Let’s Unpack the End of ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is here, and it’s a gloriously frenetic web-filled romp through the multiverse. What with all those web slingers flying across realities, though, you might have left the theater wondering if you missed something. Plus, there’s that amazing cliffhanger to unpack! So let’s get into it. Here’s the ending of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, explained.

The Spot inches closer to Miles’ dad

Angry at Miles for supposedly leading to his life-changing transformation into a hole-filled supervillain, the Spot tells Miles that he’s going to “take everything.” Miles also finds out, after he saves Captain Singh in Mumbattan, that one of the canon events (that is, events that are found in every Spidey’s story) is a police captain dying. This means that Miles and Gwen’s fathers are both in danger, since Gwen’s dad is a captain and Miles’ dad is about to become one.

Miles looks into the abyss

Miles hurries back to his home universe of Earth-1610 to save his dad before the Spot gets him. At first, he thinks he’s succeeded. However, he realizes that he’s ended up in the wrong universe, Earth-42. In this reality, his dad is already dead, and his uncle Aaron is still alive. Plus, there’s no Spider-Man here, because the spider that was supposed to bite this reality’s Spider-Man was instead transported to “our” Miles’ reality in the first film. That’s why Miles is sent to the wrong universe: the spider infected him with DNA from Earth-42, confusing the transporter.

Speaking of this reality’s Miles, where is he? What’s his deal, if he’s not Spider-Man? Our Miles soon finds out: he’s the Prowler, the supervillain persona that Aaron adopted in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

When Across the Spider-Verse ends, Miles is trapped by his alternate self, unable to get back to his own reality.

Gwen assembles a team

Gwen, meanwhile, goes back to her own reality and reconciles with her father, who tried to arrest her after she revealed that she was Spider-Woman. After talking it out, Gwen’s dad decides to quit the force. Quitting means that he’s no longer a captain, and thus safe from danger.

Gwen, having been kicked out of the Spider Society, realizes that she has to save Miles, so she gathers a familiar-looking team: Peter Parker, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, and Peni Parker from Into the Spider-Verse.

But what does this mean for the multiverse?

If Gwen saves Miles, and Miles saves his dad, what does that mean for the multiverse? Will it collapse? Will Miguel, head of the Spider Society, allow it in the first place?

We’ll find out in the next film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

(featured image: Sony Pictures Entertainment)