All Live-Action Spider-Man Final Battles Ranked

When it comes to action sequences in superhero movies, Spider-Man is one of the most exciting to watch, and lends himself to unique battles that couldn’t be duplicated with other heroes. He also lends himself to some of my favorite final battles I’ve ever seen in the Superhero genera, and with so many different enemies to face-off with, each climax has something distinct and impressive to offer. So, for this post, I’ll be ranking all eight live-action final battles from the eight theatrical Spider-Man movies, and they’ll be arranged from the final battle I love least … to the climax I love the most … here we go!

#8 “Race to Oscorp Tower” … The Climax to “The Amazing Spider-Man” 

The Lizard has taken control of Oscorp, and is threatening to unleash a deadly virus that will mutate everyone in New York. Unfortunately for our hero, he’s miles away on the other side of town, and is endured. What follows is a rare case in which I find the lead-in to the final battle superior to the action itself. Typically, Spider-Man can always reach his destination with ease, but it was cool to see him struggling for once to get to a tall building. It's also very gratifying to see the people of New York come together to help him reach his target by lining-up the city cranes for him. 

It's a great moment, one that builds a lot of momentum, and gives me a feeling of triumph. The Web-swinging on display is fantastic, and the score by the late James Horner is sensational. The final battle itself however ... just feels underwhelming. Once we get to the big rooftop showdown with The Lizard, it feels like it could have been any other fight scene, as opposed to a big climactic finale. However, it was still a treat to see Spider-Man briefly team up with the police Captain to beat the villain, and it’s what gives this battle some real meat. Everything else on display is just general fun Spider-Man action against a villain … which is okay … but well underneath everything else this series has to offer.    

#7 “Duel in the sky” … The Climax to “Spider-Man: Homecoming” 

At long last, Peter takes his high school crush to the Homecoming dance … too bad Spider-Man just learned that his enemy The Vulture is planning to highjack a plain full of technology belonging to the Avengers … leaving him with a difficult choice. Despite ranking lower on my countdown, I still view this climax as one of the more unique, and still very exciting to watch. 

This battle progressively builds, and covers quiet a wide range of different locations all in one night. It all starts at the high school Homecoming dance, then escalates into a scuffle in the parking lot with the villain Shocker, then a car chase to the Vultures base where our hero and villain have another exciting exchange, and the action just keeps building from there. after emerging from the rubble, Spider-Man and the Vulture have their big showdown in the sky, with a clocked ship being the main set-piece. 

It’s absolutely riveting, and it presents our hero with yet another unique challenge, as his powers are severely limited when combating the tense wind conditions. The two then wrap-up their battle on the beach of Coney Island, which is effective enough, but one distracting little detail is that the backdrop is a theme park, which neither of our players touch. Personally, I’ve always wanted to see a superhero battle in a theme park setting, and this would have been a perfect opportunity to do something there. Still, despite not taking advantage of a theme park setting, this was still a riveting final battle that stands apart as … not one of the best … but still a great one in the Spider-Man series. 

#6 “London Bridges Blowing Up” … The Climax to “Spider-Man: Far From Home” 

At the tail end of his European Vacation, Spider-Man’s rival Mysterio set’s-up one last grand illusion in London, in which he’ll look like he’s saving the world from an Avengers level disaster, and become the world’s new golden hero. However, he also dispatches his drones to kill Peter’s classmates, as they know Mysterio’s secrets. Our hero soon arrives on seen to bring down the illusion, and battles waves of lethal drones in the process. 

The stakes are refreshingly simple, but the battle still feels grand and exciting. Plus, it’s great to finally have a climax in which Spider-Man is battling robots for once, as opposed to yet another physical fight to the death with the main villain. Also, I love seeing Peter’s classmates get involved in the action, as they all work together to fight off the attacking drones. As a side note, it’s great to have MJ in danger, without making her a hostage again. As the battle winds down, Mysterio realizes there’s no chance of winning, so he stages both his death and the attack to look like it was orchestrated by Spider-Man himself. Now that’s what I call a smart villain … who even in death manages to ruin our hero. It’s all around an awesome finale, big on spectacle, and sets the stage for more excitement to come.

