Spider-Man stories are full of villains, swinging fights and city-wide danger. But Peter Parker’s love life has always been just as complicated. Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland played different versions of the character, and their romances show two stages of growing up.
In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Peter’s biggest romantic interest is Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst. He has liked her since childhood, but his shyness and secret identity keep him from telling her. The first film gives the pair the famous upside-down kiss in the rain, one of the most recognisable romantic scenes in superhero cinema.
Their relationship does not become easy. In Spider-Man 2, Peter stays away because he believes his life puts Mary Jane at risk. She moves on, and the distance between them becomes one of the film’s central conflicts. By the end, she chooses to be with him despite knowing that his life will never be ordinary.
Spider-Man 3 puts their relationship under more pressure. Peter enjoys public attention and becomes increasingly arrogant after bonding with the black symbiote. His behaviour hurts Mary Jane, whose own career is struggling. Their relationship breaks down as Peter gets consumed by jealousy and anger. After Harry Osborn’s death, the film leaves Peter and Mary Jane with a chance to repair their bond.
Tom Holland’s Peter starts from a different place. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, he has a crush on Liz Allan, played by Laura Harrier. He is excited when she invites him to the school dance, only to discover that her father is Adrian Toomes, the Vulture. After Toomes is arrested, Liz moves away with her family.
Peter’s connection with MJ, played by Zendaya, develops more slowly. She is observant, sarcastic and not easily impressed by his attempts to act cool. In Far From Home, Peter tries to tell her how he feels during a school trip to Europe. They share their first kiss after he survives the fight with Mysterio, and MJ soon learns that Peter is Spider-Man.
No Way Home makes their romance more painful. After Peter’s identity becomes public and the multiverse crisis threatens everyone around him, he asks Doctor Strange to make the world forget who he is. The spell leaves MJ and Ned with no memory of Peter. He visits them at the end, but chooses not to explain their history because he believes they deserve a safer life.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day carries that choice into 2026. Peter now fights crime full-time in a world that does not remember him, while MJ has built an adult life without knowing they were once together. Their paths cross again, but the old relationship cannot simply restart because Peter remembers everything and she remembers nothing.
The difference between the two versions is clear. Tobey’s Peter spends years trying to build a relationship with the person he has loved since childhood. Tom’s Peter finds love, then gives up being known by the person he loves to protect her.
Both stories keep the same question at the centre: can Peter Parker have a normal relationship while being Spider-Man? The films offer different answers, but neither makes it look simple.