Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Ending Explained

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse's Ending Casts Doubt On Miguel's Canon Events

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Chase
Sony Pictures Releasing

First up is Miles defying Miguel and entering Earth-42 - the dimension where his spider came from. Both Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse address that burning question of what it means to be Spider-Man - particularly one in a multiverse where there are hundreds of web-slingers. What makes Miles unique here is that incorruptible sense of right and wrong. He has his insecurities and anxieties, but ultimately, he represents the best of us. Whereas all the other Spider-Men follow Miguel's schemes without question - tolerating his abusive behaviour as workplace angst in search of the greater good, essentially - Miles cuts through it all and points out an obvious injustice.

Miles has already battled trauma and guilt to become the hero he is in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and while he may stumble (that's part of what makes Spider-Man so relatable), we can always count on him to do what's right. If there's a chance that he can save his father, then of course he has to take it. Tragedy is integral to the character, but it's not all that defines him.

Miguel, conversely, is imposing his tragedy and sadness on everyone else. He shares a cautionary tale on interfering with the multiverse and uses it as a manifesto to rule as judge and jury. Not just that, but we can see there's flaws to his logic. Interrupting canon events leads to universes being swallowed up, and he calls Miles the original anomaly. However, if Miles is the original anomaly, then how can he have canon events? If 42 was meant to bite a different Spider but didn't, then why didn't that particular Earth unfold?

This may admittedly just be selective movie logic but in a way it does provide further evidence for Miguel's schemes not standing up to scrutiny. There's an animalistic edge to the character that wasn't present in the credits of Into the Spider-Verse either, and while other characters received design changes for the sequel, his entire silhouette has been altered. This could be classic overthinking, but there may be more to Miguel's character than has been let on so far.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.