#5 “Ticking Away to her Demise” … The Climax to “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” 

While an unpopular opinion to be sure … “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” may be one of the lesser films in the series, but in my honest opinion … it has one of the better climaxes of the whole franchise. When Electro gets loose in the city, he challenges our hero to one final showdown. I love the buildup, as we see Spider-Man swinging through the city while chasing this electrical trail left by the villain, the music builds, and I just get chills all over. 

As the battle begins, Electro and Spider-Man fight in this colorful electrical plant, which is a cool design, and it’s a lot of fun watching our hero leap all over the pillars, while the villain relentlessly blasts him with electricity. Some of the best moments once again are Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy working together to defeat their foe. Once Electro is beaten, the new Green Goblin makes a surprise attack, which leads into a deeply thrilling fight in a clock tower. There’s a real sense of dread as the fight builds, and as Spider-Man does his best to keep Gwen safe, we the audience are terrified knowing what’s about to happen. Obviously, this ending was inspired by the classic Spider-Man comic in which Gwen Stacy dies, and for the most part, there are some select improvements on its source material. First of all, Gwen is conscious throughout the whole battle, so we have this nervous hope that she might make it out okay. 

Also, the clock tower setting in my opinion is a huge improvement over the clichéd bridge setting, because the clock is literally and figuratively ticking away to her demise. Finally, the death is hauntingly tragic, as not only did we loose one of our favorite characters, but Spider-Man lost Gwen just as he was saving her. The whole scene was just shot beautifully, and the emotion of this lose really hits home. It was thanks to Gwen being there that Spider-Man was able to save the city from Electro, but he just couldn’t keep her safe in the end, making this a hollow victory. The only thing the comic did better was that Gwen's death came at the hands of Spider-Man’s arch nemesis, and that’s just not what happened here. While the Green Goblin in general is our hero's most iconic foe, there just wasn't enough of a layered history to make this Goblin count as his greatest enemy. Putting that aside, I think this ending is one of the great highlights in an otherwise mixed instalment.   

 

#4 “We are who we Choose to Be” … The Climax to “Spider-Man” 

We now come to the climax that was hardest for me to rank, as I have split feelings about it. By that I mean … the first half sucks, and the second half is phenomenal. The first half of the battle takes place on the George Washington Bridge, where the Green Goblin is holding Mary Jane and some kid’s hostage. 

To be honest, this sequence just felt like a rip-off of the climax from “Batman Forever”, in which a green suited villain forced a superhero to rescue one of two things that fall from a deathly height. Also, this was the same setting from the classic comic book, where Spider-Man’s first girlfriend Gwen Stacy died during a battle with the Goblin. It’s only a visual reference to fans, because while Mary Jane is a hostage, nothing really serious comes of this situation. The girl is rescued, and there’s a painfully forced moment with all the people of New York turning on the Goblin. Honestly, the whole segment on the bridge dose nothing for me … but thankfully there’s more. 

Once Spider-Man and the Green Goblin are alone, and fighting in that broken-down building, this climax suddenly goes from one-note rip-off, to one of the greatest finales I’ve ever seen in a comic-book movie. It’s actually quite suspenseful as the villain just relentlessly beats the crap out of our hero. The whole fight is in camera, and the lack of music just adds to the tension. Once Spider-Man stands his ground, and really starts fighting back, it’s absolutely riveting stuff. It all escalates to a very satisfying, yet kind of tragic villain death. Had the climax just been the final showdown between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, it would have ranked in my top three favorite final battles easily … but I have to view the climax as a whole, and like I said … that whole bridge sequence just doesn’t do a thing for me.    

