CharleyHorse

In the new movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 is, for some reason, not very heroic. He always insists on being gloomy and toxic, and is obsessed with a phenomenon known as 'canon events', which are basically patterns in Spider-Man's history throughout the multiverse. At one point in the film, Miles Morales, the protagonist, questions whether or not Miguel is actually Spider-Man at all.

And his question may not be in error.

Firstly, if canon events existed, doesn't that mean Miles Morales has already gone through one with his uncle dying?

Secondly, how in the world did a radioactive spider somehow make it's way from Earth-42 to Earth-1610? And how would Miguel know about it personally? What's more, why isn't he at least giving Miles a chance to prove he can save his own father? What would there be to lose if Miles didn’t, owing to canon events?

There are other fishy things about Miguel: firstly, what is his canon event? He never discusses it. While he does discuss why trying to 'break a canon event' is dangerous, he never recounts personal experiences from his own universe in the film.

Secondly, his suit and build seems pretty different from the post-credits scene from Into the Spider-Verse where he is seen traveling to the animated cartoon world. And the fact they are the same voice can be countered by the fact that Elizabeth Olsen and Benedict Cumberpatch are also Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange in every universe.

He also acts nothing like any Spider-Man. No personal relationships with anyone, no joking, no friendliness, no optimism, and no webs.

What's more, the Spider-Man 2099 of comics is neither a vampire nor an adult; he's a teen who got spider-like features from his spider.

What if "Miguel" isn't Miguel O'Hara at all? He has no comics shown validating his identity as Spider-Man. And he also never mentions the Spider-Man in the universe of the Miguel O'Hara he replaced, given that there is one (as there is in basically every other universe).

Spider-Man 2099 may be nothing but an average Joe who tried replacing Spider-Man after some event after Spider-Man 2099 went missing, and when he found out he couldn't save the universe like Spider-Man, he became insane and took over Miguel's tech, becoming the Spider-Verse's leader and manipulating every Spider-Man into believing canon events were real. He somehow hacked the technology to help him provide ‘evidence’ that canon events existed, and that when something happened outside of expectations, it needed to be stopped.

He also could have achieved super-strength through those drugs he puts into his body with a needle, which no one witnesses except the audience. The drugs may be having an affect on his health, and without them he may be really screwed.

He also may have chosen Miles Morales as his scapegoat, owing to the fact that he had connections to Kingpin and Spot of all villains and what they tried to do to the multiverse.

And on Earth-42 where Miles became the Prowler and not Spider-Man? Probably because “Miguel” found and killed the 1610 spider, replacing it with the 42 spider and allowing for Miles of both worlds to suffer.

It would align perfectly with the film, as well as Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. The title may imply not a place outside the multiverse (which is supposed to be endless anyway?), but perhaps the fact that someone - this Miguel impostor - is abusing the mantra that Miles concluded Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse on: anyone can wear the suit. And if that's true, the real Miguel O'Hara is - or was - still out there somewhere. Guess we'll just have to figure out for ourselves when Beyond the Spider-Verse releases in 2024 (given that the writer's strike doesn't cancel it indefinitely).

Please don't give spoilers, even if they are relevant to this topic. I haven't seen the movie yet, don't want any crucial details.

To decipher how strong POM is, first we need to know what his basic strength limit is.

There are many different versions, but to narrow it down, this version is from Earth-1, or Prime Earth, of DC Comics. He is not the New 52 version, as the New 52 came after 2000; he is not the Silver Age version as he is after 1985, nor is he the Rebirth, Convergence, or any film, game or animation versions. He is a pastiche of the Post-Crisis version of Superman; the PC version came out after 1986, and went all the way to 2010, and the All-Star version, from which POM emerges, was published 2005-2008.

The Post-Crisis version of Superman was, at maximum power, capable of lifting the center of a black hole. That is confirmed to be his limit because he was being torn apart at the cells due to it's power, and required the assistance of a Green Lantern's power (John Stewart) to help him.

An average black hole stands at about 10 solar masses at maximum weight. A single solar mass is the mass of the Sun, or 333,000 Earths in mass. 10 solar masses would be the power of 3 million Earths (or 1,98927 Mitsubishi Mirages, which individually weigh one ton). Thus, it is safe to presume this Superman at his basic level, maximum strength, is capable of lifting the Earth 3 million times.

Now, this is a basic Superman. To understand how strong POM is, we need to know how his strength is multiplied. This is where it gets a little tricky, considering no comic books give mathematical standards. The closest calculation we can receive is from the film Superman Returns, which was also before New 52 in 2006.

After spending at least 17 seconds in the Sun, Superman in this film went from helpless as a baby to capable of lifting an entire island of kryptonite.

Kryptonite takes half a second every time to affect Superman, as it seems he is 'instantly' affected by the green mineral. It takes Superman about eight minutes to push the island of kryptonite off of Earth, the same speed as a rocketship lifting off.

Eight minutes is 480 seconds. Divide that by the half-second, and it's 960 times stronger than an 'average' Superman. Therefore, 17 seconds makes Superman 960 times stronger than himself.

So, one second in the Sun make Superman about 60 (or 56.4 rounded) times stronger. 60 seconds in a minute make him 3,600 times stronger, and an hour in the Sun make him 216,000 times stronger according to those calculations. (Remember that a basic level Superman, one affected in the half second of kryptonite, is the same kind that lifted a black hole)

But Superman POM spent 15,000 years in the Sun. Thus, the formula should be 60 multiples of power amplification per the half second formula x 60 seconds a minute x 60 minutes an hour x 24 hours in a day x 365 days a year x 15,000 years.

That makes Superman about 2^18, or 2 quintillion, times stronger than his basic self. Which means he could at maximum lift the entire observable universe by spending 15,000 years in the Sun. That's over 100^27, or 100 octillion, stars, 100 billion black holes centering each galaxy, and all other matter within it.

That makes him the most powerful single-universe version of Superman arguably second only to the Strange Visitor version, who survived the end of the universe. He is billions of times stronger than any Pre-Crisis Superman, and the New 52 and Convergence versions seem like a joke to him.

Again, this is according to scientific calculation. If Superman's black hole feat was indeed easy, than he would be more than enough to lift the entire observable universe. And if one disregards the level of power he receives from the Sun as per the movie because they believe the aesthetic is different, he would be even more capable of lifting far greater. But no matter what, if the calculations are correct, Superman definitely lifts entire galaxies on a good day after 15 centuries of solar absorption, which makes every other basic hero in the galaxy feel incredibly foolish.

All characters you can think of. Can include ultra powerful beings, but must be canonical, no fan-fiction. Crossovers, Elseworlds and alternate realities that are canon apply.