Quick Links
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is full of twists and turns that keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Between Miles discovering the Canon Events of all Spider-People, to him realizing that he was never meant to be Spider-Man, perhaps the greatest twist of the film is at the end.
At the end of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miles uses his DNA in the Go Home Machine to transport himself back to his original universe. Instead, the machine reads his DNA based on the radioactive spider that bit him, and transports him to Earth-42 instead of his home world, Earth-1610. But he doesn't figure this out until his uncle Aaron -- who's dead in his universe -- walks through the door.
Not only that, but the Miles from Earth-42 has taken over the role as the Prowler, and the film ends with the two Miles face to face, and Spider-Gwen assembling a team of Spider-People to rescue Earth-1610 Miles. But upon a second watch, viewers can actually spot certain easter eggs throughout the film that foreshadow this big twist happening. There's even a callback to a seemingly throw-away line from the first film that tells viewers of the twist just moments before it's revealed.
The Number 42
First appearing in Into the Spider-Verse, the number 42 shows up quite a bit throughout the two movies. Its first seen on the Alchemax radioactive spider that bites Miles, before showing up again in the first film when Miles attempts to swing across New York City, but hits a building sign and falls to the ground. The only things to fall with him were a 4 and a 2 from the sign he crashed into, landing next to him on the sidewalk.
In the sequel film, Miles is seen wearing a basketball jersey with the number 42 throughout most of his time without his Spider-Suit on (i.e. when he attends his father's party celebrating his promotion). While it makes sense to see the number on the spider, seeing as though that's the Earth in which it came from, and some could make the argument that the number popping up randomly is just to pay homage to the spider itself, there is one instance at the end of the film that tells viewers right away that Miles is going to end up in the wrong universe.
When Miles starts preparing the Go Home Machine in Miguel O'Hara's lab to go back to his home world, there's a split second where, if you play the film frame-by-frame, the machine actually reads: DESTINATION LOCKED: EARTH-42. So, for viewers with an especially keen eye, the big reveal comes for them several minutes before Miles actually figures out what universe he transported himself to.
Spot's Backstory
The first foreshadowing in Across the Spider-Verse actually happens about a half hour into the film, when Spot and Miles' fight brings them back into the collider room and Spot explains his backstory to Miles. Spot explains that he was a scientist for Alchemax, and he was actually the one responsible for bringing the radioactive spider from Earth-42 to Earth-1610.
Spot's recounting of these events is accompanied by a visual flashback in which viewers can see him conduct the tests. Similar to how the Go Home Machine showed "Earth-42" on it's screen, there's a quick flash of the spider crawling around in its original universe. If viewers pay close attention, they can see what the spider was up to before it was transported to Earth-1610.
In the flash, the spider can be seen crawling on a school desk, quickly approaching a random student. But it isn't until the end of the film that viewers can recognize that the student it was about to bite was actually Miles Morales from Earth-42. So, not only does this foreshadow the twist at the end, but it also reveals that Earth-42 Miles was just seconds away from being bitten by the radioactive spider, which would've turned him into Spider-Man. And because the spider never bit Miles-42, he never became Spider-Man, and his life instead turned to him becoming the Prowler.
Comic-Con
The Comic-Con reference might be the most fun foreshadowing of them all. In the first film, as Miles and Peter B. Parker are swinging away from Alchemax through the forest, they're saved by Spider-Gwen. At this point, it's evident to Miles that there could be countless more Spider-People to have been transported into his universe because of the collider explosion.
After Gwen gives her introduction, Miles asks how many more Spider-People there are, to which Peter B. Parker responds:
Save it for Comic-Con
But Miles doesn't know what Comic-Con is. So, aside from this just being a goofy comment, this short interaction establishes that Comic-Con doesn't exist on Earth-1610. But that's not something that viewers particularly pay any attention to as the story continues. Until...
Once Miles transports himself to Earth-42 at the end of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the first thing he does is swing home and reveal to his mother, Rio, that he is Spider-Man. But she doesn't know who Spider-Man is. While this itself is telling that Miles is in the wrong universe, her next comment calls back to that forest scene from the first film, confirming that he is definitely in the wrong universe:
Is this where you dress up like your favorite character for -- what's it called -- Comics-Con?
Again, Miles is confused, never having heard of Comic-Con until Peter B. Parker mentioned it. For some viewers upon their first watch, this comment would've gone right over their heads. But, for those who either have a good memory or happened to watch the first one right before seeing the sequel, Rio even mentioning Comic-Con should've sent an immediate light bulb to their heads, confirming Miles was in fact in the wrong universe (they could've also recognized that Rio's eyes are green on Earth-42 compared to her brown eyes on Earth-1610). The writers really dug deep to give this hint, and even though it was right before the big reveal, it's much appreciated by the fans of the franchise.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse catches up with Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and a host of other Spider-people as the doors to other realities are ripped open by The Spot. Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Man 2099) and a returning Peter B. Parker are also along for the ride through the multiverse.
- Release Date
- June 2, 2023
- Runtime
- 120 Minutes
