Tobey Maguire praises Tom Holland's Spider-Man after being mocked in meme

The actor expressed his words of encouragement via social media

Tobey Maguire starred in two perfectly good Spiderman films before an abhorrent third outing put an end to his web-slinging antics.

Consequently, fans reflect upon Maguire's time as Peter Parker in the Sam Raimi trilogy with fairly mixed emotions.

Another wayside-thrown actor later (Andrew Garfield) and the costume is now in the clutches of 19-year-old Tom Holland who made his debut appearance in last month's Captain America: Civil War, the character now officially freed up to star in both Sony and Marvel films.

Critics were impressed with Holland's initial appearance - and so too was Maguire who has expressed his sentiments via Instagram.

In response to a witty internet meme which sees Maguire's version of the character watching Holland in action with relative unease, the actor praised his successor.

"Haha seriously, who made this. @tomholland2013 good job! You are great as Spider-Man. Keep it up!" he wrote.

Following his Spidey swansong, Maguire has since starred in The Great Gatsby, Labor Day and television mini-series The Spoils of Babylon.

Holland's next appearance as the superhero will arrive with Spider-Man: Homecoming. The film, released in 2017, will also feature Robert Downey, Jr as Tony Stark.