#3 “Friends Till the End” … The Climax to “Spider-Man 3” 

When Venom and The Sandman join forces to bait Spider-Man and destroy him once and for all, our hero finds himself outmatched … at least until back-up arrives in the form of his archrival the second Green Goblin, who’s made a full reformation. While this big epic climax doesn’t reach the same character or story highs as the first two films, I think the battle itself is the coolest of the whole series. 

Of course, Mary Jane is a damsel in distress again, which is painfully tired, and been done … but I love everything else about this finale. Seeing Spider-Man team up with the New Goblin to defeat the combined threats of the Sandman and Venom is absolutely the highlight of “Spider-Man 3” as a whole. While the events leading up to this climax weren’t handled very well, it’s still very satisfying to see Peter and Harry become friends again, and save the day together.  

Also, seeing these two hero’s fight side by side gave us our first real taste of what “The Avengers” would eventually deliver. The battle itself is a big, long spectacle that covers a lot of ground, and is just really fun to watch … despite some corny moments with that annoying crowd of people cheering them on. Also, despite his lack of screen time, seeing Spider-Man battle Venom in live-action is still something exciting to savor. 

#2 “Both Heroes and Villains see the Light” … The Climax to “Spider-Man 2” 

The sinister Doctor Octopus has kidnapped girl-friend Mary Jane, and has created a fusion devise that will create long-lasting power … but it has a downside of melting down, and destroying any nearby city. In other words, our hero has to face a man who once mentored him, while also rescuing the woman he loves. This is a rare case in which it’s not the spectacle that puts this climax above the others … it’s really everything with the characters. 

First of all, Marry Jane is a damsel in distress again, but this time I feel it’s absolutely warranted. After a thrilling rescue, Marry Jane finally see’s that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, and it’s a deeply satisfying revelation. The past two movies have built to this moment beautifully, and it’s like this great wait has been lifted when she finally sees the man she loves for the hero he really is. Doctor Octopuses machine then goes into meltdown, causing serious damage to the city, and our hero swings in for one final showdown with the villain. While the fight itself is riveting, I love that Spider-Man doesn’t defeat the bad guy though physical force. 

Instead, he takes off his mask, revealing his identity, and has a very deep back and forth talk with his enemy … even relaying the very same morals of sacrifice that his aunt May previously told him. This helps the Doc to regain control of his arms, and in one final move, he sacrifices both his dream and his very life to destroy the machine. It’s awesome to see Doctor Octopuses, one of Spider-Man’s most lethal foes make a full reformation. The fight scene is good, but the stuff with the characters surpasses any form of spectacle.

#1 “All For One” … and One Sacrifices All" ... The Climax to “Spider-Man: No Way Home” 

It’s always been awesome to watch Spider-Man in his epic final battles, but I never even considered how cool it would be to see multiple Spider-Men all together for one glorious final showdown. While we certainly got the novelty in animated form with the "Spider-Verse" series, something about seeing it happen in live-action, and with established actors in their iconic roles made this feel like an unreachable dream come true. With the fabric of reality on the brink of collapsing, all three classic live-action Spider-Men team-up to battle all their rouges in an all-out brawl at the statue of liberty. 

While the yellow lighting is kind of ugly, everything else from the character interactions, to the intensity of the fight are all first rate. However, for all the spectacle on display, it's once again the humanity of our hero on full display, and his emotional resolution at the end that makes this such a winning sequence. For all his trials and errors, our lead Spider-Man is finally willing to make the ultimate sacrifice ... giving up everyone he knows and loves to set the world back in order. It's the first time Tom Holland's character lived up to the "Man" in his title. It’s all-around the climax with the most spectacle … the most Spider-Men … and above all … it’s the ending with the most heart and substance at the center. With all that combined, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has my favorite final battle of any Spider-Man movie to date.  

Thanks for reading my action-packed countdown … and continue to enjoy the excitement you Love!