Full spoilers follow for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Proceed at your own risk.
After four and a half years of waiting, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse majestically returned to the theaters. And yes, there is a fair amount to unpack from its awesomeness, despite the abrupt ending.
Before we dive into the latest Spider-Man The movie’s explosive conclusion, whether there are any post-credits scenes worth continuing, and how the upcoming sequel will play out Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verseyou should read our Across the Spider Verse review to see if it’s worth watching (spoilers: it is). Oh, and then you should book a trip to your local theater to catch one of the best superhero movies of all time.
Oh, you’ve done everything? Nice! Let’s discuss Across the Spider VerseThe biggest talking points.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending explains: where will Miles end up?
answer: Earth-42, ie another parallel universe.
To explain why Miles (Shameik Moore) didn’t travel back to his own reality – Earth-1610 – after he used the Spider Society’s Matrix-style teleportation machine, we have to go back to one of our first encounters with The Spot (Jason Schwartzman).
as Across the Spider VerseRevealed by the main villain, Wilson Fisk’s Super Collider – a glorified particle accelerator – assisted by The Spot, who was once an ordinary scientist called Jonathan Ohnn. During a particular test, the Super Collider brought a genetically engineered spider into Miles’ universe. The fact that it traveled from? Yes, Earth-42.
This is the strongest bug that bites Miles Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Versethus giving him his power.
But there is a problem. The Spider Society’s teleportation device sends its users to the universe where its spider-based DNA originated. As Miles was bitten by an Earth-42-dwelling arachnid, he was sent to that dimension instead of his own, meaning he was trapped in a universe he didn’t recognize (and proving that your fan theories, of actually, far from the base) .
Nor can he save his father from being killed in just two days – as Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) tells Miles during one of their heated discussions, the death of his father Miles is a “canon event”, a fixed point in time that does not change. If canon events are messed with, they could lead to the destruction of reality, and destroy the Spider-Verse as we know it.
What Spider-Man 2099 doesn’t know, however, is that the now-incredibly powerful Spot has the ability to make canon events pointless, as he has the capacity to destroy universes. alone, including Earth-1610. Why target the universe he came from? Because Miles accidentally ruined Ohnn’s life when the Super Collider was destroyed To the Spider Verse, which became Ohnn to The Spot. Now, he wants revenge on Miles, and that means destroying everything and everyone Miles cares about.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending explains: who is the new Prowler? And how is Uncle Aaron alive?
answer(s): that’s another Miles Morales and Earth-42 version of Aaron Davis.
Viewers don’t need to be reminded that Miles’ Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali), who pretended to be the Earth-1610 version of the villain Prowler, died in To the Spider Verse. Wilson Fisk shoots him for not killing Miles.
On Earth-42, however, Uncle Aaron is still alive, meaning he might meet the Miles we know – and inevitably end up in prison when he finds out that this Miles isn’t the one he’s been keeping in the universe.
Even worse, uncle Aaron works for a different class of Prowler on Earth-42. At first, he seems to adopt a superhero pseudonym here, just like he did on Earth-1610. However, Across the Spider Verse pulls a fast one on us, finally revealing that it’s Earth-42’s Miles Morales – complete with braids – who is the metal-clawed antagonist.
He’s not the only supervillain who seems to be up to something weird in Earth-42, either. As Miles is bitten by the universe’s radioactive spider, Earth-42 does not have Spider-Man to protect it from those with questionable/dark morals who want to take advantage of such a situation. Before Earth-42’s Miles was revealed to be this dimensional Prowler, we heard a short message from a TV news anchor discussing the Sinister Six, a collection of some of Spider-Man’s most famous villains. -Man, who seem to be the rulers of Earth- 42. Our Miles – who, without one of Spider-Man 2099’s multiverse-traversing devices, begins to break down as his molecules break down in this alternate reality – definitely he has his work cut out here…
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending explains: who is in Gwen’s Spider-Force?
answer: all our favorite Spider-People. Well, those who want to save Miles, anyway.
After she was expelled from the Spider Society for standing with Miles, and after she reconciled with her father in his universe (Earth-65), Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) traveled to Earth-1610 – using the Spider -Punk’s multiverse device, which he gifts to her – to aid Miles in his attempts to save his father and stop The Spot.
When Gwen realizes that Miles has traveled to the wrong dimension, however, she begins a new effort to save her friend (and potential love interest, don’t forget). Using Spider-Punk’s interdimensional watch, he travels to Peter B Parker’s (Jake Johnson) universe (Earth-616) to ask for help in rescuing Miles. And, as Miles’ former teacher, who is Peter to go up against?
But Gwen didn’t stop there. As shown in one of Across the Spider-Verse’s final scenes, he has assembled his own Spider Society – or Spider-Force, if you prefer. Among the group are Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), Pavitr Prabhaker/Spider-Man India (Karan Soni), and Margo Kess/Spider-Byte (Amandla Stenberg), who warm to Miles as the plot progresses. film.
Even more crowd-pleasing is the return of a trio of To the Spider Verse characters: Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), Spider-Ham, and Spider-Man Noir, who also responded to Gwen’s call to help their friend in his time of need. Peni actually made a brief cameo in Across the Spider-Verse – she’s another Spider Society defector – but the other two aren’t expected to appear here as voice actors Jon Mulaney and Nicolas Cage was not asked to return. Happily, however, they did it, albeit in silent roles.
Of course, we know that Miles has the ability to escape his captors – we see him start charging up his Venom Strike ability before the movie cuts – but Gwen doesn’t know and in the company he planned his own jailbreak. Either way, here’s hoping he reunites with Gwen’s Spider-Force soon before they face the massive threat posed by The Spot. Beyond the Spider Versethe climactic battle.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending explains: will the Spider Society return?
answer: we don’t know, but we expect it to be theirs.
Unfortunately for Miles and Gwen’s team of Spider-People, the Spider Society is probably still after them to prevent Miles from saving his father. Oh, and from threatening the integrity of the Spider-Verse as they know it.
Across the Spider Verse doesn’t specify which members of the Spider Society we’ll see again, but we suspect its leaders will make an appearance Beyond the Spider Verse. That should include Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 and Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman, who lead the supergroup, and possibly Andy Samberg’s Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider, whose fate is unknown after being webbed by Spider- Gwen to a building on Earth. -1610 as he tries to find Miles.
As for the rest of Spider Society? We will be surprised if any other members show their faces in the threequel flick. There were a few other Spider-People who spoke for a while Across the Spider Verse – namely, Patrick O’Hara/Web-Slinger (voiced by Taran Killam), the Spectacular Spider-Man’s animated counterpart (Josh Keaton), and Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man (we believe Yuri Lowenthal returns this role) – but we don’t expect them to have major roles in the next release.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending explained: will there be post-credits scenes?
answer: no, there isn’t even a middle or post-credits scene.
In a rare move for a comic book movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse there aren’t any post-credits stingers. That’s because it’s the first installment of the two-part ending to Miles’ animated big screen adventure. Adding a middle or post-credits scene, then, would detract from its cliffhanger-based conclusion.
However, viewers were only treated to an end card that read: “Miles Morales will return in… Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse“. Not an impactful ending, for sure, but one that begins to generate new excitement in the third and possibly final entry in this film series. In short: sit through the credits to appreciate the many people working on this amazing film, but don’t stay when they are done.
For more Spider-Man based on coverage, learn more about how to view the Spider-Man series of movies. Plus, read our ranking of the best Spider-Man movies, find out why we don’t need a live-action Miles Morales movie this season, or read our exclusive chat with the movie’s directors about how Across the Spider-Verse found freedom to swing the new animated boundaries.
