‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Earth-42 Easter Egg Explained

We all know that the entire Spider-Verse movie series dwells on the multiverse of Spider-People. In that regard, we saw an even bigger Spider-Verse in ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ which features more universes with their own version of Spider-People. Of course, Miles ended up getting lost in an entirely different universe when he used a machine that teleported people back to their own universes, as he ended up in Earth-42. So, what is Earth-42 in ‘Across the Spider-Verse’?

Earth-42 is a bleak universe similar to Miles Morales’ Earth-1610. Still, the difference here is that this universe never had its own Spider-Man because the radioactive spider that was supposed to turn someone into Spider-Man found itself in Earth-1610 and bit that universe’s Miles Morales.

Of course, Earth-42 is set to have an even bigger role in the upcoming continuation of the storyline, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.’ That’s because we now look at two versions of Miles Morales that grew up in different circumstances and environments. So, with that said, let’s talk more about the Spider-Verse’s Earth-42.

What Is Earth-42?

While ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ focused more on Miles Morales’ own universe and how different variants of Spider-People got stranded there due to a collider accident, the events of ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ take things to an entirely different level when multiversal travel was introduced. Of course, the team of Spider-People that Miguel O’Hara’s Spider-Man 2099 was responsible for creating this team, which doesn’t even include the main character, Miles, who is from Earth-1610.

Nevertheless, because Miles tried to help Gwen Stacy in the problem involving the Spot, who discovered that he could also travel between universes, he ended up getting on the wrong side of Miguel’s temper. O’Hara invited Miles to Nueva York in Earth-928, the universe where the Spidey Task Force HQ was located. And when Miles got there, Miguel introduced the concept of Canon Events, which were events that every Spider-Person needed to go through to avoid the implosion of their own universe.

But Miles didn’t want to see his dad dying even though this was supposed to be a Canon Event, and that was why he decided to escape Nueva York in the hopes of returning to his own universe and stopping the Spot from killing his dad. And while Miles had to go through countless Spider-People, he got to the room where a spider-like machine that transported people to their own universes was located.

The machine worked by scanning a person’s biology and using that as a reference for the universe where that person was located. As such, the person is sent to the universe corresponding to their biological makeup.

However, when Miles returned home, he realized he needed to confess to his mother, Rio Morales, about being Spider-Man. Unfortunately, Rio didn’t know who Spider-Man was as she was confused about what Miles had just said. This wasn’t very surprising to some people because it is possible that a mother who focuses on her job isn’t too familiar with what’s happening worldwide.

But when Miles saw that his Uncle Aaron was alive, he immediately discovered that this wasn’t his own universe. Instead, the machine sent him to Earth-42, a mirror universe of his own Earth-1610.

The reason why Miles was sent there by the machine can be traced back to his superhero origins. When the Spot told Miles how he became what he is, he said he once worked for Alchemax and was experimenting on radioactive spiders until the collider exploded and turned him into the Spot. Meanwhile, this spider was the very same one that bit Miles and gave him his powers.

But Miguel, out of anger, told Miles that he was an anomaly because he was never meant to be Spider-Man. That’s because the spider that bit him came from Earth-42, which found its way to Earth-1610 due to the collision that opened up portals from different universes. As such, when the machine that sent Miles to Earth-42 scanned him, it recognized his biology as one that belonged to that universe.

Earth-42 is not so different from Earth-1610, except that this universe had events that transpired differently than Miles’ own universe. And the biggest surprise came from the true Earth-42 Miles Morales.

Why Is Earth-42 So Bad?

As mentioned, Uncle Aaron was still alive on Earth-42. When Miles got to the rooftop, he saw a mural of his father, as it was clear that his dad was the one that died in that universe instead of Aaron Davis. And the worst part was that Miles realized that his version in that universe had turned to a life of crime and became the Prowler.

So, Earth-42 is so bad because the radioactive spider that was supposed to turn a local of that universe into Spider-Man ended up in Earth-1610 due to the collider accident. As such, there is no Spider-Man in Earth-42, as history changed and turned that universe into a dark and bleak one because no superhero could have helped the people of New York.

As such, the Earth-42 version of Miles became the Prowler because there was no Spider-Man to protect him or his family. It is even possible that he was supposed to be the Spider-Man of that universe. And because he didn’t have a superhero to idolize and a father that could help raise him, Earth-42 Miles turned to a life of crime so that he and his family could live well enough. 

Why Is Earth-42 Important?

At this point, it is clear that Earth-42 will be very important in the future of the Spider-Verse movies because Miles is currently trapped there. We know that Gwen Stacy formed a task force that would rescue Miles from that universe. And that means that it is likely that they are going to find the Earth-1610 version of Miles clashing with his Earth-42 version.

Of course, the fact that Earth-42 exists allows us to see what kind of a person Miles would have become if he had lost his dad and if there was no Spider-Man that people could rely on to help them. We get to see two sides to the same coin here because this version of Miles in Earth-42 became a victim of the circumstances and the environment he was living in. And meeting him is likely going to give Earth-1610 Miles a different perspective on life.

There’s also a good chance that Earth-42 Miles would eventually start to see things from his Earth-1610 counterpart’s point of view, especially because he brought up his father’s death, which changed his life for the worse. That’s why we’re not dismissing the possibility of this version of Miles leaving the life of crime to become a hero in his own unique way, especially when he knows that his Earth-1610 version has a chance to save his father from death.

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