Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending explained

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ends with a jaw-dropping, hype-worthy cliff hanger – here’s everything that happens in the ending.

Into the Spider-Verse seems comparably humble to its sequel. Yes, it played with the idea of the multiverse more deftly than the MCU, years before it dedicated a whole saga to it, but its core story was simple: the origin of Miles Morales.

Miles is still at the center of Across the Spider-Verse, but he’s quickly engulfed by whole new worlds after following Gwen into the multiverse, eventually coming face to face with the Spider Society and its tough-as-nails leader, Miguel O’Hara aka Spider-Man 2099.

If you didn’t know already, this is the first of two parts, with the trilogy’s conclusion set to arrive next year – so, here’s a rundown of the major beats of the ending of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending explained

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ends with a huge twist: Miles ends up stuck on Earth-42 with an alternate version of himself… who also happens to be The Prowler.

There’s a lot to get through before we get to that, so bear with us. First of all, let’s deal with Dr. Jonathan Ohnn, aka the Spot.

Sony Pictures

He was a former Alchemax scientist who inadvertently gave Miles his powers by transporting a radioactive spider to his universe (Earth-1610). When Miles saved the multiverse by destroying the collider, it transformed Ohnn’s body into a skin canvas of portals, forcing him to turn to a life of crime, as well as declaring himself as Spider-Man’s nemesis.

In order to make himself more powerful, he hops between dimensions, putting an immediate target on his back. Miles teams up with Gwen and Spider-Man India to stop him – but they fail, with the Spot activating the collider and evolving his powers even further.

Miles learns he’s the original anomaly

Gwen takes Miles to meet Miguel, who’s not very happy to see him. He explains that there are “cannon event” that bind everyone and the fabric of the multiverse together, and without them, individual universes can implode. Miles helped to save Spider-Man India’s girlfriend and dad, but this could lead to their eventual demise.

Miles then learns his own inevitable event: the death of his father in just two days time after he becomes police captain. He refuses to accept it and runs away, getting into all sorts of scrapes with hundreds of Spider-People.

Sony Pictures

Once Miguel gets his hands on him, he reveals to Miles that he’s the original anomaly: he was never meant to get bitten, Peter Parker was never meant to die, and everything would have been fine if he wasn’t Spider-Man. It gets worse: Peter B. Parker and Gwen knew the whole time and they kept it from him.

After a massive chase through Earth-928, he manages to use the machine that transports him back to his own world. Miguel is enraged and banishes Gwen back home, and they head off in pursuit of Miles.

Earth-42 isn’t what it seems

When Miles gets back to his house, everything seems normal. But when he confesses to his mother that he’s Spider-Man, she has no idea what he’s talking about. Suddenly, his Uncle Aaron walks through the door; alive, well, but not particularly friendly.

Miles gives him a hug, but he clocks his uncle giving Rio money. They both then head up to the roof, where Miles is attacked and taken back to Aaron’s apartment. In this universe, his uncle isn’t the Prowler – he is, while his uncle works with him as a sidekick.

As the movie draws to a close, Miles prepares to use his electric powers to break free from the chains around him, and hopefully get home so he can save his father from the Spot.

Meanwhile, Gwen mends her relationship with her father, who quits the force after learning she’s Spider-Woman. Not only does this mean that “cannon events” can be changed – in theory, that is – she also realizes Miles can’t be in his own universe. So, with the help of Spider-Punk’s multiverse-traveling watch, she rounds up a team to find him: Peter B. Parker, Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man India, and Spider-Byte.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits cinemas on June 2, 2023. You can find out more about the movie here, a breakdown of its cast here, and its soundtrack here.