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Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ends on a major cliffhanger that leaves Miles Morales and the fate of the multiverse in great peril. Miles Morales' first foray into the multiverse led him to join forces with Spider-People from various different dimensions in order to stop Kingpin from breaking the fabric of reality. What Miles didn't know is that his first mission as Spider-Man was just the beginning of a bigger battle, with The Spot and Spider-Man 2099 forcing him to choose between saving his loved ones and protecting the multiverse.
Miles Morales now understands that all Spider-Man variants across the multiverse are connected through a series of events that shape each of their personal journeys. However, he doesn't accept the obligation to be restrained by destiny. He decides to oppose the Spider Society and avoid tragedy in his life, regardless of the consequences. This leads him to escape to the wrong reality while The Spot, a villain he created, threatens to kill his loved ones. With Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse confirmed to take up where Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse left off, the ending of the second movie leaves Miles Morales living out his worst possible scenario.
Miles Morales Is Captured By The Prowler On Earth-42 - Who Is Also Miles Morales
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's big cliffhanger comes in the form of the Prowler, who makes a shocking return in a different universe. After arriving in the wrong universe, Miles Morales finds out Aaron Davis is alive, but despite following along and posing as this Aaron's nephew, Aaron understands that Miles is a different person. Aaron captures him and ties him up so he can meet his multiversal counterpart: a Miles Morales variant who never got bitten by a radioactive spider and thus never became Spider-Man. Instead, this version of Miles became the Prowler, seemingly due to his closer relationship with his uncle, and potentially because of the circumstances surrounding Earth-42's alternate universe.
How Miles Morales Ended Up On Earth-42
Miles Morales single-handedly fights hundreds of Spider-People while escaping the Spider Society and uses their technology to exit 2099's universe. However, he didn't realize that the machine he uses to escape identifies the DNA of the radioactive spider that bit him, which came from Earth-42 instead of Miles' home universe, Earth-1610. Therefore, Miles is sent to a universe that seems very similar to his own, but with a few major changes. In this reality, Miles' father died instead of his uncle, his mother is struggling financially, and his multiversal counterpart has taken on the Prowler alias.
How Earth-42 Miles Morales Became The Prowler
How exactly Earth-42's Miles Morales became the Prowler is yet to be revealed, but Jefferson Davis' death seems to have been the main catalyst. After all, Miles' father has always made an effort to keep Miles on the right path, while Aaron Davis had always leaned towards a life of crime. If Rio Morales is struggling financially due to her husband's death, it would make sense for Miles and Aaron to use the Prowler identity to try and fix some of the Morales family's money troubles.
However, concept art and behind the scenes reveals suggest that Earth-42's Miles Morales becoming the Prowler may have been born from the same desire to help people as his Spider-Man counterpart, as he and his uncle are described as "vigilantes" repeatedly. Unused footage for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse further supports the idea that Prowler Miles took on the role to help those around him by showing the vigilante duo stealing medicine from a high-security compound to help heal a sick child, reinforcing the idea that their intentions are good, and also that Earth-42 itself might be in more dire straights than the Earth-1610 version audiences have become accustomed to.
If Earth-42 has become more of a dystopia, it seems almost inevitable that the universe's Miles turned to the Prowler alias to try and help the people of his city, even if he potentially has to resort to methods that Across The Spider-Verse's main Miles would be less inclined to take. This would also set up a perhaps more striking dynamic between the two Miles variants in Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse, as the Prowler and Spider-Man iterations of Miles deal with their differing approaches to helping people.
What Happened To Earth 42's Jefferson Davis?
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse doesn't reveal exactly what happened to Miles Morales' dad, but it suggests that his death happened roughly at the same point in the timeline. In Earth-42, the graffiti tribute to Aaron Davis on Miles' rooftop is replaced by a similar one, complete with the phrase "rest in power", but dedicated to Jefferson Davis. Since Miles Morales is the Prowler in this universe, it's possible that Jefferson Davis simply died on duty. However, it's also possible that Aaron Davis or even Miles himself played a role in Jefferson's death.
Why Didn't Miles Use His Electricity Powers To Escape?
The original Miles Morales is too shocked and confused to react in time when Aaron Davis knocks him out after arriving in Earth-42. Still affected by the blow, Miles is too weak to break free from the ropes that tie him to a punching bag, and he doesn't risk getting hit by the Prowler's gauntlets when he meets him. But despite the shock of seeing his other self in the Prowler's attire, Miles gets ready to shoot an electric blast from his fingers right at the end of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Although Across the Spider-Verse doesn't have post-credits scenes, it seems that Miles' next fight will be against his evil self and Aaron Davis.
