comfort in the knowledge that they're not the only people who've been given spider-like powers, at least once the initial shock wears off. When the three of them banter or talk about the downsides of being Spider-Man, that's when No Way Home is at its best. Regarding the former, Garfield and Maguire's Spider-Men talking about back pain is an undeniable highlight, and also a nice callback to Spider-Man 2.

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1 "Everyone keeps telling me how my story is supposed to go. Nah. I'm-a do my own thing."

'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' (2023)

A great quote in numerous ways, Miles Morales asserting that he's going to do his own thing in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse makes for one of the most memorable moments in a film jam-packed with memorable moments. It happens late in the film, by which point Miles has learned some unfortunate truths about the events that befall all Spider-People, according to canon, as well as being told that he's an anomaly among everyone else, who fits into the Spider-Society (or at least aren't excluded from it).

Miles asserts he's going to forge his own path and not do what the canon dictates, no matter how disastrous the results could potentially be. Of course, given the ending of the film, this seems easier said than done, but it's still an immensely satisfying moment for his character, appearing toward the end of Across the Spider-Verse's biggest and most spectacular action sequence, being one factor in making the overall movie one of the decade's best so far.

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