r/Earth02

Stars Andrew Garfield. Most of the cast is the same as the real-world TASM films, but of course JK Simmons plays JJJ. Shailene Woodley plays MJ.

Peter Parker is a lonely, brilliant high school senior in Queens, haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his parents and raised by Ben and May Parker. During a field trip to Oscorp, he is bitten by a genetically engineered spider connected to Richard Parker’s secret research. His powers manifest violently, making him feel less like a superhero and more like a mutation.

Uncle Ben, fearing what the world would do to Peter if it discovered him, urges him to hide. Peter takes this lesson too far and refuses to intervene during a robbery, leading indirectly to Ben’s death. Overcome by guilt, Peter begins hunting criminals in a homemade mask, not as a friendly neighborhood hero, but as a grim act of penance.

His actions attract the attention of Spencer Smythe, a former colleague of Richard Parker who believes enhanced humans will destabilize civilization. Smythe launches the Spider-Slayer program, publicly framing it as a necessary defense against masked superhuman threats. J. Jonah Jameson becomes the loudest media voice supporting Smythe, calling Spider-Man the first sign of a dangerous new age.

As Peter investigates Oscorp and his father’s work, he discovers that his transformation was not random: his DNA was uniquely compatible with the spider because of Richard’s experiments. This makes Peter feel chosen, but not comforted. Meanwhile, the Spider-Slayers escalate from capture drones to full military machines, eventually turning Manhattan into a battlefield.

In the climax, Smythe unleashes the central Slayer network after concluding that Spider-Man’s existence proves humanity must either control superhumans or be replaced by them. Peter fights through massive destruction, trying to save civilians but often being visually lost amid collapsing buildings and exploding machines. To stop the final Slayer core, Peter makes a desperate choice that kills or permanently maims Alistair Smythe, saving innocent lives but violating his own moral instincts.

The film ends with Peter accepting that he must be Spider-Man, but New York is divided. Some see a hero. Many see a menace. Jonah declares that the age of masks has begun, and that ordinary people should be afraid. Peter swings into the skyline, framed not as a neighborhood protector, but as a lonely symbol of a dangerous future.