Spider-Man 2099 & The Spider-Society Are Hunting For Miles Morales
Meanwhile, Spider-Man 2099 hasn't given up on capturing Miles and taking him back to the Spider Society's headquarters to keep him from intervening in his canon event. The Spot is already heading towards Miles Morales' parents in Earth-1610 and Gwen Stacy already assembled a group of Spider-People to help Miles return home and protect them. With the help of Jessica Drew and Ben Reilly, Miguel O'Hara needs to keep Miles and Gwen's team distracted so Miles' father can die, but he also needs to defeat The Spot in order to protect the rest of the multiverse.
Which Earth Are Spider-Man 2099 & The Spider-Society On?
Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy lost valuable time due to Miles' trip to Earth-42. Spider-Man 2099, on the other hand, is perfectly positioned in Earth-1610 — the main Miles Morales' home reality — to ensure Jefferson Davis dies before The Spot is defeated. The rest of the Spider Society stayed behind in Spider-Man 2099's universe, although Jessica Drew and Ben Reilly follow Miguel O'Hara to Earth-1610 to assist him.
Why Spider-Man 2099 Is Hunting Miles Morales Explained
Spider-Man 2099 believes that every Spider-Person in the multiverse needs to experience a set of canon events. While the circumstances vary, he shows 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, and commonly the police captain most closely involved in the Spider-Person's life. For Miles, this means that his father, Jefferson Davis, will be murdered as soon as he receives the title.
Since Miles already knows this, and is actively attempting to prevent it, Spider-Man 2099 tries to do everything he can to stop Miles from intervening, as avoiding canon events threatens the stability of the entire multiverse. Miguel's intensity in chasing down Miles is also a matter of Spider-Man 2099 making up for past wrongs, as the glimpses into his backstory show he also interfered with the multiverse by taking over from a dead version of himself in a universe where he had a child, only to seemingly doom that universe and lead to its destruction by living in a world that was not his own original one.
Gwen Stacy's New Spider-Man Team Explained
Fortunately for Miles, Gwen already knows he's in the wrong universe, and she receives support from a group of Spider-People who want to save him. With the help of Spider-Punk, Gwen assembles a team that betrays Spider-Man 2099's Spider Society to save Miles and his father. Right before Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Gwen's team is ready to retrieve Miles from Earth-42 and fend off The Spot as soon as he arrives.
Who's On Gwen Stacy's New Spider-Man Team
Spider-Punk's rebellious nature makes him the first Spider-Man to defect from the Spider Society. Despite Peni Parker's refusal to help Miles at the Spider Society's headquarters, she also shows up at the end of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to help Gwen locate Miles. Due to Miles' short but friendly interactions with other Spider-People, Gwen also receives help from a couple of old friends and recently introduced characters. Therefore, Gwen Stacy's team stands as follows:
- Gwen Stacy
- Peter B. Parker
- Spider-Punk
- Peni Parker
- Spider-Man Noir
- Spider-Ham
- Pavitr Prabhakar
- Spider-Byte
The Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse cast doesn't feature Nicolas Cage and John Mulaney as Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham. However, they're expected to return in fully fledged voice roles for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. After all, they played a key role in Miles Morales' first introduction to the multiverse in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
How Gwen Can Find Miles Morales
Spider-Man 2099 feels disappointed in Gwen for letting Miles Morales know about the Spider Society's goals and for letting the Spot wreak havoc, so he casts her out after Miles escapes to Earth-42. In Earth-1610, Gwen realizes that Miles is in the wrong dimension, but fortunately for both, Gwen receives a multiversal wristband from Spider-Punk, which allows her to go back to the Spider Society's headquarters, assemble a rescue team, and travel to Earth-42 to bring Miles back home.
What Across the Spider-Verse's Ending Means For Beyond the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's cliffhanger ending makes the next sequence of events rather clear. Miles will likely fight with Earth-42's Aaron Davis and the Prowler while Gwen's team arrive to rescue him, potentially leading to a team-up between the two versions of Miles if Earth-42's "vigilante" status allows the pair to bond. Then, Miles and Gwen's team will likely face Spider-Man 2099's crew, and both groups will have to deal with The Spot, who's about to kill Miles' parents. Of course, the outcome of these fights will only be known when Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse releases.
What Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's Ending Really Means
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse takes its time to develop Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and Miguel O'Hara, as well as the multiverse and the importance of canon events. While it delivers a satisfying reconciliation between Gwen and her father, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse leaves all other narrative threads open so that the sequel has enough time to pay them off. Still, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's main theme is clear: fate is already written, but everyone has the opportunity to challenge it. Whether trying to escape one's fate is the right decision is a different matter.
