‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Ending Explained: Miles Morales meets the ‘real’ Prowler on Earth-42
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Miles Morales' emotional turmoil in 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' reaches its zenith as the young Spider-boy from Earth-1610 fights crime but faces the wrath of his parents. If that wasn't enough, he is thrown into the abyss by a new supervillain named The Spot, whom he inadvertently helped create after destroying the collider in the previous film. The Spider Society, led by Miguel O'Hara, is also hot on Miles' tail as he rushes to save his father, aiming to prevent a canon event from occurring in the Spider-Verse.
According to Miguel O'Hara, also known as Spider-Man 2099, these canon events hold immense importance in the journey of every Spider-person. They serve as transformative moments that turn them into Spider-Man or Spider-Woman in their respective universes. Miguel argues that the loss of a loved one is mandatory to become a true Spider-Man. However, Miles dismisses Miguel's theory as a farce and escapes from the Spider Society to save his father. Furthermore, The Spot has now become all-powerful and is determined to kill Miles at any cost. Despite a long chase by Miguel, Miles manages to escape, but instead of returning to his own world, he ends up in an alternate dimension where he encounters another version of himself who is not particularly friendly.
Miles Morales is Miles ‘The Prowler’ on Earth-42
Miles utilizes the technology of the Spider Society to break free from their grasp and finds himself transported to Earth-42. He had hoped that the technology would return him to Earth-1610, but the device he used to escape recognized the DNA of the radioactive spider that had bitten him, which, unfortunately, belonged to Earth-42. However, in this reality, there is no Spider-Man to protect New York, and crime reigns unchecked. Miles also discovers that in this timeline, his father Jefferson has passed away, his uncle Aaron Davis has turned to a life of crime, and his mother is struggling financially.
However, when Miles is apprehended by Aaron, he comes face to face with another version of himself, a variant known as The Prowler in this dimension. The Prowler is evil, corrupted, and terrifying—everything that Miles is not. Earth-42 is on the verge of doom because The Spot, also known as Dr. Jonathan Ohnn, conducted an experiment that brought the radioactive spider to Earth-1610, ultimately biting Miles and turning him into Spider-Man. As a result, Earth-42 is left without a savior.
Miguel O’Hara continues to hunt for Miles
Miguel O’Hara’s journey to capture Miles continues as he doesn’t want him to mess up the timeline by saving Jefferson, his father. Doing so will alter the canon events of the Spider-Verse, raking in more havoc than before. The canon event states that every Spider-Man variant must fall in love and witness the death of at least two of their loved ones, one of which is always a mentor figure.
In the case of Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, Pavitr Prabhakar, and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, the police captain always dies. Jefferson will be captain soon and will die in his reality. If Miles intervenes, a canon event will be avoided and the multiverse will be affected. Miguel is at war with Miles but both the Spidey’s are fighting for the causes they believe in.
Gwen gathers a spider team
Gwen discovers that her father has quit the force after learning that she's Spider-Woman. She realizes that canon events can be changed and becomes aware that Miles is in the wrong universe. With the assistance of Spider-Punk's multiverse-traveling watch, Gwen assembles a team of Spider-heroes including Peter B. Parker, Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, Spider-Ham, Pavitr Prabhakar, and Spider-Byte to save Miles from Earth-42 and confront The Spot.
No post-credit scene
It is extremely surprising for everyone that a Marvel film doesn’t have an end credits scene. The first part of the franchise, ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ had an end credit scene where Miguel O’Hara was introduced but ‘Across the Spider-Verse’ ends on a huge cliffhanger to care for a post-credits scene. Miles is on Earth-42, Gwen has a team to save him, Miguel is hunting Miles and The Spot is on his way to kill Jefferson, Miles’ dad. Everything is set for an enthralling third film.