With three Spider-Man movies now under his belt, Andrew Garfield has delivered some of Peter Parker's saddest moments in the franchise.
It's no surprise that Andrew Garfield is now an Oscar-nominated actor, having given fans brilliant performances in numerous projects, with one of his most recent appearances seeing him return as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. In the movie, Garfield continued to deal with the loss of Gwen but managed to finally overcome his grief by saving MJ.
It's unlikely that Garfield will return as Peter in future Spider-Man projects but fans now have 3 movies worth of fantastic performances that they can look back on to see some of Garfield's most emotional moments. From dealing with the deaths of Uncle Ben and Gwen to trying to protect Tom Holland's Peter Parker from becoming rageful and bitter like himself, Garfield has certainly had some sad quotes.
Comparing Villains With The Other Spider-Men
"I'm Lame."
Spider-Man: No Way Home managed to successfully combine all three of the Spider-Men actors from the past couple of decades with some very emotional and entertaining scenes (especially when they compare their web-slinging experiences). As the three heroes compared their villains, Garfield's Peter realizes that he had never fought villains that were on the same level as the others and came to the conclusion that he was "lame."
Although this line was delivered in a more comical scene, the fact that Garfield's Peter thought and verbally announced that he thought he was lame certainly had fans across the world feeling bad for him. Garfield was, on the contrary, "The Amazing Spider-Man," with even Maguire's Peter stepping in to reassure him that he was not lame after all.
Asking Uncle Ben About His Parents
"So where is he then?"
Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man movies provided the most details about Peter Parker's parents and how they died. As Uncle Ben gave Peter a speech about obligations to do the right thing, Peter stated "That's all well and good, so where is he then? He didn't feel it was his obligation to be here and tell me this himself."
Uncle Ben's death was made even more impactful for Peter given that the last interaction they had was an argument where Peter asked how Uncle Ben dared to talk to Peter about his father when he wasn't there. A deleted scene showed Peter's dad appearing at Gwen's funeral, alive and fairly well, but, sadly, fans will never know what happened after the scene due to the cancellation of The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
Hiding Secrets From Aunt May
"Please go to sleep Aunt May."
When Peter arrived home one night, battered and bruised after being Spider-Man, Aunt May looked at him shocked and asked him where he goes at night. Peter begs Aunt May to go to sleep and said "please please PLEASE go to sleep."
Seeing how much Aunt May was hurt by Peter's secrecy and knowing that he couldn't have said anything to her killed Peter (especially since he knew the truth about the death of Uncle Ben). Fueled with rage and anger, the tone of Peter's voice in this scene showed the audience how broken he was with so much guilt weighing on his shoulders.
Protecting Loved Ones
"Every day I wake up knowing that the more people I try to save, the more enemies I will make."
One of the biggest challenges of being Spider-Man and a hero in general, alongside keeping their loved ones safe, is dealing with the number of enemies that they may have created as a result of their hero activities.
Even saving Max in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 eventually led him to become the villain known as Electro. Peter stated the above quote knowing that for every good deed he was doing, there was a chance that another villain could have been born from it.
Seeing Captain Stacy
"I see him everywhere I go. I don't know what to do."
One of the biggest burdens on Peter's shoulders in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the promise he made to Gwen's father that he would stay away from Gwen to keep her safe. A troubled Peter met Gwen outside a restaurant she was eating at and tells her that everywhere he goes, he hallucinated Captain Stacy every time he broke the promise.
Looking back on the film, this promise that weighed Peter down so much was even more poignant given that she died at the end of the movie (as it showed that Peter couldn't keep his promise to Captain Stacy and knew that he failed to keep Gwen safe). It was only by catching MJ in Spider-Man: No Way Home that Garfield's Peter finally cleansed himself of the guilt of failing to save Gwen.
Richard Parker Returns
"I don't know how to go on without her."
Another of the saddest quotes from Garfield's Peter actually comes from a deleted scene, where Peter is reunited with Richard Parker in the graveyard where Gwen was buried. After refusing to believe this man was his father, the two sit at a bench where Garfield's Peter says "I don't know how to go on without her."
Peter and Gwen's dynamic in the two Amazing Spider-Man movies is arguably one of the best on-screen relationships in modern comic book movies. The connection between the two characters was almost unmatched and now Peter must try to move on knowing that he failed to save her.
Saving MJ
"Are you okay?"
When fans first saw the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, one of the standout clips was MJ falling to her supposed death, which had many fans wondering if one of the other Spider-Men was going to save her. Thankfully, Garfield's Peter had flashbacks to Gwen and did not want Peter to suffer a loss as big as he did.
After Peter 3 caught MJ he asked if she was okay. But Garfield's delivery of the line gave these simple words so much more depth. Fans could tell that behind these words were both the shock that he managed to catch her from falling and desperate hope that she was okay. He needed MJ to confirm to him that he had saved her so that he could forgive himself for not saving Gwen.
Uncle Ben's Death
"Someone call an ambulance!"
One of the rights of passage of a Spider-Man movie is the death of Uncle Ben (Or Aunt May in Tom Holland's case). Even though Peter had extraordinary abilities, it was easy to forget that he deals with loss with much more gravity than everyone else as he had the ability to potentially stop what happened to Uncle Ben had he been there with him.
As Peter approached a dying Uncle Ben on the ground, he stood over his dead body, much as he did with Gwen, pleading with him to focus on his voice and stay alive. This scene was made even more impactful by the argument Peter had just had with Uncle Ben only moments before.
Being The Older Brother To Holland's Spider-Man
"I just don't want you to end up like me."
Upon first meeting, the two older Spider-Men gave Holland's Peter a pep-talk in which Garfield's Peter told him that he got bitter and rageful and he wanted to help so that Holland's Peter didn't end up like him.
Bringing in Garfield and Maguire's Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home opened the door for a wonderful brother-like dynamic between the three heroes, with Maguire being the older brother, Garfield the middle, and Holland the younger. This gave Garfield the opportunity to treat Tom Holland's Peter like a younger brother and, as his older brother, he wanted to protect him from danger and darkness, even his own.
Gwen's Death
"Stay with me. You stay with me."
As predictable as Gwen Stacy's death was when some of the trailers for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 surfaced, the moment in the movie featured one of Garfield's most emotional scenes ever as he held Gwen in his arms. Pleading with her to stay alive Garfield's Spider-Man repeatedly says "Stay with me. You stay with me."
As is the case with all of the death scenes that fans have seen in Spider-Man movies, Peter could not bring himself to accept that she was gone, and pleaded with her as if she could still hear him. As blood trickled down her face, Peter had to accept that he failed to save her.
