‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’: Who Is the Prowler? 

One of the characters that play a major role in Miles Morales’ superhero development in the Spider-Verse franchise is the Prowler, who was one of the first antagonists that Miles fought during the events of Into the Spider-Verse. Of course, the Prowler plays a huge role in his life because of his identity. In that regard, Miles faced a huge dilemma during the early part of his superhero career. So, who is the Prowler in Spider-Verse?

The Prowler is Aaron Davis, who we know as Miles Morales’s uncle and Jefferson Morales’s brother. He works as a masked criminal employed by Kingpin as a hitman and bodyguard. However, Miles didn’t know that the Prowler was his uncle, and Aaron didn’t know that Spider-Man was actually his nephew, Miles.

Aaron Davis’s storyline is compelling because his entire identity as the Prowler still profoundly affects Miles’ life even after he dies during the events of ‘Into the Spider-Verse.’ Of course, the Prowler made a surprising return during the events of ‘Across the Spider-Verse,’ and it happened in a way that no one expected. Now, let’s talk more about the Prowler.

The Prowler’s Identity

‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ introduced one of the most interesting villains we’ve seen, as this villain was the Prowler, who was quick to play his role as an antagonist in Miles Morales’ life. The Prowler worked as a henchman under Kingpin as he was known as a very efficient and effective hitman that became popular in the criminal underworld. As such, he was more than a match for Spider-Man despite his lack of superpowers.

That is why it wasn’t surprising that Miles struggled against him during his time as a young Spider-Man that was trying to fill in the shoes of Peter Parker, who died early during the events of ‘Into the Spider-Verse.’ But the biggest surprise was that during one of the fights between Miles and the Prowler, Spider-Man revealed himself to be Miles Morales the entire time. And Miles already knew that the Prowler was his uncle because he had followed him earlier and discovered that the man behind the mask was his Uncle Aaron.

In that regard, the Prowler was Aaron Davis the entire time. Miles’ uncle was someone he looked up to because he was the “cool uncle” that hung out with him a lot of times and taught him many different lessons that Miles’ father, Jefferson Morales, was unable to teach his son.

As such, when Miles found out that his uncle was the Prowler, he was heartbroken that the man he looked up to was a villain. And the Prowler was just as surprised when he discovered that his beloved nephew was the hero he had been trying to kill.

During the events of ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ the Prowler returned. Miles found himself getting accidentally stuck in Earth-42, which is a mirror universe of his own Earth-1610. But the difference here is that his father was the one that died and that there is no Spider-Man in this universe. And because Jefferson was dead, the one that took care of the Miles of that universe was Aaron.

The 1610 version of Miles thought that his uncle was the Prowler in Earth-42. But he was surprised to see that the Prowler of that universe was actually the Earth-42 Miles Morales, who turned to a life of crime after his father’s death. We can assume that Miles became a criminal because Aaron exposed him to that kind of life.

Is the Prowler a Good Guy?

While we do know that Miles looked up to his uncle, the thing is that the Prowler was never a good guy. Aaron Davis and Jefferson Morales symbolize two sides of the same coin: one brother became a criminal while the other became a police officer. In that regard, while Aaron may try to make an excuse for being a criminal by blaming it on society and the hard life he had to live, his brother became a police officer and raised a good family.

That means that being a criminal and doing evil things for a living were all Aaron’s choices. As mentioned, he and Jefferson had the same upbringing, but he was the only one who chose to become a criminal instead of living an honest life. That is why we can’t really say that the Prowler was a good guy because it was his conscious choice to become a criminal.

However, while he may be a bad guy, the Prowler was able to do something good out of the life he was given. And it all boiled down to the fact that he loved his nephew more than his job as a masked villain.

What Happened to the Prowler in Spider-Verse?

During the events of ‘Into the Spider-Verse,’ Kingpin orders the Prowler and a few other supervillains to kill the Spider-People that teamed up together. The Prowler attacked his nephew, only for Peter B. Parker to rescue the younger Spider-Man. However, Aaron kept pursuing Miles and was even prepared to kill him because it was his job.

Nevertheless, Miles took his mask off to show his uncle he was Miles. Aaron was horrified by what he saw, and he also took his mask off. But Kingpin saw that the Prowler hesitated. He ordered his henchman to kill Miles.

However, Aaron was overcome by his love for his nephew as he realized that he did not need to work for Kingpin. He didn’t want to kill Miles, so he raised his hands to show peace. Essentially, Aaron decided to give up the life of crime when he saw that his nephew was Spider-Man.

But Aaron was caught off-guard when Kingpin decided to get rid of him for his failure. Kingpin shot the Prowler in the back, as Miles took his wounded uncle in the middle of the action. Aaron apologized for everything he did and told his nephew to keep going because he was the best part of their family. 

The Prowler died as a redeemed man after he decided he no longer wanted to be a criminal for the sake of his nephew. Aaron died in Spider-Man’s arms, only for Jefferson to see his brother’s dead body with his masked son. As such, Jefferson thought that Spider-Man killed Aaron, which was why he sent a warrant out for Spider-Man.

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